Alanna Sapwell is a part of Veuve Clicquot’s talented The New Makers Collective, which is on a mission to inspire people to dream bigger and lead a more exciting life...

The collective is made up of people who are constantly inventing and reinventing themselves. For Sapwell, the former head chef of the award-winning Arc Dining, it’s a role which requires her to do what she loves most: create beautiful food and enjoy it with champagne. Her journey with food began on a road trip from Gympie to Melbourne, when her family stopped near Dubbo for dinner. You could say a pizza changed her life (keep reading to find out how). Later, it would be her grandmother who told her she needed to go and work for British born chef David Rayner. So, she went knocking on the door of The River House in Noosa. She was turned down the first time, and it was on the third attempt, impressed by her determination and enthusiasm, that he offered her a job.

Sapwell’s varied and rich career has taken her all over the world – from Florence where she worked for six months to Arnhem Land, where she became passionate about sustainability (she’s dedicated to supporting farmers with ethical and sustainable practices).

 Here, we talk champagne, naturally, and what a career as a leading chef looks like. 

Go to veuveclicquot.com

Alanna Sapwell

You are one of Veuve Clicquot’s New Makers – tell me about this role and what it entails?

I’m honoured to be the New Maker of Australia for Veuve Clicquot. I believe the role is a nod to the history of Madame Clicquot, particularly, her ability to inspire, create and re-define what’s possible in our industry. Being involved in such a creative part of Veuve Clicquot allows us as New Makers to have a lot of flexibility between each other. We are able to bring our own ideas and projects to the table whilst also having a common goal collectively. For example, we all showcased why and how our food and lifestyle relates to Veuve Clicquot through filming in our own countries. From there I’ve been able to naturally bring Veuve Clicquot into personal projects of mine this year from Snacks and Facts – a seafood snacks and bubbles evening guiding people on better choices and what to avoid when eating seafood so we can all ensure fish for the future, to taking it on tour with “Esmay” my pop up restaurant that has been around Australia with Good Food (a first for Good Food). It has been very giving, sharing and supportive from both sides.

Talk to me about the role champagne plays in food?

My food is often referred to as “feel good” not only because of the ethical stance but how it makes you feel. Its relatively light, delicate and balanced. Champagne doesn’t overpower my food instead highlights and assists in that “feel good” notion. 

What about the role champagne plays in people’s lives?

I can’t speak for everyone but it’s the first thing I think of when I want to celebrate something in my life or with someone close to me. 

How important is it to listen to your gut with food?

Some people like to cook with a formula and temperature probes, pre-write their menus before they order produce. I find that quite clinical. I love cooking more instinctually. This gives me more flexibility when working with farmers and natures curve balls. Looking at the product you’re given rather than the one you’re expecting. If it’s truly beautiful – I like to highlight that. If it’s been slightly damaged by something in nature thinking a little deeper in how I can still get the most out of that product and not waste it because of a blemish.

What does being BOLD mean to you?

I think it comes from confidence in what you do. This to me is having a solid foundation, putting a lot of thought into it and old-fashioned hard work. Once you’ve got all of those in check, this allows you to be as bold as you like.

Your journey with food actually began on a road trip from Gympie to Melbourne, when your family stopped near Dubbo for dinner. Why do you remember this moment?

It was where I had an epiphany that I wanted to become a chef. I was six and experienced my first traditional pizza. It was from that I came to the realisation that we live in a convenience driven world and what we are often left with is a poor excuse of a replica. This motivated me to learn the basics well and even travel to Italy to experience true authenticity.

Alanna's menu's pay homage to comfort cooking and nostalgia but always with a special Alanna twist and an elevated execution

Your grandmother said one day, you needed to go and work for David Rayner. So, you went knocking to The River House in Noosa. What did he say?

Grandma always had her finger on the pulse. I drove down to The River House that was, at the time, a 45-minute drive from where I was living at 17 years old. It took three attempts of showing up each day asking for a job (not in the middle of service) and despite him not actually needing any other staff he thought I showed determination and enthusiasm so gave me a shot.

What did living in Italy for six months teach you about food?

Tradition – I felt very lucky to have been shown some techniques and dishes that had been shared through many generations. Prior to living there, I had no concept of the diversity and sense of place through their dishes between regions. This felt vastly different from Australia at the time.

You then went to work in Arnhem Land – what did this experience teach you about sustainability?

It was very remote and basic which is what I loved about it. It simplified everything. I found this very confronting when it came to our waste. Anything I couldn’t feed to the fish I personally had to burn out back. There’s a clear disconnect of responsibly when I had previously just placed rubbish in a bin. Having to burn plastics really made me relook at what I was buying in and how it was packaged. Despite being a big job cooking for 30-40 hungry people, it shaped my cooking to be as closed a loop as possible. Instead of making life a little easier and leaning on convenience, I would use all the food scraps to feed the fish then catch enough fish to feed everyone for that day. 

What did it teach you about food?

It’s not just about cooking. You need to look at things holistically and take a certain amount of ownership and responsibility instead of shifting the blame.

You then went to into a leadership role as a head chef in Hakuba, Japan – what did this experience teach you about what makes a good leader?

After the tropical season in Arnhem Land, I craved for somewhere cold. Landing a job in Japan, I became a head chef without being conversant in the language. Despite people loving the food and the bosses being happy with me I felt like I was doing the job an injustice, even more-so the staff. Whilst we could get the job done through the willingness to communicate and some decent miming skills, the role made me re-look at the importance of personally checking in with staff and being able to properly give them the skills they want to achieve.

Alanna Sapwell

Veuve Clicquot

How would you describe your leadership style?

Direct, positive, sense of urgency, holistic. Staff recruitment is a huge job and having the right culture is essential to me. I’d prefer to have the hard chats at the beginning and if it feels right, find out what that person wants to learn and achieve and support that.

You’ve said that ‘Ten to 15 years ago, [going overseas] was a stripe you had to earn to be a really good chef’ – do you think overseas experience is essential?

I believe that was the general mindset back then, but not necessarily what I personally believed. We are extremely lucky in Australia that with the standards and diversity of restaurants. It’s never been easier now with social media to scope out restaurants that align with your beliefs or what you seek to learn.

To aspiring chefs, what is your advice?

Don’t be in a rush to the top. Give yourself 5 - 10-year goals at a time. Put yourself in a place to achieve the end goal but work as a team not an individual.

Tell me about the champagne you opened to celebrate the boat your mother spent the last for 10 years building?

Mum had spent the last 10 years building a boat from scratch to achieve her retirement dream. It’s tradition to crack a bottle of champagne over the hull, but Mum rightfully thought that would be a waste, so we just drank it.

You have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot in hand, what food do you pair with it?

I think it’s more versatile than most realise. I don’t lean toward overly sweet things so at the end of the meal where you would normally finish with a sticky, I always opt for champagne instead. Veuve has a great balance of nutty, acidic so leave my palate much fresher.