When celebrity chef Alessandro Pavoni and his wife, Anna, went house-hunting, it ended up as the perfect ‘meant-to-be’ experience every couple dreams of. Alessandro and Anna looked around for quite a while before they found a house in Allambie on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. They were actually on the way to the bank to get the deposit cheque when Anna’s cousin, Kalinda, rang to say she’d organised a home inspection in Cromer. “She’d been helping us look,” Anna explains, “as she wanted us to live near her.” Anna told her it was too late but Kalinda pleaded with them, saying she’d get the estate agent to meet them there right away. “So, instead of driving to the bank, we did a detour via Cromer – and Alex and I walked in, and both said ‘Yes, we’ll take this one’!” Then, of course, they had to cancel the other one and go to the bank for a cheque for a different house. “Naturally, Kalinda was delighted!” JUST RIGHT What they loved about it was the northern aspect and the way the light came in – and that it was also a great place for entertaining. “Alessandro isn’t home that much,” says Anna, “but he loves the outdoors and the way we can sit outside most of the year here. We can have barbecues in autumn or spring, whereas in Italy at those times, it’s almost snowing!” she laughs. “But here, we can have breakfast in the sun. That’s really the only meal we regularly get at home.” Alessandro owns and runs Ormeggio at The Spit, renowned for its Northern Italian cuisine, as well as Spiedo in the city, which they opened recently, and the kitchen in their new home was one of the things they particularly liked. “The only thing we did was put white marble cladding around the island bench,” Anna says. This was clearly another major selling point. “It becomes like a theatre!” she exclaims. “If chef’s cooking, he’s cooking – and he doesn’t want to be stuck in there on his own, so the open layout is ideal. Obviously he cooks and it’s like having your own Masterchef show at home! Friends and family perch on the other side of the bench – and he does his thing!” WORKING TOGETHER Being a chef, Alessandro loves designing kitchens and, of course, he did this in both the restaurants, but it was a blessing to find one that didn’t need anything done. “He’s the one with the design eye – he’s the artist, the creative one,” says Anna fondly. “I’m the ‘numbers’ person. I’m more the ‘policies and procedures’ department, while he’s ‘concepts and ideas’, so we’re a really good team.” Anna also gives Alessandro credit for the interior decor, including choosing the artwork. He was the one who found the Aboriginal painting in the lounge room – at an art fair in Darwin a few years ago. “Kalinda’s husband, Guy Hawson, is an artist and he painted the vegetable pictures you can see dotted about,” she adds. “We found them in the garage when we went to their place once – and loved them – and he was happy to let us have them.” HERE TO STAY This reminds her of a story from soon after Alessandro came to Australia 10 years ago. “When we first met, it was all about learning each other’s languages and we lived with an Italian friend who was also learning English,” says Anna. “One day, they asked me to tell them what the Australian expression ‘good onions’ meant!” When she didn’t understand, one of them put it another way – “why is it, when anyone does something good, Australians say ‘good onions’? Why not say ‘good carrots’ or ‘good leeks’ – they’re great too!” Then, when the penny dropped, Anna fell about laughing – and explained it was ‘goodonyers’! “Not long after that, we found the paintings in Guy’s garage – including the onions,” she beams. “Naturally, we call it ‘The Good Onions’ and it still reminds us of those hilarious early times.” Looks like there’ll be plenty more ‘good onions’ ahead too. BEHIND THE SCENES FAVOURITE PLACE “At the kitchen bench or out on the sun-drenched balcony.” BIGGEST CHALLENGE “Alessandro has great ideas but he’s definitely not a handyman! He can see what he wants and it’s always beautiful, but the challenge is finding someone who can produce it!” LUCKIEST FIND “I think that has to be the onion picture – now called The Good Onions by everyone – and all the happy memories it brings back.” FAVOURITE PIECE “The painting of a surfer on the feature wall that my aunt gave us, because when Alessandro first came here, he gave up his snowboard for a surfboard.” ALESSANDRO PAVONI Q&A: YOU ARE THE HEAD CHEF AT ORMEGGIO AT THE SPIT? Yes – I am also the owner of the restaurant. I opened it two years ago. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF COOKING? At Ormeggio at The Spit we do modern Italian cuisine. We use a modern approach to the classic Italian dishes, particularly from northern Italy. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A CHEF? I have been cooking now for 26 years – 16 years in Italy and for the last 10 years, I’ve been living here in Australia – and I’m married to an Australian woman. WHAT DO YOU REGARD AS YOUR ‘SIGNATURE’ DISH? I’m really well known for my risotto – risotto is my ‘thing’. YOU OBVIOUSLY ENJOY YOUR WORK! Oh yes! I love my job – I just love it. And I do it with passion – otherwise the food wouldn’t taste good! STORY GABRIELLE BAXTER PHOTOGRAPHY TONY POTTER STYLING KATHRYN BORGLUND