Bennelong opening puts pressure on Peter Gilmore

Having spent about $3 million on the fitout, including about $1.3m on the kitchen, and with a rent bill set to approach an estimated $1m a year if turnover is strong, the Fink Group (Otto, Quay, Bridge Room and Firedoor) has rolled its biggest dice yet at Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House. “From my point of view I wanted to make sure we got the kind of kitchen we needed,” executive chef Peter Gilmore tells First Bite on the eve of opening. “The budget on the kitchen was pretty healthy and it took a little bit to get that through (but) it’s one of the most beautiful kitchens I’ve ever had the privilege of working in. And being able to design it myself … well, I inherited four walls. It started as a sketch.” Gilmore’s big thing for Bennelong is Australian produce and wine. “I can put my hand on my heart and say that 98 per cent of everything that comes into the kitchen is Australian grown and I am really proud of the fact that we’re supporting a lot of farmers, especially local farmers in the Hawkesbury region and the Blue Mountains, and lots of small people from all over the country,” he says. “We’re getting our almonds from Willunga in South Australia. I’ve been buying from June for about nine years now. I’ve just tripled the order. I’ve got beautiful salt grass lamb from Flinders Island. Being able to support great Aussie farmers and great producers is definitely my big agenda here.” The Bennelong dining room has a set-price, classic three-course a la carte menu. “The obvious thing is that the main courses are much larger (than Quay), the food is simpler, it’s less worked, it’s more essential and it’s more about the ingredients being on show and a little bit less about technique.” The restaurant has been through six “family and friends” trial runs and Gilmore says he’s happy. “But I know there is a certain level of expectation because it is such an iconic site; I’m not nervous but … there is pressure on my shoulders.”

Four years ago they were running an Indian restaurant in the regional Victorian town of Kyneton. Now Jessi and Jennifer Singh, having sold up in Kyneton and opened and sold two restaurants in Melbourne (Horn Please and Babu Ji), have opened in New York’s East Village — and they’re attracting attention. Babu Ji NYC has just been reviewed by Eater’s Robert Sietsema. “The ‘unauthentic butter chicken’ was pretty good, tidbits of free-range bird in a thick yoghurt sauce,” Sietsema writes. “Also known as chicken makhani, this is a recipe invented in the 1950s in Delhi as a way to deploy leftover tandoori chicken; tasting a version that’s also been filtered through Australian sensibilities is fascinating. This version is decidedly sweeter and oranger than the myriad other renditions we have here.” He goes on to say most of the food is “too timid” and concludes, after some web surfing of the Babu Ji St Kilda menu, “Altogether, Babu Ji is an interesting new addition to the extensive Indian dining landscape in New York. I only wish that we had more of the menu oddities found in the Melbourne branch, and also more chillies.” Hope the Singhs read it.

Back in Kyneton, chef Tim Foster is finally rebranding his restaurant — Annie Smithers Bistrot — as Source Dining. It has been more than two years since he bought the charming restaurant from Annie Smithers, who runs Du Fermier at nearby Trentham. It must have caused a good deal of confusion since.

Margaret River’s Knee Deep — the restaurant attached to the vineyard — has severed ties with Melbourne chef and restaurateur Adam Liston, of Northern Light. The pair entered into an arrangement this year for Liston to consult on menus and generally inject a little Northern Light DNA into the Wilyabrup, Western Australia, kitchen. “Both parties parted ways on happy terms,” says Liston. “The deal just wasn’t viable financially for either group and required attention that we would rather focus on the Melbourne shop. I don’t expect this to be big news for anyone, however we … have pulled our menu and concept from the venue and have no involvement with their new structure, menu and cooking ethos.”

Source: The Australian, John Lethlean, June 30^th 2015