Kitchen by Mike

Foreword

In the early 1990s a young man walked into my kitchen at Rockpool. Clean-cut and eager, he looked more marine than cook. From that first day, I could tell he wasn't in a hurry, but was on a mission to do the best he could, and to get the best out of himself. It was clear that he knew what he wanted.

Mike McEnearney was a good student of cooking. Inquisitive, forthright and hardworking, he was just the type of young cook I loved having in my kitchen. He spent several years with me, working his way up the totem pole, covering each section – larder, fish, meat, pasta and sauce – and calling service. He excelled in each, not only becoming a very good cook, but a person who could relate to and manage others and take on the responsibility of running a kitchen. Young Michael had come a long way in a few short years.

Mike left Rockpool to travel overseas, but we never lost contact and I followed his adventures with interest, always catching up with him when in England. He grew into a fi ne chef, running restaurants in London and learning an immense amount about food and what he loves so much now: the four seasons that Europe has to offer, where spring, summer, autumn and winter influence the palette of cooking so strongly. He also met the beautiful Joss, who would become his wife, and had three gorgeous boys – a very important part of who Mike is today.

When, in 2006, he said he wanted to come back to Australia and give the family a taste of Sydney life, I jumped at the chance to have him back at Rockpool, this time in the capacity of executive chef. Mike didn't let me down, and for 3 years led the team with great authority and consistency.

He subsequently left in 2009 to travel, exploring more of Europe and living sustainably on a farm in Wales, before realising that Sydney was the place for him and his family to settle once and for all. After a short stint at Iggy's, one of Sydney's great bread-bakers, he was ready to open his own place, just as he'd dreamed of all those years ago. He had formed an opinion that it didn't have to be grand – as a matter of fact, it was to be the very opposite of the restaurants where he had worked most of his life. It was to be the same as the man: forthright and simple, but breathtakingly beautiful because of that very simplicity. This was to be cooking not only of the season, but of the day; the best in the market would be at Kitchen by Mike. Is it a restaurant, canteen or delicatessen? It really doesn't matter, because what it is is an expression of Mike's beautiful food in a rustic and informal room that screams sustainable, delicious food.

The same food that is in Mike's extraordinary kitchen is on the pages of this book. I know you will all want to taste whatever you see, and that it will have you cooking the recipes immediately.

I feel proud to know Mike – the man, his family, his kitchen and now his book – and wonderfully proud to have had some very small part in helping him on his journey.

Neil Perry