Josh Seaward has spent the past twenty years cooking in some of the best kitchens in the world, from Melbourne’s celebrated middle eastern restaurant MoMo to private chalets in the French Alps. Travelling far and wide, sampling the cuisines and cultures of different countries, this New Zealand native finally landed in Newcastle. Stepping away from the commercial kitchen, Josh retrained as a culinary teacher and at the same time launched his own business, Forty Feathers, you know…in his spare time! Josh’s weeks are now a happy blur of introducing TAFE students to the joys of cooking during the day and donning his chef hat for private dining experiences at nights or on the weekend. In other words, he’s one busy guy!
For Josh, the motivation to launch his own business came from a desire to make top-quality, high-end food accessible to everyone. “My logo for Forty Feathers is a New Zealand fantail bird holding hibiscus and ginger berries which are native to Australia,” says Josh.
“It signifies me in Australia, and my love for food and flavour. The fallen feather pays tribute to my sister who I lost to cancer on the eve of her forty-first birthday – she loved birds and I wanted my business to be a celebration of her life and the joy that really good food can give by bringing people and family together.”
Josh’s weeks are now a happy blur of introducing TAFE students to the joys of cooking during the day and donning his chef hat for private dining experiences at nights or on the weekend.
And after sampling a long lunch prepared by Josh especially for the Swell team, we can safely say that you’re in for a treat if you’re lucky enough to have Forty Feathers cook for you in your home.
“When you hire a personal chef like me, you’ll get to taste my food with my style, with really niche and personal service and you won’t have to do a thing!” says Josh. “Coming into different people’s homes and cooking anything from a three-course lunch, tapas style share plates or a five-course degustation for them and their friends or family is something I love to do. I want people to be well fed with full bellies but most importantly to be able to relax and enjoy a whole dining experience with all the fine dining elements but in their home without the stress.”
For Josh, the motivation to launch his own business came from a desire to make top-quality, high-end food accessible to everyone.
FOODIE Q & A
We asked Josh to get candid and give us the scoop on his culinary life.
What’s your easy Sunday night dinner?
For me, if I’m on my own, I’ll always cook up steak fritz, 100%! Steak and chips and a nice sauce and I’m happy.
Where do you buy your coffee?
My partner and I love places like Praise Joe, and we live at Wallsend, so Wildflower is fantastic. Newcastle is insane for good coffee choices – you know, like too many! However, we have a coffee machine at home and are currently going through a stage of making our own coffee. I use Floozy coffee which has an amazing roastery on Union Street, where they roast your coffee beans on the spot. I can make a pretty good coffee now, but I do admit my coffee art sucks! (Laughs)
What’s your quick but delicious dessert go-to?
There’s no such thing as a quick dessert for me but my top pick would be a tapioca sago. It’s something I can whip up and its tasty and light and fresh with seasonal fruit. But if I’m lazy, it would be ice cream, straight from the tub! I like to keep it simple when I’m at home.
What does a Sunday breakfast look like for you?
My partner is English, so I’ll whip up a full English breakfast for us. That’s a big fry up with crispy bacon and thick toast, eggs scrambled or fried. There’s nothing better.
Sweet or savory?
100% savory and I’m a meat eater, not a fish eater. I love scallops, don’t mind oysters but not fussed on fish.
Most memorable place to eat?
There’s been a few. Recently I ate at L’Enclume which is a three-hatted restaurant from the Lakes district in the UK but they did a pop-up in Mosman in Sydney for one month. We had a three-hour lunch of ten courses, and it was amazing.
Another memorable dining experience was when Heston Blumenthal came to Australia and had a pop-up in Melbourne. We went down there for a five-hour dinner, and we ate until two or three am and the experience was incredible. The theatrics, the service, the staff… it was something I won’t forget quickly.
For whom would you most like to cook?
Anyone who wants to enjoy tasty food – you don’t have to be fancy or famous, as long as you enjoy food and you want to have fun with your friends, then that’s the whole point for me. I try really hard with Forty Feathers to offer an amazing dining experience to everyone.
Words: Odette Tonkin | Photography: Dominique Cherry
As seen in Swell Issue 19. Grab your copy here
