Dylan Gittoes is well known to Scenic News readers as the writer of the popular Food for Thought column and is the founder of the Gourmet Food Co.

What inspired you to become a chef?
I love food! I was eating by the time I was only 2 months old, apparently stealing food from my mother's plate. 

 I grew up in a large working-class family and was inspired by my father's enthusiasm for cooking and my mother's epic creations, especially on such a tight budget. One day I walked into a kitchen for some school-based learning at 16 years old, and when I saw the chefs creating marvellous delights at breakneck speed, I was hooked! I began my chef apprenticeship at 17 years old in Sydney, working under the guidance of aspiring chefs such as the likes of Manu Feildel and Pete Evans, their advice to me was to head overseas. Like many a young Australian, I saw travelling overseas to be something of a rite of passage, so took their advice. 

Globetrotting gave me the freedom to grow both as a person and in my culinary endeavours, working in many talented kitchen teams. From working in gastropubs in England to chalet hosting in the French Alps, wherever I went, I gained new expertise and a new appreciation of the level of passion, commitment and grit expected in the food industry, none more so than in the fine dining establishments of New Zealand.

What did you learn from your travels overseas?
Travelling forces you to grow as a person and get out of your comfort zone. Spending time with locals on different continents while working there, I wasn't so much a tourist but got to live as the locals did. Often there was a language and cultural barrier to starting with, but my dedication to hard work and enthusiasm won most people over, and I could understand first-hand the fact that food is a universal language. "Monkey sees, monkey do" was my motto. I also gained a new appreciation of how food connects people to the land, and this ingrained in me a new respect for cultural heritage and pristine ingredients. I remember while doing a stint in a bakery in Brazil how different the attitude of the owner was towards the simple, all-natural ingredients he used. Contrary to the cheap, readily available fast food most bakeries in Brazil used. He had lines out the door every day waiting for us to open. 

What brought you to the Mountain?
On my return to Australian soil, I knew I wanted to replicate what I had learnt and seen overseas: what is now called a ‘paddock to plate ethos. I opened a cellar door café out in the Granite Belt. This was my first experience as a chef in charge not only of the kitchen but of the whole business operations, alongside my now wife. We set about connecting with local farmers and producers to develop a 'sample the seasons' menu suited to the region and to complement the local wines.

I had always dreamt of having my own restaurant, and this dream was realised when the winery owner, after commenting on our success in the Granite Belt, offered us the chance to relocate to the Gold Coast hinterland, where we were to design, build and set up a new winery restaurant on Tamborine Mountain. By and large, this was no mean task, but not shy of hard work and with a small dedicated team, in only a short few years we established our very own 'Eden Restaurant' – a popular destination venue to enjoy lunch, special events and weddings. 

During this time I was fastidious in my expectations to develop menus that used a product that was sourced ethically and sustainably. You can only imagine then my frustration when I couldn’t find unadulterated seasonings or sauces on the market. Our customers adored the full-flavour of natural ingredients treated right. So I made my own. Our customers loved them; it was a tantalising taste they couldn’t get enough of. Our regulars started to ask if they could purchase the seasonings, and by their popular demand, it was there and then that the Gourmet Food Co. was firstborn.

What is it about your Gourmet Food Co. products that set you apart?
Exasperatingly, commercially available mixes seemed to use ridiculous amounts of sugar and needless unhealthy additives and fillers. We use nothing but natural ingredients, and no fillers.

Drawing on the generational knowledge of locals I had met on my travels, I developed a range of gourmet seasonings that pay homage to their cultures.

Needless to say, making a gourmet food range is certainly a different pace of life from the chef's world and yet like any new business venture, there’s been a lot of learning along the way. My signature range of dry marinades I first created at the restaurant are all handcrafted, and I source only the best spices available fresh. Over the past year I have been experimenting with new flavours, and also developed a range of small-batch sauces. With only a small commercial kitchen space we continue to make all my products the old fashioned way, small-batch and handcrafted to ensure quality and consistency.

What lies ahead for Chef Dylan and the Gourmet Food Co.?
Nowadays my aim is to educate people about what our food is made from and offer healthy alternatives for home cooking. You could say I’m bringing 20 years of chef experience to the table to allow home cooks the ability to use pure, quality ingredients to keep cooking simple, while delivering honest, flavoursome food. I’d also love to help restaurants grow by giving them the options for healthy, natural handcrafted sauces and dry marinades for their menus.

I’ve collaborated with Queensland’s oldest Distillery to produce a unique Spiced Rum barbeque sauce. I use local honey for natural sweetness when necessary and also source ripe red capsicums and cayenne chillis from our local Queensland farmers to make my Peri Peri sauce. I am keen to set up new opportunities to work with more Scenic Rim producers to showcase more of our amazing local produce and help to further promote the Scenic Rim as a gourmet destination. Ultimately, I love sharing my passion for food with others. Through attending some of the local markets and offering bespoke catering, I hope to meet passionate fellow foodies in our local community.