Sergio Perera (@sergio.perera)
David Bowie, sushi and half a dozen salty oysters.
Taste Maker is a food guide from creatives, artists and professional eaters. Follow → Instagram → Google Maps
Sergio Perera is a chef, artist and writer.
Where do you live most of the year?
Between Byron Bay and Sydney
What do you look for in a restaurant when you walk in?
I look for warmth. Not just of space but of people. A restaurant is like visiting someone’s home who are about to cook for you and nurture you. Help you relax and feel good. It should never feel rushed, pressured, arrogant, or fake. If I invite you to my family’s home I want you to feel comfortable, happy, taken care of. I will feed you and hopefully bring you a sense of joy and beauty through nourishment and maybe even a little nostalgia, pleasure and an overall sense of wellbeing. That is what food has been to us since the beginning of time . What started as survival, evolved into an invigorating and loving ritual to not only enjoy but to give thanks to. The pleasure we get from eating around loved ones is precious so, I’ll be damned if I am going to have someone ruin that with ignorance or arrogance from someone who doesn’t truly care or understand the essence of hospitality. We are in the service of “service”. “We” enrich.
Restaurants are like homes to multiple people of different cultures and backgrounds and these people want to share it with you.
What is your final meal?
My final meal would be at one of the greatest sushi counters in TOKYO (too many to decide exactly which) I would just pick a name out of a bag and go straight there to have endless sushi prepared by a master.
3 guests for dinner, dead or alive?
David Bowie
Nikola Tesla
Tutankhamun
Sergio’s Taste Maker Guide
Breakfast: High Life, Byron Bay
Order: I always order the duck egg tacos with potatoes. Delicious.
Coffee: Market Lane, Queen Vic Market
Order: If I’m not drinking Genovese coffee at the shop I’m drinking a long black from Market Lane Coffee before entering the meat/fish section at the Vic Market.
Lunch: Restaurant Ora Waterloo, Sydney
Amazing sushi at a beautiful spot with amazing quality fish
Order: For lunch, get the sashimi/nigiri box. It’s like having an 8 course degustation of the best quality fish of the day but in a box which can be enjoyed at the restaurant or taken away. Add a sweet spanner crab roll or tuna belly roll for a extra fee for a real feast w/ an ice cold Kirin Black
Special dinner: ILIS, Brooklyn, New York
Super hip and funky space that is beautifully designed with art in an industrial space. So much warmth and flow opened by one of the original creators of Noma in Copenhagen, Mads Refslund
Sit at the bar if you can. Much better in my opinion. You can choose a degustation or do a la carte. I personally love just letting Mads do his thing. Seafood and vegetables are their main thing with the most pristine quality. The whole concept is Fire & Ice. Everything served ice old and raw or cooked over fire. Absolutely spectacular.
Casual dinner: El Xampanyet, Barcelona, Spain
Order: The grilled ibérico steak with fried potatoes or the braised pocha beans with cuttlefish and squid ink. This is as casual as it comes. This place is mostly standing. At least if you want to do it the right way. Sitting options are available but the chaos of so many people trying to snag a spot at this masterpiece of a tapas bar serving the most traditional Catalonian bites is an absolute must. Not to mention that it is tiny and loud. It’s absolute chaos. But a chaos to be admired and enjoyed to the fullest. Drink a classic vermut, vino de la casa, or ice cold beer in a glass while you patiently wait for your food while you internally laugh at the line outside waiting to get in.