David's Delightfully Silly Slambook Entry!
From Daiquiris to Pokémon: David Matthews on Love, Life, and Fish & Chips by the Sea
"Pretty Silly Slambook” - a profile series where we ask our favourite artists, scientists, musicians, and more. It's a bit of a cultural time capsule project.
The idea is to move away from the usual Spotify playlists and Netflix recommendations, and instead, let everyday people like us share their favourite discoveries without any fancy algorithms or influencer stuff.
Meet David Matthews!
David Matthews writes about food the way you want to be fed: with care, curiosity, and the right amount of crunch. He’s a former chef turned writer and editor, co-editing the Good Food Guide and reviewing restaurants every other week for the Sydney Morning Herald. You might’ve seen his name in some of the country’s best food magazines, or on the spines of cookbooks like Ester, Quality Meats, and Asian Cooking Class.
David lives on Gadigal and Wangal land in Sydney with his partner Claire and their baby Mia. When he’s not at a restaurant table scribbling notes, he’s likely at home trying to get dinner on the table before bath time, or chasing the ball around with his soccer team (until the over-35s come calling).
This one’s for the eaters, the cooks, the writers, and the people who find meaning in what we make for each other.
Find David on Instagram @david__matthews__ and see all his work here.
ACT I
How do you know you're in love?
I think the real true love, past the point of infatuation, comes when you couldn’t possibly imagine the other person not being in your life, all the time forever.
What would your last meal on earth be?
Honestly? If I knew it was my last meal on earth, I don’t think I could eat. I’d probably pick something then be wildly disappointed I didn’t pick something else.
What’s your hot take?
People who like milky coffee don't like coffee.
You’re at a bar, what’s your drink of choice?
I drink a lot of things, but when a Daiquiri is good it’s really good.
If you were a tour guide for a day in your city, what are the top three must-visit spots you would recommend?
It's Sydney, so it's gotta have water at some point, and it has to be food-related. Let's say yum cha in Chinatown, a ferry ride for fish and chips in Watson's Bay, then drinks down Enmore Road and King Street with a stop at Ante for sure.
ACT II
What’s one tradition you would like to pass on to your kids?
We're children of divorce, so Christmas gets way too hectic. Taking a beat, the weekend before, just for us.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
More important than the where is to go.
What Songs Are Included In The Soundtrack To Your Life?
I try to add songs to my Liked songs when I can, so if we go off the last one I added then apparently Cruisin’ by Smokey Robinson, the title track from the movie Duets, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis. Weird.What’s something you don’t miss?
Come on, I'm a 90s kid. All of it was better before.
If you could invite three people, living or dead, to a dinner party?
They’d definitely be living.
ACT III
What's your favourite nostalgic TV show, song cartoon, or video game from your childhood.
It’s always Pokémon (the game), but the novelty is wearing thin. Still haven’t caught them all.Give me a book, tv show and a movie recommendation!
My brother bought me a book for Christmas I would never have picked up called Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, a Pulitzer Prize winning memoir about the author's lifelong passion for surfing, growing up in Hawaii in the 60s then travelling around the world with a board. It was totally absorbing (even for a non-surfer like me). It's about surfing, yes, but really it's about life, a feeling, the ocean.
A TV show? Friday Night Lights is all time.
Movie? Anora, duh.Be an influencer - give a shoutout to a product you genuinely adore.
Before my baby became my alarm clock, it was One Clock, an analog alarm clock that wakes you with melodic music composed by Jon Natchez from War on Drugs. So much less invasive than your phone, and it means you can put your phone somewhere that’s not next to your bed. A small thing but a good thing.
Tell me a fun fact you know.
Apparently the idea of continental drift is really new. Like it wasn’t widely accepted until the 60s. Before then it was a wild fringe theory.If life is just a collection of small, beautiful moments—what’s one you’re holding onto right now?
Since I became a dad, it's always a hug from my daughter.
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