Eli Moulton’s husband, Justin James, spends his working hours crafting one of the most talked-about tasting menus in the state, four hours, 16 courses, not a nugget in sight. At home, the audience is smaller and a lot less bothered about presentation. We caught up with the Restaurant Aptos chef to find out what dinner looks like when the critic is a toddler named Teddy and the special of the night is cereal.
Eli told us Teddy was your most ruthless taste-tester during the nine months you developed the Aptos menu at home. How did he rate it?
He wasn’t very interested because it wasn’t chicken nuggets! He did, however, love the cookies, especially when we were baking them fresh every night.
Teddy’s now holding you to a pretty high standard in the kitchen. What’s one thing you could actually make that he’d approve of?
Cereal. (haha)
What does dinner at your place look like on a regular Tuesday night, and who’s cooking?
Chicken enchiladas are on high rotation at the moment, and I’ll be doing the cooking. It’s probably best we keep Eli away from the kitchen, she recently somehow managed to blend the stick component of the blender into her morning smoothie…
Aptos is 14 seats and 16 courses. What are you making when it’s just the kids and it’s 6pm?
I always try to get the kids to try whatever I’m cooking, particularly when we were both working from home. A few times I had to improvise with whatever protein I had on hand, and Teddy definitely ate a few roo burgers without knowing. One of the most fun dinners we did was a cheeseburger degustation – cheeseburgers five ways, including spring rolls, pizza and a few other variations. That was good fun.
Aptos is already one of the most talked-about restaurants in South Australia. What can Adelaide diners expect when they walk through the door?
We hope it’s something that stays with people long after they’ve left – an immersive, unexpected dining experience unlike anything they’ve had before.
147 Mt Barker Road, Stirling
restaurantaptos.com
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