Interview with Yvonne, the Perth foodie behind Red Hot Spatula

Yvonne, the Perth foodie behind Red Hot Spatula has been a great mentor and inspiration for me. When burger boy and I first ventured into the food industry with our very own business, I knew I could always turn to Yvonne for honest practical advice.

Yvonne even dropped her Red Hot Spatula curry pastes into our crust when burger boy and I were working crazy hours and ate out most of the week. A homely curry was just what we needed!

From that first curry, I was hooked and I’ve had Red Hot Spatula cravings ever since. Lucky that Yvonne and her mum Yolanda can always be found cooking away. On weekends, I’d satisfy my cravings at the Subiaco Farmer Markets

Other times, I’d find Red Hot Spatula at foodie events. I tried my first Red Hot Spatula pull pork slider at Eat Drink Perth’s 2012 Yum Cha in the Park…

My first roti canai with spiced beef mince at the 2013 Perth Good Food and Wine Show…

I was pretty happy to find more pork sliders at Perth’s first-ever Yelpers Party at Perth City Farm earlier this year Yvonne, her sliders and supportive hubbie Adrian is featured below…

I got to test these beauties at Divine Dreaming Charity Fashion Show…

More recently, I was invited to Red Hot Spatula’s Cambodian & Thai cooking class at Accento Home, where I learnt some of Yvonne and Yolanda’s cooking techniques used to make the amazing food I’ve been enjoying over the years.

For those of you who have been enjoying Red Hot Spatula’s food, looking to start your own foodie business or just love food, read on for my interview with Yvonne.

What inspired you to start Red Hot Spatula?
Red Hot Spatula was always in the back of my mind from Uni Days. After working abroad for near a decade I moved back to Perth and settled down. A family history of working in the food industry and a past career in Public Relations, Journalism and Business Development for lifestyle based businesses including F&B, made me want to do something different with my life. So Red Hot Spatula was born. I wanted to bring to Perth a different kind of menu - working with true flavours and recipes from Asia and Europe (that being my cultural background), bundle them up in tasty recipe parcels and delivery them with a modern twist. To me, it’s not just the food but keeping the food culture alive as well.

I know you’re a huge supporter of WA businesses and growers, tell us more…
We support local businesses and growers - be it butcher, farmer, baker, seafooder and grower, in as much as possible we believe that fresh is best and we work with loads of local producers and locavores when it comes to stocking our pantries and shelves - of course there are some things we can’t get locally but we try our best to work with the local producers so that in our tiny way we are contributing to their commercial longevity.

Where would you like to see Red Hot Spatula in 5 years time?
We’ve just reached our aim of our 3 year plan by opening a new kitchen and studio… SO in 5 years we see ourselves, perhaps a little big bigger in the catering dept but doing more talks, classes and perhaps even food tours for locals and tourists who want to know more about what food, culture, styles, etc.

What’s your advice for aspiring foodies wanting to start a business of their own…
Think hard about what you want to do- in as much as you want to follow your heart make sure you have food-spirations that will also pay the bills. Also, be sure to remember, the food industry is a tough one, forget weekends as when you have to work is usually when other people are enjoying themselves. Most of all ENJOY what you do as that will get you through the tough times.

Lastly, what do you think will be the hottest food trend in 2014?
Someone will always come up with something totally from the left just like the Cronut or Zumba’s crazy Macaron flavours. Personally, I think a lot of people will want to see old style comfort food coming to a front - sort of like a throwback to when food was simple but tasty.

To find out more about Yvonne and Red Hot Spatula visit www.redhotspatula.com.au or like the Red Hot Spatula facebook page.