Papelon cafe at Footscray Market brings Venezuelan food to Melbourne’s west

Food does many jobs at Papelon, a new restaurant on the edge of Footscray Market, owned by Venezuelan immigrant Reveka Hurtado. There’s the basic task of sating hunger: maybe you need a snack before hitting the market, or you bring the family because tonight doesn’t feel like a cooking night.

There are more profound tasks for food, too: Papelon is a place Melbourne Latinos can sink into for a taste of home. Perhaps it’s the shredded beef just like mama’s, the namesake papelon, a sugar cane drink that’s sold on the streets of South America, or very likely tequenos, the crunchy, oozy fried cheese pastries that are a must at any Venezuelan shindig. “If you run out, it’s a bad party,” Reveka cautions.

Beyond that, food at Papelon is for outreach, entrusted with encircling the broader Australian community in its warm Latin American embrace.

On every marker, Papelon succeeds heartily, and it will only get better. Three months after opening, the food is mostly Venezuelan, with influences from Colombian chef Edyson Araque.

The plan, though, is to include dishes that represent countries all the way from Mexico to Patagonia. There aren’t many Latin American restaurants in Melbourne – and none other that I know of in the west – so this is a wholesome project of cultural connection.

Arepas are made here from corn meal. Before coming, I’d only tried petite, flat Colombian-style arepas. The Venezuelan version is more like a pita pocket, brimful with filling. The Reina Pepiada (“curvy queen”) is loaded with creamy, tangy chicken and avocado, named – so the legend goes – after a Miss World pageant winner from the 1950s.

The patacon is a shareable platter of crisp-fried plantain slices layered with braised and pulled skirt steak, salad, cheese and squirts of salsas. I was full about five seconds after starting but kept diving back in.

Pabellon is Venezuela’s national dish, a platter of rice, black beans, beef and plantains that includes elements of native, Spanish and African cuisine. If you’re Venezuelan, you’ll be transfixed; if you’re not, you’ll be won over by simple, nourishing resonance.

Reveka Hurtado hasn’t had an easy journey. She fled Venezuela as a journalism student in 2015: her country was in disarray, speaking out was dangerous and Chile offered safer harbour. Five years later, she came to Australia to study English but was caught out by the pandemic. She started making empanadas to bring in income. A dark kitchen followed and finally this bright, joyful restaurant.

The idea is to be a gathering space as well as an eating place, with artist workshops and live music. Papelon is humble but the vision is huge, proving the wide-ranging powers of food with every plate.