Five minutes with Vickie Burkinshaw, The Curious Rabbit

Who is Vickie Burkinshaw: I am the owner of The Curious Rabbit and I have a superpower called self-esteem, which enables me to take a lot of different risks on different things and give people the opportunity to do the same.

Best recent dining experience: There are so many good restaurants in Wagga. My go-to is Thaigga on Fitzmaurice Street. And in the suburbs, Turvey Park where there’s a great Indian and Chinese restaurant. Both are fantastic.

Favourite cuisine: Anything with chillies in it.

Most embarrassing pantry item: Spam! In context, we do hotpot and it works in that.

What ingredient can I not live without? Chilli, eggs and herbs. Every morning, I have a handful of herbs and eggs.

Best coffee spot in Wagga: The Curious Rabbit! But the good thing is, the conversation is more important than coffee sometimes. But Claire, our barista is certainly the best in Wagga.

Next big thing in the Wagga food scene: There are a couple of exciting things happening in Wagga and I think it’s about having that variety of different things. And it’s really encouraging we can get food seven days of the week. It was missing, particularly during COVID – being able to go out at any time, any night of the week and know that there’s something decent to eat.

A must-try on our menu: Definitely any of the cakes that we make in-house – carrot cake, almond orange cake. Another must-try is our chocolate brownie, which we make with real Belgian chocolate.

My biggest culinary influence: My background is German-Polish, so it is about having that sour taste. I grew up on the farm and we always used to have sauerkraut, cabbage and the whole animal. It was a German-Polish experience having grandparents come out from the war and we used everything.

Favourite cookbook: Meals Without Red Meat by Simon and Alison Holst. It has many amazing recipes.

Who I admire in the Wagga food and wine scene: It is anyone willing to take the chance, especially what Meccanico has been able to do with Pastorale. And MR. LAWRENCE, which has influence over the International Hotel. The people coming to stay in the hotel have exposure.

What are this week’s specials at The Curious Rabbit?: We always have a special soup and salad. We always use seasonal ingredients and at the moment, it’s pumpkin. I have a proliferation of organic kent pumpkins growing out of my compost courtesy of The Curious Rabbit. Sometimes the pumpkin seeds get thrown into the coffee grind, which I take home. We have been using those pumpkins.

Death row meal: Definitely a curry and maybe a laksa.

My least favourite food: Potato pancakes. I remember being tortured by them as a child for lent. They were just tasteless.

My COVID-19 response: I started the business during COVID and it was a great experience for me. And I think it helped people slow down and take stock of what was important. But it has also been awful in terms of people have been unwell and have died. Our artists and artisans suffered and they deserve praise. They helped us get through COVID with their online art and music. Now that we can go out and about people have realised that, especially during Fitz Fest. People are keen to support live musicians and artists again, which is exciting.

My top three cooking tips: 1. Butter and garlic. Everything is better with butter and garlic. 2. Have as many fresh ingredients as possible. It is so simple for people to grow a herb on their balcony or backyard. 3. Know your timing of things. I have a lot of discipline around what is suitable for the slow cooker versus what is suitable for stir fry — obey the rules so you’re not overstimulating your food.

The Curious Rabbit is open seven days a week. It is located at 44 Johnston St, Wagga.