Frank Camorra - Movida and Movida Next Door, Melbourne, Australia

At a time when many of the world's greatest chefs are choosing to follow an experimental style of cooking in the molecular vein, Frank Camorra and his team have stayed with traditional food, the food of his Spanish heritage.

Camorra's food is celebrated and loved by all who are lucky enough to experience it, and his restaurants enjoy a disparity of demographics that is the envy of every restaurant in Australia. Every generation loves Movida and Movida next Door.

It is a focus on traditional food that has finally been rewarded. Camorra currently holds the coveted title of Melbourne Age Good Food Guide's Chef of the Year. His tiny restaurants are packed from the second they open until late at night. Keeping "Spanish hours", his restaurants celebrate the traditions of Camorra family and their Spanish heritage.

Financial success and fame has not been instantaneous for Camorra, and he retains a refreshing humility about his recent achievements. Given the humble nature of his establishments, it is important to note that during the recent Melbourne Food and Wine Festival some of the world's hottest chefs queued patiently for a seat. His food is the sum of his Spanish heritage. Camorra's passion for food cannot be more poignantly put than his own words:

Christmas in a Spanish Household.

"It's funny, I look back on the Christmases from my childhood and I seem to remember a lot of legs. Legs of uncles and aunties who'd come around to our place on Christmas Eve to party. In Spain, the exchanging of presents happens on 6 January, Three Kings Day. When we moved to Australia this was amalgamated into Christmas Eve, so the traditional dinner and party and presents were all combined, which helped fuel the children's excitement. We'd have a meal of pinchitos muronos (char grilled Moorish lamb skewers) and do the Aussie thing and have some gambas a la plancha (grilled garlic prawns) which Dad would usually cook on the barbecue. We would also have Russian eggs................ We were allowed to stay up well past midnight.

Some time during the night, Uncle Rebola, who was considered by many to be quite an accomplished flamenco singer, would put on a performance and sing soulful cante hondo (deep and emotional songs). Mum would bring out her mantecados de alemendra and Dad poured liberal shots of anis liqueur and brandy. However, the focus was never on the food. It was always on the family. Special attention was paid to the very young and our grandparents.

But the food was constant. As a child, it seemed like it was never-ending, like magically self-replenishing plates.

It was only when I was older that I realised how much hard work mum and dad put in; every year the food was consistently good and tasted just as good as it did the year before. It's just the people who changed. This year was the first year our son Pepe spent Christmas with his Grandparents. Mum's mantecados were exactly as I remember them and Dad was just as liberal with his shots. But the smiles our little boy brought to their faces - sometimes I think Mum and Dad were going to burst they were smiling so much. I don't think I can remember seeing them so happy.

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The food of modern Australia has become the sum of migration, the journey of food and food culture over many continents to find a comfortable place amongst hundreds of different cuisines. The success of migration to Australia is in many ways remarkable, but then again, Australia is a nation of nations.

Connection, family and heritage play a dominant role in Camorra's cooking, and he has managed to retain a zest for life that has seen him maintain a balance that keeps his enthusiasm bubbling to the top. He is the type of chef who will be working with his team, calling the pass, joking, pushing and laughing with the kitchen family, but what he has achieved is something most restaurateur chefs do not; Camorra has restaurants that work as well with him as without him...Utterly remarkable!

Movida is powered by brilliantly trained staff who understand the mathematics of the restaurant floor. On a busy Sunday lunch, the dazzling front of house manager, kept at a tiny table by the door, calculated every seat in multiples of two, never allowing a single diner to interrupt the flow or a single diner to escape. "A table for four, just a minute, have a drink, won't be long". Masterful. And when the night shift arrived it was more of the same, equally professional, equally loyal. The staff meal smelled wondrous, magical and it seemed to us that flavour, generosity and seasonality, combined with great wines and stirred with a blend of fun might just be the magical formula that is the sum of Movida.

Movida and Movida Next Door are wonderful testaments to food tradition. Ask any Melbournian with a love of food; rich or poor, young or old, what their favourite restaurant is they will invariably name one of Camorra's restaurants.

We agree!