Flour & Fire, a private supper club and catering business run by Anna Tamburri and Valerio Fantinelli, operates out of the backyard of their Fremantle family home. The couple built and excavated the commercial kitchen and homely dining space themselves, with both the local council and neighbours aware of the operation. Dinners are held for groups of six to twelve guests around a single table, with Fantinelli crafting bespoke set menus that showcase vegetables, fruits and herbs from the couple's farm in Waroona.
Ingredients such as radicchio are served fresh alongside roasted wagyu beef, while vinegars made from white wine, red wine and pomegranate, aged over several seasons, drive a tart aperitivo drink called smoked posca. Even the tableware and cutlery are made from timber and other natural materials from the farm, chosen with intention: if something is on the table, Fantinelli and Tamburri either made it themselves or know the person who did, as well as the item's backstory.
The business began in 2018 as a one-off vegan dinner for parents from daughter Rosie's primary school. Fantinelli, an Italian-born chef whose career has taken him from his native Abruzzo to Western Australia and Bali, said he never thought people would pay for dinner at his home. "I never thought people would pay money for dinner at our place," he admitted. But they did, and the model grew into current Friday and Saturday night dinners, plus Sunday lunch when weather permits.
Guests can choose between two dining options: a traditional share-style family meal featuring large cuts of meat, vegetables and bread at $180 per person, or a contemporary degustation menu with individual plated portions of a dozen dishes at $200 per person. Fantinelli's cooking connects his past and present, and a recent reviewer noted learning something new about Italian cuisine each time.
Bookings for the summer season, December, January and February, open at 9am on October 26. Reservations are made exclusively via email (val@flourandfire.com.au) and filled on a first-in, best-served basis. Fantinelli deliberately avoids an online booking system. "I like having that personal touch with guests," he said. "It feels like you're coming to my house from the very beginning."
Flour & Fire requires a minimum group of six and a maximum of twelve. The core team remains Fantinelli in the kitchen and Tamburri running front of house, with occasional help from their children, Rosie and Xavier.