Page 23 - Food Service Magazine March 2019

DINING
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Left: Banh xeo at Banh Xeo Bar. Above: Tania Ho and Ben Sinfield
“There wasn’t a big plan. It started as an idea, it snowballed, and now we’re here.” That’s both Ben Sinfield and Tania Ho, chef and front-of-house behind Banh Xeo Bar at the
Cannery food precinct in Sydney’s Rosebery, talking in tandem. The duo, partners in food and life, say they often finish each other’s sentences. Together, they have also pulled off the ultimate feat: turning their market stall into a slick bricks-and-mortar operation in just six months.
It might not have been strategic, but after hearing them talk for over an hour as they set up before lunch service, success was more than just the stars aligning.
The couple met in London when they both took jobs at Fergus Henderson's famed offal- and off-cut-driven restaurant, St. John. “I’m a graphic designer by trade, but have always worked in hospitality on the side,” says Ho, who had just arrived from Australia on a working visa. “St. John was the best time of my life. It opened my eyes to different ingredients, treating things with respect, and making perceived 'ugly food' delicious.”
British-born Sinfield mirrors her sentiment. “It’s about all
the wobbly bits and none of the frills. It’s honest and quirky and delicious. It’s where I started to actually enjoy cooking.” It’s also the roots of the food at Banh Xeo Bar, which champions bone marrow, livers, beef tongue, whole fish and pigs' heads.
When Ho’s visa was up, she and Sinfield returned to Australia where he landed a coveted role at Ester, while she moved back into design. A year in, restlessness took hold. “I wasn’t enjoying work and Ben was putting in so many hours in the kitchen,” she says. So they started toying with the idea of doing something for themselves – something small and manageable that didn’t require huge start-up costs or backing. Simple: a market stall.