In January, Sydney lost Newtown pay-what-you-can restaurant Lentil As Anything, in a closure likened to “a death in the family” by the venue’s management. It was a blow felt by many Sydneysiders, not least of all those experiencing food insecurity – one in six Australian adults according to a 2021 report by the Australian Food Bank.

But it’s not all bad news. Food-rescue organisation Ozharvest has finally thrown the doors open at Refettorio, an Australian-first community kitchen on Crown Street, Surry Hills. From Tuesday to Friday, the 50-seat space provides free, three-course vegetarian lunches to those in need of food assistance, using ingredients diverted from landfill by Ozharvest.

“It is so much more than feeding people … what we’re hoping the Refettorio will offer is dignity, and literally a space that people will call their own and feel safe in. And know that it’s a precious experience that they are worthy of, as is anybody,” Ronni Kahn, founder and CEO of Ozharvest, tells Broadsheet.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

The project – which has been in the works since 2019 – is a collaboration between Ozharvest and celebrated Italian chef Massimo Bottura, founder of three-Michelin-starred restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, and not-for-profit organisation Food for Soul.

Bottura is one of the world’s most respected chefs. In 2019 when he took out the number-one spot in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, judges described Osteria Francescana as “one of the very finest dining experiences in the world, combining nods to tradition with fierce modernity, philosophical conceptions with old-fashioned flavour, warmth with daring”. His Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano course, which celebrates the hard cheese through different textures and tastes, is renowned.

The story goes like this: Bottura and Kahn first met at the Australian Mad food symposium in 2016 (Kahn has described the experience as “two meteors colliding”). They reconnected a year later when Bottura headlined a charity dinner at Ozharvest’s Alexandria headquarters, where plans were laid to bring the Refettorio concept to Australia. Kahn had always dreamed of channeling Ozharvest’s zero-waste ethos into a restaurant experience, and she found a passionate co-conspirator in Bottura.

“Let’s put it this way – our minders don’t let us talk by ourselves because they’re scared about what plot we’re going to hatch,” she says, laughing.

Meaning “to remake” or “restore” in Latin, refettori were originally places where monks would come together to share their daily meal. Through Food for Soul, Bottura and his wife Lara Gilmore have used the concept to restore the spirits of disadvantaged people in cities all over the world, including Paris, Harlem and Milan – where the original Refettorio Ambrosiano was established. While every Refettorio looks different, the brief is the same: to provide an elegant setting for vulnerable people to dine with dignity and respect. Kahn is the first to bring the concept to Australia.

This version involves a 100-year-old Victorian terrace, the former home of neighbourhood restaurant Nepalese Kitchen, which was gifted to Ozharvest by philanthropic donor Just World Investments. A team of more than 100 individuals donated time, expertise and materials to the project, free of charge.

“We were told we could do what we liked with the building but had to find the wherewithal to fit it out. Honestly, every bit of paint on the walls, the woodwork in the building, to the floors, to the coldroom … everything was a gift of love, labour and time.”

The result is a warm and inviting space, split across two levels and flooded with natural light. An interior design by Frost Collective exposes the building’s original brickwork, which is offset by sleek Italian-style tables and chairs donated by James Richardson Furniture. Contemporary Aboriginal artworks by ngangkari, or traditional healers in Anangu culture, donated from the APY Art Centre Collective line the walls. The impressive hanging-basket light installation in the dining room – woven by Harriet Goodall – is one of Kahn’s favourite design elements:

“This notion of harvest, nourishment, giving and gathering – I really wanted that to come through. That light fitting is very beautiful” she says.

In step with Ozharvest’s sustainability ethos, the building adheres to the “highest environmental standards”, says Kahn. That means water-saving toilets and solar panels on the roof.

And there’s the kitchen, where head chef Jez Wick and sous-chef Lauren Evers will transform imperfect or otherwise discarded ingredients into vegetarian dishes that wouldn’t look out of place on a pricey degustation menu. For an entree, it might be sweet-corn-and-green-chilli beignets with pickles, smoked yoghurt, charred tamari seeds and nori. Then, a main dish of braised mushroom ragu with creamy parmesan polenta, burnt-leek and hazelnut salsa, and confit-garlic sourdough crumbs. For dessert: a spiced banana split with ginger biscuits and banana marshmallow.

To make the Refettorio as fair as possible, Ozharvest will use an invitation system, where charitable partners are welcomed to book the space each day to feed their clients. Places will be kept free for walk-ins.

And while the Ref is closed to the general public most of the time, it opens to the general public fortnightly on a Thursday evening, when guests can book in and pay for a set three-course dinner. The cost of the meal goes towards funding the space's all-important daytime function.

“It’s very beautiful, because you put out into the universe that you want something to happen. And then, piece by piece, the jigsaw puzzle gets filled in,” says Kahn. “So I’m very excited. I can’t wait to start serving lunch.”

Refettorio Ozharvest Sydney is on 481 Crown Street, Surry Hills. It opens from 12pm–2.30pm Tuesday to Friday.

ozharvest.org

This article was updated on September 6, 2022, to reflect the launch of public dinners.