🍴 EAT BETTER Cool COVID Condiments
Oh cool, another article about COVID. Groundbreaking. Bear with me though - there are actually some cool stories that came out of the garbage fire that was 2020. They all revolve around cheffy mates that pivoted (pretty sick of that word) during COVID. Luke Powell of LP’s Quality Meats, for instance, was in the middle of switching his restaurant into more of a production area for his wholesale meats. The stars aligned, they organised packaging, and we started selling. O Tama Carey from Lankan Filling Station opened one of the coolest pantry stocks in town when she had no staff. For the head chef of Cho Cho San, the shutdown spearheaded his dream to start his own condiment niche. Actually, it’s been hot sauce all round this year, which is a spicy lining if we’ve ever heard of one.
Here we go. Eat these things and improve everything about your food.
LP’s Chorizo Porteño
We were actually selling these spiced Argentinean-style bangers pre-pandemic, but woah, our Not DRNKS section went pretty wild when people were stuck at home. They’re still going strong - ideal for the grill, a paella, eggs, literally whatever. Two-packs coming soon. We also sell their boudin noir and pig’s head sausos.
Lankan Filling Station Acharu Pickle
How good is O Tama from Lankan? She’s the best, in life but also at pickling cool things. We actually started selling this spicy-sweet-sour mix of pickled cauliflower, pineapple, carrot and onion post lockdown, because they ended up being too damn busy during it for us to get any. Who’s laughing now, ey?
Jimoto Foods Japanese Condiments
Max is the head chef at Cho Cho San in Potts Point. The man knows his way around anything Japanese. He’s always wanted his own run of products, and this year he did it! It’s called Jimoto Foods. These are very necessary. So much flavour. Max’s miso hot sauce is absolutely killer, sweet, umami, spicy. Eat it with chicken, steak, noodles, anything. Try also, shiso teriyaki sauce and fresh yuzu and chilli dressing.
Lulu’s Remedy Chilli Oil
Chilli oil is the true winner of the year, and we’re cool with that. Monica Luppi was working in hospitality as a chef and cooking teacher when COVID changed everything. During lockdown, she made pickles, oils and sauces to keep herself busy and to gift to friends. Then the shop at the end of her street took a few jars of the chili oil, and one thing led to another. Today Lulu's Remedy comes in two flavors (regular and anchovy) and was named team favorite in Gourmet Traveller magazine! Still proudly made by hand in small batches in Sydney's inner west. Your eggs/ramen/toasties/salad/dinner will never be the same.
Hotluck Kimchi Hot Sauce
We first met Gaspar Tse when he was running Ghostboy Cantina with our taco boy Toby Wilson. He then cooked at 10 William, but now he’s started making sauces based on his own background. This kimchi hot sauce is one of the best things we have eaten this year, a blend of locally grown chillies (scud, birdseye, habanero) lacto-fermented with kimchi things like Korean pears, daikon, shallots and ginger. Super complex. Super good.