James Moffatt
The Australian restaurant scene is stronger than ever with incredible dishes celebrating quality produce, interesting flavours and creativity.
This extensive collection encompasses the greats of the past and the present; those who are currently forging the path of innovation, and those that laid the foundation for that work to be done. In this collection, we pay tribute to the late Greg Malouf and Amy Chanta, responsible for bringing Middle Eastern and Thai cuisine, respectively, to the fore of Australia’s dining scene and transforming how Australians cook and eat.
Other chefs’ recipes in this collection have come from restaurants that have since closed, but their mark is still felt, like Tetsuya Wakuda’s made-for-sharing shabu shabu from iconic eponymous Sydney diner Testuya’s or Clayton Wells’ flounder cooked in silky lemon and wakame butter made for Chippendale’s Automata. Other recipes come from chefs who have developed recipes at restaurants they have since left, like Jacqui Challinor’s pretty as a picture kingfish ceviche for Nomad or Khanh Ngyuen’s masterstock-braised chicken for Sunda. Despite these changes, the legacy of these chefs and their recipes remain.
And it’s not just chefs who we’ve included here. Beloved cooks Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander have made an indelible impression on Australian cooks for generations, and so Beer’s recipe for her duck-egg pasta and Alexander’s raspberry and rose-geranium dessert are dishes every home cook needs to tackle once or twice.
Whichever best Australian chef, baker or cooks’ recipe you choose, you’ll be sure to find success with this collection.
Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderon’s choo chee pumpkin
Thai-style roasted pumpkin with curry sauce, from the Chat Thai mother-and-daughter duo.
Palisa Anderson’s gaeng keow wan gai (Thai green chicken curry)
Drop that takeaway menu. Once you’ve tried making curry paste from scratch, you’ll never look back.
Tetsuya Wakuda’s shabu shabu
Gather around the table and dip in.
O Tama Carey’s black braised brisket
Rich with sweet spices and soured with tamarind, this black braised brisket dish is robust and hot. Serve it with O Tama Carey’s cabbage mallung and rhubarb achcharu.
Saint Peter’s fish and chips
“It’s so important at Saint Peter that the fish and chips gets put on a pedestal as a dish of importance and luxury,” says Josh Niland.
Alla Wolf Tasker’s kohlrabi dumplings with sunflower seed pesto and apple consommé
An elegant vegetarian dish, courtesy of the Dairy Flat Farm executive chef.
Crêpes Suzette
Prolific restaurateur and chef ANDREW MCCONNELL shares his take on the French classic that sets hearts (and crêpes) on fire at Melbourne’s Gimlet.
Thi Le’s beef tartare with herbs and nuoc cham
Melbourne restaurant Anchovy’s beef tartare is spiced up with herbs and nuoc cham. It will pair perfectly with potato crisps.
David Thompson’s deep-fried squid with garlic and peppercorns
With the punchy flavours of garlic and spicy peppercorns, this is a twist on the crowd favourite Salt and Pepper Squid.
Flour and Stone’s lemon dream cake
Recipe for lemon dream cake by Nadine Ingram from Sydney bakery Flour & Stone.
Sunda’s masterstock-poached chicken with ginger and spring onion relish
A beloved staff meal at Melbourne restaurant Sunda.
Dave Pynt’s blueberry tart
With sweet pastry, an almond filling and crème Chantilly.
Dan Pepperell’s fried chicken alla diavola
Chicken wings, Italian style.
Hot-smoked chicken with marinated tomatoes
Rodney Dunn recipe for hot-smoked chicken with marinated tomatoes.
Du Fermier’s daube of beef with root vegetables
The Provençal stew to cuddle up to.
Shannon Martinez’s chickpea stew (garbanzos estofados)
A hearty vegan stew perfect for the cooler months.
Victor Liong’s masterstock-braised meats and tofu
The ultimate one-pot dinner (and the Lee Ho Fook chef’s ideal death-row meal).
Sean Moran’s famous roast chicken with bread sauce
Leave your other roast chicken recipes at the door. This is the best recipe for the perfect roast chook.
Frank Camorra’s party paella
How to feed a crowd.
Dan Hong’s crisp eggplant with fish-fragrant sauce
Fish-fragrant sauce doesn’t actually have any fish in it, but its sweet, sour and spicy elements are traditionally used to cook Sichuan fish dishes and give this dish its name.
Brae’s asparagus and olive herb in sea butter
Dan Hunter’s recipe for asparagus and olive herb in sea butter from Brae restaurant in Victoria for Gourmet Institute.
Nik Hill’s cauliflower cheese tart
The two best ways to cook cauliflower – in a cauliflower cheese, and whole-roasted – in one spectacular dish.
Paul Farag’s chermoula lamb ribs fatteh
The fresh drizzle of punchy chermoula that cuts through the rich fattiness of the tender lamb ribs makes this recipe by Aalia’s Paul Farag a must try.
Coq au riesling
Keeping all the elements of what makes this dish a provincial family favourite, this recipe has been refined with a modern-day bistro interpretation.
Helly Raichura’s Bengali prawns and seablite (shorshe chingri)
If you have the forethought to soak your mustard seeds overnight, we can guarantee the results are well worth it for the vibrant colour and flavour they lend to the prawns.
Sixpenny’s carrot cake with candied walnuts
The cake that saved Sixpenny during lockdown.
Maggie Beer’s herb pasta with sorrel butter and lemon thyme
Maggie Beer shares her recipe for a vegetarian herb pasta, where the rich pasta, made with duck-egg, is offset by the sweet sorrel butter.
Danielle Alvarez’s farro with broad beans, ricotta salata, mint and lovage
Recipe for farro with broad beans, ricotta salata, mint and lovage by Danielle Alvarez.
Mat Lindsay’s guide to making a Basque cheesecake
A smoky-sweet cake with a tell-tale scorched top. The Ester chef shows how it’s done.
Lauren Eldridge’s eggnog custard tarts
Portuguese tarts meet bourbon-spiked eggnog in this Christmas-ready treat.
Matt Stone’s raw zucchini, pine nut and miso salad
A pretty-as-a-picture dish for spring.
Brent Savage’s coal-roasted eggplant with black garlic
A smoky, textural, all-eggplant affair.
Paola Toppi’s pasta with ragù
Where simplicity and flavour meet.
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Pasi Petänen’s potato dumplings with XO trout
From the Cafe Paci chef comes a dish that pays homage to that classic Finnish combination of potatoes and fish.
Christine Manfield’s spiced barramundi with tomato-chilli pickle
Spiced barramundi with tomato chilli pickle- simmer vinegar and mustard seeds in a saucepan over low heat until liquid is almost completely reduced.
How to make phở: a masterclass with Angie Hong
Now is the time to make this deeply comforting noodle soup.
Curtis Stone’s Dutch baby with lemon butter and clotted cream
Savour it one fluffy mouthful at a time.
Jonathan Barthelmess’s taramasalata
Forget the supermarket-grade stuff. This dip by chef and restaurateur Jonathan Barthelmess is the real deal.
Jock Zonfrillo’s roast turkey with native herbs and spices
Give the Christmas classic of roast turkey an Australian twist with this recipe by Orana chef Jock Zonfrillo.
Stefano Manfredi’s coniglio all’agrodolce (sweet and sour rabbit)
An Italian introduction to cooking with rabbit. This recipe provides mouth-watering rewards with very little risk.
Stephanie Alexander’s raspberry and rose-geranium sorbet with honey wafers, raspberries and cream
The flavour of ripe raspberries dominates this refreshing sorbet, but the rose-scented geranium adds a haunting after-note that’s not at all cloying.
Automata’s flounder with wakame and lemon butter
Cook the flounder at a low temperature so it doesn’t dry out. Trimming the fish before cooking makes it easier to dig in.
Kingfish crudo, burnt ruby grapefruit, pickled fennel and anchovy
Recipe for kingfish crudo, burnt ruby grapefruit, pickled fennel and anchovy by Sean McConnell from Monster in Canberra.
Ricotta gnocchi with cavolo nero and pine nuts
Gnocchi paired with cavolo nero and pine nuts makes for a fresh and breezy weeknight recipe.
Sean McConnell’s slow-roasted lamb shoulder with pistachios, pomegranate and vine leaves
Recipe for slow-roasted lamb shoulder with pistachios, pomegranate and vine leaves by Sean McConnell from Monster in Canberra.
Sean Moran’s spring ravioli with peas, ricotta and zucchini flowers
Spring is Sean Moran’s ultimate muse for this pasta.
Quay’s guava snow egg
The snow egg.
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