Paul Pitcher
Chefs
AUSTRALIAN GOOD FOOD GUIDE - Home of the Chef Hat Awards
Danielle Rensonnet
Born:
England.
History:
I spent my high school years on the southern end of the Gold Coast.
My first job during high school was in a famous bakery in Coolangatta, I would spend lots of time out the back with the bakers watching them shape bread and make pastry.
After high school, I decided to do a prevocational cookery course and from there I began my apprenticeship in commercial cookery.
After completing my apprenticeship, I decided to move to Melbourne at the age of 20. My first job in Melbourne as a Commis Chef was at the Royce Hotel, which had 1 Chef hat at the time. I was very inexperienced, I quickly realised, I had never worked in a big brigade before, so it was a sharp learning curve and a challenge I enjoyed.
From there, I was lucky to work with Dianne Kerry, who was a huge influence in my career; she not only taught me a lot, she helped shape my career by pointing me in the right direction to progress my skill and positions in the industry.
After working in fine dining with Chefs such as Andrew McConnell, Damian Jones (also very influential in my cooking), I took my first Head Chef job at St Judes Cellars in Fitzroy.
It was one of the first sharing-style restaurants with a big focus on local produce and sustainability and again with huge support from Di, we built a great team of like-minded Chefs and I realised how much I enjoyed being in a leadership role.
I decided to travel Europe after St Judes and after planning a 6 month holiday, my partner and I ended up staying in Europe for 3 years. We worked as private Chefs and eventually based ourselves in Mallorca, one of the Islands in the Balearics. From there, we travelled to much of Europe, America and South Africa.
I started as Head Chef at Fook Shing in Kyneton in 2019, more to help out a friend and didn’t really think it was all that practical as my partner and I lived in Melbourne at the time.
Fook Shing is a South-east Asian restaurant and as such a cuisine I love to cook having worked with Damian Jones, who taught me a lot about royal Thai cuisine. I have enjoyed teaching myself other South-east Asian cuisines and have been lucky to have had Chefs join our team who can teach me also.
I fell in love with this quaint country town and my partner and I decided to leave the city and buy a house here.
There is a great food and wine scene in the Macedon Ranges. My partner and I recently bought a small wine bar in Kyneton, partnering up with a local wine maker and a Sommelier.
Shaun is the Head Chef while I run the Fook Shing kitchen. We both very much enjoy contributing to the local food scene.
Have you always wanted to be a Chef?
I have always loved cooking, it is an industry in which you never stop learning. You can always find inspiration whether it is from your job, travelling, books or dining out. While I haven’t enjoyed every position I’ve taken in my career, I have always taken something from it. I think that is important, I think most Chefs would say that.
How would you define your style?
Casual but refined.
What is your feature flavour these days?
I love making curries, whether with chilli or dry spices, seasoning them correctly is a bit of an art.
Obsessive-compulsive about?
Kitchen cleanliness and organisation - most important!!
Your greatest culinary influence:
I have always been obsessed with Michel Bras; his food is as much about art as it is cooking.
David Thompson’s Thai cuisine is an exceptional cookbook, well-written recipes and informative cultural references.
More immediately, Phillipa Sibly and Dianne Kerry have been amazing female role models - both are exceptionally talented, creative, strong female Chefs.
What do you love about this business?
You never stop learning and you create strong bonds with the people you work with.
An ingredient you can’t live without?
Fish sauce/colatura – I’m a very savoury person.
Most ‘eyebrow-raising’ menu item?
Any of the Sichuan dishes I add to the menu often provoke an ‘I love it, could be hotter OR too hot’ response.
Signature dish:
Fook Shing staples on the menu that I don’t think we could take off are a steamed egg custard with spanner crab and XO sauce and the 5 spice quail.
What can diners expect when they eat at your restaurant and what makes the experience special?
Fook Shing is designed to share with small, medium and large courses. It is designed to be a fun way to eat whether with a couple or group…lots of food and well-matched flavours in the middle of the table.
What do you think COVID has taught restaurants and Chefs about their diners and the industry in general?
It was great to open again, the joy of watching people come together was incredible.
I think for the industry it has taught people whether it is business owners, patrons or employees that it is a privilege to be able to dine out and enjoy yourself and perhaps one that is taken for granted.
For employees and owners I think there is a better focus on work/life balance and ensuring employees are better looked after.
Tell us something no one knows about you?
I have recently become obsessed with carpentry, really obsessed, I want to build everything! I am, however quite scared of power tools!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
I obtained my Cert IV in training and assessing last year and will continue to study next year to complete a Cert IV in disability care. I plan to teach life skills to people with mental/physical disability.
I think cooking is such an important skill to have particularly for health and well-being and its fun. Most people find it daunting or a chore when it doesn’t have to be.
I’d love to be more involved in other facets of our industry also, wine making and front of house at my own business would be fun as I’ve always been in the kitchen.
Fook Shing
Grab your spyglass and follow the clues to find Fook Shing restaurant on Piper Street in Kyneton. This venue, named after an infamous Chinese detective posted to the region during Victoria's Gold Rush, celebrates all things Asian from hanging red lantern lights to exposed brick, polished wooden floors and red table settings. With numerous spaces for dining and drinking, including cosy fireplace settings on comfy couches and an alfresco deck for balmy days, take a seat beneath the portrait of Detective Shing and delve into vibrant and modern Southeast Asian cuisine, designed for sharing. Discover chilli squid, shaved wombok cabbage salad and black vinegar, before unearthing larger plates of slow-cooked lamb in spices and spinach sauce with steamed jasmine rice and Asian greens on the side.
