MasterChef Australia contestant’s guide to Fremantle
Alex Crisp grew up surrounded by a fusion of global flavours that are characteristic of Fremantle's renowned hospitality scene.
Her experiences in Perth's charming port city nurtured the culinary curiosity that was first sparked by her family’s mix of Danish and South African cultures. Today, Alex is putting her talents to the test in MasterChef Australia.
What does Alex recommend when you’re in Fremantle?
"When I was little, we dined out at Fremantle's family classics, like Kailis, Little Creatures and regular ‘Thursday pizza dinners’ at Ruocco's. Today, my favourite new-age wining and dining spots are Wild in the Street and Strange Company."
Wild in the Street — the name says it all!
A hidden alley gem, Wild in the Street has a funky, casual vibe, a big woodfire, and lots of vibrant artwork. It's sister venue to South Fremantle’s beloved Mexican joint, La Cabaña. Head chef, Paula, is a clever and creative chick who is doing magical things. Together with her three sidekicks — Meg, Harry and Enya — this flower power queen delivers a Mediterranean-coastline-inspired-menu spiked with a fun and sexy hit of South America.
At least one element on every dish has been hot smoked or kissed by the flames of the crackling woodfire oven. My favourite is their signature dish — tiger Prawns with their head still on for max juice and flavour effect. These plump crustaceans sit on top of tangy house-smoked labneh and are then doused in Paula’s famous fermented chilli mango oil. The dish is spicy, smokey and sweet — a total must try for any foodie and so moreish.
Paula believes the most important part of any dish is the sauce — you'll find an abundance of it on every plate. My tip: you'd be a fool not to order the house made focaccia to mop up the saucy goodness that your spoon just can’t cradle enough of!
Strange Company — food looks and tastes a million dollars
Such exciting things come from Strange Company's humble ethos — "unpretentious, local and delicious"! A taste of WA sings strong from the menu, with Fremantle Octopus, Abrolhos Island Scallops and Futari wagyu. When I met with Greg (owner) and Chris (Head Chef) in their beautiful, open space, Greg was preparing a family staff meal before a busy Friday dinner service. He describes Strange Company as one big family and has cultivated a kitchen full of exceptional and unique talent.
It's clear that everybody has an input in Strange Company's kitchen — Naomi, their youngest chef, created the latest craze on their menu. Her tomato tartare with kol rhabi, labneh and bush tomato dust is an intriguing and very sophisticated plate of food that's perfect to start a meal or as a palette cleanser. It was light, bright and FULL of zing — Naomi, you are a wizard!
I'm excited to get back here for their (free!) fortnightly mid-week wine tastings and regular local wine-paired-dinner-events. If you're visiting during the day, there's no better place for people watching than out of the front, under the established passionfruit vines — even better with a glass of my favourite white, Mr Barval’s Viognier. Or soak up the chill, dim-lit vibes during the evening.
Fremantle is home to so many talented chefs
It takes some real guts to stand out as a female in the hospitality industry and I'm especially loving the female energy that's around in Fremantle. Here are 3 clever, gutsy and inspirational ladies who are paving the way and bringing innovative, creative and delicious dishes to Freo:
- Paula Galvez, Wild in the Street
- Blaze Young, Niew Ruin
- Malissa Palinkas, Young George / Ethos Deli + Dining Room
There's so much I love to do when I'm back in Freo!
- Urban Wine Walk! My friends and I loved experiencing all Fremantle's funky venues. It was a great showcase of so many awesome local wine producers.
- Hitting up the op shops for special finds, especially at Good Sammys, Vinnies and Beat Happening.
- Watching the sunset over the cranes from the harbour. They're nostalgic of my childhood: “The dinosaurs that watch over Fremantle”.
- Water aerobics classes at the Fremantle leisure pools.
- I try to get amongst all the fun events happening in Fremantle whenever I can!
Nowhere satisfies my taste of South African or Danish flavours… yet
Fremantle has lots of incredible Mediterranean and Asian fusion cuisine — but I haven't found anywhere, when it comes to my food heritage. Maybe one day I could run a pop-up to bring a little taste of my twisted Danish/South African culture to a Freo venue's menu. That would be great!
