Carbone is a certified New York City hotspot. Though it’s since expanded across the US, getting a reservation at the retro-glam Italo-American restaurant in Greenwich Village is notoriously hard – not least because of its A-list clientele – and its spicy vodka rigatoni has ascended from signature to cult status since the diner opened in 2013.

Recently, Melbourne nabbed its former senior sous-chef Anthony Dispensa, who has taken the reins as executive chef of the on-theme Ronnie’s in the Rialto Piazza. The laid-back New York-inspired Italian restaurant was founded by Matthew Butcher of hospitality collective ETO, where Dispensa is now also group chef.

We took five with Dispensa, an American native, to chat about his fine-dining pedigree, how he landed in Melbourne, and what his riff on that famous vodka pasta looks like.

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Tell us a bit about your career to date. Where have you worked previously?
I have been in the culinary industry for more than 24 years and have worked at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (London), Gordon Ramsay’s The Fat Cow (Los Angeles), and Carbone (New York). I’ve been lucky in my career to have worked under the direction of top industry talents, including Alain Ducasse, Jody Adams, Scott Ekstrom and Gordon Ramsay.

A career highlight for me was working at Heston Blumenthal’s two-Michelin-star restaurant, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, in 2016. Working in Heston’s kitchen changed everything. I have such wonderful memories of my time there and feel extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the most talented people from all over the world. Everyone there was incredibly passionate, and this encouraged you to be even greater.

Following on from Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, I was appointed executive chef at The French Room in 2018, before relocating to New Hampshire, New England, to launch the classic regional Italian restaurant Granita Enoteca in 2020. Then I received an opportunity to work as senior sous-chef at the legendary restaurant Carbone. It was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with my Italian heritage. And this has led me to where I am today: Ronnie’s.

You’re from the US originally. When did you come out to Australia, and what led you to move here?
Yes, I was born in Houston, Texas, and worked all over the world, from New York to London, and now here. Matthew Butcher (creative and culinary director of ETO Collective) has been trying to get me to come out here for years, and with everything that happened in the world over the last couple of years, it felt like the right time to come to Australia and take on this challenge.

Why did you decide to join ETO Collective and Ronnie’s?
The main reason is Matthew Butcher. I met Matthew when we were both in Los Angeles with Gordon Ramsay, and since then we have remained great friends. We’ve always kept in contact over the years, with Matthew wanting me to come out to take over the directions of Ronnie’s. He kept begging and he came to New York to sit down with me, and that was it! I was at a point where I was open to new possibilities and energised to take on a new food experience, plus Ronnie’s brings me back to my childhood and heritage, which was appealing. There is also a lot in the pipeline for ETO, and I am excited about what the future holds.

What are your ambitions for Ronnie’s? Is there a new direction you want to take it?
I think the one thing I am trying to do is to teach people what New York is about. I want to bring the theatrics and pizzazz! With the rebuilding happening in the hospitality industry, I am eager to bring a new menu and showcase a completely unique experience for our customers. Think tableside theatrics! I want them to experience what it is really like being in New York. As we grow and develop, we will add more components to really involve our customers.

What dishes do you think diners will be most excited by?
So many options on the new menu, but one that constantly receives positive feedback is the slow-cooked polpo [octopus] and cannellini beans, which happens to be one of my favourites, too. This dish is an Italian staple that uses simple cooking techniques and allows the quality of the ingredients to shine through. Other crowd-pleasers are sure to be the pasta – spicy fusilli alla vodka with whipped ricotta (with the addition of breadcrumbs, this is a southern-Italian classic); casarecce with pesto and ricotta salata; and gnocchi with grandma’s bolognaise (a traditional dish from Bologna and Dispensa family recipe featuring handmade gnocchi filled with ricotta).

ronnies.melbourne
@chefanthonydispensa