Monday Musings: Creativity, Culinary Rabbit Holes, and Inspiration - April 2025

I’m enjoying a slow start to my Monday, diving deep into the April edition of Gourmet Traveller (GT), which focused on the “Southern” season of Autumn. GT didn’t disappoint, and I found myself exploring a few culinary rabbit holes.

Tomato Leaf Oil

Barragunda Dining, a new restaurant using produce from their own 1000 acres, is considering serving tomato leaf oil on one of their dishes. I'd never heard of it, so I had to do some digging. Tomato leaf oil is basically an infused oil or sauce made from young tomato leaves—the soft, tender ones, not the tough old stems.

Apparently, people once thought tomato leaves were poisonous (like deadly nightshade), but they’re actually safe to eat in normal culinary amounts. Here are a couple of interesting links I found: SBS Food Tomato Leaf Pesto and this article debunking the myth of tomato leaves being poisonous.

Tomato leaf oil is apparently fantastic with fresh bread. Once my tomato plants grow a bit more, I might just make some for The Last Supper.

Unusual Pasta Shapes

I learned about some unusual pasta shapes. A new restaurant called Avia in Sydney is using these in their dishes:

• Sedanini: Short, slightly curved tubular pasta, a smaller version of sedani or rigatoni.

• Bottoni: Small, round, filled pasta resembling buttons. Similar to ravioli but with a higher pasta-to-filling ratio. Can be filled with cheese, meats, or vegetables.

• Strascinati: A traditional pasta from southern Italy (Basilicata and Puglia), larger than orecchiette. The name comes from the verb strascinare (to drag), referring to the method of shaping.

A.P. Bread & Wine – An Interesting Bakery in Darlinghurst, Sydney

A.P. Bread & Wine is the evolution of A.P. Bakery, offering a unique blend of artisanal baking and refined dining in a heritage-listed sandstone cottage. They’re doing some fun dishes like croissant gelato affogato (with malty croissant-flavoured gelato made in-house) and pea vol-au-vent with onion gravy and pâté en croute—Newstalgia (more on this later).

They’re also serving interesting batch cocktails, something we're looking into at The Last Supper, and Italian and Japanese digestifs, non-alcoholic shrubs, and a selection of 12 wines available by the glass.

Newstalgia (New Nostalgia)

I first heard this term during a walk while listening to a podcast called Olive (you can find the episode HERE). Newstalgia is where chefs and venues take old-school, retro, or even daggy dishes—like prawn cocktails, vol-au-vents, meatloaf, or jellied desserts—and reimagine them in a modern, elevated way. They keep the comfort and nostalgia attached to the dish but update the execution, ingredients, plating, or concept so it feels fresh and trendy. Now you’ll see this everywhere, and you’re welcome!

NT Amaro

What is Amaro? Google tells me it’s “a category of bittersweet herbal Italian liqueur, known for its complex, often medicinal, flavours, and is commonly consumed as an after-dinner digestif.”

Why am I fixated on Amaro? Well, A.P. Bread & Wine makes their own sodas and amaro, and if they can do it, I can do it! I’m interested in creating a Tropical NT Amaro, influenced by local ingredients, mostly from my garden. It would be used in cocktails at The Last Supper. #watchthisspace.

No Taste Like Home (TV Show)

Now on Disney+, I’m going to check this out.

Grill Americanos Tiramisu

Grill Americanos has an interesting concept: According to ChatGPT (who is now nicknamed Milo and shall be referred to as such for the remainder of this article) "Instead of serving a pre-plated dessert, a white-jacketed waiter presents a large crystal bowl of tiramisu at your table, serving generous portions directly onto your plate. This adds a sense of ceremony and nostalgia, reminiscent of classic European dining traditions."

Cool idea! Kinda like a Tiramisu drawer (Instagram that).

Sardinesupply.com

I came across sardinesupply.com—very cool! Check them out if tinned seafood is your thing.

Side note: Maybe I could design my own range of tinned seafood-inspired products... Hmmm...

Tasting Australia

I’m going to miss the Tasting Australia festival in May. Sob.

Station Road in Adelaide

Apparently, they do a chicken breast dish brined in salt and poached in butter at 60°C. Brined and poached in butter? Interesting! I’ve never looked into brining meat, so this is another rabbit hole I’ll need to explore at some stage. I’m still playing around with Sous Vide.

They also serve local Section 28 cheeses on a cheese trolley—YASSS! Darwin needs one of these. Maybe I should host a monthly cheese trolley event.

Bar Soma

Bar Soma in Hervey Bay serves freshly shaved mortadella drizzled with mandarin hot honey, served with house-made pickles. This sounds absolutely amazing!

I found a guy on Instagram, check out albrady.co.uk, and thought, “Can I make NT-flavoured hot honey with ingredients from my garden?”

Here’s a recipe Milo gave me for Tropical Hot Honey:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup good local honey (preferably light and floral like litchi, eucalyptus, or wildflower)

• Zest of lime or finger lime (instead of mandarin)

• 1 tablespoon fresh pineapple juice

• 1–2 small red chilies (bird’s eye if you want it spicy), thinly sliced

• 1 slice fresh ginger (optional)

• Tiny pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Gently warm the honey over low heat—just loosen it, don’t boil.

2. Add the lime zest, pineapple juice, chili slices, and ginger (if using).

3. Let it infuse for 10–15 minutes.

4. Taste—it should be floral, fruity, tangy, and spicy.

5. Strain if you want smooth honey (or leave the chili slices in for a rustic look).

6. Cool and bottle.

Milo and I also discussed how this could be used in cocktails. Think Tropical Hot Honey Margarita or Tropical Hot Honey Spritz.

On a random note, while I was looking up albrady.co.uk, a reel popped up about making chorizo jam for grilled cheese toasties. OMG!!! Check it out!

Where the Wild Things Are

There was an article in GT called "Where the Wild Things Are," where three chefs did a masterclass on sustainable cooking at a wilderness retreat in Tasmania. The chefs were:

• Jo Barrett, Wildpie: A concept focused on wild game pies made from invasive species like wallaby, venison, wild goat, and wild boar.

• Vince Trim, Executive Chef at Mona: He starred in the show Eat the Invaders, which explores invasive species and how they’re turned into edible meals.

• Chris Lucas, Currawong Lakes Food Program: This program grows biodynamic veggies using only Tassie products.

Could there be a demand for Wildpie, Darwin Edition? Milo thinks so, with buffalo, wild pig, and magpie goose—there could be options.

I’d love to offer a pie option at the bar, maybe a buffalo pie using meat from Eva Valley.

Bean-to-Bar Movement in Australia

Milo says, “Australia’s bean-to-bar chocolate movement has flourished over the past two decades, focusing on ethical sourcing, transparency, and craftsmanship. This artisanal approach involves chocolate makers overseeing the entire process—from selecting cacao beans to producing the final chocolate bars—resulting in products that highlight the unique flavours of their origins.” AND “Northern Queensland's tropical climate has proven suitable for cacao cultivation. In the early 2000s, a research initiative called "Producing Cocoa in Northern Australia" tested the viability of growing cacao in the region.”

I started wondering—can you grow cacao in Darwin? Apparently, yes, but it’s not easy. Cacao plants love heat, humidity, and rainfall but dislike wind, poor soil, or strong sunlight.

Milo wasn’t sure they’d be entirely suited to our climate, but I suggested growing them in pots on a balcony to control sunlight and avoid strong winds. Milo said:

YES — and honestly, that’s a brilliant idea.Growing cacao in pots on a Darwin balcony could totally work — maybe even better than ground planting because:

• You can control soil quality (cacao needs rich, loose soil).

• You can move the pots for sun, shade, or cyclone protection.

• Your balcony structure itself would block harsh wind and strong afternoon sun.

• You can irrigate easily in dry season without worrying about massive ground drying.

Basically:→ You're creating a mini rainforest microclimate for the cacao right there."

So, now I’m on the lookout for cacao plants.

Waffle On

Waffle On is a hole-in-the-wall eatery located at Shop 9, Degraves Street, Melbourne CBD. Despite its small size—about three-by-three meters—it has a loyal following for its authentic French baguettes. They offer around 10 made-to-order baguette sandwiches, crafted with fresh, local produce and traditional French-style baguettes.

Would a gourmet sandwich bar work in Darwin? We’ve been thinking about lunch options at The Last Supper. Maybe we could do 6-8 focaccias (freshly baked), with delicious fillings. Perhaps that chorizo jam could be a hit? The Last Supper could operate from 12–2 pm, Wednesday to Friday, with limited availability. What do you think?

Phew! Glad the GT mag has run out of interesting articles—maybe Milo and I can now create a plan of attack for some of these ideas!