LIFE'S journey has led George Biron back to his culinary roots, writes SARAH HUDSON

For a chef, George Biron makes a great philosopher.

Or it maybe it's the other way round.

Take his musings on life and food, for instance.

"I was at a sociology lecture some years ago, where the lecturer said that humans are driven by two separate forces in life generally, but which I find is particular to cooking," says George.

"The first is fear of the new and the other is desire for the new.

"We've all got these forces in us and if we can get them in balance, then it works.

"So in our cooking we don't close our eyes to new things, but neither are we into trends like molecular gastronomy. We look for the new while maintaining traditions."

It is this philosophy that underscores the culinary institution, Biron's Sunnybrae Restaurant and Cooking School, set on 12ha with a large edible garden in Birregurra, near Colac.

Variously described by critics and reviewers as a "thoughtful chef - environmentally and philosophically", he is renowned for producing meals that are all about "slowing down, savouring and rekindling the joy" of food.

George's cooking classes - held each Monday - provide an ideal insight into his local, seasonal and simple ideology.

Catering to groups of a maximum of 12, the classes originally focused on specific subjects, such as pasta, bread, and curries.

But he evolved this to a "more natural level" so groups now prepare a five-course lunch that brings "a conviviality to the kitchen; it allows us to share a meal together".

Menus change each week and attendees are encouraged to make suggestions.

"So, for instance, last week I had a request for sea urchins, which we made into a taramasalata.

"Someone else requested a pavlova roll for dessert, which we served with mangoes and a strawberry, star anise and ginger ice-cream."

The lunch also included a ceviche of sardines with a fennel and broad bean salad, and asparagus with a style of hollandaise sauce made from blood oranges.

While most would agree such meals are not the stock-standard home kitchen variety, George insists his cooking is not complicated or intimidating.

But, he says, it helps if you have a love of food.

"(Participants) have to have courage to come for a start. They are not scared of cooking - there are so many people so interested in food now.

"None of the food is complicated. Creating really good food is quite easy. You need to be able to know what to expect and the difference between balanced flavour.

"It's not about being a master chef. If you can hold things in perspective without fussing around, have a plan and a process and get in the mood then you can be quite confident."

He says if he had a signature dish it would be local hare, shot be a nearby farmer.

"It's a darker meat, not overly strong, mild and slightly gamey, a cross between kangaroo and beef."

George attributes his understanding of the nuances of food not to any highfalutin cooking school or teacher, but to his childhood and his mother.

In his writings about food he has observed that "the flavour of what we eat when young stays with us forever".

"My first food memory is of a soup, more of a broth. I was seven and had pneumonia.

"The flavour I remember was lovage."

He was born in 1950 in Budapest, Hungary.

His mother was a pastry chef and his father a negociant - a wine merchant.

"The food we ate at home was traditional Hungarian, well flavoured and well balanced. Lots of soups and stews - and in Hungary there are a lot of them, not just goulash.

"I didn't cook that much, but I learned to cook subconsciously.

"The basis of how I attain flavour comes from my early childhood. It's simple, European style and technique, no fuss and very seasonal.

"To me, slow food has always been there. It was something we just did. A lot of people have been doing it for a long time."

In 1956 when a spontaneous nationwide revolt took place against the Stalinist government and its Soviet-imposed policies, the Biron family fled to Melbourne, following his father's sister who had arrived after the Holocaust.

His mother established a streudel shop in Acland St, St Kilda, while his father operated a fruit and vegetable shop.

George's career took various trajectories - including a degree in chemical engineering from Monash, a stint running an art deco antique shop in Collins St and even working as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant in New Guinea - before he started in cooking.

In 1977 a friend opened Boojums restaurant in Carlton and made George, who had virtually no professional cooking experience, head chef.

"I already knew how to cook, I just had to learn how to run a restaurant."

He was at Boojums for two years, before he cooked his way around Australia, operated a pub in Collingwood, the Comedy Cafe in Brunswick and had a stint in London at a top restaurant.

But it was thanks to his partner, Diane Garett, who he had met through the antique business, that he arrived in Birregurra.

"It was love at first sight - both Diane and the house."

For 10 years the couple renovated the old family residence and in 1991 - the year Pyramid Building Society collapsed - Sunnybrae Restaurant and Cooking School opened.

"We had mortgaged everything, it was all on the line, and like everyone, we had money in Pyramid. Everybody was on unsteady ground."

After financial stability returned, the business prospered - so much so that in 2000 the couple decided to take a hiatus - reopening in May 2008 in a much more relaxed, slow atmosphere.

George says the town and their property are now intrinsically part of his cooking.

"We live on 30 acres (12 hectares), on reasonably fertile ground, with a water supply, so it would be silly not to have a garden. My apprentice goes into our garden each week and picks a list for the weekend lunch."