Neil Perry - Rockpool

“As a chef and restaurateur, my food philosophy is simple…“ the cornerstone of good cooking is to source the finest produce”.

This is the unwavering philosophy that has driven Rockpool for over twenty years.

We are cooks living in the modern world and as such, are constantly exposed to new techniques, equipment and products. We share ideas and in turn are inspired by all the great cooks of the world.

We gather all the influences the modern cook lives with and turn them into the ever evolving Rockpool menu.

Our only unbreakable rule is that in the end, the food we cook must be delicious first and foremost, because at Rockpool, taste and texture have always been the ultimate goal.

That…in a nut shell…is what drives me on a daily basis, and drives all my chefs, and my managers…all the staff at my 4 restaurants.

When I am not in one of my kitchens, I can often be found sitting at my desk…looking at food costs and wages, writing columns for magazines and newspapers…or as is the case right now, putting pen to paper (as such) for my latest book. I don’t know if I can call this one a cookbook – sure, there will be lots of beautiful recipes, but this one is much more. This is very much about the process of setting up and running restaurants – the good and bad times, tears and laughter behind setting up the restaurant in Melbourne 4 years ago and the consequent opening of Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney. There are stories about the design, the cost mechanics and systems involved, stories from my managers and chefs and business partners….and most wonderful of all…stories from my suppliers and the truly wonderful producers out there that play such an important role in Rockpool today.

Back in late March…we had been locked in the restaurant for a week shooting a tonne of the food shots…then we hit the road to do the really fun stuff…shoot the producers! Sadly for me, I had last minute business back at the mothership and I missed the fun. Earl Carter – photographer extraordinaire was out there though….running around Northern NSW having ALL the fun – chickens at Burrawang, cows at Rangers Valley…and the wonderful Lee and her adorable pigs at Melanda Park Free Range Pork. The photos I have since seen show just how passionate Lee is about her pigs.   Earl’s photos tell the story just perfectly, and I would love to share one with you now, but you will instead have to wait till 2011 to read the book – with a  story from Lee at Melanda Park, and lots of great photos to back it up.

Happy reading!

Neil Perry

Justin North  -  Becasse

"Our philosophy at Becasse is to source the best possible produce available in Australia.

We also work with local farmers and growers who share a similar passion and commitment to ours and  also embrace sustainable, organic or ethical farming practices.  

Lee McCosker is a advocator of true pork farming, producing in my mind not only some of the healthiest pigs around but also the best tasting.  

Lee's commitment to farming rare breed Cornish Blacks in a completely free range environment results in a marvellous marbling pork, great fat coverage, tremendous depth of flavour and a wonderful succulent product that to me is unrivalled. She achieves all this by not using growth promoters, chemicals or moisture infusion.  

To me this is how pig farming should be."