With 24 openings to his name since 2006, Nathan Toleman is one of Melbourne’s most prolific and successful restaurateurs. But even the founder of juggernauts like Top Paddock and Higher Ground sometimes gets it wrong. So it was at Molli, the 10-month-old restaurant he’s just relaunched in Abbotsford with a new team and a more approachable, everyday concept.

Kayla Saito (ex-Aru) has stuck around to continue her excellent fermentation-led drinks program, and she’s gained a kindred spirit in new head chef Caitlin Koether. Koether arrives following two years as sous-chef at San Francisco’s renowned Bar Tartine, and a year running the preservation and fermentation program at Relae, the second-most feted restaurant in Copenhagen, after Noma. She’s a master of fermentation.

Still, Toleman says experience alone didn’t get her the gig. “It was how she talked about flavour, her approach to working with food, her philosophy around food waste, working with flavours, about hospitality, about building culture. She brings both a scientific mind and real emotional intelligence to her cooking.” We wanted to know more, so we put a few questions to Koether directly.

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How would you describe your food?
Nourishing, colourful and sometimes a little bit thought-provoking.

What inspires you?
I absolutely love the day when the vegetable list drops. Each week I get to see what’s being harvested, what’s coming, what’s awesome.

What can people who visited Molli before the overhaul expect? What’s different?
The menu has clearer farm-to-table approach and obviously a strong focus on preservation and flavour. The connection with our Common Ground Project farm is front-and-centre in every section of the menu, and there’s a tighter synergy with their harvest. And there is a huge percentage of the menu that’s centred around house-made elements.

What did you learn at Bar Tartine that you’ll bring to Molli?
So much. As a fundamental principle to the way I approach food, Bar Tartine was my absolute indoctrination into the world of preservation and fermentation. The ethos I’m taking from my time there is, “If we can make it in-house, then we will.” Everything tastes better when it’s made by hand and by you. It’s a reflection of your palate and inspirations, and tells a story on the plate.

What about Relae, what did you learn there?
Because of the scarcity of ingredients, the ingenuity around using a single ingredient in many different ways was so incredible.

What are you most excited for people to try?
I’d love people to eat a dish and say things like “Oh my god, I didn’t realise that was a beetroot, but damn it was sooo good!” It’s about bringing all of the preservation techniques into application, beyond fermentation. These aren’t super scientific or overworked techniques. They’re age-old principles that can create really interesting and delicious eating experiences in texture, colour and flavour. I’m excited for people to enjoy that.

What are some of the ferments you’ve added to the menu?
There are so many. Our dairy program is significant – we’re making our own yoghurt, kefir cream, sour cream, butter and cheese. And you might see the by-product of those items pop up in a dessert such as “Norwegian caramelised whey”. We’re also featuring a lot of umami pastes and using lacto-ferments as alternative sources of salt and acid. Think of it as an alternative approach to seasoning that adds depth. And it’s everywhere on the cocktail program.

How are you working with Kayla?
We work in tandem to do research and development together, investigating different techniques and flavours. It’s a fluid, daily conversation between the bar and the kitchen. Kayla uses my ferments and condiments in her cocktails, and ferments fruit waste into wine and vermouths. The biggest dialogue we have is about using kitchen and bar by-products so there’s no waste and we’re getting as much flavour as we can out of our produce. A good example is her non-alcoholic cocktail You Send Me, which uses carrot tops from the kitchen. It’s such a good drink.

Molli
20 Mollison Street, Abbotsford
No phone

Hours
Mon 7am–3pm
Tue to Fri 7am–10pm
Sat 8am–10pm
Sun 8am–3pm

molliabbotsford.com.au