Patrick Friesen originally thought he was going to be a doctor. He also planned to be in Sydney for a short spell – but luckily for Australians (and their appetites), he did a U-turn on both points and we’re now fans of the talented chef and his menu-ruling work at Merivale’s many venues: Ms Gs, Work In Progress, Papi Chulo and the upcoming Queen Chow (which you may know via Insta-stalking its #enmorechinese hashtag).

In this podcast, we talk about the true story behind his ‘Phat Pat’ nickname, the food scene in Canada (where he grew up) and how he ditched microbiology lectures to pursue food and spend his (then) life savings on eating solo at Per Se at age 19.

Patrick has also gone on some mega research trips for Merivale – from his Michelin-star-blitz through Hong Kong (with Dan Hong and the Mr Wong crew) to fat-burning his way across Nashville with Morgan McGlone (Belle’s Hot Chicken, Husk). “We ate more food than anyone’s ever eaten in three days,” says Patrick (pictured below, centre, with Merivale chefs Jordan Toft and Paul Donnelly).

We also hear about his recent Japan trip, where he spent a bomb on dinner at a sushi joint (only for it to be over in a flash), felt sick (in the best way possible) at the fish markets, and also endured a two-hour-long queue just to try Shake Shack. Aside from his Tokyo adventures, we also chat about other border-crossing meals he’s had – like the Phnom Penh chicken that’s not from Cambodia (a secret discovered via fellow chef Jowett Yu) and where he’s smashed his favourite burgers in the world.

Patrick has pretty strong opinions on buns-and-patties and it’s one of the many topics he’ll be exploring for March Into Merivale (we have fun running through his golden rules for burgers). He’s also tackling Instagram, guilty pleasures and other special dining events for the Merivale program (which has its launch party on Wednesday February 10, and runs from February 14 to March 20).

We also chat about what he cooks at Papi Chulo (from his insanely good cauliflower dish with romesco, parmesan and brown butter crumbs), the indestructible curly fries, and his local twist on American-style barbecue. Plus, a preview of Queen Chow, what you do when the price of avocado skyrockets, how a hunt for gossip accidentally led him to the co-head-chef role at Papi Chulo; and we finish up with his favourite places to eat and drink in Sydney.