Turnip CheckIn #72 is Zackary Furst, head chef, Bar Liberty and winner of Good Food, Young Chef of the Year Award Victoria 2022.

Amenity waste; it’s a thing. We all chat about food waste in restaurants and cafes but what about amenity waste… Toilet paper, hand soaps, hand towels and/or dryers, do restaurant have access to  products that can help them cut down on amenity waste.

Baresop is a plant-based powder that, with the simple addition of water, makes a hand soap. It’s  delivered with a good looking bottle-to-keep in which to mix the foaming hand soap.

Last year, saw Megan Griffey and chef Jenna Abbruzzese, business partners and owners of Hawthorn cafe Our Kitchenette, make the permanent change from a cafe to retail and ready-made meals, online and in-store.

The pair have stocked the shop with fresh meals prepared by Jenna as well as beautiful tableware and ceramics, selected by Megan. The change has been embraced by  their regulars and broader community and their catering arm is going strong, so we checked in to see how they’re going as they reopened this week to kick off 2021.

Scarf Community partners with restaurants and other hospitality businesses to run Scarf Dinners and provide meaningful training, mentoring and paid work experience to their participants who are from refugee and migrant backgrounds. 

So what happened in this – their 10th year – when those restaurants and business had to shut due to COVID lockdowns? 

We checked in with Scarf Co-founder, Hannah Brennan to see how she’s going. Things are looking up and  there’s some magnificent merch available for purchase  to help support this dynamic organisation, thanks to a collaboration with Melbourne-based Ethiopian artist, Olana Janfa.

Victorian winemakers, Matt & Lentil Purbrick of Minimum Wines, have been in Italy for just about all of 2020,  making wines and getting their heads around the world we now find ourselves in.

We checked in to see how they’re going.

Michael and Christian Dal Zotto of Dal Zotto Wines in the King Valley are working through 2020 as best they can and slowly coming out the other side feeling strong.  The family-owned business and Australian Prosecco pioneers base the culture of their operation on their team and customers. So, while having to change the way they do business, they are also learning a helluva lot. One thing that hasn’t changed? Their people are everything. 

We checked in to see what’s happening.

Julian Hills,  chef and owner of award-winning Navi Restaurant in Yarraville is looking forward to welcoming diners back into his  small  dining room in November. 

Like everyone, he’s had a hard year trying to find balance, support his staff and find other revenue streams, including Navi Bakery that sold out every  weekend it was operating. 

We checked in to see how he’s going. 

Chef Paul Cooper is a doer. 

When restrictions set in earlier this year, the chef/owner of Bianchet Bistro and Providore in the Yarra Valley set about developing ideas he’d been considering for a while and he has established Yarra Valley Ketchup & Pies and Progress Food (a whole food meal business inspired by his own recovery after a bicycle accident six years ago). As  these both simmer away slowly, he’s also focussing on getting the Bistro and Providore back open to a hungry dining audience. 

We checked in to see how it’s all  going. 

Andrew and Mary White have owned and operated much-loved CBD cafe, Cafe e  Torta in the Royal Arcade for 20 years (this year!) as well as tea house, Royal St Collins. 

As plans to celebrate the 20 birthday had to be postponed in light of COVID-19, the couple are remaining positive and hoping – cautiously – for a bright future and a CBD buzzing once more. 

2020 has handed winemakers Tessa  Brown and Jeremy Schmölzer – of VIGNERONS SCHMÖLZER AND BROWN in Beechworth – an unusual combination of factors. 

They welcomed their second child – beautiful! – but the summer bushfires brought about the complete loss of their first significant crop from their own vineyard, and most of the other Beechworth and King Valley fruit they typically source. 

They were forced to secure a reduced harvest of parcels from other Victorian wine regions in early January. And then along came the cessation of on-premise sales due to the Covid-19 shutdowns in March. This benched probably 70% of their turnover and shifted our focus sharply to retail and website sales.

We thought we’d checkin to see how they’re going. 

As Mornington Peninsula is considered part of Melbourne Metro area, like us in the city, they’re only just seeing a little light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

We checked in with Karen Golding, who with her husband David (pictured), owns and operates the much-loved Red Hill Brewery. 

Coskun Uysal, chef and co-owner of award-winning restaurant Tulum in Balaclava has – like everyone in hospitality – had to question the intention and purpose of his business. It was bloody hard. He contemplated, and came up with a solution that’s working for him and his team, for now. But he does have plans to take Tulum back to its original focus when life and restrictions allow. 

Despite some health issues and a couple  of days in hospital, we checked in to see how he’s recovering. It’s all good, he’s readying himself for a positive future. 

Chef Paul Wilson and his wife Bec, moved to the Mornington Peninsula from Melbourne in 2019 to work with the team at Morgan’s Sorrento. Then along came 2020… 

We checked in with Paul who is adapting his life and the business to this new world we all find ourselves in. 

Despite also having to deal with sad news from the UK – where he grew up – he finds there’s still a lot to look forward to. 

Chef Alejandro Saravia, of Pastuso in Melbourne and UMA in Perth, planned to open his new venue, Farmers Daughters at 80 Collins St in early 2020…

We checked in with him to see what the plans are for the new venue and how he, his family and his teams are going.

We checked in with Mauro Callegari, chef/owner of The Independent in Gembrook who has received great support from his local community.

We spoke with MoVida co-owner and chef Frank Camorra a few days ago and after the announcements today of extended lockdown and gradual easing of restrictions, this is as relevant as ever. The challenges do keep coming, stay well Melbourne. 

Carlton’s Heart Attack & Vine, the small cafe/winebar/place we love is part of the Turnip Media family. It’a a local for us.

We’re missing them and thought we’d check in to see how co-owner Nathen Doyle and his team are going.

Popular Anglesea restaurant, Captain Moonlite closed in early March. It turned out to be a positive for owners, Chef Matt Germanchis and Gemma Gange who put their focus in their takeaway business Fish by Moonlite. We checked in to see how they’re going and how their lives have changed, for the better.

Chef Guy Grossi is a friend of Turnip Media. He and his family have poured so much energy and culture into Melbourne’s dining scene at Grossi Florentino, The Grill, The Cellar Bar, Ombra and Arlechin, we had to check in and see how he’s going and find out more about is delivery and takeaway business, Grossi a Casa. 

Award-winning winemaker, Steve Flamsteed, head winemaker of Yarra Valley’s Giant Steps and his own label – Salo – has kept his team busy with pruning and replanting in anticipation of the next vintage. 

We checked in to chat about what he’s missing, what’s he enjoying and what he’s learned during COVID. 

Vegetable farmers, Oliver and Lisa Shorthouse were hospitality professionals for years – Oliver was General Manager of Andrew McConnell’s restaurant group (now known as The Trader House Restaurants ) and Lisa was Andrew’s PA – before they moved to the Dandenong Ranges to establish Ramarro Farm. They grow a diverse range of fresh produce and the industry was the bulk of their business, until March, so we’ve checked in to see how they’re going.

Mass gatherings, events, festivals…what will they look like in a post-COVID-19 world? We chat to Vanessa Briody and Kate Kirkpatrick, Directors of award-winning annual Grampians Grape Escape to get a snapshot of what they’re managing, at the moment and into the future.

Chef Tracey Lister opened Brunswick Kitchen in late 2019 with its core aim to be a cooking school.  All that changed with the pandemic, so we checked in to see what’s been happening in her world.

Greg and Jodi Clarke – of Great Ocean Ducks – farm free-range Aylesbury ducks on their 16-hectare property overlooking Port Campbell, near the Twelve Apostles and Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. They supplied many leading restaurants pre-COVID-19 and have had to shift their business model (yep, trying to avoid the word ‘pivot’ 😉 ) to keep selling their delicious duck meat. We checked in with Jodi to see how they’re going.

Ordering alcohol online has boomed during COVID-19 lockdowns but wine and drinks retailers thrive on tastings and getting people into their shops to talk booze.

We checked in with Alex Wilcox (pictured right with business partner Michael McNamara) – one half of Prince Wine Store – to see how they’re finding the balance of retail, online sales and their wine bar, Bellota.

Patrick Walsh, publican of Fitzroy’s Commercial Club Hotel since 2006, is leading his team and community during the Melbourne lockdown. Like all hospitality businesses, the popular pub has taken a hit but he’s got his team helping around the historic building (its original incarnation established in  the 1850’s) and is selling conversation-stopping sausage rolls every Friday.

Melissa Brauer – aka The Prosecco Queen – managed to hold her annual Prosecco Festival in February before lockdown happened in March.

She  has started online Prosecco classes (I can recommend them) and is launching a new delivery business, Oyster + Wine Co. We checked in to see how she’s going.

The Community Grocer operates ‘weekly affordable fresh food markets to support healthy connected communities’ across Melbourne.

With the Grocer’s profile and importance growing – especially during the pandemic – the group’s founder, Russell Shields (left), was instrumental in coordinating fresh food deliveries earlier this week to the towers in lockdown in inner-Melbourne.
We checked in to see how he and his team are going.

We checked in with Andrew Joy (right in picture with business partner Travis Howe ), co-owner of Carlton Wine Room. He and his business partners made a swift decision to close their popular Drummond Street venue when lockdown first kicked in and stay on their own path.
They’ve reopened with a fresh perspective and Andrew has an even greater love for what he does.

As a gin distiller who was – almost – only available through the hospo industry, Anther Gin lost most of their sales overnight when COVID-19 kicked in.

They didn’t let that stop them. They’ve opened their ‘forever home’ in Geelong and have diversified the way they get their gin into our hands (and it’s a bloody good gin ). We checked in Anther’s Founders, Sebastian Reaburn, Dervilla McGowan and their team.

She’s one of  the city’s favourite chefs and pivoted South Melbourne wine bar, Bellota – the venue where she is head chef – in a matter of days (or was it hours…) to create a strong takeaway and delivery option. The meals are offered through sibling-business Prince Wine Store.

We checked in with chef Nicky Riemer. 

(disclaimer: I work with PWS and Beaune & Beyond). 

Co-owner of The Builders Arms in Fitzroy and The Victoria Hotel, Footscray, Anthony Hammond grew up in pubs, they’re in his blood. 

So, we thought we’d check in with him to see how he feels about the future of pub culture… 

Johnathon Davey is the Executive Director of Seafood Industry Victoria (SIV). The seafood industry was bitten by the COVID-19 restrictions early in 2020 when exports to China were cancelled overnight. We had a chat to him about where the industry has been and where he sees it going. The common message – ask for local seafood – enjoy it, cook it, eat it.

Hospo CheckIn continues…Mark Protheroe, who with business partners, Joe Durrant and Steven Nelson, co-owns North Fitzroy’s The Recreation and The Paradise Valley Hotel  in Clematis, had a chat to us about their swift move into The Rec Delivered across the businesses. 

Entrepreneur Kate Stewart – formerly a co-founder of En Pointe Events – continues to move forward. Her experience during COVID-19 has significantly changed her working life and she’s loving it. We checked in to find out more.

Like all hospitality folk, Kate Bartholomew, co-owner of CBD restaurants, Coda and Tonka, has been on one helluva ride in the last few weeks. A speedy pivot has created a strong takeaway offering  but there’s the ongoing conversation about international workers and the lack of support they are experiencing from the Government. We checked in with Kate to see how she and her teams are going. 

In many conversations we’ve had recently about where you’ll go first for a drink and a chat when ‘this is all over’, the name that comes up again and again is, Gerald’s Bar, the North Carlton home-away-from-home for so many.

So, we thought we’d check-in with the man himself to see where he and his team are at.

Thanks Gerald Diffey. 

Almay Jordaan, chef and co-owner of Fitzroy North’s Neighbourhood Wine and Old Palm Liquor in Brunswick East hasn’t stopped. Like so many other hospo businesses, she’s done the pivot, kept learning and is now getting ready to welcome diners from June 2. We thought we’d check in to see how she and her teams are doing. 

Gilles Lapalus and Shaun Byrne, the boys behind Maidenii Vermouth, ‘mothballed’ everything as soon as COVID-19 restrictions started to kick in. They stood back, cleaned out their library of botanicals and slowly developed a hand sanitiser (that smells beautiful). 

We checked in to see how they’re going.

While developing an addiction to the Khao Jee Pate served on weekends at Richmond’s Anchovy,  I also checked in with the restaurants owners, Jia-Yen Lee and chef Thi Le on how they’re planning their next steps.

Michael Bascetta is the co-owner of Fitzroy’s Bar Liberty, Capitano in Carlton, Falco Bakery in Collingwood and well as the co-founder of Worksmith.

We checked in with him a few days before restaurant restrictions eased and followed up this week to see how it’s going in the ‘slightly open’ world of dining.

Restaurants and cafes aren’t opening yet, so we checked in with Dave Verheul from Embla and Lesa in the CBD to see how he’s doing and where he’s been ordering… 

Mount Zero Olives in the Grampians lost 70% of their business  when COVID-19 restrictions kicked in. That’s the percentage of their business that they supply to restaurants of their award-winning olive oil, olives, pulses and salts. 

So, we checked in with general manager, Richard Seymour, to see how they’re all going.

Queensland lifted their restaurant restrictions yesterday, with 10 people at a time allowed in a dining space. So, we had a chat to Jake Nicolson, executive chef of the Ghanem Group in Brisbane who own and operate Donna Chang, Blackbird, Byblos (one in Brisbane and one in Melbourne) and Lord of the Wings. 

We checked in with Simon Blacher, a director of Commune Group who operate Hanoi Hannah, Tokyo Tina, Neptune and Firebird – all in Windsor – among other venues. Like everyone, what a ride they’ve been on, including opening a restaurant two and a half weeks before lockdown was announced…

June has them excited and, an aside, Simon is also talking to me on the next edition of What’s Next?, in collaboration with Worksmith next Tuesday. 

Long a respected and hardworking figure in the Melbourne hospo world, Angie Giannakodakis
co-owner of Epocha in Carlton and Camberwell’s Elyros had a chat to us about where she and her teams are at, at the moment.

Menu Community Kitchen Kind Edible Futures Hospo Check-in Turnip Table Clients Contact Mike Baker and Daniel Mason Henry Sugar Bar – Carlton North We checked

Menu Community Kitchen Kind Edible Futures Hospo Check-in Turnip Table Clients Contact Shane Delia Maha Group The first Hospo CheckIn was on March 21, the