Discover famous chefs’ favourite ingredients. From French butter to chocolate, these are the five must-haves that cooking pros keep on hand.
When it comes to cooking, it makes sense to follow in the footsteps of professional chefs. Not only do they have years of experience to back them up, but they also possess unique talents for blending taste and texture.
But while their skills may lie in their ability to experiment, you might be surprised to hear that most chefs have a few staples on rotation that they turn to time and time again.
Curious to find out exactly what these staples are, we caught up with a few chefs to learn more about their 'essential ingredients'. Get ready to stock your pantry!
Famous Chefs' favourite ingredients
Who: Jane Dunn is the face behind the popular baking blog, Jane’s Patisserie. Jane started her blog whilst completing her Culinary Arts Diploma, but finding it hard to balance her course and blogging, she put it on pause until she finished her studies. After going all-in with blogging in 2018, Jane has since amassed more than 1.5 million followers across her social channels, with over 60 million visitors browsing her blog each year. Jane has also written a few cookbooks, Jane’s Patisserie and Jane’s Patisserie: Celebrate!
Jane’s Essential Ingredients: ‘Butter, eggs, flour, sugar and CHOCOLATE!!!’
Who: Matt Preston is an award-winning food journalist, presenter, and TV personality perhaps best known for his 11 seasons on MasterChef Australia. To say that Matt knows a lot about food would be an understatement. As a senior editor at delicious and Taste magazines, his food knowledge far exceeds the average Australian's. Luckily for us all, Matt regularly contributes recipes to taste.com.au and has written and compiled some of his best recipes into Matt Preston’s World of Flavour.
Matt’s essential ingredients: ‘Parmesan, lemon, feta, bacon and leeks or spring onions are the most used. But it would be a lie to suggest that I don’t always have at least 600 ingredients on hand at home whether in the fridge, the freezer, the pantry or the garden!!!’
Who: Rodney Dunn’s food story seems to have come full circle. He grew up on a rural farm in New South Wales, and after a stint in Sydney, he is once again back on the farm – albeit this time in Tasmania. Rodney’s culinary career began as an apprentice chef under the esteemed Tetsuya Wakuda. After his apprenticeship, he transitioned into food media where he developed recipes for Australia’s biggest food magazines. In 2007, Rodney left the big city to establish The Agrarian Kitchen in Tasmania, a farm-based cooking school where he has a hand in everything from growing vegetables to keeping honey bees. If you can’t make it to Tasmania, you can still experience Rodney’s wisdom from his cookbook The Agrarian Kitchen.
Rodney’s essential ingredients: ‘Canned tomatoes, pasta, bread, red wine vinegar, butter.’
Who: You might know Scott Pickett from his iconic Melbourne restaurants, Estelle and Matilda. After completing his culinary training in South Australia, Scott moved to Europe where he honed his skills in some of London’s most reputable Michelin-starred kitchens. To experience this talented chef’s brilliant flavour combos for yourself, we suggest picking up his book Marriage of Flavours.
Scott’s essential ingredients: ‘Flaky sea salt, good quality olive oil, garlic, French butter, lemon.’
Who: When you hear the name Tobie Puttock, odds are you think of Italian food. He first fell in love with Italian cuisine while working at the Melbourne restaurant Caffe e Cucina, and the rest is history. After cheffing his way across Europe – which included a stint alongside Jamie Oliver – Tobie made his way back to Melbourne. Since then, Tobie has featured in several TV series, published multiple books, started his own YouTube channel and even created a line of ready-made, single-serve meals that focus on health for people and the planet alike. If you want to get a sense of his abililty to make plant-based cooking delicious, we recommend checking out his cookbook SuperNatural.
Tobie’s essential ingredients: 'Excellent quality olive oil, Malden salt, good butter, garlic and fresh herbs.'
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In honour of the Australian release of her latest book, Jane's Patisserie: Celebrate!, we caught up with Jane Dunn. Learn about her most-used ingredient, favourite food memory and more.
We chatted with Rodney Dunn to get some cooking advice! Discover his 5 essential ingredients, read about his favourite food memory and more in this Q&A.
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