The idea to celebrate the talents of Noosa’s top chefs culminated last Thursday in Hats Off, an event that brought together five of the best local chefs to deliver a five-course dinner at Noosa Waterfront Restaurant and Bar, Noosaville.
All chefs have been awarded a Chef Hat by the Good Food Guide. They were Zeb Gilbert (Wasabi), Josh Smallwood (Rickys), Chris Hagan (Long Apron), Nick Blake (Wild Forage Australia) and Andrea Ravezzani (Noosa Waterfront). The dishes were topped off with matching wines by Hay Shed Hill, presented by owner and winemaker Michael Kerrigan.
The laughter and conversation in the restaurant was testament to the enjoyment of the evening while in the kitchen it became a chef’s club with each sharing their cooking secrets and helping each other deliver the dishes.
Each dish arrived on the table looking like a work of art and composed predominately of local ingredients prepared in an array of complicated and technical methods.
From the Noosa Scallops and Mooloolaba seafood to the pecan smoked Angus ox heart and slow cooked mutton each was a taste sensation explained by the chefs before serving.
Zeb Gilbert told the guests of sourcing ingredients from their own Honeysuckle Hill farm. Andrea Ravezzani spoke about doing something different and creating “a pasta dish without pasta”. Chris Hagan spoke about his mutton dish which took three days to make and winemaker Michael Kerrigan told guests the reason he bought the family run vineyard was for its Block 2 cabernet savignon.
