Lennox Hastie is blazing a trail at his new Sydney restaurant, Firedoor, and you’re invited to join the party.
Lennox Hastie can handle the heat.
The chef, now based in Sydney, spent five years stoking and smoking in the Basque Country at acclaimed wood-fire restaurant Etxebarri, so it comes as no surprise that his new restaurant, Firedoor, in Sydney’s Surry Hills is the hottest ticket in town. “When you take something as good as raw fire, a good-quality ingredient and a bit of care, that’s all it requires,” says Hastie.
As at Etxebarri, the Firedoor kitchen burns everything from olive and ironbark to wine barrels and grapevines. “You say to people ‘wood-fired’ and they think pizza; you say ‘grilled’, they think barbecue,” says Hastie. “This is only one expression of burning.”
At this month’s Fine Dining Lovers reader dinner, Hastie’s menu showcases the season’s best ingredients and the subtle flavours that result from cooking over embers. Kicking things off on the night is a rich, set-to-order Jersey curd, smoked using cherry wood. Slivers of guanciale and pecans cling to winter leaves charred over apple wood. “It’s a beautiful combination at this time of year,” says Hastie. Aged lamb rump cap is accompanied by cavolo nero and borlotti beans, while banana ice-cream with wild honeycomb and ganache (made with smoked water) ends the meal.
“As humans, I think we’re all addicted to fire, to a certain degree,” says Hastie. “It’s such a beautiful way to cook.” You’ve got our attention, chef.
Join us for dinner at 6.30pm on Monday 27 July at Firedoor, 23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW. The cost of $130 per person includes seven courses, wines by the glass, S.Pellegrino water and a $10 donation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. To book, call (02) 8204 0800. For more on the OCRF, call 1300 OVARIAN or visit ocrf.com.au.
Firedoor menu
Ferdinand’s Gin Cocktail
Wood-fired bread
Smoked Jersey curd with pickled vegetables
Wild kingfish with fennel and herb oil
Grilled leaves with guanciale and pecans
Gurnard with cime di rapa and Jerusalem artichoke
Brussels sprouts and smoked ham hock
Lamb rump cap with cavolo nero and borlotti beans
Si Vintners 2012 Margaret River Sémillon Chardonnay, WA
Brash Higgins 2014 ‘FRNC’ Cabernet Franc, McLaren Vale, SA
- Banana ice-cream with smoked ganache and wild honeycomb
SPONSORED BY FINE DINING LOVERS
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