The Essential Ingredient

The Essential Ingredient is the place to go for the kinds of hard-to-find ingredients you hear chefs talking about, as well as kitchen gear, tableware, knives (and knife-sharpening), cookbooks and other culinary splendours. It spent nine years in Rozelle and moved to Surry Hills at the beginning of 2019.

The Essential Ingredient is the place to find Italian extra-virgin olive oils, French biscuits, Spanish paprika many other speciality ingredients. And the layout is designed to encourage blissful wandering through the culinary treasures. Wide aisles and an open floor plan make the store conducive to meandering and stumbling across that paella pan you never knew you needed.

Brands include De Buyer cookware from France and Graupera stoneware from Spain, and ingredients such as I Due Pastori pastas from Italy and Delouis mustards and vinegars from France.

The store’s highly regarded cooking school (previous instructors include dessert experts Katherine Sabbath and Anna Polyviou, and Adelaide-based TV chef Poh Ling Yeow) are complemented by a fancy fit-out. There are countertops by Dekton in a stone finish and appliances by Sub-Zero Wolf.

At the cheese counter you can pick up local and international artisan cheeses, which you can pair with charcuterie and condiments for a take-away snack.