With more and more pop-up restaurants in the Northern Rivers offering an alternative approach to dining, Paula Hagiefremidis talked to some of the leading pop-up chefs in the area.
Whether it’s an honest, hearty feast from popular Argentinian chef Francisco Smoje; the refined and complex style offered by the inspiring team at 100 Mile Table, or the relaxed café approach provided by Forage and Graze in the hills of Federal, diners are spoilt for choice these days if popping out to a pop-up is their thing.
Though the inspiration defining each meal is unique to the chef hosting it, there are similarities about what motivates their decision to provide the pop-up experience – the most commonly held view being, of course, that it’s an opportunity to showcase the best of what the local area has to offer through the exceptional quality of the local produce.
A visit to the home of chef Francisco Smoje (franciscosfood) leads me through the lush green valley of Myocum. His home is hidden from the main road by towering palm trees. In his absence I have the company of a meandering chicken and a chorus of sporadic birdcalls. When he arrives he explains he’s late because there was the chance of a rare breakfast opportunity at his favoured Rock & Roll café.
Tomatoes by Franciso: lovingly prepared local produce creates the backbone of the pop-up menus
Smoje begins to explain the process of preparing a pop-up dinner. “For me menu ideas can be triggered by a single spice, dish, fruit at the market, or a browse through a recipe book,” he says. “Sometimes I might get the urge to recreate food from my childhood. Whatever influence it is will create the concept for the entire dinner. A particular fruit might inspire a dessert and then that hook will come influence the other courses.” His overall aim is to create a well-considered, harmonized menu.
Smoje has created over fifty dinners in the past two years, and these bi-monthly events serve to demonstrate Smoje’s flair at offering strangers the chance to connect, in an environment that encourages interaction through the communal sharing of the dishes on the table. It also gives him the flexibility of spending more time with producers and sourcing ingredients for upcoming dinners – a freedom that limits restaurateurs with a fixed address. “I can give myself the pleasure of spending Tuesday afternoon breaking meat with the guy who raised the animal that’s going to sell the meat to me,” he says.
Francisco Smoje explaining his meal at one of his pop-up experiences at Coorabell Hall
Another advantage of communal dining is getting to know strangers over the meal, and according to Smoje, new connections often continue conversations long after the dinner is over, summarizing his view that: “sharing food with other human beings is a marvelous experience”.
At 100 Mile Table, (100miletable) Jeremy Burn and Sarah Swan have recently converted a warehouse space in the industrial estate into a permanent address. Swan, originally from New Zealand, has been a chef for over 25 years, working with some of Sydney’s most iconic restaurants, including The Bayswater Brasserie, The Bather’s Pavilion and the Rockpool Group. Burn has worked extensively with vineyards and wine brands in New Zealand – they met in 2000 and talked of creating something together, and when Swan had got 100 Mile Table off the ground, it was an ideal time for Burn to move to Byron Bay with his family and join the operation.
100 Mile Table chef Sarah Swan and manager Jeremy Burne
“If you have the work ethic, then you have the work ethic. When you start as a chef, you continue as a chef. You have to enjoy people, you have to enjoy hard work. That’s why we’re in it. There’s no real difference working in this situation or working in a restaurant like Rockpool…” – 100 Mile Table chef Sarah Swan
Their multi-purpose residence functions as the engine room, operating as a weekday café, while simultaneously providing a base to house their equipment with the ever increasing demand of weekend catering events, and more recently becoming an established site to host pop-up dinners. It’s a chance to prepare a menu determined by the seasons and what is inspiring their palette at the time – a creative luxury often limited with catering jobs that are typically governed by the clients requirements. “Given the name – 100 mile table – we’re big on sourcing local food and sharing that with others,” says Burne. “For us the dinners are a chance to showcase all our amazing local producers.”
100 Mile Table – showcasing local produce
When Forage and Graze owners (forageandgraze) Campbell Rowe and his partner Rachel were invited by a member of the Federal Hall to start a pop-up concept, they never imagined the community demand would be so great. Coupled with their event GRACE, held every four to six months in the old Federal Church with inspired banquet dining and with live music, the team are turning the sleepy hinterland town of Federal into a popular dining destination. Rachel believes it’s partly the locale that is the reason for their success, with their hall events easily reaching the maximum of 150. “Residents of the hinterland don’t always want to drive to Byron, Mullum, Bangalow or Lismore to eat but we like to eat out like everyone else,” says Rachel.
Foraging and grazing with Federal’s Forage and Graze
Their approach serves to create an inclusive experience for the local community. Despite having an already established presence in the hinterland region through a host of side projects Forage and Graze are involved with, Rachel is still surprised at the number of new faces who make an appearance at the dinners – all wanting to participate in a unique experience.
A side-effect of the pop-up phenomenon is that inspired by the dinners themselves, regular patrons have taken to starting their own pop-ups. With the concept becoming a more popular way to dine, we’re fortunate in this area to have a wide variety of creative people all employing innovative ideas that can find us heading to the hills of the hinterland, the alternating venue of a hall or the fixed location of a warehouse for special dining experiences. As Smoje says: “All the dinners are unique because they’re created by different individuals. It’s best to do what comes naturally to you.”
