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Monday, 21 February 2011 14:49 |
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| Stellar Line Up for Great Barrier Feast |
| Hamilton Island in Australia will be welcoming some of the best chefs in Australia to this year’s Great Barrier Feast, a celebration of some of the country’s finest fare against the stunning backdrop of the Whitsundays (www.hamiltonisland.com.au/feast). |
Following last year’s highly successful Great Barrier Feast three-weekend series featuring Antipodean masterchefs Tetsuya Wakuda, Justin North and Ben Shewry, the five-star foodie weekends will return with another stellar line up. Peter Gilmore, Frank Camorra and Dan Hunter – legends of the Aussie food scene – will each take on the role of guest chef alongside Marco Pierre White protégé, Jane-Therese Mulry, executive chef at the Island’s exclusive qualia resort. Renowned Aussie wine critic, James Halliday will pair wines for the weekend meals with a selection of fine Australian wines for the ultimate gastronomic weekend. The emcee for each weekend will be esteemed restaurant critic, Simon Thomsen.
- Feast 1, Peter Gilmore: 24 – 26 June (read more)
- Feast 2, Frank Camorra: 22 – 24 July (read more)
- Feast 3, Dan Hunter: 11 – 13 November (read more)
 Feast 1, Peter Gilmore: 24 – 26 June - Kicking off the series on 24 – 26 June is the highly-awarded Peter Gilmore from Sydney’s Quay restaurant. Since starting at Quay, Peter’s creative and original style has seen the restaurant receive nine consecutive 3 Chefs Hat awards from the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide’. It was also named Restaurant of the Year in 2003 and 2005. Peter’s food philosophy is based in the exploration of the texture of food and harmony of flavour.
Gilmore commented, “I am passionate about creating food that celebrates natures’ beauty and diversity. I look forward to creating a special menu for qualia in the Great Barrier Reef utilising some exceptional produce.”
 Feast 2, Frank Camorra: 22 – 24 July – The second event takes place from 22 – 24 July with guest chef Frank Camorra from Melbourne restaurants MoVida, MoVida Next Door, MoVida Aqui and MoVida Terraza. Part Spaniard, part Aussie, Camorra’s roots are in the barrios of Spanish cities and the farms and kitchen gardens of the Spanish countryside. At MoVida, Camorra cooks the food of his home country using Spanish techniques, traditional and modern, constantly acknowledging its proud location in the heart of Melbourne.
“Hamilton Island is a great spot and I’m excited to be involved in an event that’s all about quality. Of course what we do at MoVida is based around tapas and sharing plates so we’ll have to adapt the dishes a little bit, but as far as the style, ingredients and flavours are concerned we’ll be true to what we do here. Given the location we’ll probably use a lot of seafood,” said Camorra.
 Feast 3, Dan Hunter: 11 – 13 November - Termed by The Age’s Epicure as ‘Australia's answer to El Bulli’, Dan Hunter from the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, Victoria, will be the guest chef on 11 – 13 November. His multi-award winning country restaurant won ‘Restaurant of the Year’ from The Age Good Food Guide 2011 and Australian Gourmet Traveller’s regional restaurant of the year 2010. Previous roles saw Hunter rising to the ranks of head chef at two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz in Spain’s Basque region, now rated in the world's top five restaurants.
Hunter commented, “It’s a real privilege to be included in the line-up alongside the iconic Australian chefs who have been involved to date. It’s also a great opportunity to present our style of cuisine to the audience. The format of the weekend is interesting for us because you get to do a demonstration and showcase the sort of food we do in the restaurant as well.”
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Biographies:
 All events: Jane-Therese Mulry, qualia, Hamilton Island www.qualia.com.au
Australian-born and educated, Jane-Therese was drawn to the bright lights of London’s ruthless chefing industry where she met the legendary Marco Pierre White – the youngest chef ever to be awarded three Michelin Stars. She worked within the kitchens of this culinary genius, first at Quo Vadis, The Mirabelle and Titanic, and later at MPW Canary Wharf where she was appointed Marco’s first female Head Chef. In December 2006, Jane-Therese accepted the position of Executive Chef at Voyages Cradle Mountain Lodge. Here she spent almost two years managing the kitchens of this celebrated Tasmanian resort, voted Best Resort Accommodation 2008 at the Gourmet Traveller Awards.
In September 2008, Jane-Therese returned to her state of origin when she accepted the position of Executive Chef at Queensland’s newest world-class luxury resort, qualia. Shortly afterwards, qualia was awarded Best Resort Accommodation 2009 at the Gourmet Traveller Awards. Jane-Therese’s passion is produce and she loves anything fresh. Her food represents her culinary soul and should always be healthy, organic where possible, modern and simple, uniquely prepared and imaginatively presented.
24 – 26 June: Peter Gilmore, Quay, Sydney www.quay.com.au
Peter Gilmore has been the Executive Chef of Quay Restaurant since August 2001. Peter is a 42 year old Australian, born and bred in Sydney. Peter describes his cuisine as “food inspired by nature” and his philosophy is steeped in the exploration of the texture of food and harmony of flavours. A passionate gardener himself, Peter works closely with farmers and food producers to source exceptional ingredients and create food that is a celebration of nature’s beauty and diversity. He has developed, in recent years, a ground-breaking collaboration with a Blue Mountains providore, with whom he cultivates rare, archival seedlings and designs menus “from the soil up”.
22 – 24 July: Frank Camorra, MoVida, Melbourne www.movida.com.au
“I was born in Barcelona, I grew up in Cordoba and moved to Australia when I was seven. Part Spaniard, part Aussie my roots are in the barrios of Spanish cities and the fincas and huertas (farms and kitchen gardens) of the Spanish countryside. And that’s where MoVida’s food comes from – the idea of taking something that is naturally beautiful and gently easing it through the kitchen so as to take none of that beauty away. You’re just adding a little something of your own skill, sometimes centuries old tradition, sometimes 21st century technique, but always respecting the season, always respecting the sense of place of the food. I share these ideas with the entire crew – plus an appreciation of wine, beer, music, architecture and the ability to enjoy ourselves as we cook for and look after others. I am lucky to have helped create something that everyone wants to be a part of.”
11 – 13 November: Dan Hunter, Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld www.royalmail.com.au
Started his career in Melbourne, Australia working at Langton's, and then Verge before moving to Barcelona in 2003 to work in the one Michelin star restaurant, Caelis. In January 2005 he moved north to San Sebastian in Spain's Basque Country to begin a period of work experience at the two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz. Soon after, he took on the position of Chef de Partie and then worked his way up to Sous Chef. In 2006 he took on the role of Head Chef. Dan returned to Australia in 2007 and shortly after moved to Dunkeld to take on the position of Executive Chef at the Royal Mail Hotel. The move has allowed him access to his own kitchen gardens with free-range chickens, fruit orchards and a green house for herb production. He now works closely with his dedicated garden and kitchen team to produce a unique style of food that blends his understanding of modern technique with an immense respect for nature, produce and seasonality.
All events: James Halliday, Wine critic and author
James’ career started in law, before moving into winemaking, writing and judging in the 1970s. Since establishing the wineries of Brokenwood and Coldstream Hills, Halliday has written over 60 books and been a significant contributor to others, including Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson Pocket Guide. Many of his books have been translated into other languages, such as French, German and Japanese. He continues to write, judge and consult and has a weekly wine column for the Weekend Australian newspaper. He is often described as ‘Australia’s leading wine writer’.
All events: Simon Thomsen, Restaurant critic, www.simonthomsen.com
Simon is the restaurant critic for The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. His reviews appear in the taste.com.au food and wine section every Tuesday. He has written award-winning stories about food and travel for numerous publications, including The Weekend Australian Magazine. He’s worked as a restaurant critic for 15 years and spent the last six years as editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. He is a judge on Channel Seven's Australian adaptation of the cult cooking show Iron Chef.
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