We’re excited to unveil our fifth cookbook, The New Classics – the follow-up to 2015’s bestselling The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook.
Cookbooks are always representative of the time they were published. Looking back to 2015, it’s clear just how much Melbourne dining has evolved.
The city then was experiencing a fresh wave of innovation and redefining its place on the world stage. That book’s pages are accordingly full of now-iconic venues and dishes: Cumulus Inc’s lamb shoulder, Supernormal’s lobster roll, Chin Chin’s shredded chicken salad, Mamasita’s pork tacos, Lune Croissanterie’s almond croissants, Pidapipó’s Nutella gelato and many more.
It was a pivotal time, where the groundwork was laid for many of the things we take for granted today, from all-day dining to shared main courses. Broadsheet itself, founded in 2009, was a direct response to this exciting energy sweeping the city.
That era is the foundation on which today’s dining culture is built. But Melbourne today feels more confident, nuanced and self-assured. The white tablecloths are back at restaurants like Alta Trattoria, Bistra and Gimlet, and the classics are impeccably dialled in. France-Soir and Stokehouse, which have been doing it this way for decades, still feel fresh and energetic.
Breakfast, likewise, has returned to classic and eternal good taste, exemplified by Florian, Napier Quarter and others. And while cafe menus that cherrypick flavours and dishes from around the world are still the norm, we’ve seen the emergence of specialist breakfast spots focused on Thai, Japanese and other cuisines, such as Coracle.
Regional cuisines, meanwhile, have begun to supersede the simplified, monocultural understandings we had before. Just look to Enter Via Laundry and Toddy Shop, where Bengali, Keralan and other specific subsets of Indian food are showcased with flair. Or Soi 38 and Dodee Paidang, which serve faithful dishes from right across Thailand in place of the westernised green curry and pad Thai many Melburnians grew up with. Entirely new cuisines (for Melbourne) are joining the party, too, like Mauritian at the innovative Manzé and upmarket Filipino at Askal.
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Melbourne food in 2024 without mentioning sandwiches. Food in bread is having a major renaissance everywhere we look, including Nico’s Sandwich Deli, Frankie’s Tortas and Tacos, Good Days Hot Bread, Morning Market, Pancho Cafe and more. Although Wide Open Road, with its longstanding bacon sanga, would probably argue it never went away.
Where will we be in another decade? It’s impossible to say, but right now we’re thrilled to present another snapshot of Melbourne, a city that never fails to surprise or impress us with its dynamism, passion and energy. Here’s to Melbourne and the many talented people who make our dining culture what it is.
Order your copy before the book sells out, and bring Melbourne’s new classics to your kitchen. Published by Plum,the book is available now for $54.99 at shop.broadsheet.com.au.
Full list of recipes:
Smith & Deli – Cinnamon and cardamom doughnuts
Via Porta – Coconut rice porridge
Egglab – Rose-style soft scram on a bun
Florian – Herb and Gruyère omelette with dressed leaves
Wide Open Road – Bacon sandwich with apple relish
Coracle – Kakuni brothless ramen
Morning Market – Salad sandwich
Pancho – Cheese and salad hot roll
A1 Bakery – Shanklish pie
CDMX – Birria tacos
Frankie’s Tortas and Tacos – Al pastor torta
Convoy – Prawn roll
Good Days Hot Bread – Turmeric fish banh mi
Marquis of Lorne – Rockling burger
Stokehouse – Oyster Basics with Jason Staudt of Stokehouse
Napier Quarter – Focaccia and ricotta
Builders Arms Hotel – Whipped cod roe
Bar Bellamy – Devilled eggs
Reine – Anchovy pissaladière
Carlton Wine Room – Anchovy toast
Old Palm Liquor – Raw swordfish with pepita cream
Hope Street Radio – Matbucha with grilled sardines and lemon
Askal – Grilled king prawns with alavar sauce and curry leaf
Lagoon Dining – Salted cucumbers, black fungus, toasted sesame, preserved olive vegetable
Manzé – Gato arouille (taro fritters)
Enter Via Laundry – Patra
Gimlet – Southern rock lobster with saffron rice and rouille
Gimlet – Roasted bullhorn peppers and zucchini with salsa verde
Chae – Spinach gochujang pickle
Jo Barrett – Ginger, black pepper and rooster spring rolls
Lee Ho Fook – Cumin lamb pancake
Kafeneion – Keftedes (meatballs)
Kafeneion – Marouli salad
Clover – Raw beef with anchovy dressing and black olive
Lilac – Savoury mince on toast
Grill Americano – Quattro formaggi mac’n’cheese
Meatsmith – Making Condiments
Tom Sarafian – Broad bean ful medames
Stokehouse – Charred southern calamari, seaweed pesto and blistered tomato dressing
Toddy Shop – Fish nadan
Julia Busuttil Nishimura – Potato and three-cheese galette
Di Stasio Carlton – La Bomba Di Stasio
Cityfields – Potato and Comté pithivier
Nomad – Lamb b’stilla with golden raisin and caper salsa, soft herb salad
Hopper Joint – Sri Lankan meal set of cashew and snake bean curry, Sushila’s chicken curry, pol sambol, seeni sambol and rice hoppers
Enter Via Laundry – Baked khichdi
Soi 38 – Khao soi
Bar Bellamy – Corn risotto with truffle
Tipo 00 – Squid ink tagliolini with calamari
Studio Amaro – Mafaldine with prawn and citrus bisque
Maha – Moghrabieh Milanese
Julie – Octopus ragu
Embla – Vongole with pork sausage, fregola and cime di rapa
Alta Trattoria – Tajarin with rabbit ragu
Marion – Baked pipe rigate with spicy vodka sauce
Jerry Mai – Market Run
Dodee Paidang – Pad krapao
Yugen Dining – Steamed mud crab with Sichuan yuzu mayo
Tedesca Osteria – Peppered chicken skewers with walnut, dill and preserved lemon salsa
Bistra – Chicken and mushroom casserole with cider
France-Soir – Poulet au vin jaune (yellow wine chicken)
Rosheen Kaul – Wood-grilled pork chop, sorrel, roast sesame and mustard sauce
Grill Americano – Bistecca alla Fiorentina
The Everleigh – Making Cocktails Using Australian Natives
Pidapipó – Hot chocolate
Napier Quarter – Chocolate and sea salt brownie
Kariton Sorbetes – No-churn marbled ube ice-cream
Tedesca Osteria – Strawberry, rhubarb and goat’s curd panna cotta
Apollo Inn – Crème caramel
Tarts Anon – Pear and chocolate tart
Mietta by Rosemary – Spiced six-layer tropical cake
Lillian Brasserie – Hazelnut praline crepe cake
Vue de Monde – Chocolate soufflé