New Nomad chef Jacqui Challinor doing it for the girls
In an industry so dominated by males, it can be difficult to break the belief that women can’t handle it in the kitchen.
Nomad’s new head chef Jacqui Challinor is proof they can.
The 29-year-old started working on the grill at the acclaimed Surry Hills restaurant two years ago and was sous chef before being promoted to the top role following the departure of Nathan Sasi in December.
And while she loves working in a kitchen full of guys, she is finding more and more females responding to advertisements for staff.
“I really push to get some girls into the kitchen because females have really good attention to detail and they can work just as hard as the guys,” she says. “It’s good to get some balance in there. I have been pretty lucky; I have always worked with people who are really respectful and at the end of the day I don’t want to be treated any differently than the guys.”
Challinor grew up in Cronulla and originally wanted to be a food stylist — something that comes out in the beautiful presentation of her dishes.
She did her apprenticeship under Christopher Whitehead at Mad Cow in the CBD, whose calm, level-headed demeanour has inspired her behaviour in the kitchen.
“I do get angry sometimes,” she admits “But you don’t get anywhere yelling and screaming at people. You’re better off explaining what they’re doing wrong and showing them how to fix it in the right way.”
Nomad restaurant in Surry Hills.
She has also worked alongside another inspiring female chef, Lauren Murdoch, at Merivale’s Felix and took her first head chef role at Greek restaurant Xanthi before moving to Nomad.
“My mum’s Maltese so I’ve grown up with Mediterranean food and it’s a style of food that I love working with,” she says. “I love having simple, fresh food with big flavours.”
Challinor has kept popular dishes like goats cheese churros with truffled honey and the foie gras and chicken liver parfait with radish and Iranian plum on the menu, joking that there would be riots if they were removed.
She has also added new dishes, including Spanish-style white anchovies, and ocean trout tartare with pickled and smoked eggplant and squid ink
“The menu is a bit more balanced now,” she says. “You used to have your really big sellers but we’re getting people trying different things, which is really good to see.”
In September, Challinor is heading to Spain and Greece for a month-long educational tour which will see her visiting top restaurants and eating as much street food as she can.
“At the end of the day that’s what we want to serve here at Nomad — really incredible, authentic food,” she says.
But you are unlikely to see her presenting foodie travel shows or appearing on MasterChef or My Kitchen Rules anytime soon.
“It not me, I’m so shy,” she says. “I just like being in the kitchen.”
Source : The Daily Telegraph Angela Saurine 5th May 2015
