The Go To Food Podcast Lennox Hastie - How He Turned Etxebarri Into The World's Best Restaurant, Dodging 'Flying Pans' At Le Manoir & Creating A Food Revolution In Australia!
In this episode of The Go-To Food Podcast—brought to you by Blinq (the UK POS rebels)—we sit down with fire-obsessed chef Lennox Hastie, the man behind Sydney’s cult restaurant Firedoor and the pintxo-loving Gildas. From starring on Chef’s Table to earning two Chef’s Hats (Australia’s Michelin-adjacent kudos), Lennox has built a career on cooking everything over live flame—no gas, no charcoal, just wood, nerve, and precision.
Lennox takes us back to the Basque Country, where a chance overheard conversation in a bar sent him up a mountain to Asador Etxebarri—and straight into Victor Arguinzoniz’s inferno. He shares how he went from three-Michelin-star kitchens to a tiny grill line where the ovens roasted your back and the fire seared your front, translating for Anthony Bourdain and learning that wood choice is as crucial as the cut. You’ll hear why turbot belongs flat on the grill (not in a cage), how prawns can stop time, and why simplicity hits harder when the flames are perfectly tuned.
Back in Australia, Lennox fought a four-year, site-by-site battle to open Firedoor the uncompromising way—100% wood-fired or nothing. He breaks down the nerdy magic of ironbark vs. oak, why the team builds log-cabin fires every morning, and how prep dances around rising and falling embers. Expect goosebump dishes and surprising ideas: live-marron split and kissed by heat, grilled lettuce that eats like a revelation, long-aged beef that hums with prosciutto-y depth, and flame-finished desserts that prove pastry belongs in the fire, too.
We also detour through San Sebastián and Sydney’s best bites—pintxos culture, tomato salads worth a pilgrimage, vermouth-forward Marianitos, and Lennox’s go-to Korean and Japanese haunts. It’s a story of obsession, patience, and learning to “slow dance” with fire—from mountain grills to a packed open kitchen where every lick of flame is on show. Plug in for craft, chaos, and crackling honesty—and leave hungry.
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