Some Of Melbourne’s Best Chefs Are Cooking at Bouldering Gyms

When it comes to food, rock climbing gyms rarely go beyond the usual line-up of protein bars, crisps and energy snacks. But chef-turned-bouldering-gym-manager Nico Bassand says that in France, where he grew up, it’s common to find cafes that serve proper meals – sometimes even alcohol – at climbing gyms. He’s taken this playbook and begun to barbeque skewers outside Up Climbing in Balaclava.

After Bassand’s stint as a sous chef at Osteria Ilaria, working in a bouldering gym was meant to be a step back from cooking. But it’s tough keeping the chef away from the kitchen. “I started to think about what was possible to do there, food-wise. Since there wasn’t that much money flowing, I decided that it was best to set up a temporary pop-up outside, instead of spending a lot of money to turn a tiny room there into a proper kitchen,” he tells Broadsheet.

In January, Ember by Nico was set up with a budget of under a grand, which included the cost of a 1.5-metre Japanese grill fired by binchotan charcoal briquettes. The main offering, skewers, is versatile enough for Bassand to explore flavours from different countries. “One week I can cook Japanese, the next can be any Southeast Asian country, and the following I can go down the Middle Eastern path as well,” he says.

Ember kicked off with Japanese yakitori skewers, and it moved on to a Vietnamese-focused menu in February. Expect bo la lot (beef wrapped in betel leaves), nem nuong (pork sausage) and lemongrass chicken thighs.

The stand sees a mixed bag of customers. Some are looking to grab a quick bite before, during or after exercising – climbers scale walls while he grills their order and gym-goers from the Anytime Fitness next door also visit – while others make the trip down just to have skewers while people-watching.

In Oakleigh South, former Amaru head chef Cam Tay-Yap runs a barbeque pop-up with a rotating set menu in the La Roca Boulders car park.

Tay-Yap has been climbing at La Roca for seven years and is close friends with the owners, Les and Des Ching. The trio have enjoyed many casual car park barbeques, camping cookouts and home-cooked meals together, Tay-Yap tells Broadsheet, and they often joked about opening a restaurant together. Tay-Yap, who left the Armadale fine diner to travel with his wife, had time before the trip to follow through with Pebble, which opened in November.

Since January, Tay-Yap has collaborated with a different guest chef on menus and drinks that are served for two weeks. So far, Pebble has served a Korean feast including gochujang-glazed lamb rump with a smoked tofu cream and coffee jus with Doju owner Mika Chae; a Lunar New Year menu with longevity noodles and rhubarb char siu pork neck with Mongkok Tea House and former Lee Ho Fook chef Jack Tsai; and dishes that used foraged native ingredients, such as nasturtium, with Max Burke of Amaru.

Former Vue de Monde head pastry chef and Dessert Masters winner John Demetrios took the helm in mid-February, and has now handed over to Dan Lidgard of Patsy’s, Bau Bau and Bistro Elba for an Italian showcase.

Still to come is a collab with Bassand that will mix French and Chinese cooking with dishes like pâté with youtiao (Chinese doughnuts), and two boozy 75-seater banquet lunches hosted at family-run Avani Wines in the Mornington Peninsula that will mix Tay-Yap’s Malaysian heritage and the winery owners’ Indian background, as well as desserts that showcase the grapes grown in the vineyard.

Pebble’s last service is currently on May 3, and Tay-Yap does not have further plans for the pop-up. “Pebble is going to remain as a fleeting pop-up. Whether we run it again at the end of the year is something we are leaving the door ajar to, but we will see.”

He says many chefs seem to enjoy the simple venue. “After seeing the project in person, chefs seem very drawn to the idea [of cooking in a car park]. It could be how stripped-back it is and how the focus is just on making something yummy and honest. There is something quite charming and enticing about simply cooking and looking after people without any frills and thrills.”

Ember by Nico
Up Climbing
24 William Street, Balaclava

Hours:
Tue to Thu 5.30pm–9.30pm

Pebble at La Roca
La Roca Boulders
2 Natalia Avenue, Oakleigh South

Hours:
Thu & Fri 5pm–9pm
Sat midday–3pm; 5pm–9pm
Sun midday–3pm

@pebble.at.laroca