Oscar-winning Australian costume designer Catherine Martin and daughter Lilly Luhrmann share a love of cooking.
“My mum is French and taught me how to make crepes. It’s a tradition I carried on as a mother and would make them every weekend for the kids,” says Catherine.
Restaurants are also a passion. Catherine worked on the interiors of medieval-inspired New York restaurant Monsieur with husband Baz Luhrmann.
Catherine, who is about to start work with Baz on new film Joan of Arc , and Lilly, a Gold Coast-based literary tastemaker, were in Melbourne on Thursday as special guests of Landmark by Lexus on Oaks Day, where they enjoyed a steak frites at the Entrecote restaurant within the lavish trackside pavilion. They took some time out between races to share their food, drink and home cooking favourites.
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Catherine: We went to Margaret in Double Bay for Christmas Eve with the in-laws recently. We have celebrated many birthdays too, including my father’s and many milestone anniversaries over the years. It serves good uncomplicated food. The steak frites are a highlight. I had the best margarita cocktail here, too.
The quality is fantastic at Mr. Wong . I love the Kung Pao chicken, wagyu and truffle puffs and stir-fried greens. The steamed fished with oyster sauce is divine. I buy the Christmas tins for gifts each year from Flour and Stone , filled with classic Australian treats like Iced-VoVos. It’s baker Nadine Ingram’s take on Arnott’s biscuits. They also make incredible lamingtons and celebration cakes.
I like the canned cocktails at The Continental Deli and the Lobby Bar at Ace Hotel is another favourite spot for a drink. I love the interiors. Bar Bruno and Razz Room are both great spots I like to visit as well.
Lilly: I go to Humble Bakery & Cafe for their finger buns and chocolate Guinness cake.
Catherine: I like to go to Tipo 00 and Osteria Ilaria next door for the freshest pasta — the specials are the way to go. I enjoy Supernormal for the lobster rolls, and Marion Wine Bar in Fitzroy for the roast chicken and France Soir for steak frites. I love the iconic rooftop bar and like to drink champagne at Siglo . I like Caretaker’s Cottage for cocktails and Apollo Inn where it’s always a traditional margarita, no agave or sugar syrup.
Catherine: Restaurant Labart in Burleigh Heads is a favourite spot for us to dine. Chef Alex Munoz makes the most beautiful prawn dish in a buttery garlic sauce with capers and chives. Baz and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary here and also dined here when I got my Order of Australia medal.
If you want somewhere to dine literally barefoot in the sand, ask for a table outside at Rick Shores , and go when the sun is setting. You must order the bug rolls — they’re pretty famous. At Tarte they make great cakes, chocolate chip cookies with brown butter and the salted cookies are also good. I get the strawberry and white chocolate. Paddock Bakery for the smoked salmon bagel. My coffee order is a magic – it’s like a strong flat white.
Lilly: Little Itoshin feels like you’re stepping into the 1970s. It’s where I had my 21st birthday. The omakase is the way to go. It’s the freshest, best sashimi you can find. The owner Hibiki is always the one serving you. Paradise Fish Shop is a great new spot for sustainable fish and chips and Miami Fish Shop is a wholesale and retail spot to get the freshest sashimi and fish and chips.
Catherine: There’s a restaurant opposite my Paris apartment in the 9th called Le Bon Georges where they serve exceptional steak frites — the meat is out of this world, cooked on the grill with salt and pepper; unfussy and served with perfectly cut fries. The steak tartare is also great.
Hôtel Particulier is a four-bedroom hotel in Montmartre that has an incredible garden – and has a good bar and restaurant. I am a champagne drinker; my favourite is Champagne Nominé-Renard. If I can’t have that, I look for a Blanc de Blancs. I’ve been drinking an amazing Australian Blanc de Blancs called Idée Fixe from Margaret River.
There’s a classic Italian restaurant called Stern , located inside a little gallery where I ate a delicious ragu pasta. It’s opposite another small restaurant I also love called Racine , which is impossibly hard to get into. The gazpacho with gelato on top was absolutely delicious.
For coffee, I like Blondie Coffee House in Paris. They have two outposts in the 6th and 9th arrondissement. Maison Kitsune is a Japanese store where they serve great coffee, it’s great for Aussies travelling looking for somewhere good. Rose Bakery is run by an Anglo-French couple who also write beautiful cookbooks. It’s the closest thing you get to an Australian brekkie if you’re looking for eggs.
Catherine: I love cooking a roast chicken . There’s always lots of butter. My mother always cooked crepes and it’s something I can do with my eyes closed. You need lots of eggs to thin the batter, and my mother taught me to put the batter in the fridge overnight so that the gluten develops and it becomes nice and stretchy.
Lilly: I am the pasta queen – it’s either vodka pasta or pesto pasta.
Catherine: I’ve always said you need to clean as you go in the kitchen.
Lilly: I know I have to clean as I go, but I am really bad at doing that. Catherine Martin and Lilly Luhrmann were special guests at Landmark by Lexus on Oaks Ladies Day at Flemington Racecourse.
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