Ramsgate Market round-up

There’s nothing quite like shopping at farmers’ markets. I love talking to the farmers about what’s best and in season and zigzagging around my favourite stalls, accepting a segment of mandarin here, and a slice of tomato there, ogling pert avocados, fat garden peas, enjoying the fragrance of pho (pronounced fuh), a square of sourdough and wheeling my retro nanna cart about to decide what to buy based on what's best and in season.

Market forces: shopping at Rusty's Market in my hometown of Cairns has given me very high expectations.

Go nuts
Sydney has its fair share of fabulous markets. There's the pioneering Growers' Market in Pyrmont, the equally slick Eveleigh Farmers' Market and Marrickville market in the inner-west as well as bountiful bazaars held everywhere from Hornsby to Manly, Bondi and Bulli.

DIY trail mix with a range of nuts and dried fruit.

To market, to market
When I have the drive, time and energy and am not chasing deadlines, I've been known to get up pre-dawn on a Saturday to drive across the city to the Sydney Markets. 

My family and I also make a day of it at the Grower's Markets in Pyrmont, Marrickville and Eveleigh. For the sake of convenience, I also stock up at my local Cronulla cafe, HAM, which hosts a pop-up organic market on Saturdays.

When I first visited Ramsgate Organic Foodies Market a year ago, it was not exactly radical when compared to what's out there. But one thing is for certain: the majority of what we buy from there is far better than OK.  The market seems to be improving every time we take the 25-minute trek across the Captain Cook Bridge from Cronulla in Sydney's south.

It's compulsory to make a rye request at Reuben Republic.

From little things big things grow
One of the many reasons I am now a regular visitor to the Ramsgate Organic Markets is because it's a relief not to fight the traffic or burn too many food miles driving across the city to source fresh organic produce.   Another market on my radar is Como Riverview Market, a monthly affair.

Stevenson's Fine Foods is a great pit-stop for a gourmet pie.

Vying for vegans
What I love about Ramsgate is what I love about all markets: that communitarian buzz. People stopping to taste and chat with artisan producers who are justifiably proud of their products. I am also so grateful that I have a market that is relatively nearby where I can jam with the apple-cheeked farmer about when she picked her pink lady apples and enjoy the fact that both a paleo stall and glorious counter of cakes share equal promise, depending on your perspective.  

Stevenson's is great for a guilt-free midweek meal or a gift for a neighbour in need.

Nutjobs unite for this chocolate hazelnut spread.

Snickers-me-not from the peanut gallery
Shopping at such markets is truly a sensual pleasure. Much of my motivation in making the drive comes from the fact that I want it to continue and it can only go from strength to strength if the community supports it.

On my last visit to stock up on food for Christmas, my first stop was at the Cream Fork stall where my sons eyed off the NOTella roasted hazelnut spread, Snickers-me-not tarts and raw vegan blueberry cheesecakes. The stall is paradise for paleos and the proof is also in the gluten-free, refined-sugar free, dairy free, almost raw and vegan pudding.

Say cheese ... my go-to stall for goat's curd.

Eat Fuh is a family affair.

Say cheese

Whether you're looking for an artisanal wedge of cheese to impress your dinner guests, or a quick bite to eat before traversing through the crowds, the market has much to be proud of: from the New-York-style sandwiches stacked with pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing to the fiery chilli chutneys and pre-made meals from Stevenson's Fine Foods to the air-dried meats from Backa.

The market's raisin d'être
My tailor-made itinerary always includes a stop-off at the fruit and vegetable stall manned by a young Mauritian just so I can hear him sing "Sweet, sweeeeeeeeet mangoes". I also like to time my run around lunchtime so I can pay a visit to the Eat Fuh folk, who offer shots of the Vietnamese noodle soup, pho, as testers in the hope that it will seduce you into buying the Vietnamese soup. It's a winning formula. The noodle soup, which The Urban List named as the #1 Noodle Choice at the 2014 Night Noodle Markets, is chock-full of bean sprouts and ginger and chilli and shallots and is so fragrant and comforting that - for fuh's sake - it is reason enough to cross the Captain Cook Bridge.

Scones get the high society treatment when slathered with Pepe Saya butter.

Use your scone
Paddy the Baker has also graced the market with his presence. I adore the baker's Irish soda bread, a squat loaf of airy bread that is best enjoyed with a wodge of Pepe Saya butter.  Sweet tooths are also sated with freshly baked scones, butter and jam. Worth noting is that the bread contains no nasties or preservatives and the potato bread, according to Paddy, is the best outside Ireland.

Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man.... with bread from Paddy the Bakers.

In a pickle? Talk to James Bron Mackney.

Ferment it good
One of the surprise winners of the market is Ferment It. Hippocrates said: "All disease begins in the gut. Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food."

I've fallen hard for the raw organic pre- and probiotic packets of goodness, which are full of essential digestive enzymes and super living probiotics to encourage vital intestinal flora.

Ask James Bron Mackney or partner Belinda Smith and they will happily tell you why we should be eating more fermented foods. For starters, the enzymes strengthen our immune system and assist with eliminating bad bacteria.

Batter up

If you are mad for macarons, visit Coco & Bean stall.

Arrive hungry and try Chilean street food from Pochito corn fritters from Fritter House, a pot of chai tea or choc chip cookies, a yoghurt pot from Stefano's Kitchen or some smoked salmon and trout dip from Snowy Mountains Trout.   Add to the list the Isis River Farm organic meat stall, macarons from Coco & Bean, the stall devoted to artisan cheeses - my go-to is the goat's curd - cronuts, waffles and organic wines. So, Cronulla peeps, get out and support Ramsgate market until such time as the beachside suburb pulls together its own farmers' market.

Ramsgate Organic Foodies Market is located at Ramsgate Public School, Chuter Ave, Ramsgate. It is open 8am-1pm every Saturday.   

Want to know what is in pho (fuh)? Read the in-pho sheet, 

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Hazelhurst Cafe: the ace of spades

Gymea has found its groove thanks in part to the efforts of chef James Watson, who is now gripping the reins at Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe and giving the 'burb a big giddy-up. Watson is like a rock 'n roll version of Jamie Oliver. And he's brought a bit of that 'oright geezer' grit to Gymea, in Sydney's Sutherland Shire.

Chef James Watson has upped the ante in the Shire.

Watson's Bay
For those who don't know much about the English-born chef, he first earned his culinary chops working under Gordon Ramsay, at Aubergine, and then St John Restaurant in London where it seems he was also prepped in the art of peppering a kitchen with expletives.

The 38-year-old migrated to Australia in 2002 where he quickly gained attention at Balmain's Riverview Hotel. He has since earned a lot of cred for being one of the first of the city's award-winning chefs to look at Sydney's outer suburban strips anew.

After Watson opened the Peacock Trattoria in 2010 in a non-descript smear of shops in Kyle Bay he shifted his gaze to Gymea, with the launch of the Italian Stallion and Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe in August 2014.

The 'cock' as I like to call it, is one of my all-time fave neighbourhood bistros in Sydney and I was beyond happy when I heard the chef's culinary aspirations had crossed Tom Ugly's Bridge. The fact Gymea is just 20 minutes' drive from my home in Cronulla is also a beautiful thing.

The Italian Stallion has helped give Gymea a leg-up in the culinary stakes.

Giddy-up Gymea
The Husband and I were so excited about the arrival of The Italian Stallion Bar and Griglia we galloped there a week after it opened. We both loved how deliciously New York divey and vibey it was and were impressed with our Planet of the Grapes mojitos followed by a few glasses of riesling and the chef's signature duck salad and divine crab linguine. The service from restaurant manager Fabio was also fabulous. So much has been done to rejuve the Stallion since then that it deserves a return visit in the the next few months, when the renovations are complete. (Watch this space.)

Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe has helped Gymea find its groove. 

From garden fork to plate
Now for the heads-up on Hazelhurst. Thanks to Watson - who was also responsible for the recent reworking of the Seawall Restaurant in Walsh Bay - the gallery cafe has benefitted from more than a few tweaks. The new design is rustic and real and references the garden aspect with a feature wall of vintage tools, communal tables that could double as work horses, tin tubs spilling with flowers and well-placed branches, lemons and pineapples providing many points of sculptural interest.

Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe now takes advantage of its location, overlooking a sprawling garden.

The newly rejuvenated Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe is now a place to linger longer.

Art and about
Taking pride of place inside the cafe is a mural by Mulga the Artist that is based on a caricature of the Italian Stallion's Fabio. The character is wearing sunglasses that frame the pass where the chefs peep out onto the floor and it sets the tone of the new cafe, mainlining it with personality. It doesn't matter where you sit, Fabio is there, wearing hot pink frames, glowering at you, challenging you not to be impressed. Watson's notion - to make the gallery cafe a cool place to stay and hang - has paid off. In fact, it's a trademark of his eating houses that you don't want to leave.

Heading them off at the pass is a mural painted by Mulga The Artist.

Perfectly potty
What I really love about the new-look cafe, which was fairly staid in its former life, is that the pensioners in sensible shoes and cardigans feel as welcome as the couples with young kids tumbling about on the lawn next to arty hipsters and locals looking smug that Gymea has lifted its game. It's also fantastic that it's drawing more and more people to the first-rate exhibitions on show in the gallery space next door.

Shear genius - the cafe has been reworked and is now both rustic and refined.

Hello pumpkin
The cafe is an all-day dining affair serving breakfast and lunch until 4pm each day and the menu itself taps into the zeitgeist in that it's food we want to eat. Expect proper ballsy cooking with breakfast options such as Persian pumpkin pancakes, haloumi, dukkah, egg, herbs and Syrian chook or the Big Breakfast Bruschetta, with poached eggs, bacon, herbed mushroom and tomato.

Scones with jam and cream served in pretty terracotta pots.

For all those in-betweeners
There is also an in-between menu with scones with berry jam and double cream served in cute terracota pots and a tempting kids' menu of chicken schnity and chips, quesadilla or fish 'n' chips all served with a nudie popper and seasonal fruit.

House-baked muffins and friands are the order of the day.

Hello ducky
Although the 'cock's signature crispy duck salad, with nectarine, hazelnuts, witlof, watercress, radicchio and vino cotto makes a cameo on the lunch menu, diners are enticed to branch out with solid options such as Tuscan panzanella salad, heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, crisp bread, baby basil, tomato vinaigrette designed to thrill. As for the reuben sandwich filled with corned beef cooked with golden syrup and malt vinegar, Swiss cheese, pickles, red cabbage and onions? Out. Of. Control.

The reuben sandwich is reason enough to visit the Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe.

There's a song in my art
Hazelhurst Gallery has always been a hot local spot, with major exhibitions, art classes and markets. Now the cafe also deserves attention in its own right, as does James Watson who has made the Shire a better place than when he arrived. Now, head chef Sarah Marsh's ingredient-led menu sits comfortably alongside tidbits 'foraged' from the garden and the mains look like they've riffed with Mulga on how to pull off being a key player.

Breakfast muesli and fresh fruit and yoghurt in a jar ... what a perfectly poised start to the day.

It's elementary, dear Watson
"What I've tried to create is an upbeat, funky modern place to go where the breakfast is good, the lunch is good, the service is good and there are lots of add-on activities in the area. Everything is taking shape and really all I did was capture the goodness in the place ... the bones were there, we've just put some flesh on it," says Watson.

Click go the shears at Hazelhurst Cafe.

The ace of spades
Watson has certainly captured the goodness in the garden cafe in spades. The place is poised and perfect and, like the rest of his restaurants, is lacking in pretension and intent on doing things well rather than being self-absorbed. Add upbeat tunes, a buzzy local vibe and order from a wine list that swaggers around the globe and the result is what Shire locals crave: a gloriously civilised cafe with accomplished chefs delivering food that thrills with the bonus of a garden view. Booyah.

Mulga the Artist has also helped the gallery get its groove on.

Tuck into a tropical fruit pavlova which is bolstered by lemon curd and passionfruit sorbet.

Hazelhurst Gallery Cafe, 782 Kingsway, Gymea, NSW. 2227. For bookings, phone (02) 8536 5755. Open 9am-4pm Mon-Sun.

Queen Margherita of Savoy: all fired up

Lee and Sharon Carroll, of QMOS, at restaurant Brandi, Naples, where the pizzaioli who created the margherita worked.  

Over the past few years, I have done the rounds, so to speak, steering my family everywhere from Leichardt to Lane Cove in search of some of Sydney's best pizza. Imagine my delight then, after an early-evening walk about eights months ago, when I noticed a local shopfront window in Cronulla with a laminated certificate stamped by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana stuck onto glass doors plastered in sheets of newspaper.  

I read with interest the accompanying newspaper article about local chef Lee Carroll, who had participated in a three-week training course in Napoli in March 2013 and was set to follow the stringent set of rules required to receive accreditation from the association. While in Italy, Carroll also worked around the clock at a pizzeria in Naples, to gain work experience. Mamma mia!

Lee Carroll's white-hot ambition in action at Queen Margherita of Savoy, Cronulla.     

White-hot ambition
As pizza purists in the know will tell you, accreditation from the AVPN is the stamp of approval that indicates that the pizzaioli (person who makes pizza) is sticking to the rules when it comes to 'due pizza-making processes'.  The fact that this Australian chef had travelled to Italy to learn how to make traditional Neapolitan pizza told me he was very serious about complying with pizza protocol. 

The Queen's Banquet ... at Queen Margherita of Savoy. 

Lee Carroll has earned his pizzaioli's stripes.

Say fior de latte
For non-Italians, this rigorous procedure may sound a bit over-the-top. But what it does ensure is that by adhering to the guidelines - which include a very precise method of manipulating the dough, to the cheese used in the preparation of pizza margherita, to the ingredients used to make the dough and the method of proving and then cooking the dough - the ancient traditions of 'verace pizza Napoletana' (true Italian pizza) are kept alive.

A passion for pizza
I stuck my head around the door and found chef Lee Carroll busy sending white puffs of flour into the air beside a glittering wood-fired oven. Lee appreciated my reverence for what he was trying to do and we riffed about pizza, Italy, that oven and where his passion for good pizza began.

"I took one bite from a slice of pizza at Pizza Mario 10 years ago and it changed my life. I've aspired to own a pizzeria ever since," says the 40-year-old, who sports rock-star sleeves of tatts and earned his chef stripes working at local restaurants such as Sea Level and the Blue Parrot.

Giulio Abussi is a Napoli native who helps man the pizza pans at Queen Margherita of Savoy. 

Red, white and green
Fast-forward eight months since my first meeting with Lee and his wife Sharon - who manages the floor - and Queen Margherita of Savoy is on fire. Well the inside of the Stefano Ferrara Forni oven is, at least.  The name of the pizzeria pays homage to the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy (1878 to 1900) during the reign of her husband, Umberto. As legend has it, in 1889, Queen Margherita visited Naples and summoned the best pizza maker of the time, Raffaele Esposito, to prepare three pizzas for her. Her favourite pizza turned out to feature the red (tomatoes), green (basil) and white (cheese) colours of the Italian flag. When the queen asked Raffaele the name of the pizza, he said: "Margherita, in your honour."

It can't hurt the QMOS brand to have Neapolitan native Giulio Abussi working alongside Carroll in the kitchen helping to peddle an average of 150 pizzas per day. Carroll met the 25-year-old in Italy when he employed him as a language assistant to help him understand the training course, which is presented in Italian. The pair became firm friends and Carroll recognised that the young Italian had an intense theoretical understanding of Neapolitan pizza.

Queen Margherita of Savoy has a relaxed and comfortable vibe, conducive to chatter and noise.

"It struck me very early in the piece that Giulio knew so much theory. He worked for the AVPN as an interpreter, he’d been to the flour factory, he had met the tomato growers, has good friends who have pizzerias, and he was very giving with his knowledge. He knew everything from the ground up and shared my desire and passion to deliver the best possible product. He'd also worked at his friend's pizzeria in Naples," says Carroll, who is seeking to sponsor his offsider to extend his stay in Sydney. 

Watch chef Lee Carroll and offsider Giulio Abussi in the cut-out kitchen at QMOS. 

Naples: A way of love.

At your service.              Photo: Deidre Worsley.

The margherita pizza is food fit for a queen.                                                             Photo: Deidre Worsley.

The staple in Naples
"Giulio is a joy to have as a secondhander. It's so difficult to find talent when it comes to making proper Neapolitan pizza," says Carroll. Carroll describes the AVPN as "a glorified franchise" and he says that with the utmost respect. Part of the rules surrounding accreditation include the requirement to make a 40-minute video that follows him step-by-step through the process of making pizza. "Earning accreditation will be recognition that what we are doing is being done with integrity and pride. It will be a vote of confidence," he says.

The wood-fired oven takes pride of place in the rustic, dimly lit dining room, which features a black-and-white chequered floor, copper tones and dark timber. The theatre of watching this pair of pizzaiolis is part of the fun and it's the sort of dining room where you expect noise and clatter.

Lee Carroll's dream to open a pizzeria was no pie in the sky.                                                   Photo: Deidre Worsley.

Fire up
As for the product itself, my family have hoovered up many margheritas and that interplay of fire and dough and tomatoes and cheese is consistently fabulous. The dough comes out with that high and fluffy edge that has the right kind of chew and char and is so soft and pliable you could stuff a duvet cover with it. 

When just cooked, the taste of the tomatoes and cooked mozzarella and basil is intense and harmonious and a chorus of 'oohs and aahs' fills the small space, which also sells takeaway pizza. I've seen Carroll and Abussi in the kitchen together many times since that first meeting and their success says as much about the Shire's ever-improving food scene as it does about the quality of the product.

Carroll says what he loves most about Italian food is its simplicity. "Italian food is really primal. Cucina povera got people through world wars. Instead of surviving on awful food, they made the most of cheap cuts of meat and preserved food to make it last all year. I love the respect that they show for good food and great ingredients," says Carroll.

Christmas Carrolls .... Cute Christmas lights at QMOS are in the shape of triangles of pizza.

Carroll is not reinventing the wheel. But he has done much to shape local understanding about what constitutes an authentic Neapolitan pizza. Pizza posturing aside, it's really worth giving his pizzas a whirl. To read a review of QMOS, visit Good Food where fellow food writer Angie Schiavone recommended it for the Good Food Under $30 section of the site.

The dough has been properly rested and has the right amount of chew and char.

Pizza with principles
Highlights on the QMOS menu include the proscuitto cotto e funghi freschi (tomato, fior di latte, leg ham, mushrooms, garlic and parmigiano reggiano) from the pizze rosse section and the salsiccia e rapini (fior di latte, pork and fennel sausage and broccoli) from the pizze bianche. 

Antipasti and arancini.     Photo: Deidre Worsley.

The menu also includes insalata, antipasti, salumi and fritture (fried morsels) and the arancini make cameos on the specials board. Pizzerias with AVPN accreditation in Sydney include: Gigi, in Newtown, Lucio's Pizzeria, in Darlinghurst, Pizza Mario, in Surry Hills and Aperitivo in Leichardt. There are also many more pizzerias that, though they don't have accreditation, do a great job of earning a crust. Following are a few more of my favourites: Via Napoli in Lane Cove, Frankie's Pizza, Rosso Pomodoro, in Balmain, Hugo's Bar Pizza in King's Cross, Pompei's in Bondi, Vacanza, in Bronte and PizzAperta, at The Star. 

Take the AVPN quiz to see if you understand the principles of neapolitan pizza and tell me where you go to find a slice of pizza heaven. 

Queen Margherita of Savoy is located at Shop 9, 2-8 Surf Rd, Cronulla. For bookings, phone 02 9527 4992. Open Mon-Sun 5pm till late. Note: QMOS is looking to recruit another master neapolitan pizza-maker.