Australia’s culinary landscape is as diverse as its geography, boasting a rich tapestry of flavours and traditions. Renowned for his innovative approach and commitment to pushing culinary boundaries, Chef Peter Smit has carved a unique niche. “My style is to do with woodfire cooking and whole animal butchery. I use a lot of pickling and fermenting in my cooking to help balance a dish,” he highlights. The chef is here in Mumbai’s Woodside Inn to host a unique and immersive ‘Secret Supper Club’.
Secret Supper Club By Chef Peter Smit
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Chef Peter Smit, originally from Queensland, Australia, discovered his love of cooking while trying to impress a high school sweetheart, which was immediately followed by his first professional kitchen experience at a fish and chip business in his hometown of Toowoomba. “This was 22 years ago. No doubt it was a terrible failure but it was still fun and was the starting point for me to become a chef,” he recalls.
Chef Peter’s skills have been polished in kitchens all around Australia, New Zealand, England, and Singapore, and he remains steadfastly committed to achieving harmony in tastes with equal proportions of respect and innovation.
The menus at Dirty Supper and Underdog Inn in Australia demonstrate Chef Peter’s excellent utilisation of fresh products and experimental masterminding. His contribution to the Meat and Livestock Australia Ambassador programme would highlight Australian lamb as a versatile animal that can be utilised from nose to tail, wasting no part of the high-quality meat available to everyone. “What keeps me being a chef now is the feeling of being able to create something out of raw ingredients and to have people enjoy what we do hopefully,” he adds.
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Underdog Inn, which opened in 2022, has enticed curious diners away from the city’s more formal dining rooms with its eccentric cuisine such as house-made sausages, smoked bull neck, lamb tartare, and pig skull croquettes with apple ketchup. Bandra’s Woodside Inn gears to host the third Ardbeg Secret Supper Club. Smit will prepare a menu of flame-kissed meats matched with the smoky, peaty smells of Ardbeg’s Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
Curly Tales caught up with Chef Peter to understand his uncomplicated cooking style and authentic flavours from the ingredients:
Can you describe your overall culinary philosophy and how it has evolved over the years?
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Chef Peter Smit: Culinary Philosophy for me, I just want to create tasty and approachable food.
How would you describe your culinary style, and are there specific flavours or techniques that define your cooking?
I guess my style is to do with woodfire cooking and whole animal butchery. I use a lot of pickling and fermenting in my cooking to help balance a dish.
Are there any unique challenges or advantages to working with Australian produce in your culinary creations?
Personally, living and having my restaurant in Singapore means that the main challenge is that there isn’t so much amazing produce. The joy of Australia, being relatively close, is that we can get actual seasonal food from there at any time.
Also read: 15 Hot New Menus To Check Out Mumbai, Delhi, And Bengaluru, A Feast For Your Senses
Australia is known to be a country with culinary prowess with so many renowned chefs. What is it about the flavours there that make the place a standout in the culinary world?
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Fortunately, with Australia’s climate, there is no trouble being able to get most produce locally, to your area so they are able to move with the seasons and get produce at its prime condition.
What trends do you currently see in the Australian culinary scene, and how do you stay innovative in your approach to cooking?
I feel they are moving away from fine dining more and keeping with a more casual approach to food and letting the ingredients speak for themselves.
You have headed Adrift, a standout restaurant globally. How has this role influenced your culinary perspective and style?
When at Adrift, I was able to play with marrying my style with their Japanese flavour profiles which sometimes I use in our dishes to this day
What can we expect from this pop-up at Woodside Inn?
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We wanted this event to be more about a family-style environment. The menu will be a balance of local produce and the smoke and grilled flavour profile that I generally use. There will be some fun dishes like goat heart tartare, tuna nduja and buffalo tongue with a sourdough reduction to name a few.
The menu toes the line between progressive and traditional which looks forward to widening its appeal to a larger audience. So, are you heading to Woodside Inn for this special event?
What: Ardbeg Secret Supper Club at Woodside Inn, Bandra
When: 29th November 2023, Wednesday
Cost: ₹2500 ++
Where: 3/4, Dheeraj Pali Arcade, Dr Ambedkar Road, Pali Naka, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai
Timings: 8:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Please contact 079 6815 8311 for more information
Cover image credits: Woodside Inn
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