Peggy’s sandwich servery and Lola’s pizzeria are two of Fremantle’s staples, producing some of the best eats in the area. There’s something they have in common — they both involve head chef, Drew Dawson.
Dawson’s a Fremantle boy at heart and he has an inspirational story to tell.
Originally from the UK, Dawson served in the army up until he was 21. He was then looking for his next adventure; something fast-paced and challenging that he could get excited about. His love of food took him into the hospitality industry and he quickly landed himself an apprenticeship at The Ned — a highly-regarded restaurant in London under the Soho house brand. He learnt and refined his trade, working with some of the best in the game, including a spell with Patrick Powell on his opening team for Allegra.
While Dawson enjoyed his time in London’s restaurant scene, he knew he was ready for a new adventure which is when he headed to Australia.
A new challenge in Australia
First stop, Melbourne, at the famed Napier Quarter — a popular wine bar headed up by Eileen Horsnell. She was the first female head chef that he’d worked under — an experience Dawson describes as “simply incredible.” Dawson applied his trade at Napier Quarter right up until COVID shut the world down.
Dawson took this opportunity to drive around the country with a friend, seeing some of the best parts of Australia and almost completing two laps of the country. Driving back to Perth from Cairns, Dawson was involved in a traumatic car accident, rolling his car down the side of a hill six times. The car was destroyed and Dawson’s right hand — his knife hand — was crushed in the process. Drew flew to Perth with his friend who also needed surgery and found himself here with no money or car, and a hand that could no longer do what he needed to work in a kitchen, and no family or friends to lean on.
Dawson was roaming around Fremantle about a month after Peggy’s had opened and it reminded him of his time in Melbourne’s food scene.
Trying his luck, he went in and pitched himself to one of the staff. After some conversation, the owner, Harry Peasnell, gave Dawson a chance and brought him into the team.
“I loved the customers and that we could be so creative with something as humble as sandwiches,” Dawson said.
Six months later, Dawson’s hand had healed, and he was ready to get back into the dining scene and continue his chef journey. As it turned out, Peasnell had been offered a lease for a space two doors down from Peggy’s and he asked Dawson if he wanted to open a restaurant with him. And so began Lola’s.
In the early days of Lola’s, Dawson teamed up with Gozney where he was introduced to their Pizza Collective. He got himself a Gozney pizza oven for his home so that he could spend more time testing different recipes. It also gave him access to their community of pizza chefs, which he used to absorb their collective knowledge, strongly influencing what he knows about pizza today.
Starting a pop-up: Off Licence
After some time, Dawson found himself craving his next challenge and he wanted more creative freedom in whatever he did next.
“I think a pop-up was the perfect solution to being more creative in the kitchen and cooking in a new style. I can experiment with different people and crowds and get great honest feedback,” Dawson said.
And so, Off Licence was born. Dawson says it’s been a great success so far — the first night they sold out completely within 30 minutes.
“It’s been so amazing to see it [Off License] grow and take off in the way it has. I really didn’t expect it.”
Drew’s ‘death row’ pizza
We’ve all pondered this question before — some variation of the “if the world was ending tomorrow, what would you want for your last meal?” Well, it goes without saying that it should be pizza so we posed this question to Drew.
“My all-time favourite pizza is easy!” he said.
“It’s called a Fiorentina and originates from the Toscano region of Italy. Very simply, it’s a red-based pizza with spinach, olives, parmesan, and lots of garlic oil, finished with an egg in the middle. I love how the soft yolk mixes with all the toppings and I can’t think of a more satisfying pizza to go out on.”
Drew’s pizza recipe for you to try at home
We all love a good pizza on the couch on a lazy Sunday evening — or pretty much any evening, for that matter. And just because we’re cooking it at home, it doesn’t mean we can’t put together a fancy, restaurant-quality pizza. Here’s one of Drew’s favourite pizza recipes — he cooks this in his Gozney pizza oven which he swears by. They’re available here if you’re interested in getting one for yourself.
Either way, here’s the recipe for Drew’s white-based pizza:
- Start by infusing some cream with garlic — once done, cool down and set aside as you’ll be using this as your base.
- Stretch your dough to form your pizza base. Feel free to make it any shape you like — it doesn’t have to be perfectly round (or round at all)!
- Cover your pizza base in the garlic cream from step 1.
- Time for the toppings. Crumble over some beautiful gorgonzola cheese, toasted walnuts, rosemary, and finish it off with some grated parmesan.
- Cook until the crusts are golden and the cheese has all melted perfectly.
It’s guaranteed to be a flavour bomb and the perfect pizza for any night of the week.
