Bazil Stander
Bazil Stander
Food · Life · Travel
 
 

About

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A bit more about me

I’m a born and bred South African now living & working in Sydney, Australia with my four cats.

I studied Photography, then worked in Fashion before falling in love with good food while working in the neighbourhood bistros of West London in the late 90’s - a turning point that led to a creative career in food.

I’m a cookbook addict, food trend aficionado & often time armchair traveller as life, budget & work simply don’t allow for every dream destination to unfold just yet.

 
 

 

 
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Ramblings about the things I love

 
 

FOOD:

Modern asian food, seafood & punchy street food are all hot favourites. Food experiences that are delivered with passion & attention to detail make me happy - a 3 star michelin restaurant or a korean fusion food truck in DownTown LA can be equally memorable and satisfying.

Some of my most memorable meals from recent memory - too many to mention here properly:

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  • COSME - New York City

  • NOMA - Copenhagen

  • ALS PLACE - San Francisco

  • LOS TACOS NO1 - New York City

  • ESTER - Sydney

  • MINAMISHIMA - Melbourne

  • CHEFS WAREHOUSE - BEAU CONSTANTIA - Cape Town

  • EIKE - Stellenbosch

  • LUMI - Sydney

  • MIMIS - Sydney

  • PORCINE - Sydney

  • BORONIA KITCHEN - Sydney

  • THE LEDBURY - London

  • SALSIFY - Cape Town

  • NAVI - Melbourne

  • LE COU COU - New York City

  • SHIBUMI - Los Angeles

  • SINGLE THREAD - Healdsburg

  • THE RESTAURANT AT MEADOWOOD - Napa Valley

  • PAULIE GEES - Green point, Brooklyn

  • LILIA - Williamsburg, NYC

  • NOMAD - Sydney

  • TJING TJING MOMIJI - Cape Town

  • ALCHEMIST - Copenhagen

  • SUNDA DINING - Melbourne

 
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“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.”
— Guy Fieri
 

CHEFS:

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Anthony Bourdain famously said: “I think people lose sight of the fact that chefs should be ultimately in the pleasure business, not in the look-at-me business”.

Here’s some of the hot global chef talent I’m following at the moment who are firmly in the pleasure business:

  • Bee Satongun - Sydney

  • Sean Brock - Nashville

  • Ana Sortun - Cambridge, MA

  • David Kinch - Los Gatos

  • Will Goldfarb - Ubud

  • Eelke Plasmeijer - Ubud

  • Dan Pepperell - Sydney

  • Martin Benn - Melbourne

  • Tomos Parry - London

  • Helen Graham - London

  • Lauren Eldridge - Sydney

  • Josh Lewis - Brunswick Heads

  • Paul Farag - Sydney

  • Andrew Carmellini - NYC

  • Missy Robins - NYC

  • Kyle Connaughton - Healdsburg

  • Jordan Toft - Sydney

  • Junghyun Park - NYC

  • Aaron London - San Francisco

  • Rasmus Munk - Copenhagen

  • Fernando Trocca - London

  • Jacqui Challinor - Sydney

  • Joshua Niland - Sydney

  • Khanh Nguyen - Melbourne

  • Tom Brown - London

“Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.”
— Anthony Bourdain

TRAVEL:

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As soon as I get back from one trip I start planning and researching the next - it’s essential to always have an upcoming trip booked in or planned so you have something wonderful to look forward to. Exhaustive research is key in planning where to go, stay and eat - leave no stone unturned.

Some of my favourite relatively recent destinations have been:

Palm Springs - California, USA , Canggu - Bali, Indonesia,  Palm Cove - Queensland, Australia, Byron Bay Hinterland - New South Wales, Australia, Phu Quoc - Vietnam.

As soon as travel opens up again Oaxaca, Portland Oregon, Lombok & Capri are high on my must get to list!

“
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.
”
— Mark Twain
 

CATS:

A motley crew of four rescue cats makes my house a home. I can’t imagine life without their quirky personalities & loving energy.

All of the cats have food names: Kimchi, Yuzu, Ratatouille and Kurraba which means place of fishing - she’s named after the first suburb I called home in Sydney.

Ratatouille, a calico cat is the oldest surviving South African cat and she comes to life in my brand logo.

 
 
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“There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats.”
— Albert Schweitzer
 
 

WINE:

Chardonnay and Champagne are my tipple of choice but I’ll try almost anything once. I've become quite partial to some of the lovely South Africa White blends too lately. Reds are reserved for colder weather mostly and then Shiraz or Syrah is my go to.

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I don’t get the trending fascination with natural wines - I’m no expert but I know what I like and mostly they don’t hit the spot for me. It’s taken time & hard work to get to know the wine landscape in Australia as well as I know South African wines and it’s an ongoing journey.

“One should always be drunk. That’s all that matters...But with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose. But get drunk.
”
— Charles Baudelaire, Paris Spleen
 

 

 
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  BAZIL STANDER · FOOD · LIFE · TRAVEL

 
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