Zoe Roy

The Commoner

Working as a waitress at sixteen, Zoe became captivated by the concept of creating flavour. She spent the next three years exploring Europe and UK, working in England, Ireland, Scotland, Turkey and finally spent six months in France working in a farmhouse 'La Ferme du Mont Mussey' at the foothills of the Jura mountains. It was here that her path was truly cemented - the quest for food that still smells of the earth or the forest or the ocean it came from, and the creation of simple flavours that make your heart sing.

Back in Melbourne Zoe began 'Feed your Friends', a catering business which provided fully personalised menus, catering for schools, hospitals, film sets, corporate, cocktail parties and dinner parties. After two years, at 21, Zoe rejoined the world of commercial kitchens, becoming Head Chef of Montsalvat Café & Restaurant in Eltham, and soon after was enticed by the excitement of Richmond Hill Café & Larder, which was to become her home for the next 3 ½ years.

Zoe's current workplace, The Commoner, embraces the true meaning of Modern British cuisine, reflecting the flavours that were brought back to England in the 1970s by British travellers through the Southern Mediterranean and Northern Africa, revolutionising traditional English cookery. The Moorish influence at the Commoner comes through in the delicate use of spices, and more evidently in the style of service, with small and share plates, as well as meats out of the wood oven straight to the table. Food at the Commoner is about seasonal, proud and honest ingredients on the plate, with a lot of love, and a little playfulness.

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