Ochre Restaurant, Cairns, Australia
The Diningroom at Ochre
Billed as a Modern Australian Restaurant, and winner of Restaurant of the Year 2008 from the Australia Culinary Federation, Ochre Restaurant promised a plethora of new flavors to tantalize our palate and set our expectations high – and they were exceeded.
Chef Moore
Cordon Bleu – Sydney educated Chef Amanda Moore warmly greeted us and explained the restaurant’s locavore philosophy of including local, game, and authentic Aboriginal flavors in Chef Director Craig Squire’s menu. “What excited me about working with Craig was his unique understanding, enthusiasm and use of our indigenous fruits, nuts, berries, herbs and spices to tantalize, educate and satiate our guests.”
Chef Moore told us she knew she was going to follow in her mother’s toque and be a chef when, at the age of four, she would whip up scrambled eggs with smoked salmon to the delight of her parents. (Don’t know about you, but when we were four years old the only thing we whipped up was mudpies!) Other than cooking, she most enjoys creating memorable events, be they weddings on the beach or in the rainforest, even if uninvited guests like a very large and very poisonous snake happens to show up, which actually occurred at one such event. (How did she get rid of the snake, you ask? “He very graciously left of his own accord when people started taking their seats,” Chef Moore answered. “I guess he preferred to dine alone.”)
Wattle Seed Dampler Loaf
We followed her dining recommendations and started with the Australian Antipasto, which included Kangaroo Terrine (a very interesting texture/flavor combo thing in every bite), Kadadu plum jelly (tart like America plum, a little sweet and a beautiful mauve color), crocodile wonton (love the crunch/chewy thing. We were shocked that it’s a white meat and farm raised), red pepper jam (just a touch of fire), ocean trout gravlax (so fresh, beautiful, ruby in color, puts loxs to shame), emu pate (strong game bird flavor), bust tomato chilli sauce (think salsa) with boconccini (balls of fresh mozzarella), eggplant and Pacific Prawns – that were perfect – plump and sweet. They were served with Vietnamese pickled vegetables with Lemon Aspen Sambal (sauce served in a spoon). The bread was a wattle seed damper (a traditional yeast-less Australian bread) that was made with beer, served with peanut oil. We were so amazed at the flavors, our taste buds commandeered all our brain functions to the point all we could muster were a chorus of ‘yumms.’
Ocean Trout Gravlax
This being our first real taste of Australian cuisine, we noticed many different culinary influences, especially Asian and Pacific Rim, which gives credence to Ocher’s Mod Oz, (Modern Australian) Cuisine. This is quite natural, when you consider the ethnic mix of Australian’s population. Like the world over, immigrants want a taste of home, and often use what is available locally in an effort to create a favorite meal or flavors. Squire and Moore seem to have their tastes buds aligned in perfect harmony.
Kangaroo and Emu
Two days before this meal, we had visited Featherdale Farms outside of Sydney. It is a rescue reserve for indigenous animals who have had a negative encounter with humans and their vehicles, where we fed and bonded with several kangaroos (which reminded us of our beloved childhood bunny rabbit) and emus (their feathers were like a black rainbow full of blues and purples with eyes of bright amber), we were a little reluctant to eat them. Cooked medium rare, kangaroo meat is red, lean and low in fat, with the texture and taste of a fine beef filet. We were shocked! We wanted to hate it, and we loved it! Wow! It was served with a chili quandong (a desert peach) glazed with a little tang, and bok choy. We both wanted to ask for seconds!
The emu was also served medium rare (and its flesh is also red and lean) and tasted like a gamy bird – more like pheasant instead of chicken, and was tougher and chewier than the Kangaroo. (We wondered if the difference was in the ageing process.) While the emu paled in taste and texture compared to the kangaroo in this side-by-side tasting, we loved its flavor. Darn!
Mango Tart and Oz Fruits
For dessert, Chef Moore served a mango torte, saffron shortcrust and mango sorbet (there are fifteen different mangos that grow in Australia), star fruit and mangostein, creating a tart-sweet native-fruit-tour to end our amazing meal.
Before we said our adieus to Chef Moore and her amazingly friendly and accommodating staff, she gave us her recommendations for other Mod Oz restaurants in the area (please see list below). As we sat back in our chairs we let a notch out in our belts and finished our wines. Like the (food) explorers that we are, we started planning our next meal. As we re-hashed the meal, savoring the memories and making our list of must haves, and searching for words to describe our Mod Oz culinary adventure, we were embarrassed to note, that we both had enthusiastically had added kangaroo to the menu of our next meal, and to our list of guilty pleasures.
One last look into the kitchen from the sidewalk
Ochre Restaurant 43 Shields St., Cairns, QLD, Australia (07) 4051 0100 OchreRestaurant.com.au
Chef Moore recommends the following Modern Oz cuisine restaurants:
Salsa Restaurant and Grill 26 Wharf St. Port Douglas QLD 4877, Australia, (07) 4099 4922, SalsaPortDouglas.com.au
Nautilus 17 Murphy St. Port Douglas, OLD 4877, Australia (07) 4099 5330, Nautilus-Restaurant.com.au
Harrisons Restaurant 41 Macrossan St., Port Douglas QLD 4877, Australia (07) 4099 6364, HarrisonsRestaurant.com.au
