Can you describe your perfect day off?
It would start at home, pottering around and making breakfast. Just Vegemite toast, something really simple with coffee. And then we’d probably go to Heide Gallery to see what's on. Sometimes we just go there and don't even see a show, we just walk around the grounds, which is really nice.
And then on the way home, we’d pick some lunch up from Boccaccio Cellars, an awesome supermarket in Kew. We’d get some fresh goods and make sandwiches at home and then spend the rest of the day in the garden and cooking. Ideally one of Francis's friends would come around and they could play together (because otherwise, he’d be annoying me). So, yeah, a very simple day because we like just being at home.
Food is obviously a big part of Food For Everyone. Have you always loved to cook?
Yes. My mum taught us to cook at a really young age because both my parents worked a lot. So, she taught us the basics like spaghetti bolognese, how to cook your own two-minute noodles, how to be safe with hot water, that kind of thing. I think she taught us without us knowing. So we always knew how to cook and sometimes I'd cook for my older brothers.
I've always enjoyed cooking. I still use Mum's spaghetti bolognese recipe. If we ever have the family over, that's what we'll cook. Just spaghetti bolognese, a big pot in the middle of the table, people can just serve themselves, nothing fancy. I don't think cooking should be stressful. I hate it if I go to someone's house and they're stressing over what to make me because I would never make them something fancy. I'd just make them something really easy. I think it’s more about just getting together.
Has doing Food for Everyone and engaging with so many chefs and cooks and recipes changed the way you cook?
That's a good question. No, it hasn't. In fact, I feel like I've gotten worse since knowing all these people! It has made me want to try to cook different cuisines and step outside of the box. But because we're so time poor with a little kid who doesn't eat anything, we sort of have to go back to basics. But one day, one day there’ll be more time for adventure.
Who or what inspires you and feeds your creativity?
Other artists really inspire me. Having a day outside of my house and studio and going to galleries around the city and talking to other artists is really inspiring. Travelling as well, and seeing new landscapes. If you're in your own cocoon, there’s only so far you can go.
What are the values that drive what you do with Food For Everyone?
With everything we do, we just want to bring joy. So if it doesn't bring joy, we don't do it. Food brings people joy and so does art. We try to keep it as simple as possible, and just work to bring people joy.
Partnering with SecondBite is an important part of what we do, too. I love working with them because they have the resources to make such a powerful impact. One of their key things is nutritional food – if the team wouldn’t feed a meal to their own family or eat it themselves, they won't give it away to people in need. I love that way of thinking.
SecondBite give a lot of their food to smaller charities, like the women's refuge or the Salvos in the city. They also work on a national level, sending food when there’s a disaster. When there were floods in Queensland, for example, they were sending up meals to the Red Cross who were on foot helping people affected. And SecondBite also have a First Nations arm, where they support local communities in rural areas with food. They’re really great, and very passionate about the work they’re doing.
