Margaret River pop-up that served Andy Hearnden ‘one of most interesting meals of his life' tours Australia
What I wasn't expecting, however, was how into Dahl Daddy's he would be – and that there would soon be a reunion.
'In November last year, I had one of the most interesting meals of my life,' said Hearnden on Instagram after he and fellow New Zealand-born chef Ben Shewry visited Dahl Daddy's and ate various dishes including lahpet thoke: a Burmese fermented tea leaf salad Hearnden hailed as 'absolutely delicious'.
'For the first time in ages, I tasted bold, beautiful flavours that I'd never had before,' says Hearnden. 'My mind was blown.'
Sadly, leasing issues forced Dahl Daddy's owners Corey Rozario and Imogin Mitchell to close their popular community eatery in June: devastating news for Hearnden as well as anyone else with an appreciation for bold South Asian cooking. The silver lining to this especially gloomy cloud, though, is that losing their permanent home has allowed Rozario and Mitchell to hit the road and introduce the rest of Australia to Dahl Daddy's singular, free-spirited take on Burmese and South Asian cuisine.
Until mid-October, Dahl Daddy's caravan of curry will wind its way around Australia and stop in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, the Sunshine Coast and Adelaide before ending the tour in Perth at Big Don's Smoked Meats. Throughout the tour, Rozario and Mitchell will set up shop in everything from a pizza-slinging record shop in Melbourne's inner-east (Sunday, August 16) to an Adelaide burger joint (Thursday, September 25). Each city's event will be unique, with formats ranging from set-menu dinners to takeaway nights.
One of the tour's key moments takes place in Sydney on Sunday, August 31. A joint effort with the team behind Kyiv Social – a socially minded eatery affiliated with the Plate It Forward movement and winner of the innovation prize at the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards in 2023 – this event is a fundraiser for earthquake relief efforts in Burma as well as a reunion between team Dahl Daddy's and Hearnden.
'The morning after I posted my video cooking a Burmese-style prawn curry, I woke to news that a massive earthquake had hit the region [Burma],' says Hearnden. 'I couldn't shake the feeling that I had to do something. A week later, almost like serendipity, Corey called and asked if I wanted to be part of this new project. I said yes straight away. I can't wait to get in the kitchen with him, share this incredible food, and hopefully do some good along the way.'
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