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This week’s Hot List activity

• Added: Molly Rose
• Most trending restaurant: Soi 38
• Most trending bar: Caretaker’s Cottage
• Most trending cafe: Hector’s Bakery

“Sorry I missed you, I was in the middle of making my friend a croquembouche for her birthday” Emmanuelle Leftick tells Broadsheet. As far as reasons for not coming to the phone go, it’s a strong one. “She’s been asking me for one for years, but I just didn’t have the time.”

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Leftick might have a brief profiterole-making window now, but not for long. In a couple of weeks’ time, she’ll be taking over the kitchen at the Hot-Listed Julie, in Abbotsford, while head chef Julieanne Blum is off on sabbatical for the winter.

Leftick was a chef de partie at The French Laundry – Thomas Keller’s legendary cathedral of Californian cooking – before staging at El Bulli, the now-closed regional Spanish fine diner that’s considered among the best restaurants in history. Then, the Canadian chef moved to San Francisco to work as sous chef at the acclaimed Benu for five years. Here in Victoria, she was a key part of the team that Tedesca Osteria, and since leaving the Red Hill restaurant, she’s been popping up around town – including last Saturday, for Vex Dining’s inaugural Saturday session dinner.

We caught up to talk about what set menu she has planned for her May residency, what she’s getting up to next, and the fate of her Australian tuna spearfishing record.

Julie seems like such a great fit for your style of cooking. Do you seek these kinds of restaurants out or do they come to you?

I’d say it’s a healthy balance of both. I think Julie really suits my style of cooking, and I agree that it has quite a similar feel to The French Laundry – where there’s that beautiful garden and a style of food that’s quite simple and yet refined. Like Tedesca too, obviously.

Sometimes you can share the same values as a restaurant, but the space doesn’t quite work – but Julie’s space translates really well to my style. And I really like the challenge of adapting my food to new kitchens and places.

Have you dined at Julie before, or are you coming in with fresh eyes?

I’ve been to Julie a couple of times, and the last time I went was about a month or two ago. So I have a good understanding of the style and the dining room. They have such a lovely staff and a great wine program too. So I’m really looking forward to it.

What can we expect to see on the menu?

It’s going to start with having a look at the garden, because I’ll really be working with what they have growing. In general, my food is about very clean flavours that are quite light, but well rounded. So I’ll be going down that path – but expect it to keep evolving as I find my feet and the garden changes.

I also have this guy that lives close to my house, his name is Stavros. And the other day I went over to his place, and he gave me some of the last of his summer beans and the first of his chicory, and I used that as a side for the fish at Vex. So maybe some of his stuff will make it onto the menu too.

How will you be making Julie your own?

It’ll be similar in the sense that I’ll really be using and highlighting the garden’s vegetables and playing on that. Where it will be quite different is that I have a different style of cooking to Julieanne – with my background in fine dining, and my experience with Asian flavours from my time at Benu.

What will you get up to when your residency wraps up at the end of May?

I’ll be going to Europe for a few months, so I’m really looking forward to that. Then I’ll be back here in early September. I’m going to continue just having fun doing pop-ups and events for a little bit.

And finally, do you still hold the national women’s record for the largest tuna ever spearfished in Australia?

Yes, I do – it might even be in the world. It’s still crazy to me, but I remember when I got it, some of my friends who spearfish a lot were like, “This is a really big deal.” I sill show up to places where people say, “Wow, you’re Emmanuelle, the girl who caught the tuna.” I feel like I always have to tuna on my menu now, so expect that to show up at Julie at some point.

Emmanuelle Leftick’s residency at Julie begins in May. Bookings for the $118 set menu are available now.

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