Good evening, Mon Cherries.
I hope youâre in a most sophisticated mood. Because tonightâs TOP HAT TIPS come courtesy of the most cosmopolitan watering-holes on the eastern seaboard: Florian Eatery.
Florian opened its doors on Rathdowne St in Carlton North back in April. To the untrained ear, opening up a food establishment in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic sounds like a real shit soufflĂŠ of an idea.
But instead of dying in the arse, Florian flourished â quickly establishing itself as one of Melbourneâs most critically (and customer-ly) acclaimed eateries north of the Yarra.
And yes⌠this southside princess would absolutely endure the pain of Punt Rd for a taste of their seasonable sandwiches.
If youâre reading this, youâll by now know that the CEO has employees in high places. Shane Warne and Warwick Cappa, to name a few.
But one of my most esteemed employees goes by the name Rose Richards â who is, conveniently, Florianâs co-founder.
Rose and I went to uni at RMIT together. I remember clapping eyes on her in the first lecture. She had a shock of white blond hair and a fashion sense that had me feeling like I was dressed in head-to-toe Lowes.
Like the best friendships, we bonded immediately over a sexist teacher. I have distinct memories of nailing a presentation, only for said teacher to tell me I âspoke really well for a girl.â
Fucking SHOOK! Nothing has ever gaslit me harder than completing an Advertising degree at RMIT.
Thankfully, we pursued alternate industries. And in the years since, weâve remained quiet allies â me asking her for fashion advice, her sending me Google Doc mood boards for the yet-to-be-named Florian.
Thatâs why, when they finally opened doors earlier this year, I felt profoundly proud. Seeing someone execute their vision so clearly is a delight and Iâm so excited to be asking Rose about the experience of making her salmon gravalax dreams a reality.
Here are her TOP HAT TIPS.
NAME
F: How did you land on the name Florian?
RR: Trying to think of something timeless but meaningful is very hard. To be honest it was the last thing we considered. We were more focused on the food and making it feel warm inside. Florian is what Dom Gattermayr (my business partner / best friend) would have been named by her mum if she was a boy - so a big thanks to Dom's mum. The name Florian dates back to the ancient Roman name Florianus. The meaning in Latin refers to blossom, ferment and all things floral. Very fitting for our style of food/decor. Finally, Cafe Florian in Venice is the oldest coffee house in Italy dating back to 1720.Â
POPULARITY
F: Whatâs been the most popular dish at Florian?
RR: When we were open as usual which is hard to imagine right now*, the house made Salmon Gravlax or Eggs Florian. However I try to avoid this question, as then we experienced people only coming to try one dish based on an online review.
When I think of everything we offer, it is designed for what mood you are in on the day. If you want something light and fresh⌠or hearty and filling. Instead of responding to the question often asked in store âwhat our most popular dishâ is, we teach our staff to ask this question of what mood they are in and go from there.
*Theyâre reopening for dine-in on October 28th!
RATHDOWNE STÂ
F: How did you choose the location for Florian?
RR: I moved here when I was studying with you. Dom stumbled across the shop in our local village and instantly knew it was a nice space to be in everyday. The village is beautiful in all seasons. The windows are big and the light filled space felt warm and historical. It was the perfect amount of bones to work with, but enough to keep the charm.Â
MEET
F: We met at uni studying Advertising⌠which feels like a lifetime ago. What was your most vivid memory of that time?
RR: My most vivid memory was our last day, as it changed my path.
Our uni organised a large group of different Advertising agencies to gather at a hall. Each agency set up a booth with a few members of their staff to interview you. Our year of graduating students would make a handful of appointments with them, to pitch ourselves for a potential job/experience. For context I would say both of us were pretty successful in our degree and had on point portfolios. It was my last interview with the biggest agency in the room.
I sat down in front of 3 men. I pitched myself smoothly and had good work to present. Each session was timed, the last timer ran out. Instead of asking for an email or website from me, like the other companies⌠Two men stood up and walked away smirking, directly after whispering something to the one man left. The one man sitting in front of me then continued to write down his number. He asked me to meet him after for a drink. I asked if he was interested in my work and he responded âno, in youâ.
After 3 years of hard work and my final night to prove myself I felt pretty hard done by. I walked up to one of my female teachers, who I adored. Iâm not sure if she saw what happened or the few drinks she had gave her the confidence to instantly say it but she said âI love your style and you will do great creative things.. but not here. It was worth my lifetime to get here to teach you.. but don't waste your creativity on them.â
F: what I see ^
It was a hard thing to hear from such a successful woman but that moment gave me the confidence to not worry where I was going. I knew I had the skills to do something meaningful but I knew I wasnât going to waste my time climbing a ladder of assholes to get there. Nowadays I think we have the opportunity to bypass that toxic culture and outshine them in non-traditional ways of business - I think those men would be shocked if they knew I was running my own business.Â
Uni was so long ago my friends still do not believe I ever went. I have so many lovely memories with you and our energy to come up with endless ideas. I think the funniest day was realising our dads are best friends at the end of our degree.Â
F: This shook me to thine core. Like, we fully did not know our Dads knew each other. I had just put Dad on my Instagram one day, Rose happened to show her parents and voila, fully friends. The ubiquity of @froginatophat never ceases to surprise.
TASTE
F: What is your death row meal?
RR: SO HARD. France-Soir... a steak tartare, fries and a really cold glass of champagne. If they let me... a crepe suzette to finish?
SERIOUSLY
F: Have there been any times during the conception of Florian where you werenât taken seriously, as a young person? Is the hospo industry dominated by men? I donât know much about it!
RR: Yes. The industry has two mixes of shitty cultures. One is that you must work your soul away, party, swear a lot and treat each other like shit to be recognised. The other is a weird dated bro culture that revolves around men and calling each other âlegendsâ and soulless minimalist cafe settings. However there are more and more fabulous leaders out there really starting to not accept this, making places they love with great people and structure.Â
But rather than dwell on it, Dom and I have created a bro-free culture. No Hierarchy in the kitchen. No tolerance for misogyny. Everything down to our builders, suppliers and staff have been chosen to avoid this happening. Most of our staff wanted a new workplace that considered their values, aspirations for life and personal development in hospitality. We offered this and now have an amazing team.Â
We can all now safely laugh at the hospo bro lingo or old school culture that we all experienced, that creates a horrible work life balance. Before we opened we had an old hospo man barge into our half renovated shop with doors shut. He talked to us for an hour about everything we should do and how we should do it, as if we hadnât given it thought at all. Dom and I laughed about it for hours. The fact that he thought he had the right to invade our closed space and think we had not planned the business we were creating ...was beyond funny. Imagine if we did that to him (lol). Anyway, hopefully we are now part of the positive change that is happening in the industry.Â
MCDONALDS
F: Ok Iâm preempting that you do not like, or eat McDonalds. We have opposing values and that is ok. But if you have to have it, what do you get?
RR: Do they still make those McFlurry M&M things? I have a good memory of them and nagging mum to get me the Sydney Olympics toys.Â
F: Yes. They most certainly do. On account of the fact I had one last night.
VALUE
F: What are your personal values, and how does that inform your work at Florian?
RR: I think above all itâs important to be caring, generous and love people for their differences. I think those things keep life balanced and unpretentious. I think this approach to life has naturally worked into the style of food and work culture at Florian. Our suppliers are all local, so we can work with real people and showcase the hard work that goes into their produce.
HOME RECIPE
F: Iâm always inspired by your gram. Youâre a beautiful stylist, esp when it comes to food (your breakfasts of eggs and pickles and stuff are always interesting to me, as a Weetbix and banana person). Whatâs your favourite meal to cook for dinner?
R: I am inspired by you â your gram makes me laugh or smile each day. Hey! I had 2 weetbix and banana every morning for like 6 years so I feel you. However at home I love to go to the market weekly. I usually get what is super seasonal or fresh on the day with produce and feel inspired by that.
I love David Thompson for all things Thai. His book Thai food or his literally giant (bigger than my head) Thai Street Food book makes me so hungry.
Alternatively if you love Italian I love Marcella Hazan, her recipes are super easy and more step by step style. Her ricotta gnocchi is quick and yummy. Get yourself a new edition of The Classic Italian Cookbook. I spent the first lockdown cooking her entire book, my housemates and I were obsessed.Â
FINALLY
F: Any final words? Do you want to ask me a question? I havenât talked about myself in a while. Iâm happy to give you some business advice should you so require.
RR: It still feels all very surreal and has not even been a full year. I am so proud of Dom and our team. Obviously I want to send love to all those involved and our beautiful customers who have made it possible. Our friends who put up with fantic months of us keeping up and family for so much support. I also want to add we never imagined doing this at our age, everything was timing for us and we are very lucky. I think Covid has been so hard for so many people. Dom and I find peace in keeping busy and this was our calling for change. We are so proud to have been successful and to be supporting 23 amazing staff this year.Â
Well Lucinda... I want to know too... What was your most vivid memory of our time at uni? If FROOMESWORLD had a cafe what would you call it? What would be on the menu?
F: Ok my most vivid memory is making the below video, which is still my fave video I have ever made.
And when I open my cafe, the name will be âFroomesâ and all the seats will be toilets. Cheers
Wow⌠Anyone else HUNGRY?!!
Iâm going on a date tonight everyone⌠please send posi vibes.
In love and croissants,
F x