SMALL TALK WITH PETE MORGAN
By Linda Liem
When life gives you lemons, we all know to make lemonade. But when Pete Morgan visits Geraldton, we made him feel welcome and gave him an opportunity to share his life learnings Q+A style.
A friendly discussion about Pete’s pivotal moments in life. Image Credit: EJ
In late May, 2021, Pete graced CityHive as the Q+A guest of the month – unveiling some of his life milestones. A celebrated chef who built his hospitality career from almost zero experience. He recommends people to "do your own thing," and trust your craft. Pete is strict with what he does and doesn't try to deviate away from what he is trying to achieve. At his Leederville restaurant, Rusty Pig, he's renowned for cooking with fire.
“Going back to roots of cooking like cave men. It’s that bit of char that makes everything taste better.”
The opening of this restaurant came after a stint of working all over the country in some notable restaurants such as Perth's celebrated fine dining restaurant, Wildflower, and Jock Zonfrillo's, Orana, in Adelaide. "Jenny (Lam, his partner) persuaded me to open this place," Pete says.
It was a big decision to change careers from a crane operator in mining, to a career in hospitality. Bored with the monotony of mining, he keenly watched the MasterChef series during his down time and thought about applying to be a contestant.
Pete under the pump on the 2018 MasterChef kitchen. (Image Credit: Channel 10)
Without realising his potential, being on the show made him realise how much he loved "the roughness of (kitchens)." Pete describes his MasterChef days as "pretty much jail in there. We got two 10-minute phone calls a week, otherwise zero contact with the outside world." While he hated being on the show at the time – in hindsight it "gave me a push to start something new."
During the peak of Covid-19, he saw this time as blessing. Taking much needed holidays to unwind, and finally re-evaluating the business. Pete decided to move from an a la carte menu to a set menu. This shift resulted in
"little to no waste, an easier workload, that made everyone happier."
One of Pete's passions is fermenting food leftovers. At Wildflower, where he began fermenting, it became part of routine preparations. He says, “being mindful with the bits you don’t typically use (one can) turn garbage into money."
Pete’s restaurant collection of DIY vinegars. Image Credit: EJ