Four Chefs Shared Their Favourite Meals And Heartfelt Stories For World Pride — And Here Are The Recipes

Because good food is even better with good banter.

This year, Coles has partnered with World Pride to encourage Aussies to gather around and welcome everyone to our table. To celebrate, four incredible chefs were generous enough to share their favourite comfort dishes and heartfelt stories with us.

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Check out these mouthwatering recipes and share them with your own loved ones when you welcome them to your very own safe space.

Ryan's Chicken Schnitzel Curry

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Ryan is our resident Tasty Chef at Buzzfeed Oz. He loves to entertain and regularly hosts his besties, serving great food with great laughs and plenty of wine. That’s what cooking is all about!

Ryan believes comfort dishes tell a strong story about people and what makes them feel good. His comfort dish not only makes him feel welcome at a table, but allows him to make others feel welcome at his table too. 

Get Started

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First things first — pop two cups of long grain rice and some water in a rice cooker, then leave it to do its thing. You'll also be using some diced potato and carrots for this recipe, so either steam or boil them according to your preference. 

The Curry

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Next, the curry sauce! Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and sauté a diced onion until translucent. Add two tablespoons each of curry powder, minced garlic & crushed ginger and cook until the fragrant spices fill up the room. Then add one tablespoon each of pure Australian honey and soy sauce, before topping it all off with one and a half cups of stock.

Leave your curry sauce to reduce for about 20 minutes, so it can start to thicken. Blend thoroughly, then pour your delicious sauce over your cooked pot of carrots and potatoes. Add one tablespoon of corn flour to thicken the curry further, then leave it to the side. 

The Secret Touch

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While you're waiting for your curry sauce to reduce, pop some Coles Australian chicken breast fillets in an air-fryer for about 10 minutes. These delicious golden crispy fillets come pre-crumbed with sage & rosemary, saving you plenty of time, so you can get right to the good stuff.

The Serve

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To plate up, serve a large spoonful of your steamed rice alongside a generous serving of curry, with your crispy crumbed chicken laid over the top. Sprinkle some chopped spring onion over the lot — and voilà! Restaurant-ready deliciousness which will make everyone feel at home. 

Will's Banana Glazed Lamb Chops

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Will is the proud owner of Sydney Cebu Lechon — a restaurant and catering company specialising in delectable Filipino comfort food. 

For Will, this particular recipe has profound meaning. It brings him back to the time of his coming out during a family dinner, when his sister served this incredible dish. 

Every year when World Pride takes place, he's drawn to this ultimate comfort dish because it brings him back to that happy place of joyful acceptance.

The Glaze

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Making the sweet, delectable glaze couldn't be easier — simply cut up two ripened bananas, then pop them in a blender alongside 100 grams of tomato paste and two tablespoons of brown sugar. Season generously and blend until you achieve a beautiful, thick consistency, then transfer to a large bowl.

The Secret Touch

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Now it's time to make the magic happen! Add 10 Lamb Chops to your bowl of delicious glaze and mix thoroughly. 

In a sauce-pan on low-medium heat, add 100g butter and your glaze covered lamb chops, cooking two at a time for about 4-5 minutes on each side. 

To create your sweet potato pasta, mix around 100 grams of sultanas into a couple of servings of Coles Potato Salad. This hack makes for a super easy sweet, delicious side salad that complements the flavours of the dish perfectly. 

The Serve

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Serve your delectable glazed lamb chops and sweet potato salad with a generous amount of 4 leaf salad mix on the side — sprinkled with  pomegranate on top for a pop of colour.

Your loved ones will adore this heartwarming, flavourful twist on a classic family fave!

Tyler's Chicken Pasta Bake

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By day, Tyler is a store manager at Coles...and by night, he transforms into the fabulous diva drag queen, known as Misty Del Ray! 

Tyler's true comfort dish is being surrounded by people he loves, with that special atmosphere of being able to open up and share with each other around a table groaning with delicious food.

The Pasta

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Tyler uses 500g of penne pasta, but the beautiful thing about this dish is you can adjust it to your personal comfort pasta preferences. So pick whatever you'd like! Once your pasta is cooked, mix it with a delicious pasta bake sauce of your choosing (tomato, ricotta & spinach would work perfectly for this recipe!) and transfer into an oven proof dish. 

The Secret Touch

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But Tyler's real secret is all about the toppings! First shred a delicious Coles BBQ chicken on top, then add some sliced up fresh mushrooms, spinach and cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with shredded cheese and pop in the oven for around 20 minutes or until the cheese is a deep golden brown. 

The Serve

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Once out of the oven, dust over a few leaves of tarragon for some deeper flavour. Serve piping hot on a cold night with the warmth of your loved ones surrounding you. This ultimate comfort dish is super easy to make, and will have everyone clamouring for more!

Courtney's Crispy Fish Sandwich

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Courtney is a proud Coles Ambassador, whose job involves working with food every single day.

For Courtney, comfort food is about nostalgia. As a teenager, she would spend her days fishing with her four older brothers and on summer holidays, her dad would fry up the fish and serve it on white bread. 

This recipe takes her back to a heartwarming childhood memory filled with love, comfort and acceptance.

The Tartare Sauce

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Put two thirds of a cup kewpie mayonnaise in a bowl along with one tablespoon each of chopped parsley, dill and cornichons. Add baby capers and the chopped zest of half a lemon, then add a teaspoon American mustard and season generously with salt & pepper. Mix it all up, then set it to the side.

Add one thinly sliced red onion to a bowl of ice water (to keep them super crisp!) and squeeze in some lemon (to take that onion breath flavour away). 

The Secret Touch

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For the next step, you'll need three seperate bowls: The first filled with one third cup plain flour, the next with a beaten free range egg, and the last with two cups of panko breadcrumbs.

Take two 150g pieces of firm skinless white fish (for her version Courtney used barramundi, but you could replace with snapper, cod or flathead depending on your preference). Dip each piece into each bowl, making sure to get a nice, even coating, then set aside. 

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Heat up about a cup of olive oil in a pan until it reaches 180°, then carefully place in your crumbed fish slices. Cook for about two to three minutes on each side, until your fish is golden and crispy.

The Serve

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Butter a couple of thick cut slices of soft white bread, then add a generous dollop of your tartare sauce onto each slice. Smooth it out until even. 

Top one slice with some finely shaved iceberg lettuce, then add your crispy golden crumbed fish and the red onion on top. Pop on your other bread slice, then slice the whole thing in half. 

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Serve with crunchy chips on the side — and if you're feeling fancy some more pickles on top. Then get ready to tuck into the best crispy fish sandwich of your life! 

This blend of childhood nostalgia and culinary sophistication creates a superb dish filled with love — one that you'll want to create again and again!

Now that you know how to make these incredible heartwarming comfort dishes, it's your turn to welcome your loved ones to your table and make everyone feel welcome with wholesome stories and delicious food.

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Find out more about Coles' partnership with World Pride here.