Master chefs come to Melbourne for the Food and Wine Festival
GET ready for a feast as top world chefs prepare to share their cooking secrets in Melbourne, writes Dan Stock.
Melb Food & Wine Festival
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THE best chefs in the world are coming to town.
And on April 5 the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2017 will be revealed in Melbourne at the Royal Exhibition Building – only the second time the prestigious awards that celebrate the best in global gastronomy have been held outside London.
Voting for the 2017 awards has closed and all 50 chefs from this year’s list have been invited to Melbourne for the awards, along with the awards’ 26 regional academy chairs, and a host of associated media.
Visit Victoria and Tourism Australia have created a program of events showcasing the best of Australia’s food and wine culture for the chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and media who will be in the country for the awards.
In an unprecedented coup for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, eight chefs whose restaurants have featured on the World’s 50 Best list will host masterclasses on April 1 and 2. This flagship event forms part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the festival. But who are these master chefs?
CARLO CRACCO
Known for? A pioneer of progressive Italian cooking, Cracco has been a presenter on the Italian version of MasterChef since 2011. He’s also a judge on Hell’s Kitchen Italia.
Career snapshot: Cracco started professional cooking in 1986 at Italy’s first three-Michelin-starred restaurant, before travelling to France and working with the likes of Alain Ducasse at Hotel Paris. On his return, Cracco guided Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence to three Michelin stars, before opening his Ristorante Cracco in Milan in 2007. It has since appeared on the World’s 50 Best list three times and currently holds two Michelin stars.
Signature style: Traditional Italian dishes reinvented for a modern audience. His Milanese cotoletta is closer to a carpaccio than the traditional breaded cutlet, while his egg yolk taglioni is made from cured yolk cut into strands and topped with shaved white truffle.
How much does a meal cost? Tasting menu 190 euro ($265)
ZAIYU HASEGAWA
Known for? Putting the fun back into fine dining, Hasegawa’s Den restaurant not only made its debut on the 51-100 list of World’s 50 Best (#77), but was also named 2016’s One to Watch.
Career snapshot: Hasegawa began his career at 18, cooking alongside his mum. He opened Den in 2007 when he was 29, and was awarded the first of two Michelin stars in 2011.
Signature style: Modern kaiseki, a style of Japanese cuisine made up of a series of small, intricate dishes. Monaka – which is usually a Japanese sweet – becomes a savoury dish of persimmon, pickles and foie gras in Hasegawa’s hands. Other highlights include the signature garden salad made up of more than 20 vegetables picked each day, while a playful sense of humour comes to the fore in a dish of chicken wings served in a takeaway box – his Dentucky Fried Chicken. Smiley face carrots and chicken-shaped potato cakes continue the fun theme.
How much does a meal cost? Tasting menu 16,200 yen ($190)
JORGE VALLEJO
Known for? One of Mexico’s rising stars, Vallejo opened Quintonil with his wife Alejandra Flores in 2012. The restaurant is currently #12 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and # 6 on Latin America’s 50 Best list.
Career snapshot: A keen cook since his teens, Vallejo studied at the Centro Culinario de Mexico, before joining Princess Cruises and sailing around the world. He was the executive chef at St Regis Hotel, and has worked in Pujol (Mexico City) and Noma (Copenhagen).
In collaboration with chefs Mauro Colagreco (Mirazur in France) and Virgilio Martinez (Central in Peru) Vallejo started the Origenes initiative, which aims to preserve culinary products, techniques and customs in small Latin American communities.
Signature style: A champion of Mexico and its native produce, Vallejo says although dishes at Quintonil may not reflect traditional recipes, Mexico is represented through the produce used – such as cactus, mamey fruit and plantains. Dishes on the current (winter) menu include Jerusalem artichoke “tamale”, tuna ham with beetroots glazed in sea urchin honey, and cactus sorbet.
How much does a meal cost? Tasting menu (11 courses), 1600 pesos ($100)
ASHLEY PALMER-WATTS
Known for? Heston Blumenthal’s right-hand man, Palmer-Watts is
the driving force behind Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, both in London (which is
ranked #45 on the World’s 50 Best list) and in Melbourne, which was named the #1 restaurant in Victoria in the 2016 delicious.100.
Career snapshot: Palmer-Watts joined Blumenthal at The Fat Duck in 1999, moving up the ranks to sous chef in 2001, and becoming head chef two years later. He is is now executive chef at Dinner by Heston (both London and Melbourne).
Signature style: The menu at Dinner is the result of thousands of hours’ research into Britain’s culinary history, and transforms gastronomy from centuries past into meals for a modern audience. The meat fruit – a chicken liver parfait disguised as a mandarin – is said to be the most Instagrammed dish on the planet, while the signature Tipsy Cake dessert (freshly baked brandy-soaked brioche) is served with spit-roasted pineapples. A new Vegemite dessert, and a take on Cherry Ripe, are two new Australian additions to the menu.
How much does a meal cost? Three courses, about $130
DAVID THOMPSON
Known for? Universally regarded as the world’s leading practitioner of Thai cooking,
the Aussie expat is the author of the encyclopaedic Thai Food. His Nahm restaurant in Bangkok is currently #37 on the World’s 50 Best list – and #8 on Asia’s 50 Best list – while his take on Thai street food, Long Chim, has just opened at Crown in Melbourne (see review, page 25).
Career snapshot: Thompson made a name for himself during the 1990s with Sydney’s Darley Street Thai and Sailors Thai, before moving to London to open Nahm. Within six months, it became the first Thai restaurant to earn a Michelin star. Nahm Bangkok followed, with the London restaurant closing in 2012. The first Long Chim opened in Singapore in 2015, with branches in Perth, Sydney and now Melbourne.
Signature style: Think you can handle hot and spicy food? Thompson’s authentic take on Thai has even seasoned spice fans reaching for the plain rice. Bold, unapologetic, it is dishes such as the spicy curry of minced prawns with yellow eggplant and holy basil, that show off Thompson’s masterful and nuanced execution of traditional Thai dishes.
How much does a meal cost? Tasting menu, 2500 baht ($95)
WYLIE DUFRESNE
Known for? Dufresne surfed the molecular gastronomy wave in the early 2000s, with his wd~50 restaurant in New York a leading light of the New American modernist movement from 2003 until it closed in 2014.
Career snapshot: Named Best Chef in New York in 2013 by James Beard Foundation, Dufresne pioneered a playful gastronomy that had its roots in the classical training he received under acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Signature style: Dishes at wd~50 included deconstructed Eggs Benedict (fried hollandaise, sous-vide yolks, bacon wisps and English muffin crumbs), pickled beef tongue with fried mayonnaise; carrot-coconut sunnyside up (coconut and carrot plated to look like a fried egg); and ‘Everything-Bagel Ice Cream’.
How much did a meal cost? A 12-course tasting menu $US155 in 2014 ($200)
GRANT ACHATZ
Known for? Being one of the world’s most innovative chefs. His Alinea restaurant in Chicago is currently ranked #15 on the World’s 50 Best list.
Career snapshot: Before opening Alinea in 2005 (with restaurateur Nick Kokonas) Achatz worked at Charlie Trotter’s (also in Chicago) and with Thomas Keller at his acclaimed The French Laundry. Alinea was awarded three Michelin stars in 2011.
Signature style: An edible balloon – made from green apple taffy and filled with helium so it floats – is one of the fantastical courses served during the 18-course feast.
How much does a meal cost? The 18-course “experience” from $US295 ($385)
GASTON ACURIO
Known for? Putting Peruvian gastronomy on the world’s radar, Gaston Acurio now has more than 40 restaurants in a dozen countries.
Career snapshot: Acurio’s food is reflective of the rich cultural and geographic diversity of Peru. He also runs a cooking school, hosts his own TV show, and has written several books including the English-language Peru: The Cookbook.
Signature style: Acurio recently came back from retirement to lead the kitchen at his flagship fine dining restaurant Astrid y Gaston (currently #30 in the World’s 50 Best list) where he cooks dishes such as “peking guinea pig” with purple corn pancakes and rocoto chilli and hoisin sauce, octopus ceviche, and lucuma ice-cream.
How much does a meal cost? Eight-course tasting menu, 294 soles ($120)
DO THIS: The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Masterclasses held over the weekend of April 1-2 provide an unprecedented opportunity to learn from these inspiring, world-class chefs. Tickets are just $35 and are selling fast. For session times and to book tickets: mfwf.com.au