I first spoke to Rotem Papo three years ago when he was head chef at L’Hotel Gitan. Since then he has been head chef at Bar Lourinha and now he is at Golda which he co-owns with Adam Faigen of Gramercy Social fame. As on the previous occasion, Rotem showed his absolute love of hospitality by offering me a glass of wine and a selection of the baktana, or small bites, which they had just put on the menu that day. Usually as I’m writing up my conversations, I look out for the gems the chefs say to use as a pull quote to break up the middle of the written version. Rotem came out with so much greatness that the whole transcript should really be highlighted. He absolutely loves what he does and now at Golda is finally able to share the food from his childhood with a very lucky Melbourne dining public.