Five minutes with Jamie Sangster, Meating You

Who is Jamie Sangster? I’m the creator of Meating You, an online meat delivery and animal-based education platform.

Best recent dining experience: The place I was most excited about going after lockdown was Rebel Rebel (although we also dined at home with them during lockdown).

They consistently dish up high-end food in a chilled atmosphere. I’m a big fan of raw food and the ‘nose to tail’ concept where you don’t just offer and eat common cuts.

Their kingfish, beef tartare and grilled tongue with peppers were table favourites.

Most embarrassing pantry item: I can’t say there is anything I am embarrassed about in there unless my wife throws in a box of Jatz or two. Generally, it’s stocked with good stuff like salt, sardines, broth, Barbell biltong, pickles and good sauce.

Must-buy ingredient: Olsson’s smoked salt or Pepe Saya salted cultured butter.

Next big thing: Finding more local, sustainable farms and producers in the region to build more ethical connections between people and their food.

Favourite place for breakfast in the ACT: It will start with a creamy double espresso from Intra before I’ll eat at midday or so (technically still breakfast).

My wife and I are lucky enough to live at C5 in Campbell where we are spoiled for choice and one of our favourites is Kiitos Cafe where Kent and Milly always spoil us. They dish up a fantastic meat-lovers big breakfast with eggs, crispy roast pork and beef, chorizo, smoked salmon and avocado. It’s lovely to sit there with my wife and two dogs.

My Canberra food secret: Terra. While the restaurant itself isn’t a secret, I like to keep it a secret when they have specials like pig’s head bossam so I can treat my family and friends.

More generally, they smoke the best meats in town on a daily basis. It’s the most tender, juicy brisket you will ever sink your teeth into.

Biggest culinary influence: My good friend Johnon MacDonald – formerly of Akiba, Sage and Kokomo’s – who has now moved back to Wellington, New Zealand, to open his new restaurant Koji.

Everything he creates is absolutely amazing.

Favourite cookbook: Is it too much of a plug to say the one I am writing to help people really nail cooking different animal proteins?

Who I admire on the Canberra food and wine scene: I think it’s fair to say that I absolutely admire the scene as a whole.

Since I moved here seven years ago it has truly taken off and what I love is that everyone is out there to help each other grow and succeed.

What’s on the menu this week: In my house, it will be a nice spit-roasted Cowra lamb shoulder with a side salad of beetroot, fetta and pumpkin.

Where I’m going next: Continuing to deliver animal-based lifestyle knowledge and learnings to people in a way that is simple.

I pride myself on working with health professionals in their respected fields and then translating science into everyday language.

Death row meal: This is well-planned.

For the entree, it would be a Raku sashimi platter. Then for main, I would have freshly caught Illawarra lobster with garlic butter, our Meating You 500 gram Cattleman’s cutlets with Pepe Saya Butter and a bowl of squid ink linguine from Chez Black in Positano. Dessert would be a hot pink doughnut from Lard Lads in Hollywood.

Yum.

My COVID response: I saw it as a great opportunity to keep growing and building on what we were already doing in surrounding ourselves with great communities. We were able to deliver fresh, quality food to those in need in both the Illawarra and Canberra.

My really simple recipe tip: Meat, salt and butter will change your life.

And always start with the meat at room temperature. It’s a game-changer.

Visit Meating You to learn more.