Isabelle Caulfield, Head Chef at Poly, Surry Hills
Q- How long have you been working in the hospitality industry?
A- I’ve been working in the industry for 12 years.
Q- What does your Christmas usually look like? Who do you spend it with?
A- Christmas is crazy. It’s usually 3 days of lunches or dinners so that I can see mums side of the family, dad’s and my boyfriends.
Q- What’s your go-to dish that you bring to the table for Christmas?
A- I normally don’t cook at Christmas, which is great! But my sister usually requests from me some kind of cured fish/gravlax.
Graeme Hunt, Head Chef at Chin Chin, Surry Hills
Q- How long have you been working in the hospitality industry?
A- I’ve been working in hospo for 19 years, it was my first job since year 10! (oh, that just scared me a little)
Q- What does your Christmas usually look like? Who do you spend it with?
A- Christmas these days is just spent with family as we are back in Sydney. Mum always cooks buts she keeps trying to pass that onto me these days (which I try and keep avoiding). When we were living in Melbourne and it was just me and my wife Sharon, so it was easy. We’d have a big plate of oysters, bigger plates of prawns and some great champagne.
Q- What’s your go-to dish that you bring to the table for Christmas?
A- If I’m bringing anything to Christmas, honestly it will be anything I can buy instead of make. I’m usually pretty ruined by the time Christmas comes, so I’ll usually buy a box a prawns and give that out.
Jacqui Challinor, Head Chef at Nomad, Surry Hills
Q- How long have you been working in the hospitality industry?
A- I’ve been cooking for 14 years. They have passed quite quickly in a blur of late nights and long hours!
Q- What does your Christmas usually look like? Who do you spend it with?
A- Christmas for me looks like family time, copious amounts of food and a few beers thrown in for good measure. I’m usually always wiped out come Christmas Day after what can only be described as the most hectic 4 weeks of the year – so an afternoon nap is always a welcome addition to the day!
Q- What’s your go-to dish that you bring to the table for Christmas?
A- Christmas Day is the first chance to unwind after the busy period so I take the day off and let the family take the reigns! My Dad is the BBQ master and generally always brings something slow-roasted and smokey to the table and no Christmas spread would be complete without my Mum’s cauliflower fritters and qarabaghli (Maltese dish of zucchini stuffed with pork mince). Having access to the amazing quality produce that I do means that I have the job of providing the seafood and the ham.
Marie-Sophie Canto, Head Sommelier @ The Dolphin Hotel
Q- How long have you been working in the hospitality industry?
A- About 14 years, I started the first season when I was 17. My best mate Nico and I were rocking the floor in a little Italian restaurant in our hometown, it was so much fun. I studied to be a journalist, but then moved to London and started working in Michelin star restaurants. I fell in love with food, discovered natural wines and I was hooked. I’m planning on going back into writing at some point when I’ve had enough of the floor. But I’m not there yet, I’m still having too much fun.
Q- What does your Christmas usually look like? Who do you spend it with?
A- I live far away from my family so I always spend Christmas with my friends. When I was in London I would spend 2 days cooking and would invite a few friends over to mine and we’d spend the day eating and drinking. Last year some friends and I rented a house in the Blue Mountains and spent 3 days eating, drinking, and playing petanque. (We’ll do the same this year but by the beach this time).
Q- What’s your go-to drink that you bring to the table for Christmas?
A- A bloody great bottle of Champagne! My dad would make such a fuss about opening the first bottle, it was very theatrical. My first sip is always in his memory.
Eat with Izzy at Poly
Eat with Graeme at Chin Chin
Eat with Jacqui at Nomad
Drink with Marie-Sophie in The Wine Room at the Dolphin Hotel
