Five Minutes with Alex Royds, Le Cheeserie and Melted Toasted Sandwich Emporium

Who are you?

Alex Royds, from Melted Toasted Sandwich Emporium and Le Cheeserie.

Tell me about the businesses

Melted is a cafe in Fyshwick. We focus on a large range of toasted sandwiches. Le Cheeserie is a fromagerie at Belconnen Markets focussed on finding and selling good quality artisan cheeses.

How did you get involved in the hospitality industry?

I started at the Boathouse when I was 16 as a job to support me while I was studying.

I was really fortunate that the generation working there were so accepting of me and were so willing to train me: Keith Macdonald, Ben Willis, Brad Warden … I’ve also worked a lot with John Leverink and Eddie Tsai from Ramen Daddy (Canteen) and they’re great.

Did you have a dream job as a kid?

I got my piano tuned when I was a kid, and I thought it looked like such a cool job, so I decided I wanted to do that! You can either do an apprenticeship or go through a schooling system, but neither option is recognised as a trade, so you don’t get any formal certification, and the apprenticeship can take up to six years. I ended up going to an intensive school sponsored and tested by Yamaha.

I actually still tune pianos one or two days a week and I really love it.

What is your food philosophy?

No food wastage is a massive thing for Melted. Both my business partner and I come from fine dining, which has a lot of food wastage. So we developed the menu at Melted to make sure that didn’t happen. We also work really closely with farms so we can give anything we do waste to chickens or GoTerra.

What is your favourite ingredient when cooking?

Cheese! It just makes my life so easy. Adding cheese is such a simple way to really elevate a dish.

What’s an underrated Canberra venue that you love?

Raijin in Mackellar. It’s the restaurant I visit most often. I love their Okinomiyaki and black curry.

Who do you admire in the Canberra food scene?

Alex O’Brien, my business partner. He was one of the first chefs I ever worked with and I think he’s always been a phenomenal chef and a really nice person. In that environment, it’s important to find people who are really nice to work with because it’s such a high-pressure industry.

Where’s the best place for a drink in Canberra?

Rizla. I like Andy Day, I like Riesling, and I like that style of service. I like the casual atmosphere and that there’s someone there who can really help you find a wine that you’ll enjoy but it’s not wanky. They don’t make you feel like an idiot.

And how about for coffee?

I love Redbrick coffee, as a company and their philosophy. I think they’re very hospitality-focused. They’re great as a supplier. They care a lot, and there’s a really nice community that surrounds them.

Who is your dream dinner party guest, and what would you make them?

Anthony Bourdain. I’ve read all his books, and I admire most that he was a real chef. I really like that he told the public what the industry was really like and didn’t try to pretend that chefs aren’t real people.

I’d be so stressed to cook for him, so I’d keep it simple and delicious: seafood pasta with pippies and olive oil. And my favourite cheese in the world is parmesan, so we’d start with a block of parmesan, some really nice aged balsamic vinegar and crusty bread.

What is your current food obsession?

White Ortiz anchovies. I was lucky enough to get a kilo from a supplier (they were out of date, but that didn’t bother me), so I had white anchovies in pasta, white anchovies on toast, white anchovies with tomato, and white anchovies with cheese. There were like two or three weeks where anything I ate had anchovies.

What’s the best thing you ate this week?

The Reuben at Melted. I’m always surprised how good it is. I don’t have them every day, but then every time I do, it’s like, this is my dream food! Ben Willis used to come in every week and get a Reuben; he never tried anything else.

What’s a food that reminds you of your childhood?

Creamed corn and toast, I don’t know why I was so into it. My parents must have given it to me at some point, but whenever I got to decide what to eat for dinner, that was my meal.

What’s a normal breakfast for you?

Part of my family is Italian so breakfast isn’t a massive thing. I love breakfast food, I just don’t eat it for breakfast. I’d usually just have an espresso with an Italian macine biscuit.

When you can’t be bothered to cook for yourself, where do you go and what do you eat?

I have two lovely friends called Amanda and Dave, and quite often, I go to their house for meat and three veg. It’s nice that I can just drop in anytime.

Where are you travelling next?

I’m hopefully going to go on a mad cheese trip and see all of our suppliers in France, Italy and Switzerland. My knowledge of cheese has gone through the roof very quickly, and European cheese is just so good.

Tell me something you love about living in Canberra

Everything! I’ve travelled all over the world and I still think Canberra is my favourite place.

What are you reading right now?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks while I’m driving. I just finished Dylan Alcott’s autobiography. It’s cool to hear about people doing cool things.

An easy one to finish – what’s your go-to coffee order?

Usually an espresso, but I flippity-flop all the time. Sometimes, I make myself a flat white with cinnamon, but I wouldn’t order it.

Visit Melted at U 2 / 3 Pirie St Fyshwick, and Le Cheeserie at Capital Food Market, 10 Lathlain Street, Belconnen.