grub street, 1/440 Samford Road, gaythorne

...above grub st club sandwich

...grub st house made preserves!

...stix, chef/owner

i have been to grub st a couple of times now...+ i've heard friends talk about it often...+ i've seen regular mentions on twitter & finally i did read about grub st in gourmet traveller's 2011 restaurant guide listing them as one of brisbane's best cafes...cut a long story short!  this is one place you need to seek & enjoy!

self taught chef stix (travis grigg) owns grub st with his partner tamara.  stix is really enthusiastic & energetic...i find him very funny & his passion is certainly pushing his 'off the track' cafe to great heights!

i met for lunch recently with wine maker & consultant peter scudamore-smith & we happily devoured our meals with peter supplying the wines...i ordered pulled pork salad w roasted peanuts, asian herbs, carrot & tamarind glaze while peter ordered the chorizo burger w roasted peppers & jalapeno jam.  we washed this down with barambah shiraz viognier...delicious!

stix made a surprise dessert for us of dense fudgy chocolate brownie w peanut butter icecream & rhubard (gf)...this went very well with peter's barambah rack dried semillon (sticky).

talking with stix during the course of our lunch i found out that he is a mad keen surfer, likes to push the food boundaries for his diners to enjoy, seeks inspiration from many cook books without having a specific favourite & loves making traditional dishes...eg a recent special of nasi goreng, making everything from scratch...one customer who ordered this said it took him back to eating this dish whilst travelling through indonesia.

stix is also quoted saying he has 'tolerance for the intolerant'.  stix has an intolerance to diary so understands customers dietary conditions...at grub st you will find plenty of vegetarian, vegan & gf options on the menu.  stix said the biggest seller is the carrot pancakes w beetroot hommus, housemade labne, poached egg & red pepper relish.

open tuesday - saturday 7am - 2pm, sunday 7am - 1pm (closed easter break & public holidays)

...grub st use giancarlo coffee

...chef stix preparing his pulled pork for the salad

...chorizo burger & pulled pork salad

...barambah rack dried semillon w grub st dessert

5 chefs tasting for starlight foundation @ the sofitel, brisbane

...above rhett's course 1

...above pablo's course 2

 

...above rhett talking through his course 1 

i was invited to this event by peta, city publicity & knew immediately it was something i really wanted to attend...the five chefs involved in the tasting event & dinner for the starlight children's foundation's signature fundraising event for 2011 are...tony percuoco (tartufo), javier codina (moda), pablo tordesillas (ortiga), mathieu astier (sofitel prive 249) & rhett willis (jellyfish).  all these chefs are excellent at their craft & to be invited to this private, intimate tasting was such a treat & priviledge!

the wine matching was superb (pity i decided to drive!)...& the tasting dishes presented to us that will be served at the event "starlight 5 chef dinner" on monday 6th june included:-

rhett's creation, course 1 assiette, wasabi leaf w mud crab remoulade, tuna tartar w compressed aloe vera, white fish nummus

pablo's creation, course 2 mar y montaña of oysters with pig trotters & stinging nettle picada

mathieu's creation, course 3 warrick lamb, slow roasted lamb loin, butternut puree & toasted quinoa with arabica jus

javier's creation, course 4 duck leg & cassoulet of white beans & chorizo, pear chutney

tony's creation, course 5 semifreddo al torrone - ice cream terrine of hazelnut nougat, marsala & strega liqueur served with an orange syrup

all the above dishes were so delicious & unique in their own right!

tickets on sale to attend this dinner (but not many left) through this link

also you can join their facebook & event community page through this link

...above pablo talking through his course 2

...above tony percuoco

...above mathieu's course 3

...above javier talking through his course 4  

...above javier cuts his course 4

...above tony percuoco's dessert course 5

...delicious dessert wine to finish...

jamie pearce, hd chef of the crosstown eating house, woolloongabba

jamie pearce has been the head chef @ crosstown since they opened in april 2009.  jamie's style of cooking is one i love.....produce driven.....letting the ingredients talk with not too much fuss but very well executed...and his food should be great having spent time in some seriously good sydney kitchens.  jamie returned to brisbane after doing a 8.5yr stint in sydney....lucky brisbane i say!

his sydney chef life started at banc under liam tomlin (3 hat rest).  jamie worked in the banc kitchen alongside warren turnbull http://www.restaurantassiette.com.au/, matthew kemp http://www.restaurantbalzac.com.au/ & justin north http://www.becasse.com.au/. after an exhausting but highly knowledgeable yr jamie went to work with the acclaimed peter gilmore @ quay http://www.quay.com.au/ - quay is classed in the top 50 restaurants in the world + is a 3 hat rest + won smh rest of the year in 2003 & 2005 whilst jamie worked there.  jamie said his time with peter was brilliant & he learnt very much & classes peter still today as one of his most inspirational chefs.  after 2yrs with quay jamie moved to 3 weeds in balmain http://www.3weeds.com.au/ to work with a mate darrell felstead......3 weeds was given a chefs hat in the first 6mths of operating.....after 18mths a great opportunity came up for jamie to join the kitchen @ icebergs under rob marchetti.  here jamie learnt more about produce driven dishes & spent 1yr refining his skills.

recently talking with jamie @ crosstown he said that his food today is a bit of everything he learnt from his sydney days.  he serves great food that people can relate to but with a twist.  he quoted that "he is only as good as the people behind him".

pictured is the:

snapper fillet w fennel puree & citrus dressed salad
really clean & delicious!

+ dessert pictured is the:

chocolate parfait w raspberries & white chocolate crackles
absolutely delicious!

crosstown is closed for the holidays reopening on 11th january 2011.

also in 2011 crosstown plan to open a chefs table seating 12pax in a private space.
http://www.thecrosstown.com.au/

shannon kellam, exec chef of the brisbane club brings home the medal

he is known affectionately by his peers as "blocker"......a nick-name that started many years ago when he was 16 in the kitchen @ raphaels, shorncliffe.  since meeting him earlier this year through my work (visco fine foods) i have found "blocker" to be a really nice guy & completely down to earth.....if there is a hint of ego you don't see it.....there should however be a hint of ego as recently he was awarded The Trophy de Passion with the Academy Culinaire de France.  put it this way....this award is a HUGE achievement!  12 nations compete every 2yrs with the excruciating task of creating & plating up 10 covers of savoury (with 1 protein & 3 garnishes) & 10 covers of a pastry dish.....all to be started & completed in 5hrs....judged by 32 judges with head judge being Thierry Marx (owner of 3 michelin star restaurants).   shannon said the 5hr period was that tough, some contenders broke down into tears.

shannon's menu comprised of...

savoury:

poached turbot fillet w chervil mousseline, hollandaise graitin

lobster timbale in leek, warm lobster jelly, fried tomato butter, confit garlic nougatine

mussel & vegetable veloute, herb crouton, pommes fondant w mushroom espuma

pasty:

gateaux of valrhona macae chocolate hazelnut mousse, orange jelly, passion fruit cremaux, grand marnier vanilla brulee, macadamia macaron, chocolate mirror glaze, bisuit cullierre, macadamia praline poached pear - THIS WAS ALL IN LAYERS...incredible!....this was the WINNER!

shannon has been refining his skills & competing for years in chef competitions travelling all over the world.....his next big goal is the 2012 Culinary Olympics in germany & the 2013 Bocuse D'or.

the brisbane club has been established since 1903.....shannon has been with the club for 2yrs.  you can dine @ the club as a member or as a guest of a member.  shannon said the loyal members have high expectations & they only serve premium food & wines.