Asian persuasion

Chef Chris Donnellan is about to bring his special touch across the Tasman. He tells Viva about his favourite cuisine and what to expect from his visit.

One of the hottest and most stylish restaurants in Melbourne is Gingerboy. Owned by leading chef Teage Ezard, it was established to complement his successful restaurant, ezard. The idea with this new venture was to take Asian cuisine to another level and the man for the job as head chef was, Teage decided, a young Australian, Chris Donnellan.

Donnellan had trained in some of the country's top restaurants, travelled extensively through Asia, and worked in London in Terence Conran's Bibendum restaurant and Nobu in Park Lane.

Today, Gingerboy is truly respected for its innovative approach to Asian food and ever-changing menu, which keeps Melbourne's sophisticated foodies coming back for more.

This month Donnellan will be presenting his cuisine at an exclusive dinner party at Huka Lodge. Here he shares with Viva his passion for cooking.

What inspired you to become a chef?

My mother was a major part of the reason. She is a great cook and I used to love getting into the kitchen with her and helping out from a young age. She cooked everything from Japanese, Malaysian, Indian, French and English - just to name a few. Cooking is a hobby of hers and she has always done courses to further her knowledge and learn new things. I was right into art at school and did three different art subjects plus a hospitality course. Then I did work experience at a boutique hotel on the Mornington Peninsula. I left school straight after the week of work experience knowing I wanted to be a chef.

Tell us about your time travelling through Asia and how this has influenced you?

I first travelled through Thailand with my family, when I was 16. There were six of us and we all have a sailing background. We hired a 50ft cruising yacht and sailed around the islands. Everywhere we went the food slowly changed and was a little bit different the further north you went. I have now been to Vietnam a few times and I love it. I went to the village where they make fish sauce and out to see the dragon fruit farms. Asian cuisine is all about using the freshest ingredients and not over-complicating it. Everything is so fresh, and the seafood in Vietnam is easily up there with the best in the world. The best thing is they still fish the traditional way with a small net and often just a couple of small boats.

Tell us about working with Teage Ezard ?

I was in the third year of my apprenticeship and I got his book from a friend and I just had to try it. I went to ezard for dinner with my family for my 18th birthday. I had one of my best dining experiences, and one of the most memorable. I applied for a job four months later. I learned so much about food and what it was like to work in a serious restaurant with a whole team of passionate chefs. I learned to respect the food and flavours for what they were and not to complicate a dish. We use the wok, [along with] traditional European cooking methods in a modern way to create dishes that are always balanced - ie, hot, sweet, salty and sour.

You then went travelling to London and worked in Bibendum and Nobu. How do these restaurants differ from Australia?

Bibendum was a four-rosette traditional European restaurant and it was busy. I worked there for a year and learned about traditional European food. I had a great time working at Nobu alongside 40 chefs, all from different parts of the world, as well as the 18 sushi chefs there. I worked my way through the six sections in less than a year and got myself on to the omakase section, which means coming up with specials and two of the courses for the degustation menu. I worked alongside the head chef and sous chef and had the autonomy to experiment and create my own dishes. I got to play around with kilos of white and black truffles as well as other top quality ingredients from Japan, Spain, France and Australia. We got it all there, it was truly incredible. Japanese food is all about keeping it simple and letting the main ingredients of the dish speak for themselves.

I also learned how to sharpen a knife properly. We teach this skill to all our chefs who start working at Gingerboy.

On the omakase section you were put on the fish preparation for the hot kitchen, and you would stand there at the filleting sink and clean [fish and shellfish] every morning for the first five to six hours every day - you don't get to clean fish and learn how to fillet fish in that quantity anywhere - then how to treat it with respect and cook it correctly. It was the best thing I learned in London: how best to cook seafood.

When you received the call from Teage to head up Gingerboy - what went through your head?

I was extremely nervous and speechless. It was big task and I had never run my own kitchen. Teage gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I was missing home a little bit, so I thought I would give it a go. It took me six months from opening to really find my feet. We're now four years old.

What is your favourite ingredient to cook with at the moment?

I love freshwater eel at the moment because it has a great texture, tastes beautiful and is very gelatinous. We smoke it here at the restaurant using either hickory wood chips or, if I can get them, my favourite manuka woodchips.

Explain the concept behind Gingerboy.

To bring the hustle and bustle of the markets of Southeast Asia into the restaurant, but with a high standard of service and professionalism. We have a cocktail bar upstairs that is full every day and is used for private stand-up parties.

All the food is designed to go in the middle of the table and be shared together, as it is more interactive and a lot more family-orientated.

The room is lined with black bamboo on one wall and the roof has fairy lights scattered around behind the bamboo.

We have both clear and coloured Philippe Starck chairs and stools throughout, with dark bamboo table tops and bamboo flooring. We have a two sittings policy so first customers come in at 6pm and are out by 8pm and then the second wave of diners are in at 8pm-8.30pm, with the rest of the night to sit back.

We get a lot of pre-theatre customers because we can serve small courses, large courses and dessert in an hour, or you can sit back and enjoy it slowly, just like at a hawker market.

Describe your signature cooking style.

I love to cook modern Asian cuisine, especially Japanese food at home, I make fresh sushi and sashimi platters to start with and then my fiancee and I eat shabu shabu.

What is the secret to the success of Gingerboy?

Consistency is the key to success, so we push that really hard on everything from your knife work to the seasoning, to the uniform you wear and the way you treat customers. We also make the workplace an enjoyable place to be and have fun. If you enjoy cooking and do it for a career it should be enjoyable so it doesn't turn into just another job. Its success also lies with our patrons who dine with us and who constantly support the flavours and cuisine we serve. They are ultimately are the reason why Gingerboy is the success it is.

For Asian food to keep evolving and growing what is needed?

The key is to keep getting over to Asia for inspiration and eating out to see the evolution of cooking: finding out the methods by which produce is cooked. I then like to do different things to what everyone else is doing and keep the menu changing.

When you come to Huka Lodge what will you be cooking?

Soy-seared wagyu tataki with soy, ginger and spring onion, cured ocean trout with turmeric, coconut dressing, coconut-roasted pork belly with yellow bean, tamarind and peanut dressing, apple salad Vietnamese mint sorbet to cleanse the palate and dessert will be dark chocolate tofu cheesecake with chilli cherry jelly and spice poached pear.

What do you eat on your night off?

We eat Asian food 90 per cent of the time at home but in winter my fiancee cooks amazing Moroccan-spiced lamb shanks and makes a great fresh pasta with baked mushrooms.

* Chris Donnellan will be the guest chef at Huka Lodge in Taupo on Saturday, June 26. Booking options include a Lodge Room at $730 (+GST) per person or The Owner's Cottage and Alan Pye Cottage at $3060 (+GST) per couple. Rates include accommodation, pre-dinner drinks, five-course dinner, country breakfast, use of Lodge facilities and airport transfers. To book, ph (07) 378 5791 or email reservations@hukalodge.co.nz.