2020 Was a Tough Year, but Here Are a Few Things We Loved About It

2020: what a year. It began with horrific fires, swiftly pivoted into flooding, then took a hard right into a global pandemic. But while it’s been a challenging 12 months, there have still been moments to savour – not least when it comes to wining and dining in P-Town. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention – and this year we’ve needed that inventive spirit more than ever.

Here are some of the highlights of one of the more challenging years in recent memory. Some of the changes mightn’t be long-lasting, but we’ll cherish them while they’re here.

Say Cheese
Colin Wood – the Perth chef who was culinary director at Ignacio Mattos’s New York City restaurants Estela, Flora Bar and Altro Paradiso – was only meant to be home for a flying visit earlier this year, but Covid-19 changed that. The pandemic might’ve created challenges for Wood and his wife Andrea Karwhal, but the news has been nothing but good for diners. As those who follow Wood on Instagram will attest, cheese is one of his great passions, and he’s spent 2020 passing his know-how onto others. It started in May with Wood setting up the in-house cheese program at Le Rebelle, then he began supplying haloumi to Wines of While and ricotta malfatti to Si Paradiso. He even found time to cook a seafood and dairy dinner at Madalena’s where he further advanced the (house-made) cheese discussion out west.

Perth’s takeaway options have never been better
Some of the best meals we ate this year were on the couch in our trackpants. From the excellent Lalla Rookh to the Mother’s Day feast from Sauma to the cook-at-home sets from Balthazar, being able to eat restaurant-calibre food at home certainly helped take the edge off things. Bars and restaurants also got in on the action too, with venues such as Foxtrot Unicorn and Goody Two’s making bottled cocktails and other booze available to housebound fans.

We got some fun spin-offs
During lockdown, Lulu La Delizia temporarily morphed into L’Osteria Lulu; Le Rebelle channelled New York’s grungy, hip-hop swagger for its Oui Rebelle pop-up; and the back gate at beloved pizzeria Monsterella – the new pick-up area – became Wembley’s coolest place to hang. Other operators used the Covid-19 downtime to re-evaluate and scheme, resulting in rebrands (such as Raw Kitchen becoming Mother) and clever pop-ups (these pizza chefs making a serious play for Perth’s best continental roll).

We got to see our state
In winter, my social media feeds usually are flooded with snapshots of Italian beaches, New York streetscapes and group selfies at Motel Mexicola in Bali. This year, the beach photos were snapped in Esperance, Geraldton and Broome; the streetscapes were of Fremantle and Margaret River; and the #squadgoals pics were scattered across Western Australia. Compared to our compatriots, West Australians enjoyed a lot more freedom during lockdown – and we certainly took advantage of it. Let’s hope our eagerness to explore our state remains high once national (and even international) borders reopen.

A new generation of community leaders stood up
There are those that like to talk about the meaning of community, and then there are those that prefer to speak with actions and activism. Thoughtful chefs, restaurateurs, farmers and winemakers redefined hospitality this year through gallant acts that served the community. The Pan Pacific hotel welcomed people experiencing homelessness; winemakers offered to send people free wine if they bought a voucher to their favourite restaurant; owners of this small suburban Indonesian restaurant set up shop in the city to feed people who might otherwise go hungry. In little and not so little ways, Perth’s hospo set stood up and served those around them. It’s been a privilege to share some of their stories.