SAMANTHA MEDEIROS
ROCCO’S BOLOGNA DISCOTECA, VIC
Women in hospitality are on the up. We chat to the new head chef helming one of Fitzroy’s trendiest trattorias.
Can you share any new dishes set to appear on the menu?
We have a rotating house soft serve flavour. It’s easy, fun to play around with and the best place to sneak in a bit of nostalgia. I started off with a chocolate s’mores flavour as I missed Canadian summers around a campfire, but keep an eye out because soon we’ll be bringing back an Australian childhood classic.
Do you have a favourite dish? Many, but my favourite would be mussels with tomato and ’nduja butter. I love how simple it is and how you can taste every ingredient. From the sauce made with ’nduja, tomatoes and butter to the simple drizzle of basil oil at the end and toastiness of the sourdough on the side. It’s the perfect combination of cream and spice with a hint of herbs.
How have your experiences as a chef in other countries influenced your cooking? Travel is where I find inspiration. Whenever I feel stuck trying to come up with a dish or find a missing piece to a recipe, I start by bringing different flavours and cuisines together. Who says you can’t have an Italian dish with flavour accents from Greece, or even Peru?
What are some techniques you’ve learned along the way? Seasoning. I’ve always seasoned food with either classic French (butter, shallots, cream, chives) or Italian (olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic) flavours, but working in global kitchens opened my eyes to other flavour pairings. For example, I’d never really cooked with white pepper before, but in Vietnamese and Cantonese cooking it’s used more frequently than black pepper. Finding different ways to use such a delicious ingredient was surprising and wonderful. It’d be a missed opportunity to only stay in one lane when there’s a world of flavours waiting to be combined.