Shared Ethos —
Chef Cameron Harvey
November 2023
Sharing wine amongst friends and family is at its pinnacle when shared too with food. If you cook, or have someone in your life who cooks, no doubt you've felt that moment of warmth surrounded by close ones, eating and drinking.
Cam Harvey shares this ethos, where the power in cooking [and eating] is truly fulfilled when shared with others.
Cam says he is his most happy when his favourite people are sitting around a table eating the food he’s cooked — “We share, we laugh, there's wine but it’s food that brought us to the table in the first place. That's important right?"
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Cam's journey to becoming a chef isn't a dramatic one. In fact, it's very much relatable to most who have found something they loved and went out and worked for it.
Raised in regional town of Bendigo, Cam wasn't surrounded by a rich history of food culture. But his family did take on a number of International Exchange Students from all over, and when staying at his home they shared their own cultures and experiences around food.
Moving to the city [Naarm—Melbourne] meant this multi-cultural connection deepened. Working front of house to start, the exposure to cooking and food came from having worked with people of many nationalities - one of his first kitchen experiences was working with 15 chefs from 15 different countries. This diversity in the kitchen, and the knowledge to follow, was invaluable.
" People share when you are curious and express a true desire for wanting to experience authenticity. "
Authenticity is respected in Cam's food. Not just through his cooking style, but perhaps more-so as a reflection of his ethos. The produce you cook with is a sign of respect for not just what you cook with, but also who you cook for.
A weekly regular at the Queen Victoria Markets as well as local farmers markets, the respect for food starts with Cam's connection to the producers themselves. Sourcing local and seasonal produce comes with a story of its own. A story told by the people who grow and harvest the food, a conversation that might start with a specific vegetable, ending with Cam trying something new in the kitchen. An influence to the chefs creativity.
" Everything is storytelling, respectful interpretation of classic recipes and their history and it applies to concepts, flavours and construction for me. "
Currently Cam is one of the chefs at La Pinta, where the focus is supporting small, regenerative agriculture. This ever-developing knowledge of sustainability has become a cornerstone of his ethos. Understanding the impacts of food from farm to table is one thing, extending that knowledge to what happens after, like land regeneration and even composting, is important.
At the end of the month we’re coming together with Cam for a Spring Wine Party with our friends at The Alpine Hotel in Warburton. A connection of like-minded strangers, linked by a mutual appreciation for sharing, open-mindedness and storytelling. Plus dancing, pasta and wine are a vibe we all get down with.
Tickets and more info about the event via the link — HERE.
Thank you Cam.
Jordan Hein and the Moorak Wines community acknowledges and pays respect to the past,
present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of
this nation. The aim is to support and develop the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Always was and always will be, Aboriginal Land.
Always was and always will be, Aboriginal Land.
