Balancing Acts

After years of cooking in some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens chef Lorcán Kan is intimately aware of the predominantly white audiences they serve. As the head chef of Etta, Kan weaves Malaysian flavours into a Melbourne institution, balancing culture with approachability. How much can you challenge your diners without alienating them? Where’s the line? Kan joins Jess Ho to reflect on what it means to cook for an audience that isn’t always fluent in your food - and what it takes to challenge those boundaries.

Good food's never-ending and constantly needs to be refined. And I just like how strange it is.

Lorcán Kan

Jess Ho and Lorcán Kan at Melbourne institution Etta.

Credits

Hosted and Created by Jess Ho

Executive Producer: Beth Atkinson-Quinton

Senior Producer: Elle Marsh

Producer: Bez Zewdie

Sound Designer: Nicole Pingon

Mixed by Max Gosford

Theme and additional original music is by Jon Tjhia

Artwork: Jason Phu

SBS team: Joel Supple, Bernadette Phương Nam Nguyễn and Philip Soliman