Profile
A Family & Friends Recipe Simmering Nicely in the Heart of Richmond
The long friendship and highly successful culinary collaboration between the Precinct Hotel's head chef Pat Ortuso and its owners the Darcy family began, improbably, in the South Australian mining town of Roxby Downs.
From Footscray to A Desert Oasis...
Melbourne footy fans need no introduction to the Darcy Family. David is a legend of the Footscray Football Club; he played under the late, great Teddy Whitten. Dad David now manages the pub-loving family finances. Son Luke, recently retired captain of the Western Bulldogs, is a regular sports commentator for Channel 10 – and occasional beer-puller for the clan. Mum Janet is functions manager, son Matt is operations manager, daughter Alysha is restaurant manager. And prodigal sister Kim is set to return from travelling overseas to join the family business.
David and Janet Darcy began the family's long, successful career in hospitality with several well known Adelaide Hotels and a unique restaurant/motel complex in outback SA – Roxby Downs David remembered being so impressed with the style of a young chef at Glenelg's well-known restaurant Lungomare that he picked up the phone and enticed Pat Ortuso to leave behind the city lights and run the Darcy's outback restaurant, the Oasis.
... via The City of Churches (and Market Gardens) ...
It was the start of a beautiful and enduring friendship, a relatively rare thing in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of hospitality. It was also a welcome though steep learning curve for both parties. Ortuso credits the experience with teaching him the management skills, business strategies and communication techniques that have meant he can attract and retain a loyal kitchen team ever since.
The son of Italian immigrants, Ortuso's childhood was steeped in rich culinary traditions and agricultural know-how. Growing up on Mum and Dad's market garden in South Australia, Ortuso and his brothers learned early how to tell a fresh zucchini from an not-for-sale. Pat spent his formative years raising livestock, catching fish, butchering meat, baking bread and making smallgoods, pickles and pasta by hand. Little wonder he was naturally attracted to a career combining home-style cooking with sensational seasonal produce.
He landed a job as a kitchen hand and ultimately found work as an apprentice at Glenelg restaurant Lungomare.
After several successful years, the Darcys sold up in Roxby Downs. Ortuso returned to his home town of Adelaide, where he reunited with his mentor, Italian virtuoso chef Salvatore Pepe, as head chef at the iconic North Adelaide restaurant Cibo.
... into Richmond's Gastronomic Heart
With their latest collaboration, at the Precinct Hotel in Richmond, the Darcy's and Ortuso have upped the ante once again. Their ambitious, architecturally-designed refurbishment of the Depot in Swan Street has re-launched one of Melbourne's most colourful hotel landmarks.
In the kitchen, there is no style without substance. Pat says, "At the Precinct we're very produce focused. It's a simple, classic menu designed to bring fabulous seasonal produce to the fore."
"My sous chefs Sammy Phung and Caroline Kreischer bring their own culinary ideas and influences (his Vietnamese and her German heritage) into the mix. Their exacting standards are really helping me realise a dream here," Pat says.
"We're sourcing the best local produce available and creating everything from scratch, from curry sauces made using dry-roasted spices ground by hand to my all-time favourite dish: dad's fresh tomato sugo - it's guaranteed to get me home for a feed anytime."