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Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Ozone Kitchen at Westfield Knox

I've been to Westfield Knox a lot of times in the past. I used to go to the buffet place across the road for food before heading into Westfield Knox for some shopping or a movie. There wasn't much eating options inside the shopping centre itself many years ago. But then slowly but surely the Knox Ozone area popped up. The Knox Ozone was a whole area of newer, more exciting eateries. Well, now Westfield Knox have added yet another element to the Knox Ozone, called the Ozone Kitchen.

I attended the launch of Ozone Kitchen, which aims to serve the best Melbourne food for the shopping centre customers. The kitchen provides a space for chefs to experiment new recipes and trends, starting with Matteo Bruno from Meatball and Wine Bar, who's serving up pork and veal meatballs and waygu sliders from March 10-13. After Matteo, a host of other chefs will serve up their dishes in the permanent Ozone Kitchen.

The Ozone Kitchen is basically a shipping container and other recycled material that has been transformed into this little cool area with food and drinks. I love the fake grass as it gives it such a nice feel. The row of lights dangling above also give it a great feel. It has a nice indoor/outdoor setup as the semi open area allows you to see the foot traffic go past. The little kitchen area is big enough for 3-4 chefs to work their magic while the bar area on the other side (great idea so everyone doesn't just crowd in the one area trying to buy food or drinks) has 1-2 bartenders to serve a variety of drinks.

I got the chance to speak to Matteo about his involvement with Ozone Kitchen. He said that he wanted to showcase his food in the Eastern Suburbs, which thus far he doesn't have one of his Meatballs and Wine Bar in yet. I found out that he used to work in film and television, with shows that sometimes involved food. He gravitated towards food and eventually chose that as a career. His Italian background meant that he chose to do something with meat, finally settling on meatballs. And given he lived in Flinders Lane, he thought that was the perfect spot to open his first restaurant, so conveniently located near his house.

The meatballs I got to try at the Ozone Kitchen were all good. The pork and veal meatball was good, but for me the wagyu meatball was super delicious and the highlight with a good mix of flavours. The pulled beef sliders were also really nice. Throw in some nice cocktails and wines and beers and it was a fun relaxing event. The DJ spinning some tunes in the corner played some cool songs too to keep a good atmosphere in that area. So when you're next at Westfield Knox, pop into the Ozone Kitchen and see what foods and drinks they're serving up. It will be a good pre-movie stop or just a casual spot to catch up with friends.

This is a sponsored post.