Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Gourmet Traveller

Joanna Hunkin Editor Art & Food Creative Director Jacqui Triggs Senior Designer Sam Yates Senior Food Editor Maxwell Adey Words Deputy Editor Anna McCooe Digital Editor Cordelia Williamson Senior Sub Editor Suzanna Chriss News Editor Jordan Kretchmer Digital Content Producer Charlotte Wishart Editorial Coordinator Alexandra Harris GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU Published by Are Media Pty Limited. ABN 18 053 273 546. 54-58 Park St, Sydney, NSW, 2000, (02) 9282 8000. The trade mark Gourmet Traveller is the property of Are Media Pty Limited and is used under licence. ©2024 All rights reserved. Printed by IVE, Unit 1/83 Derby St, Silverwater, NSW, 2128. National distribution by Are Direct Pty Ltd. 1300 650 666. Gourmet Traveller cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If such materials are sent to the magazine, they will not be returned.…

Fermented, pungent and powerful, fish sauce has been an essential component of Thai (nam pla) and Vietnamese (nuoc mam) cuisines for centuries. Made by fermenting small, whole fish in brine before being bottled, it adds depth and complexity to dishes. Rather than going with a cheap bottle, keep your eye out for these premium sauces that will add structure and sharpness to an array of dishes. Megachef With a deep, almost Vegemite-like scent, Megachef is made with anchovies, which are responsible for its strong savoury flavour. The sauce of choice for chef David Thompson, Megachef is aged for two years and is free from preservatives. Serve with sliced chillies as a seasoning, or use in the early stages of anchovy or seafood-favouring pasta dishes. $7.95 for 700ml, essentialingredient.com.au Three Crabs…

How did you come to love wine? I was a late starter into the wine world. I went to the UK on the classic antipodean overseas experience and worked with wine in restaurants where we tasted regularly. I then took a leap and completed a Diploma in Winemaking & Viticulture in Gisborne, New Zealand. It was a very hands-on course with a commercial winery and as soon as I stepped into the winery and handled the grapes, I knew I had found my calling. A wine that changed your life? One of the last wines I had with my father before he passed away was a Château Gloria from Saint-Julien, brought back from Bordeaux. I will always remember it fondly. Best industry experience? The Len Evans Tutorial is at the…

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR The Agrarian Kitchen Restaurant NEW NORFOLK, TASMANIA THE TALE BEGINS IN 2008, WHEN RODNEY DUNN – a former Tetsuya’s chef and Gourmet Traveller food editor – left Sydney with his wife Séverine Demanet to start a new life in Tasmania. Together, they launched a small farm and cooking school in a repurposed 19th-century schoolhouse in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley, a half-hour drive from Hobart. Fast-forward 16 years, and The Agrarian Kitchen has grown tenfold, now encompassing that cooking school, a takeaway kiosk and restaurant, all centred around a one-acre walled kitchen garden on the grounds of a former psychiatric hospital, in the small town of New Norfolk. It’s a remarkable trajectory, one that has always been guided by a clear-cut purpose: to forge a more fundamental and…

REQUEST A RECIPE To request a recipe from Australia’s leading chefs and restaurants, email us at askgourmet@aremedia.com.au THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MENU AT KING CLARENCE SPANS A WIDE BRIEF, BUT ONE DISH THAT TIES all these influences together is chef Khanh Nguyen’s unique take on mapo tofu. “The restaurant is focused around Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. I’ve tried to bring these all together here,” says Nguyen. “A lot of places do a pork mapo tofu and this prawn version is something different while staying true to the traditional flavours with the chilli and the chilli bean sauce.” A comforting custard underscores the dish, inspired by Japanese chawanmushi. “It’s done with soy milk so it’s a nod to the tofu component in the traditional dish.” A rich combination of prawn…

WHEN I COOK FOR OTHERS AT HOME, MY HOPE IS that my guests feel a sense of intimacy and pleasure when they stand around the kitchen, watching and helping, and of course, when they sit down to eat the food. Having people over and cooking for them is, I think, one of the most beautiful ways to spend time with and really get to know your loved ones. You can always fit one more person around the table, you can always dig out more food from the fridge and bulk out the meal – this is something I have learnt from my partner, Rapha, and our families. Unlike the restaurant kitchen, there’s no need for perfection when you cook at home (and I say that as a perfectionist). If the…

Sydney’s inner-city Paddington isn’t the first place you think of when it comes to destination dining with overnight accommodation. Typically, one expects a more bucolic setting – somewhere surrounded by rolling pastoral landscapes or a quirky continental village, à la so many of Europe’s Michelin-star restaurants. But Josh and Julie Niland are ready to challenge that thinking. When the couple announced they were moving Saint Peter up the road to the historic Grand National Hotel site, simultaneously opening a boutique hotel alongside the 40-seat fine-diner, it marked a new era for both the restaurant and its owners. Running a hotel was never part of their hospitality dream; they planned to outsource the accommodation side of things to another operator. Conversations were had but it soon became apparent if they didn’t…

1 Compact Victoria Speed oven, $3650, Smeg. 2 Sarnen pendant, $1590, The Montauk Lighting Co. 3 Round French oven 26cm in Cherry Blossom, $799, Chasseur. 4 Rose Garden Home glass vase in Pink, $80, Villeroy & Boch. 5 Milani swivel hob mixer set in Brushed Brass, $410, Abi Interiors. 6 Breville The Searing 6L slow cooker, $199, Harvey Norman. 7 Round stone tray in Travertine, $195, Behr & Co. 8 Tom Dixon Fat Bar Stool, $2800, Living Edge. 9 Ribbed marble mortar pestle, $70, Empire Home. PHOTOGRAPHY ANSON SMART. STYLING MARIA PAPANTONIOU., MERCHANDISING SAM YATES.…

Vue de Monde AUSTRALIAN Level 55, Rialto, 525 Collins St, Melbourne (03) 9691 3888 vuedemonde.com.au Price guide $$$$$ Bookings Essential Wheelchair access Yes Open Lunch Fri-Sat; Dinner Wed-Sat Vue de Monde has a knack for reinvention. It may have adhered to high-end dégustation restaurant tropes (impressive, expensive wine list included) since opening early this century, but a series of chef and venue changes means Vue has had its distinct eras. And the latest, with executive chef Hugh Allen in charge and a sensitive renovation under its belt, is a doozy. Under Allen, flavour – deliciousness, if you like – is of equal importance to the flash and dazzle of elevated technique. There’s an exciting high-low rhythm to his 16-ish courses. An earthy combo of lamb sweetbreads, cabbage and fermented koji…

Restaurant Labart AUSTRALIAN 8 West St, Burleigh Heads (07) 5576 3498 restaurantlabart.com Price guide $ Bookings Recommended Wheelchair access Yes Open Lunch Sun; Dinner Wed-Sat The recent switch from set menu to à la carte has paid off at Labart, and dining at this European-style bistro has never felt more relaxed. It’s thanks to owners Alex and Karla Munoz Labart, and head chef Stefano Rosi (ex-Tipo 00), who, one year into his tenure, is shining. Given Rosi’s background, you can expect excellent pasta – like textbook king prawn ravioli in a saffron, tomato and shellfish sauce, say – and unpretentious, flavour-packed dishes, such as toasted brioche topped with earthy mushroom custard and grated parmesan. Across the menu, there’s renewed emphasis on less being more, resulting in clarity and elegance. Hibachi-grilled…

State winner Maxwell Restaurant CONTEMPORARY 19 Olivers Rd, McLaren Vale (08) 8323 8200 maxwellwines.com.au Price guide $$ Bookings Recommended Wheelchair access Yes Open Lunch Fri-Sun; Dinner Sat The observational beehive inside this dashing winery restaurant provides a glimpse into the Maxwell family’s honey wine past. It even sometimes cameos in German chef Fabian Lehmann’s spectacular multi-course menu. Case in point: the bright, ginger-laced sparkling mead paired with hazelnut mousse, rich dark chocolate and hazelnut crumb at dessert. But first, snacks of dizzying creativity and precision. Offcuts from prime wagyu appear in a small steamed bun dressed in a lightly smoked eel emulsion with cured egg yolk and a coronet of Sturia caviar. Eel, popular in Lehmann’s homeland, shows up again kabayaki-style, which kisses pan-seared Kiwami wagyu striploin, finished on the…

Our September issue is always an exciting milestone, as we celebrate the best of Australian dining and the winners of our Annual Restaurant Awards. But this year marks a particularly memorable moment as we celebrate our first ever Tasmanian winner of Restaurant of the Year. The prize, which was first handed out in 1980 and is Australia’s longest-running restaurant award, has been claimed by venues all over the country, except the Apple Isle. Until now. The milestone is especially sweet as Rodney Dunn, chef-owner of The Agrarian Kitchen Restaurant, was once a food editor for Gourmet Traveller in a past life (well before myself or any of our judging panel worked on the title). He left Sydney and GT in 2008 to start a new life in Tasmania with the…

I am passionate about celebrating the important work of accomplished Senior Curator and writer, Kimberley Moulton. Kimberley is a proud Yorta Yorta woman who lives and works between London and Naarm (Melbourne), the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri/Boonwurrung people. I am forever inspired by the way her practice of storytelling and her relationship with people and objects share and amplify the voices of First Peoples. . THE OLDEST BUILDING IN SHEPPARTON, Victoria, on Yorta Yorta land, can be found on the corner of Welsford Street. It was built in 1873 and in its past lives it has been a church, community hall, law court, steam printer and plumbing office. Today, it’s home to the Shepparton Heritage Centre and holds objects from days gone by. Not too far around the corner,…

THE TASK OF A SOMMELIER IS NEVER EASY – FROM short and snappy bar wine lists to epic tomes filled with pages of back vintage wines. The most talented of sommeliers will balance a diverse list of classic wines with wines that are more modern in style, a mix of price points and flavours. Among these acts of curation, an artful sommelier will also sprinkle in a few gems for customers who are in the mood to go all out. They might be rare wines, cult favourites or the wines they fought tooth and nail to list (or sneak into each other’s restaurants to drink them on days off if we missed out on an allocation). And for wine-lovers, this is one of the reasons why dining out is so…

Milk custard Linen napkins from Loco Living used throughout. All other props stylist’s own. PEKOWRAH Potato fritters with red chilli chutney SERVES 6-8 AS A STARTER // PREP 20 MINS // COOK 20 MINS (PLUS COOLING) “Pekowrahs are a street food staple in southeast Asian cuisine,” says Parwana’s Durkhanai Ayubi. “They can be a variant of vegetables mixed with a delicately spiced batter and fried for a savoury snack, always served with a dipping sauce. This version is a simple potato pekowrah served with Parwana’s red chutney.” 120 gm (1 cup) besan flour (chickpea flour) 2 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp cornflour 1 tsp each baking powder, ground coriander and ground turmeric Sunflower oil, for deep-frying 3 large sebago potatoes, peeled Parsley and thinly sliced red chilli, to serve RED…

If it’s possible to feel more like you’re in Barcelona than I do right now, then you had better tell me how. It’s Sunday, rolling towards noon and I’m in Bodega Quimet, a rustic bar in the artsy, village-like neighbourhood of Gràcia. It’s standing room only and we’re clustered by the door, enveloped in the hubbub. Wooden barrels marked with chalk labels (vermut, Oporto, Malaga) are racked high along the sides of the narrow room and the servery is lined with point-and-pick tapas: glistening olives, striated oyster shells, lolling anchovies, ensaladilla with tuna and tomato. Drinking vermouth and nibbling a few tapas before a slow Sunday lunch is – I was going to say traditional, but will correct myself to compulsory. The act is so embedded in the culture here…

There on the benchtop, embodying sharpness in all its forms, this impossibly chic knife block stands to attention. It comes with six knives, one for each side of the magnetic hexagon. And this is where they remain; always visible and forever within reach. The knives’ oxidised jet-black finish is designed for scratch resistance, meeting discerning cooks and design buffs at the point where ease of use finds its polish. Fans of Füri’s seamless Japanese stainless-steel construction and enduring precision will be inclined to add to their collection over time. In these cases, additional knives can be kept discreetly inside the block, ready to slice, dice, julienne and chiffonnade with exacting results. Füri Pro Jet Black Magnetic Hexagonal Block 7-piece set, $949, furiglobal.com PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA LANDSBERRY. STYLING ALEXANDRA HARRIS.…

Cafe Paci EUROPEAN 131 King St, Newtown 0402 392 189 cafepaci.com.au Price guide $ Bookings Recommended Wheelchair access Yes Open Lunch Sat; Dinner Mon-Sat If there’s a highlight at Cafe Paci, it’s dessert: earthy-sweet carrot sorbet atop dense liquorice cake enveloped in tart yoghurt foam. Then again, perhaps it’s that cult-status ox tongue taco with snowy horseradish. Or the razor-thin, crackly rye crisp slathered with ’nduja and crowned with tangy, exactingly placed fermented carrots. All three are true originals, embodiments of owner-chef Pasi Petänen’s flair. Yet, even more seemingly familiar dishes here show unmistakeable precision. Char-grilled, limey black-pepper prawns are aromatic as all get-out, while buttery leeks topped with cloud-like strands of spanner crab and hazelnuts show impeccable restraint. The urbane fit-out suits the quirky and quietly experimental spirit, and…

State winner Casa EUROPEAN 399 Oxford St, Mount Hawthorn casa-casa-casa.com Price guide $ Bookings Recommended Wheelchair access Yes Open Dinner Tue-Sat Most wine bars don’t temperature-control their entire inventory of organically farmed vino naturale. Nor are they designed like a modernist Milanese display home or staffed with service pros that are more hosts than hotshots. But then, most wine bars aren’t Casa: a house of hospitality with a grasp of enoteca cool and restaurant craft that have made it one of Perth’s most essential addresses. The menu – a thorough examination of chef Paul Bentley’s diverse CV – is tough to pigeonhole, but all too easy to like. House-made duck and pork cotechino, plus clam tonnarelli slicked with a lurid jalapeño and preserved lemon sauce, are pure Italian brio: just…

Table Manners, Sydney. Restaurant News THE LATEST FROM CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS AROUND AUSTRALIA We check out the best openings in Australia, from Neil Perry’s highly anticipated double-header to a botanical new venture in Adelaide. SYDNEY Neil Perry continues to make his mark in Double Bay, with two new venues opening at the Margaret precinct. Song Bird flies in to deliver Perry’s take on Cantonese classics with a commitment to carefully sourced produce. Think plump Spencer Gulf king prawn dumplings with black vinegar and chilli; Peking duck with pancakes and condiments; and steamed ginger and shallot coral trout served half, whole or filleted. Much like nearby Margaret, Song Bird gathers the best seafood from across Australia. Downstairs in the former Pelicano site is cocktail bar Bobbie’s. Bar tsar Linden Pride has…

2022 Devil’s Corner Resolution Pinot Noir. IN A DAZE It’s that feeling of spending a balmy afternoon sunning by the rockpools or surfing Sydney’s Fairy Bower, bottled as gin. Manly Spirits Co.’s newest blend of botanicals is fresh, cool and smooth, layering citrus notes of lemon, lime and orange to finish. $90, manlyspirits.com.au MED ON THE MIND Fiano is vying to be the smash hit of summer with a South Australian label taking out the top spot at the recent Decanter World Wine Awards. Beating its Mediterranean rivals, Beresford Emblem Fiano gives way to crisp aromatics spliced with ginger and white pepper. $25, beresfordestate.com.au SPOTLIGHT ON Diana Farrera, co-founder of Nativo Hospitality and Australia’s only mezcologist, talks trends and mezcal. I think 2025 will be great for exploring savoury cocktails.…

BEER COCKTAILS OCCUPY A SPECIFIC NICHE IN THE cocktail canon, one that seems to elicit divisive opinions. Nonetheless, there’s something inarguably appealing about the Americano Perfecto, a modern-day cult classic devised by Damon Boelte at Brooklyn’s now-closed Prime Meats in the 2010s. It’s one of those “as easy to make as it is to drink” numbers, an Americano in which lager replaces soda water and two sweet vermouths go to bat. At Bar Miette – Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann’s new Euro-inspired café, wine bar and terrace in Brisbane – cocktail maestro Cameron Parish scraps the vermouth entirely, in favour of verjuice and a house-made rooibos syrup. It may seem like a peculiar combo, but Parish insists it clicks. “Anything that has citrus notes works really well with a clean,…

Coconut-curried lentils SERVES 4 // PREP 5 MINS // COOK 25 MINS 280 gm split red lentils 1 tbsp coconut oil or ghee 1 onion, diced 1 cinnamon quill 1½ tbsp hot curry powder 400 ml coconut milk 400 ml vegetable stock Yoghurt, steamed basmati rice, sliced cucumber and warm roti, to serve TEMPERED SPICES 50 gm ghee ½ tsp fenugreek seeds 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds Handful of fresh curry leaves 1 Rinse lentils well and set aside. 2 Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until just tender and starting to turn golden (5 minutes). Stir through cinnamon and curry powder until fragrant (1 minute). 3 Add lentils to pan with coconut milk and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to…

Tarragon chicken Plate from Ali F Made It. Wooden chopping board from Gail Clayton Design. Cutlery from Vue. Cheese from Simon Johnson. All other props stylist’s own. Spring herb linguine with artichoke and macadamia SERVES 4 // PREP 45 MINS // COOK 5 MINS 150 gm unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature 1 large garlic clove, crushed Finely grated zest of ½ lemon and ½ lime, plus 3 tsp each of lemon and lime juice 300 gm snap peas, trimmed and halved lengthways 400 gm podded broad beans (about 800gm unpodded; see note), blanched, peeled 75 gm roast macadamias, chopped, plus extra finely grated, to serve 4 braised artichokes (see recipe, p105), quartered lengthways Smoked salmon roe, baby nasturtiums and chervil, to serve HERB PASTA DOUGH 2½ cups (firmly packed)…

Inaregion populated by well-visited destinations like Daylesford, Bendigo, Kyneton and Castlemaine, the central Victorian town of Heathcote has remained something of an unknown quantity. Sure, it’s at the centre of the eponymous wine region renowned for the quality of its shiraz in particular, but Heathcote has not exerted the same pull for food-curious travellers as some of its better-known neighbours. For many, it’s always been more a place to drive through than to. But now, after the arrival of the excellent Chauncy, which opened just off Heathcote’s main drag in 2021, the town is making some noise on the food and wine tourist radar. Chauncy took out this year’s Best Destination Dining award at Gourmet Traveller’s Annual Restaurant Awards, ahead of a pack of remarkable regional restaurants from across the…

1 Sturt Desert Pea rug, from $9900, Jenny Jones. 2 Astoria dinnerware three-piece set, $220, Greg Natale. 3 Estérel candle, $159, Trudon. 4 Wine conditioning unit, $4999, Miele. 5 Black Tie decanter, $1000, Riedel. 6 Moon dining table, $12,650, Transforma. 7 Bocci horizontal suspended lamp, POA, Space. 8 Lisa dining chair, POA, Fanuli. OPPOSITE Oatley House interiors by Greg Natale. PHOTOGRAPHY ANSON SMART. STYLING MARIA PAPANTONIOU., MERCHANDISING SAM YATES.…

Pilot AUSTRALIAN 1 Wakefield Gardens, Ainslie (02) 6257 4334 pilotrestaurant.com Price guide $$ Bookings Essential Wheelchair access No Open Lunch Sat-Sun; Dinner Wed-Sat Pilot needs no “for Canberra” addendum. This clever and sophisticated dégustation restaurant, somewhat camouflaged by a minimal concrete-floored fit-out and quiet suburban location, would be impressive wherever it washed up, kicking goals with its original food, warm and careful service and wine list emphasising the skill and creativity of Australian makers. There’s dreaminess and humour in a snack of “reverse fish and chips” where crackers made from blue mackerel are served with a soft, warm potato dip flavoured with lemon and fresh herbs. There’s simple precision, too, evidenced by slices of textbook barbecued rib-eye or the glistening lemon-thyme glaze adorning an ovation-worthy caramel-apple terrine. A Sri Lankan-style…