On the phone to arrange a day in the life with chef Elvis Abrahanowicz, I peculiarly say, “I’m up at 6am every day, so tell me where you want me.”

That’s a lie. I’m only up in the wee hours if the hounds can’t cross their legs any longer. Ding ding hollers my phone at 6:14am: “Morning mate, meet you at Holt St at 8am.”

50 Holt Street, formerly MoVida, will soon be the new home of Argentinian-inspired Porteño, keeping the original for functions. Elvis arrives looking fresher than a flathead flopping on the deck.

“Where did you park?” I ask.

“I walked. Sarah (Doyle – his wife and business partner) has the car to get flowers for all the restaurants.”

Elvis, Sarah, Ben Milgate and Joe Valore are a driving force behind Sydney dining. The four delivered Bodega and Porteño, while Joe, Elvis and Sarah are the backbone of Mary’s, Continental Deli, Stanbuli, LP’s Quality Meats and The Unicorn Hotel.

The new site is concrete and dust just a few weeks from opening, but Elvis points out where the bar, kitchen, private dining and wine cellar will be for the more refined Porteño.

As builders piece together the firepit, Elvis debates with the site manager about how the ceiling panels should be placed.

“Can we go to Chefs’ Warehouse?” he asks. On the way he gets a call from his dad – the whole pigs haven’t turned up.

“Do you guys talk a lot?” I ask.

“All day. Dad lights the fire every morning at Porteño. He’s spent more time there than Ben and I,” he laughs.

His ‘old man’ was their original kitchenhand ten years ago, and cooks meat and pizzas better than anyone, Elvis tells me. He also explains that it’s his mother’s empanadas at Porteño, and at Continental, her crepe cannelloni.

Elvis paces up and down the aisles taking pots, tubs and pans that are all headed for the brand spanking new Bodega 1904 – which opened the night before at the Tramsheds Harold Park redevelopment. “We had no bookings for opening day but got slammed by walk-ins,” he says.

It’s 10am when we arrive at Bodega 1904. Ben has been here for hours already – butchering ducks.

“Why are you on ducks?” I ask. “I’m asking myself the same question!” he laughs. “Actually, it’s nice to do butchery.”

Elvis begins de-veining prawns and charring eggplants over coals.

“People say restaurants find themselves after three months. I reckon it’s four years. When you realise what the restaurant is, for the community,” Elvis says.

That night I go back and dine (under a different name) at the
new Bodega 1904. Amazingly, Elvis and Ben were needed to cook at the original Porteño. So, confident in their staff, they left the new Bodega in the capable hands of head chef Joel Humphreys and crew.

As we wrap up a stellar spread, Ben and Elvis turn up. They join us for a drink, and even after a Fernet or two it’s hard to get Elvis to blow his own trumpet. Instead he highlights the importance of everyone else.

Perhaps it’s the family values at the core of their business. After all, they taught us – in the first instance with Bodega 10 years ago – how to get a full belly and a happy heart through great food, killer wine and good times. They may be one of the most influential groups in Sydney, but it’s a family-run affair, not a corporate money machine.

No wonder their restaurants make everyone feel right at home.