Justine Schofield is, by her own description, a big wine person. So for her latest project, the chef, TV presenter and cookbook author is exploring one of the country’s best wine regions: the Barossa Valley. Her new program, Barossa Gourmet with Justine Schofield, follows her as she explores the grape varieties grown in that beloved South Australian destination. It’s “pretty much the best job ever,” she says.
In the eight-part series, she also meets some of the region’s top chefs and visits the artisan who once handcrafted what is now her favourite kitchen knife. Here, Schofield – who got her start back on that very first season of MasterChef Australia – tells us why no one else is allowed to touch that knife, as well as the story of a few other important personal belongings.
What I’d save from my house in a fire
A beautiful painting my mum got me for my 30th, which I look at every single day. She didn’t paint it herself – she’s not very good at painting. She found it in a random shop in Brisbane and it’s the best present I’ve ever received, particularly because art is so personal that it’s hard for other people to buy it for you.
But this one is fantastic because it has all the bits and bobs I love – red wine glasses, sitting around the table eating, and even an owl – my favourite animal. I don’t know how she managed to find all that in one painting, so it’s totally priceless.
My most useful object
My knives. Without a good knife, you can’t cook well. I don’t actually have that many knives – probably about six. I prefer to have a minimal number of quality knives and sharpen them regularly.
There’s one in particular that is very special. It’s a chef’s knife, which is the most versatile kind. I got it in the Barossa Valley a long time ago – it was made for me personally at this very unassuming little place called Gardner Knives, where the owner handcrafts everything just the way you like it. You can actually see the different layers of steel that have gone into it. It’s quite remarkable that this kind of artisan thing is still happening today. And it’s not just pretty – it works better than all of them.
It’s the sharpest knife I have and it comes with me everywhere – every time I do a food demonstration or when I go on holidays down to Melbourne every year, it’s the one thing I always take with me. No one is allowed to touch it, including my partner. He puts it in the dishwasher – he doesn’t understand knives do not go in the dishwasher! The high heat just makes them blunt. You could probably get away with it once, but I wouldn’t waste your time.
The item I most regret losing
A case of wine I left in the back of a taxi – very, very, very expensive wine that I bought after a wine tasting. I was at P&V Merchants in Sydney three or four years ago with my friend and had a tasting there that went for hours with the great man himself, Mike Bennie, who co-owns the place.
He sold me upwards of $500 worth of wine – champagnes, chardonnays, everything – which I put in the boot of a taxi. I got out, went inside, made a few phone calls and then a few hours later I decided OK, time to put the wine away. I was so excited, then I realised what I’d done. Now I just get everything delivered to the house so I’m not responsible for transport.
