Episode 68: Eljays Restaurant, Esperance, Australia & 2 French Chefs

by Paige Donner
This Episode 68 of Local GOODfood+wine was co-hosted by Jennifer Rider, coming to you all the way from Esperance in Southern Western Australia. And, as always, LocalGOODfood+wine podcast is hosted and produced by Paige Donner.

As I sit here in Paris in the dead of winter, dreams of sunshine-filled white sand beaches dance through my head.

Honestly, right about now at this time of year, nothing is more tantalizing than thoughts of a pool side bbq and spending afternoons laying out in the sun with a good book.

Lucky for some old school friends of mine, they find themselves in the southern most part of Western Australia in an idyllic little seaside town called Esperance.

Jennifer and her husband Brad run the premier hotel and restaurant in Esperance, Australia. The hotel is called Comfort Inn Bay of Isles and the 50 seater restaurant is Eljays. You can find it here

Eljays Restaurant and Bar.https://www.facebook.com/ComfortinnEljaysEsp .

Chuck Berry Wingsuit flying over the Pink Lake of Middle Island 150km east of Esperance in Western Australia on February 5th 2014.

Jennifer Rider on Left in each photo; Brad Rider on Right; Junine Keala on Right

And as strange synergies and synchronicities often go, Jen, a die-hard Francophile, has only just hired a couple of French chefs whom she scouted in Perth. So, this episode of Local GOODfood+wine is an armchair luxury voyage to suumertime Esperance, Australia where we speak with Jennifer Rider and Head Chef Antony Pade, and Sous Chef Julien Chauviere.

Eljays Restaurant, Indoor/Outdoor dining in Esperance, W. Australia

I’m also including a bit of off-the-cuff bonus material here where Jennifer and I discuss Australia Day, which has become for Australia a bit like what Columbus Day is for America. We thought that rather than shrinking from the sensitive conversation, we ought to just embrace it and, as conscious citizens of the world, work towards finding common ground where every member of a nation feels recognized and valued.

That said, man, I SO wish I were poolside at a BBQ in the Australian summer sunshine right about now! Don’t you?

Royalty and Rights Free music compliments of FreeMusicArchive.org

Atlantic Thrills – Day At The Beach (used under CC license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)

Paige Show INTRO/ OUTRO music ‘Work It’ by All Good Folks, courtesy Uppbeat.io