Coming Home: O Tama Carey
O Tama Carey is the chef and owner of Sydney restaurant Lankan Filling Station. In this interview from the Australian Culinary Archive she describes her professional journey from cooking French, Chinese and Italian food to coming home to her Sri Lankan heritage and opening her own restaurant.
Julie Gibbs You returned to Australia and cooked French and Japanese?
O Tama Carey After coming back, I wasn’t burning to be a chef, but it was that money thing. I went for a job at Bistro Moncur [in Sydney]. I can still taste those flavours in my mouth that have stayed with me throughout my career. They’re real comfort … eating chips with the merchant sauce. That was our breakfast snack. It was very formative. It was the first hierarchical kitchen I’d been in and was interesting in terms of grounding.
JG And after that was the Japanese. Then you begged Kylie Kwong for a job?
OTC For ages.
JG What made you want to cook at Billy Kwong?
OTC We lived around the corner and I think that place was a bit magical. That tiny room was hot and noisy, it was always really busy, and the food was delicious. It was so different to everything.
JG Are you talking about the ethical attitude, the organic ingredients?
OTC Yes, it was all about getting really good produce. I mean now that whole thing about doing Chinese food with a lighter touch in a modern way we take for granted, but people still get that wrong. It was pretty incredible, what she was doing. And that was the moment where I remember going, “Oh, yep, I want to be a chef.”
