Geelong meets its meat maestro

WITH CAM O’KEEFE

Remember the good ol’ days when enjoying a meal out was as commonplace as anything in our daily lives?

At the drop of a hat, I’d happily find myself dining out multiple times per week, often at a mixture of favourite locations or to unearth someplace new Between lockdowns, fear of infection (plus fear of vaccines) and dire economic times, a lot has changed in five long years: does anyone agree eating out in this day and age feels like a real treat?

Well, it does for me anyway. Which is why I felt a sense of extreme appreciation (and excitement) to be invited as a guest to an intimate evening with the maestro of meat himself, Adrian Richardson.

Held at chef/restaurateurs’ Geelong food headquarters – fittingly named Maestro – this was pinned as the first in a series of dinners highlighting the talent and passion the guy has for all things meat.

The dinner seemed well overdue, given the venue was opened close to a year ago and we (Geelong) are only now just being introduced table-side to the man in the whites.

Although one can hardly blame the guy, he’s been busy opening, closing and running a string of high-profile venues across three states, we should perhaps consider ourselves lucky Geelong was even on his radar. Although this is far from a chef who’s just got his name above the door – Adrian can be found donning the whites in the kitchen every few weeks during one of his regular check-ins.

And our precious dining dollars remain at the forefront of this chef’s mind. “We’ve tried [since opening] not to increase any of our prices too much and in that sense tried to stay fairly generous with our original intention of the restaurant,” the chef told me during a quick chat pre-dinner service. ”

We’d rather have you [Geelong patrons] come in here four or five times a year, rather than once.” It’s comments like these that signal to me he’s in for the long haul.

The theme for this first dinner was loosely conceived as “Adrian’s favourite dishes” and the meat department (you guessed it) featured heavily. A healthy servicing of some of the best smallgoods going round (including some tasty bresaola and capocollo – all hand cared for inhouse) kicked off proceedings nicely, followed by a brilliant (albeit meatless) gnocchi dish that surprised many.

Adrian’s ancestry is very much Italian, where he insists much of his love and appreciation of properly prepared food comes from. “Besides steak, our house made pastas have continued to be our highest selling dishes since we’ve been open here in Geelong,” he said. “I think people really enjoy the homestyle cooking that produces really tasty food. I’ve got an Italian background and grew up with pasta: it’s one of my favourite things to cook and eat.”

Meat made a glorious return for the main course with a roasted fillet of beef, generously carved into thick, flawlessly-cooked slices, plated immediately and served. It’s some of the best meat I can remember eating here in Geelong, and I feel that’s saying something, given our collective local love for good pieces of steak and the number of restaurants that claim steak is their specialty. “We’ve been able to procure some really good brands, as well as gaining access to what I’ve had for years in Melbourne.”

When asked about where in Geelong he likes to frequent when not stuck on the pans at Maestro, Chef Adrian lists 18th Amendment and Geelong Cellar Door among his current favs (both found along Little Malop Street) as well as Korean BBQ joint Leega, on Gheringhap Street.

A great night was had and, upon reflection, it was made obvious that Geelong is all the luckier to have this chef’s belief and investment right now. Make sure to check in on the restaurant’s socials or website regularly to see what future dinner announcements there are. “I’d like to do a dinner where we put four pieces of meat on the same plate – all cooked the same way – that can showcase the difference between wagyu beef, grain-feed beef, grass-feed beef, and dry-aged beef, tasting these side by side to help diners understand why each are completely different”, Richardson said.

Now that would be an interesting plate to eat through, although some meat sweats might get the better of some…

In other non-meat related news this week, Rossco’s Social Club – who were previously known as the Geelong West Social Club, until the owners merged their sibling sandwich business into the fray – are putting out some of the best bagels, toasties and sangas this side of the Barwon (coffee is all class too). The place is open seven days now, so here’s a good excuse to brave the Pako traffic and support another great local venue.

Finally, in what’s been a whirlwind few years for the Batesford Hotel, with roughly a change of ownership every year or so, the keys have been handed to the group behind Geelong CBD staples Felix, Alma and Barwon Edge (the latter found along the riverbanks in Newtown).

Let’s see what they have planned for this often forgotten old boozer, as it’s a beautiful spot to enjoy a few quiet drinks during the summer months when their back courtyard area is activated. Fingers crossed!