Born: London, UK
History:
- 1976, left school to commence an apprenticeship at Adelaide’s leading international standard hotel in 1977.
- 1981, finished Dux in cookery at Regency School of Food and Catering.
- 1982 – 1984, moved to work at 5 star hotels in the UK in, returning in to complete scholarship in kitchen management.
- 1985-1992, ran several of Adelaide’s best restaurants.
- 1993, moved to the Barossa to establish the highly regarded Pear Tree Cottage Restaurant in Greenock.
- 2000, closed Pear tree Cottage and joined TAFE SA as a commercial cookery lecturer at the Barossa Valley campus.
- 2004, completed graduate Diploma in food and wine with Adelaide University and developed food and wine philosophy curriculum for Le Cordon Bleu.
- 2005, joined Jim and Helen Carreker in opening Appellation at the Louise.
Have you always wanted to be a Chef?
I left school to pursue this career; I am fortunate to have been treated to good food experiences as a child and dining out had been a treat for me from a young age. I grew up enjoying all aspects of food preparation from foraging for ingredients and preparing meals with my grandfather, to helping with family meals and elaborate arrangements for special occasions. I was 14 when I decided that this was to be my future career and to realise this goal I attended leisure classes at TAFE whilst still at high school to open the door.
How would you define your style?
It’s about where I live, the wine, food and culture of the Barossa and South Australia. In its essence it is wine friendly food, prepared simply with care from fabulous fresh ingredients in much the same way as the great cuisines of Europe’s famous wine regions.
What is your feature flavour these days?
There is no one flavour; it is about the bounty of the seasons and the flavours this provides.
Obsessive compulsive about?
I am obsessive about quality, freshness and regionalism. My motto is “fresh is not best, it’s the only reason to cook.”
Your greatest culinary influences:
The people that influence you early in your career are inevitably those that have most impact on you, that said great chefs continue to inspire with their creativity and there are too many brilliant individuals to list here some famous, some personal mentors.
What do you love about this business?
The creativity, the personal and professional challenge, the joy in knowing you have made someone’s day really special, the camaraderie of the team after a busy and successful night, the ability to travel and experience people’s culture through their food.
An ingredient you can’t live without?
Eggs, butter, good bread and cheese.
Most ‘eyebrow raising’ menu item?
We aim for dishes that are harmonious rather than unusual so on our current menu there is nothing listed that I would call “eyebrow raising”, however, we recently created a dish to match a Massena Wines “Barossa Primitivo” that consisted of a couple of local kalamata olives stuffed with white anchovy and coated in light crunchy caramel shell.
Signature Dish: The following three or four dishes I would call our signature; they form the nucleus of the menu and illustrate the style of food that we prepare at Appellation.
- Thin slices of Barossa corn fed chicken and Lachs-shinken with garlic and sage glaze
- Salad of fragrant spiced roasted sweet potato, almonds and pepitas with toasted cumin and coriander dressing
- Tasting plate of Waechter’s duck featuring gum smoked breast, rillettes and liver parfait
- Creamy risotto of fine barley with rocket, rainbow chard, Tuscan black cabbage and two cheeses