Noma Australia Unveils Aussie Influenced Menu
Noma Australia at Barangaroo, Sydney has just unveiled the menu for the sold-out ten-week residency and The World Loves Melbourne is excited.
The restaurant, a partnership between Noma, Tourism Australia and Lendlease, showcases some of Australia’s best and most interesting produce with a strong focus on coastal ingredients.
René Redzepi, one of the world’s best-known and most respected chefs, and his Noma team, have spent the last twelve months travelling to every corner of Australia, taking in all states and territories, learning about native ingredients, local wines and cooking methods. So he is not just relicating the Noma experience in Australia; he is infusing the experience with an Aussie flavour. Brilliant.
Redzepi said: “On my many trips around Australia I’ve seen a larder that is so foreign to me. Foraging for abalone, eating fresh muntries, nibbling on pepper berries and cracking open a bunya nut – these experiences are so wild compared to what we’re used to in Europe. Spending time with indigenous communities in places like Arnhem Land, have left the biggest impact on me and the Noma team. For instance seeing the use of fire as the main way of cooking ingredients inspired us. Most of what we’re cooking at Noma Australia will be cooked over fire. We’ve built a menu based around the ocean and the coastal ranges. Clams, crabs, marron - the seafood is so pristine in Australia that we’ve had almost too much to choose from.”
John O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Tourism Australia said: “René has had the ultimate Australian trip. He’s visited the most iconic locations in this country and some lesser known, all with the purpose of cementing Australia as a global destination for food and wine. They’ve had some really special experiences from seaweed diving in Tasmania, to a last-minute dash across the country to Albany for snow crabs. The Noma team has created something extraordinary and we know it will have a lasting impact. We’ve been incredibly proud to partner with them on their journey.”
(The World Loves Melbourne also feels it's brilliant that Tourism Australia is involved in these kind of partnerships. It's taking the "shrimp on the barbie" concept to a whole new level - or even another planet).
Seafood platter and crocodile fat. Images by Jason Loucas.
Since the launch of ‘Restaurant Australia’ in May 2014, spending by international visitors on food and wine in Australia has grown by nearly $700 million (16.6 per cent) - already exceeding the two-year target originally set for the campaign. In the same period, global perceptions of Australia as a food and wine destination have improved – with the country’s ranking rising from 10th to 6th.
Redzepi said: “We couldn’t have created Noma Australia if we had not travelled this vast country. You need to meet the people who are harvesting, growing, catching, foraging your food. Once you meet them, and you understand their work, you start planning what flavours you want.”
The opening Noma Australia menu plays on the theme of seafood with a nod to a few classic Australian dishes – seafood platter of pippies (Victoria), sea bounty mussels (Victoria), strawberry clam (Eden, NSW), flame cockles (Eden, NSW), oysters and crocodile fat; a pie of dried scallops (King Island, Tasmania) and lantana flowers; abalone (Ulladulla, NSW) schnitzel and bush condiments; and a rum lamington.
Here is the menu selection:
• Unripe macadamia and spanner crab
• Wild seasonal berries flavoured with gubinge
• Porridge of golden and desert oak wattleseed with saltbush
• Seafood platter and crocodile fat
• W.A deep sea snow crab and cured egg yolk
• A pie with dried scallops and lantana flowers
• BBQ’d milk ‘dumpling’
• Marron and magpie goose
• Sea urchin & tomato dried with pepper berries
• Abalone schnitzel and bush condiments
• Marinated fresh fruit
• Rum lamington
• Peanut milk and freekeh “Baytime”
The Noma Australia residency will run from January 26 until April 2.
Noma Australia, Anadara Building, Barangaroo, Sydney