Yes, Chef! Karlee McGee

The chef and co-owner of Tenterfield’s newly hatted Stonefruit came to regional cooking in a roundabout way. She and her partner in life and business, Alistair Blackwell, were living in Sydney when they decided to pack up their life, open a space on the main street of a small country town in northern NSW, and open a wine bar. 

Karlee grew up in Canada and moved to Australia in 2011 on a working holiday visa. She worked in real estate, and when she met Alistair they began dreaming of opening their own place where people could eat and drink well and locally. 

They wanted to do this in a town with four distinct seasons, a strong food and wine offering, a buzzy main street, and a community that wanted them there. Tenterfield ticked all those boxes and more.

And so they did a recce trip. Fell in love and purchased 204 Rouse Street, wrote a menu, sourced the produce and opened their doors in September 2022, offering locals and visitors a friendly space to drop in for a morning coffee, or lunch of, say, focaccia stuffed with rare-roasted Tenterfield beef, watercress, beetroot relish and horseradish. And for dinner? Something like Karlee’s sensational Ballina pipis with café de Paris butter, matched perfectly by Alistair from his long list of local wines.

The menu is carefully constructed (partly to suit Karlee’s tiny kitchen). The plates are light, fresh and beautifully balanced, and eating here is such a pleasure. In their words, “Stonefruit is not about bravado. We have a clear purpose: to eat and drink well, in good company.”

The couple has a natural instinct for hospitality. You know how sometimes you know you’re going to love a place the minute you step through the doors? It’s like that. 

And speaking of regional wine bars, Stonefruit’s friendly vibe and professionalism reminds us a little of (also recently hatted) Hey Rosey in Orange, (profiled by Yes, Chef! in May 2024). 

Sophie x

A recipe that takes you home?

For me, home tastes like pickling and preserves. Back home in Alberta, Canada, food grows for just a few months of the year so, it’s very common to have a cold underground cellar to keep preserves. I remember, as a child, my grandmother's entire back garden was essentially a vegie patch. Come autumn she would preserve everything she grew so we could enjoy the fruits of her labour all year long: dill cucumbers, canned tomatoes, jams, sauces and salsas. Everything was used, and absolutely nothing went to waste.

A recipe for joy?

In our family, a celebration always calls for seafood: oysters, scallops, and prawn rolls. Simple pleasures to be enjoyed communally. I love the chaos of a potluck, too – everyone arriving with a dish, no cuisine left behind, just the joy of contributing. A table full of flavours, with a beautiful bottle of wine, of course. That, to me, is what life is all about.

A recipe to bolster or soothe? 

If myself or one of my loved ones needs extra nourishment, my mind immediately turns to a good broth. Best quality, slow-roasted chicken or beef bones (cuts including connective tissues are preferred) with carrot, celery, and onion, along with a good bouquet garni of aromatics, as the base for a sauce, married with fresh pasta, or simply enjoyed as a warm drink before bed.

Why do you cook in this region? 

I cook at Stonefruit, the little wine bar that my partner Alistair and I built from scratch in Tenterfield. The kitchen is minuscule but full of heart, as much our home as it is our workplace. We work alongside our small team every day to prepare honest and simple dishes that complement our mile-long wine list. It's been so satisfying to build a network of nearby growers and winemakers to be celebrated in this up-and-coming region.

What’s an ingredient you're excited about right now?

I'll never not be excited about offal and nose-to-tail cookery. With the right approach, these ingredients that are often overlooked and discarded can become something truly special, not to mention economical. Terrines, parfaits and pâté en croûte are among my favourites. 

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Quick-fire round

Music in the kitchen before a busy service?

 Nina Simone always centres my mind, body and spirit. 

Coffee or tea? 

Life isn't worth living without coffee. 

Your all-time favourite cake? 

Burnt basque stracciatella cheesecake, always and forever. 

Favourite aperitif? 

Vermouth and soda, or a well-made negroni. 

What's breakfast for you on a lazy day off?

Congee with a fried egg and whatever ferments I have going in the fridge.

Karlee’s café de Paris pipis

This Stonefruit classic – pipis bathed in a bold, herby, café de Paris butter sauce – is punchy, glossy and made for dragging bread through.

Serves 4 as a starter (or 2 if you're hungry)

Prep time 20 minutes

Cook time 5 minutes

Ingredients 

Café de Paris butter

150 g unsalted butter, softened

50 g (2½ tbsp) tomato paste

1 tbsp capers, finely chopped

2 tsp anchovy paste (or 2 anchovies, finely chopped)

1 garlic clove, minced to a paste

1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp chives, finely sliced

1 tsp tarragon, finely chopped

½ tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp curry powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Black pepper, to taste

1–2 tbsp warm water (if needed, to loosen)

Pipis

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small eschallot, finely diced

1 kg fresh pipis, purged and rinsed

150 ml dry white wine (or verjuice)

To serve

Charred sourdough or focaccia

Extra flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Lemon cheeks

Method

1. To make the café de Paris butter, combine butter with tomato paste, capers, anchovy paste, garlic, parsley, chives, tarragon, paprika, curry powder, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a bowl. Season with black pepper. Mix until fluffy, emulsified and smooth. The flavour should be bold, salty, tangy and herby. Adjust lemon or seasoning if needed. Set aside at room temperature so it melts easily when added to the pipis.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add diced eschallot and cook for 30 seconds until softened. Add pipis and white wine, then clamp on a lid. Steam for 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until shells open. Discard any unopened shells.
3. Drop 2–3 generous spoonfuls of the café de Paris butter into the pipis. Swirl the pan so it melts into the wine and pipi liquor, creating a glossy, punchy sauce. Simmer for 30 seconds to bring it together.
4. Bowl up the pipis immediately. Spoon sauce generously over the top. Finish with extra parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with bread to soak up the remaining sauce. 

Notes

• Add chilli if you want it spicy – ½ red chilli, thinly sliced, works a treat.
• Swap pipis for clams or mussels if desired – same treatment.
• This butter is special on steak, fish, prawns and hot crisp potatoes.

See you all next month for the December instalment of Yes, Chef! And as always, if you know of a regional chef we should profile here, please let us know.

Sophie x

Thank you to Westfund for sponsoring today's Yes, Chef!