“I Didn’t Expect I Would Ever Feel So Protective”
One of Australia’s most acclaimed chefs, Christine Manfield hired Jess Muir as an apprentice almost three decades ago. Since then the pair have worked together across continents and built a friendship that feels more like family.
CHRISTINE Jess started working with me in 1993 at Paramount restaurant [in Sydney], as a fresh-faced second-year apprentice. From the start she stood apart from the pack. We were a tight little team, five chefs and me, so there was nowhere to hide. Over the next 18 months she worked her way in to the sous chef position, which says a lot. She went on to be my head chef when we did East@West in London and again at Universal in Sydney [2007-2013]. Working in a kitchen is an adrenaline-packed environment in which you are physically close – it’s like choreography. I talk about the dance of service, and we are able to dance together.
JESS I had a trial shift at Paramount which I failed abysmally. I had four hours to make a sauce, and I forgot to grind the spices, I left them whole. The sauce was ruined; four hours toil for nothing. At the end of the shift I walked out the door and burst into tears. When they called and offered me the job, I thought they must be desperate. I initially found Chris intimidating. For the first six months, she pretty much yelled at me every day. I just thought she was being mean but looking back, she was teaching me. I couldn’t cook and had no idea, really. But I’m a fighter and was determined to see the day where she didn’t yell at me. It took about six months. But she was never a tyrant, like so many male chefs were at the time. We were never treated badly – it was all about getting the best out of the food.
C Jess is very nurturing of others and has a way of getting the most out of people. I learnt a lot from being able to watch her. At Universal, if I would ever start to lose it in the kitchen, she would say, “Step away.” I have been there for her through various stages of her life. On the personal side, I really took on a mothering role – we would talk a lot about personal stuff. I think having an older woman who was rock-solid there for her was really important for her. I’ve never had any children and I didn’t expect I would ever feel so protective of someone, but we just clicked on an emotional level.
J She is not only a mentor, she was also a mother figure – my own mother wasn’t around – and that morphed into friendship. Working in a kitchen for a minimum of 60 hours a week, you’ve got hours to talk through the nitty-gritty stuff in your life. And working with Chris made coming out very easy for me. I fell in love with a waitress; we kept it secret for a little while and eventually everyone found out, but it was just seen as normal. Being in that environment where everyone was making their own choices and being their own person meant I was able to be fully myself.
C When I decided to open East@West restaurant in London in 2003, I asked Jess to come with me as head chef. I wanted the assurance of someone who knew me, who knew my work going into a bigger, uglier city. She had just turned 30 and had been with [her partner] Kylie for a year, so I appreciated her willingness to commit to a whole new life. I don’t think it would have been as successful as it was – the recognition we received, the awards – if I’d been doing it on my own.
J After East@West shut, Kylie and I stayed in Europe, working in Spain and France. We had just decided to go back to Australia so Kylie could go to university when I got a call from Chris. She said, “I’m going to open another restaurant – are you in? I’m thinking Malaysia, or maybe Thailand.” I said, “Kylie wants to come back to uni, so it’s going to have to be Sydney.” And that’s when we opened Universal. We really cooked our best food there. We both knew it would be our last restaurant and put everything into it. There was nothing left in the tank at all after it.
“For the first six months, she pretty much yelled at me every day. I just thought she was being mean but looking back, she was teaching me.”
C Jess is really positive, someone who sees the best in everything. She is wise beyond her years. I think if you come from a background with any sense of abandonment – as she did and as I did – you grow up fast. You have to be resilient, a little bit tougher, and we saw that in each other. These days we call each other and pick up where we left. I’ll go and stay with her in Tasmania several times a year. She’s now working in a primary school using food and cooking as a way of connecting with kids with behavioural issues, which highlights her natural empathy. Our friendship is a two-way street: she has offered me a lot of insights thanks to her way of looking at things.
J Chris is amazing at keeping in touch. She regularly phones just to check in. Mind you, she keeps in contact with everybody. She’ll say, “Do you remember John so-and-so?” and it turns out he’s a kitchenhand who worked with us for one day in 1996. I don’t remember 1996, let alone everyone who worked a shift with us. Any time we’re in the same state we catch up, or have a sleepover, or hang out for a few days, usually with a few drinks and lots of eating. I feel so lucky I landed in her kitchen all those years ago. She allowed me to grow and develop and mature, and that mother-daughter relationship has been pretty awesome for both of us.
Words_ Ute Junker