“Over-exploitation of natural resources is one of the most significant threats to our environment. We try to look at an ingredient as a whole, applying a noseto- tail approach not just to meats, but to vegetables and seafood as well.”

Goldband snapper with pumpkin greens and pepitas; heirloom tomatoes with blood plums and fromage blanc; and chocolate tart with chestnuts.

Few kitchens in Australia are as rapid-response as that of Bar Rochford. When he heard that Fig Tree Farm was clearing their pumpkin paddock, fast-thinking Chef Louis Couttoupes drafted up a Nigerian-inspired snapper and pumpkin dish using the salvaged tendrils and leaves for that evening’s menu. And, after discovering a chestnut-laden tree near home, Couttoupes created a chocolate tart with speculaas biscuit and candied chestnuts. From tree to table? Twelve hours. When the tart went up on Instagram, a regular diner offered her unwanted backyard chestnut crop.

The bar’s agile and inventive way of working with small-scale farmers, such as BrightSide Produce and Gollion Farm, means the menu can change as quickly as the weather. Waste is not an option: even cocktails benefit from a windfall of peaches, and customers have been known to take cabbage scraps home for their chooks.

“Louis uses parts of vegetables which might usually be thrown out, casting them in a new light and making them glamorous. We really couldn’t do what we do without him.” –Emily Kobier, BrightSide Produce