Derrick Gee (@gee_derrick)
Black coffee, sourdough & a nice piece of mango
Taste Maker is a food guide from creatives, artists and professional eaters.
Derrick Gee is a radio host, DJ and content creator. An expert in music, audio and the cartilage in between.
Where do you live most of the year?
Sydney, Australia
What do you look for in a restaurant when you walk in?
Kindness. Patience. Calm. Good sound treatment.
What is your final meal?
I don’t think it’d be anything extravagant. Perhaps something sentimental. A nice piece of fruit (mango?) perhaps.
3 guests for dinner, dead or alive?
Alive: My wife, my kid, Blippi (for entertainment)
Dead: Ryuichi Sakamoto, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye
Derrick’s Taste Maker Guide
Breakfast: For the sake of transparency - I'm not an "out breakfast" guy.
Give me toast, some fruit and yoghurt and a black coffee. I really don't think any cafe can pull me away from that ritual. Wherever I am though, I will seek out a good sourdough. She Wolf Bakery, Sonoma (the big miche), Tartine. I will make special trips just to secure a loaf.
Coffee: Anthracite, Hannam-Dong, Seoul, South Korea
Order: Iced coffee and the cake of the day. Views of Seoul from upstairs surrounded by Brutalism, greenery and peace. Don’t forget to wonder the hilly shops around the corner!
Lunch: Hall, Manhattan, New York
Order: Get the shrimp burger. I know I know it sounds a bit fishy, but it’s so subtle and crisp! I usually grabbed a coffee to go on the way out, or a nice fizzy Coke with the burger.
This is a cop out for anyone who follows me haha. I used to go here once a week when I worked down the street. And I took every lunch meeting from there. It’s classy, beautiful, tucked away, and DELICIOUS. Copper lined benches, wood panelled walls and burgers.
Special dinner: Sean's, Bondi, Sydney
Order: It’s a daily hand written menu, so just go with the flow. I had a baked chicken there once that still to this day is the most delicious bird I’ve eaten. I think the key to this place is that you order fresh. Go somewhere else if you want something burned and brown.
This place looks out to North Bondi Beach. It’s like you’re stepping into a friend’s dining room. The service is warm, the air is fresh, the food is seasonal and without fuss. It’s romantic in a very Australian way.
Casual dinner: Lilac Wine, Melbourne
Order: Everything's great but the chicken mousse eclair - if you can imagine it, is basically like a chicken liver parfait in soft bread, but instead it's in a tiny finger sized eclair form. FANTASTIC.
I went here recently and had such a lovely time. Lined with a quartet of honking big Tannoy speakers and a sophisticated DJ booth, it’s the kinda restaurant I like - intimate, jolly, yummy, with a good sound system that sounds good from anywhere.
Special shoutouts
Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne - I DJed at this tiny converted cottage turned cocktail bar with Tim Sweeney recently. The sound system is fantastic, they play music loud (as one should) and it really feels like you're hanging out among friends
General Store, Peckham, London - I still think about this place weekly. The most crammed in, delicious General Store of fine foods that I’d cycle to every Sunday.
Tokyo Mart, Northbridge, Sydney - the most extensive Japanese supermarket you’re going to find in Sydney. Imported oddities, fresh Japanese baked goods
Cafe Sabarsky, Manhattan, New York - Situated in Neue Galerie New York, it’s a romantic afternoon tea spot opposite Central Park. Old school menu, not because it’s conceptual, but because it is actually old school
