I remember seeing my father
take a rifle and put it to
the head of an animal
to kill it, for our dinner.
It's kinda terrifying, as a kid,
but you're never in any doubt
where food comes from
and the connection of it.
Part of wanting to
run a restaurant like Attica
is wanting to reconnect people
with it as well
People might not think that
cooks matter in the greater
scheme of things.
But, in my experience,
a lot of stuff filters down
from the top.
It's probably over 200,000 downloads
of the menu on our website
And there's nowhere near that
amount of people coming in.
And so, that tells me
that people are not just looking
at our menu because they're
thinking about planning a dinner here
They're looking at our menu for inspiration
whether that be in their resturant
or be at home.
This small piece of literature with
these eight courses on it
has massive influence on people.
Therefore if I had ingredients
which were unsustainabile,
which were of negative impact
to the environment,
then I'm...I'm contributing to that damage.
And I don't want that on
my conscience.
In the 11 or 12 years that
I've been cooking in Australia,
the species of fish that were
available to us very readily
and very easily...
they're not as easy to get anymore.
Bass grouper fish that I love to cook
their reproductive cycle doesn't begin
until later into their life,
but most of the fish being taken
are juvenile, because the juveniles are
closer to the surface and easier to catch.
There have been fish close
to the point of commerical extinction.
That led me to, you know,
I guess a moment of reflection
probably five years ago.
Instead of continuing to serve the fish
that I've always served
I decided to take them all
off the menu.
I always look for suppliers
who have a similar passion to me
and a dedication and ethics.
And so when I met Lance Wiffen
I sensed some of myself in him.
He believes that it's never
good enough.
He thinks that it can
get better and it can get better.
And of course I feel that same way
about my own work.
I thought I knew all
about mussels.
And I didn't really know that there was like
going to be a whole 'nother level of mussel.
The blue mussels that are grown
in Port Philip Bay where Lance farms...
they were...like nothing I
had ever eaten before.
It was like the essence
of the sea, captured in
one tiny morsel.
Mussels we can grow in
a very sustainable manner,
they have almost nil negative impact
to the environment.
It's half the price of chicken,
and infinitely better for you,
and infinitely more sustainable.
It's really great to be
able to promote an ethical,
sustainable ingredient and tell people
that this is something that
you should consider eating.
I'd been thinking for...
a couple of weeks about the
difference between a fish
that's a better choice, and a fish
that is a bad choice.
The King George Whiting from
Corner Inlet is a small,
fast-growing fish.
You're far better off to eat
a fish which reproduces very
early in its life,
and is a short-lifed fish anyway.
It was the first fish dish that I did
after having fin fish off the menu
completely for two years.
The responsibility of a cook
is to set a really good example
that food is not an infinite resource.
If you're cooking well,
you'll always take into account nature.
So, in some ways, through cooking
I've found my ideal connection
to nature.