Mitch Orr got into cooking after realising there were plenty of perks to studying food tech in high school (such as being the only dude in the class). Scoring an extra lunch as a byproduct didn’t hurt, either. Jamie Oliver’s TV show only added to the appeal of mastering recipes.

Mitch went on to become 2010 Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year while at Sepia, picked up Time Out‘s Best New Talent and People’s Choice Award honours while running the kitchen at Duke Bistro with Thomas Lim and even landed on the shortlist for Cleo Bachelor of the Year.

And despite the heavy amount of cred on his CV (and staging for Massimo Bottura), he isn’t one to take things overly seriously. His Half Baked stoner dinner with Dan Hong and Levins, where he served instant noodles and “bong water” is an example of how fun and rebellion rules his creations.

In this podcast, he also talks about what it’s like to finally run his own place, as co-owner and head chef of the excellent (and perfectly named) ACME, a place he wryly describes as #notanitalianrestaurant. He also reveals what he really thinks of customer feedback and being scored by Terry Durack.

Also discussed: what really upsets him in the kitchen (it’s hilarious and surprising), what to do with a zillion litres of extra egg whites, and where he likes to eat and drink in Sydney (“anytime anyone asks me where to go, I always say 10 William Street and Ester“) – this list includes both high-end favourites like the “phenomenal” meal he last had at Sixpenny and the knockout desserts at Bentley, as well as Faheems Fast Food, and yep, even KFC.

Mitch also runs through the places he most wants to try next (which includes Automata, Clayton Wells’s restaurant which is due to open in July) and the local chefs that inspire him, such as Elvis Abrahanowicz from Porteno, Dan Hong of Ms G’s and Mr Wong, Dan Puskas of Sixpenny and Ben Greeno of Momofuku Seiobo.

You can listen to this episode on iTunes or download it via RSS or directly. And mega thanks to everyone who has kindly spread the word about this podcast or left a rating or comment in the iTunes store – it makes the beyond-my-curfew editing sessions worth it!

PS Here’s a link to the Junkee article about Mitch’s fave Sydney eats that I refer to in the podcast.