Michael Stadtländer
Published on October 16 2012.
Eigensinn Farm, Singhampton, Canada
A chef, farmer, author, multimedia artist and culinary activist, Michael has been growing and raising his own ingredients on a 100-acre farm in Ontario for nearly two decades. The 12-seater restaurant on his farm is a much sought after reservation and he says that “I think the restaurant is successful because I get people to walk on the land, see the trees, feel the wind and taste the food. It’s as good as it gets.”
Vist thanks to Hare & Grace
Q. Who did you learn to cook from?
A. Vincent Klinck in Germany
Q. What grows in your backyard?
A. Everything that I use for cooking and for all our meals. We also raise all our livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs, geese, sheep and cows.
Q. Name the one ingredient you can't live without?
A. Onions
Q. What's your favourite dish on the menu right now?
A. Any composition with suckling piglet and wild mushrooms, out of our forest.
Q. What do you do when you're not in the kitchen cooking?
A. Farming, gardening, food activism mainly through Canadian Chefs' Congress. Also I make furniture and art. I love to fish and canoe but hardly find the time.
Q. No 1 cooking tip for the amateur cook?
A. Don't decide on the menu, look for food sources and create the menu from that.
Q. What are you most looking forward to experiencing while in Melbourne?
A. Meeting other like-minded chefs and communicating my vision and ideas so we may collaborate in the future. Also to see what is going on in Australia cooking-wise and culturally.
