By Leigh O’Connor.
There’s a moment when smoke hits the air - a curl of cedar, a lick of charcoal, the perfume of singed rosemary - that instantly awakens the senses. It’s nostalgic, primal, yet endlessly modern.
Once the mark of rustic barbeques and backyard fire pits, smoke has returned to fine dining in Australia with sophistication, subtlety and a renewed reverence for craft. Today, Chefs across the country are reclaiming fire as the oldest, yet most innovative, tool in their kitchens.
Australia has always had a love affair with fire. Our landscape is shaped by it, our cuisine rooted in it. Where smoke once conjured images of wood-fired pizza ovens and whole animals roasting on spits, it’s now being woven delicately into degustation and contemporary menus.
Imagine smoked butter churned at the table, raw kingfish veiled beneath a delicate mist of cherrywood, or Wagyu kissed by ember heat so precise it tastes both ancient and cutting-edge. Smoke is no longer about dominating flavour - it’s about layering nuance and evoking memory.
Part of its appeal lies in theatre. Dishes now arrive at the table concealed beneath glass domes, lifted with a flourish to release fragrant swirls of applewood or eucalyptus. Diners instinctively lean forward, caught in the ritual, as anticipation mingles with aroma.
This isn’t gimmickry - it’s sensory storytelling. Smoke deepens, sweetens and softens. It teases out complexity in seafood, rounds the richness of meat and transforms vegetables into stars in their own right. A smoked tomato consommé, treated with finesse, can feel as grand as caviar.
Chefs from Sydney to Melbourne and beyond are exploring smoke with lighter, more refined touches than ever before. Where it once risked overpowering a dish, it’s now applied like a brushstroke - measured, intentional, expressive.
Native woods such as ironbark or wattle bring a distinctly Australian character, while hay, herbs and even tea leaves are being trialled to lend unique aromatic signatures. In regional dining, smoke is being harnessed as a way of connecting food to landscape and story.
In the Hunter Valley, it finds harmony with bold Shiraz. In Tasmania, it draws on local timbers and coastal produce, binding the island’s rugged beauty to the plate.
Why does smoke resonate so strongly with diners? Part of it is memory. A hint of char in warm bread can recall campfires under the stars, while eucalyptus smoke feels uniquely tied to the Australian bush.
In fine dining, these echoes of experience add depth and emotion, making a meal more than sustenance - it becomes atmosphere, nostalgia and narrative. Smoke also appeals because it feels elemental. Fire is ancient, timeless and essential; to taste it is to touch something universal.
Globally, inspiration has come from Nordic and Japanese traditions, where smoke and fire are integral to culinary philosophy. Yet Australia, with its diverse produce and deep connection to land, has embraced and reinterpreted these cues with its own distinctive voice. Here, smoke isn’t borrowed - it’s reimagined, layered with identity and place.
Far from a fleeting fad, the return of smoke to fine dining feels inevitable, even eternal. It isn’t just a culinary flourish but a continuation of one of the oldest stories in food, rewritten with modern artistry.
Across Australia’s top kitchens, fire is not only cooking - it’s poetry and it’s here to stay.
