Adam Ion
Chefs
AUSTRALIAN GOOD FOOD GUIDE - Home of the Chef Hat Awards
Rene Moebius
Born:
Winterberg, Germany.
History:
I worked as a kitchen hand at a local restaurant when I was 15. After a couple of months, I started my apprenticeship in one of the best regional restaurants learning classic French cuisine and local butchery.
By 19, I was fully qualified and my goal was to see as many different kitchens as possible. After two years of working at hotels in my hometown, I decided to move to New Zealand where I worked at one of the leading nationally and internationally recognised restaurants and luxury wedding caterers.
My further travels brought me to Port Douglas, where I spent almost 3 years working under Master Chef Goran Zonai in a well-established restaurant.
After leaving Far North Queensland I travelled to Switzerland and freelanced for the most part, around Basel which is located right next to the French/German border. This gave me the opportunity to take part in multiple culinary events, work with highly decorated Chefs and visit kitchens at high-end hotels and restaurants.
The rest of my time in Switzerland I spent at a hotel in Basel where I was focused on pastry. I was then drawn back to Far North Queensland, where I spent a year at an Asian fusion restaurant and the only Hatted restaurant in Cairns city.
In December 2020, I was given the opportunity to work at the 5-star luxury resort on Orpheus Island, which I took immediately. The Island gave me a chance to learn all about the local seafood, and Head Chef Winston Fong taught me how to forage at the beaches and estuaries around the tropical coasts of Australia.
After spending some time on the island, I heard about our sister venue at Mt Mulligan Lodge. I applied for a transfer and fell in love with the Outback, where I have been leading the kitchen since September 2022.
How would you define your style?
Refined simplicity.
What is your feature flavour these days?
Fragrant flavours, with a tangy component which elevates the dish.
Obsessive-compulsive about?
Simple dishes well executed.
Your greatest culinary influence:
The Chefs I worked with over the years.
What do you love about this business?
The freedom to use ingredients from the property and the Far North and the ability to showcase them on daily changing menus.
An ingredient you can’t live without?
Butter.
Most ‘eyebrow-raising’ menu item?
Chefs’ selection.
Signature dish:
Wood-fired red claw with buttermilk, lychee and massaman crisp.
Mt Mulligan Lodge
Find a flavoursome twist on outback living at Mt Mulligan Lodge on Mount Mulligan Road. Located on an entirely private 28,000-hectare property northwest of Cairns, this all-inclusive luxury lodge accommodates just 28 guests at any one time, ensuring a rugged and intimate escape. Guests are well taken care of at the pavilion-style restaurant with a daily-changing menu showcasing a bounty of locally sourced, caught and freshly-grown seasonal fare; think tasting plates such as buffalo crocodile, fermented chilli and ranch, or crispy fish wing and lemon aspen. Hearty mains will tempt all tastes such as eye fillet, baby gem, koji barley and macadamia, or dry-aged duck, smoked potato kale and bush tamarind; alongside a cellar crafted to ensure harmony between cuisine, climate and environment.
