A chef for all seasons
Bondi resident and celebrity chef Pete Evans is a busy man. Since establishing his first restaurant in 1993, the Melbourne-born entrepreneur has expanded his empire to include cookbooks, TV shows, a premium sauce range and now, ambassador for Australian mangoes.
“For me, mangoes are synonymous with summer,” says Evans. “The smell of a ripened mango brings back childhood memories of hot summer days.”
Between releasing his new canapé and cocktail book, My Party, teaching pizza classes at his world-famous Hugo’s Bar in Kings Cross, and cooking for everyone from Princess Mary to his young daughters, Evans juggles various commitments with mind-boggling efficiency.
“I’m very organised,” he chuckles. “I have a strong and talented team plus over 200 staff in my restaurants that work very hard.”
But he still finds time to indulge in the spoils of Bondi life. “I love living in Bondi, doing simple things like surfing and snorkelling…I actually have a ‘tinnie’ tied up in North Bondi,” he says.
Long before he became a celebrity, the self-confessed fishing junkie laboured in the kitchen of his first restaurant for over 100 hours a week striving to create great food.
His success is due to his larrikin charm and down-to earth approach to cooking as well as his astute understanding of why he is there.
“Being a chef is about teaching,” says Evans.
“I’m fortunate to have an outlet for passing on everything I have learnt and still learn, hopefully in an inspirational and no fuss way. Being a ‘celebrity chef’ gives me the opportunity to teach the public through cookbooks, magazines, television and real life.”
So is there rivalry between the current crop of Australian celebrity chefs?
“Not at all, I have a lot of respect for anyone who has worked in a commercial kitchen. We know the blood, sweat and tears it takes to get to where we are,” he says. “I’m actually catching up with Manu [fellow chef and co-judge on My Kitchen Rules, Manu Fidel] for a couple of beers tonight.”
Evans says food has become central to Australian culture, as a source of comfort and enjoyment as well as a social experience.
“Cooking is constantly evolving; it has really come a long way in this country in the last 20 years. We are lucky in that we have taken influences from all over the world and put them into one big melting pot,” he says.
“For someone to cook something and have their friends family remark, ‘wow that was the best thing I’ve ever eaten’ is a good feeling.
“I am truly honoured if one person adds just one of my recipes to their repertoire; then I know I have done my job as a chef.”
Evans encourages people to submit their recipes to his website and give feedback on the recipes in his books.
“One fan actually sent her Italian polenta recipe to me and it was so good I asked permission to include it in my book,” he reveals.
