Restaurant 1889 head chef’s ambitious goal for city revitalisation

Restaurant 1889’s executive chef reveals what he believes will make the Townsville CBD great.

Executive Chef at Restaurant 1889, Adam Fitzgerald, has a goal to draw in people to the Townsville Central Business District, which he believed could come from getting them to talk about the restaurant’s food. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Townsville Brewing Co’s head chef seeks to revive the classic Restaurant 1889, which he believes is part of the key to bringing more people into the central business district.

Head chef Adam Fitzgerald, who manages a team of about 30 chefs across the company’s venues in the CBD and Magnetic Island, believes the way to draw people is to get them talking about the food, which balances the line between classic pub fare with that of a fine dining restaurant.

“We just need that little bit of injection back into the CBD, just to grow, build, rebuild this end of Flinders St,” he said.

“It’s a great little spot, you’ve got the river there.

“To go anywhere in this town you’ve got to go past the brewery, it’s an iconic building, so it would be great to get people through the doors having a good time.”

Executive Chef at Restaurant 1889, Adam Fitzgerald, emphasises on training his staff and passing on the basic skills so they themselves can grow and develop. Picture: Shae Beplate.

While Mr Fitzgerald’s personal favourite dish on the menu is the beef short rib, the more popular item is the house dry aged lamb back strap, while other items on menu is the duck two ways and the mixed seafood bouillabaisse.

He considered the menu to be “modern Australian” while he considered himself influenced by French cooking.

But at the forefront of his mind was passing on the torch and ensuring his incoming chefs mastered the basics, knowing that by the time he retired from the kitchen after the next 15 years, they would be the ones leading North Queensland’s culinary scene.

The house dry aged lamb back strap, with braised radicchio, mint, raisins, pommes puree at Restaurant 1889.

“There’s a million different types of bricks out there to build a wall, you still have got to know how to put them together,” he said.

“It’s like mashed potato.

“The amount of time I get the boys to invest into our mashed potato here.

The lamb rack at Restaurant 1889.

“It sounds basic, but when it’s perfect, you’ll go home and talk about the mashed potatoes, they were the best mash, and that’s just imparting basics and the knowledge into the next generation.

“If you take care of the basics, the end dish is going to be great.”

Mr Fitzgerald has been working at the Brewhouse for almost two years, but has been in the industry for 22 years.

The pork belly at Restaurant 1889.

Most of this time he had worked in Melbourne, during which he endured the numerous Covid-19 lockdowns in Victoria.

Given that he had spent “368 days off in two years” locked down, he had spent much time re-evaluated what it meant to be a chef and he saw a lot of talent leave the hospitality industry through that time.

While head chefs had a reputation for being zealous and tough, he believed his delivery and passing on of knowledge had changed.

“The ones that remained were the passionate ones that saw their way through a pandemic,” he said.

“We had to do what we had to do.

“I don’t run my kitchen like it’s the military anymore, I’m trying to get those guys inspired as opposed to scared.”

And in the few years he had lived in Townsville, Mr Fitzgerald believed he had witnessed a “Zeitgeist shift” flaring up in the hospitality scene, particularly with increased activity in Palmer St on the other side of the river.

And that only led to his determination to play his part in increasing the traffic flow through the CBD.

Restaurant 1889 is open on Friday and Saturday nights from 5pm to 9pm.

Originally published as Restaurant 1889 head chef’s ambitious goal for city revitalisation