February 2011: Following last year’s highly successful Great Barrier Feast series featuring Tetsuya Wakuda, Justin North and Ben Shewry; Hamilton Island is pleased to announce its 2011 celebrity chef line-up for its three haute cuisine weekends. The highly acclaimed Peter Gilmore, Frank Camorra and Dan Hunter will host the three separate culinary weekends.
qualia’s executive chef, Jane-Therese Mulry will launch each Great Barrier Feast event with a welcome dinner that will showcase the Whitsunday’s freshest produce. She will be joined by renowned wine critic, James Halliday who will attend and pair wines for each weekend’s meals with a selection of fine Australian wines and the emcee will be esteemed restaurant critic, Simon Thomsen.
These five-star foodie weekends offer not only an intimate “behind the scenes” gourmet experience but a spectacular island backdrop with views overlooking the Whitsunday’s Coral Sea.
Feast 1, Peter Gilmore: 24 – 26 June
Kicking off the series on 24 – 26 June is the highly-awarded Peter Gilmore from Sydney’s three hat Quay restaurant. Since starting at Quay, Peter’s creative and original style has seen Quay receive nine consecutive three chef’s hat awards from the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide. It was also named Restaurant of the Year in 2003 and 2005. Peter’s food philosophy is based in the exploration of the texture of food and harmony of flavours.
Gilmore commented, “I am passionate about creating food that celebrates natures beauty and diversity. I look forward to creating a special menu for qualia in the Great Barrier Reef utilising some exceptional produce.”
Feast 2, Frank Camorra: 22 – 24 July
On 22 – 24 July, chef Frank Camorra of four Melbourne restaurants (MoVida, MoVida Next Door, MoVida Aqui and MoVida Terraza), will bring a Spanish tapas frenzy to Hamilton Island.
“Hamilton Island is a great spot and I’m excited to be involved in an event that’s all about quality. Of course what we do at MoVida is based around tapas and sharing plates so we’ll have to adapt the dishes a little bit, but as far as the style, ingredients and flavours are concerned we’ll be true to what we do here. Given the location we’ll probably use a lot of seafood,” said Camorra.
Part Spaniard, part Aussie, Camorra’s roots are in the barrios of Spanish cities and the fincas and huertas (farms and kitchen gardens) of the Spanish countryside. At MoVida, Camorra cooks the food of his home country using Spanish techniques, traditional and modern, constantly acknowledging its’ proud location in the heart of Melbourne.
Feast 3, Dan Hunter: 2 - 4 December
Later this year, from 2 – 4 December, the guest chef will be Dan Hunter from the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, Victoria. Hunter commented, “It’s a real privilege to be included in the line-up alongside the iconic Australian chefs who have been involved to date. It’s also a great opportunity to present our style of cuisine to the audience. The format of the weekend is interesting for us because you get to do a demonstration and showcase the sort of food we do in the restaurant as well.”
Termed by The Age’s Epicure as ‘Australia's answer to El Bulli’, Dan’s multi-award winning country restaurant won ‘Restaurant of the Year’ from The Age Good Food Guide 2011 and Australian Gourmet Traveller’s regional restaurant of the year 2010. Previous roles saw Hunter rising to the ranks of head chef at two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz in Spain’s Basque region, now rated in the world's top five restaurants.
Each gourmet weekend consists of four enticing events:
Welcome dinner at qualia, by qualia’s executive chef, Jane-Therese Mulry
Showpiece dinner at qualia in which the guest chef will take guests through the preparation of his culinary delights direct from the kitchen. This will be visible to guests through a live camera link-up (both the ‘Welcome’ and ‘Showpiece’ dinners are included in the luxury accommodation packages).
Two Electrolux master classes - providing an exclusive 1.5 hour cooking instruction and an insider’s guide to the tricks of the trade by the guest chef. Tickets are $100 per person.
Nicky Oatley, Hamilton Island’s special events manager comments, “We have hand picked some of Australia’s most innovative chefs to showcase the incredible Whitsundays’ produce and inimitable flavours of the region. We invite food lovers to join us for the second annual Great Barrier Feast series which promises weekends of both culinary excellence and passion.”
Luxury accommodation packages
Guests can choose between the below accommodation packages for the gourmet weekends which includes the ‘Welcome’ and ‘Showpiece’ dinners and tickets to both master classes.
Package inclusions consist of: two nights’ accommodation;
breakfasts both days;
‘Welcome Dinner’ by qualia executive chef, Jane-Therese Mulry;
‘Showpiece Dinner’ on Saturday night prepared by guest chef;
tickets to both master classes;
VIP chauffeur service;
VIP return Hamilton Island Airport/Marina transfers and use of non-motorised watercraft.
*qualia packages also include the hire of a golf buggy.
*Guests must be 18 years or over to attend the Great Barrier Feast events.
Secluded luxury resort of qualia, package prices start from $1,670 per person, based on twin share *
Boutique Beach Club, packages are from $1,115 per person, based on twin share*.
For groups up to eight people, stay at the new waterfront Hamilton Island Yacht Club Villas, room only rates are from $1350. Tickets for both dinners, welcome and showpiece, are an additional $520 total per person.
To book: go to www.hamiltonisland.com.au/feast or please contact the Luxury Specialist team by email: luxuryspecialist@hamiltonisland.com.au or tel: 1300 780 959.
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Image library: www.hamiltonisland.com.au/media-centre/
Media contacts:
Joanne Wilkinson, PR, Hamilton Island, m: 0416 036 713, jwilkinson@hamiltonisland.com.au
Jill Collins, PR, Hamilton Island, m: 0417 654 474, jcollins@hamiltonisland.com.au
Biographies:
All events: Jane-Therese Mulry, qualia, Hamilton Island www.qualia.com.au
Australian-born and educated, Jane-Therese was drawn to the bright lights of London’s ruthless chefing industry where she met the legendary Marco Pierre White – the youngest chef ever to be awarded three Michelin Stars. She worked within the kitchens of this culinary genius, first at Quo Vadis, The Mirabelle and Titanic, and later at MPW Canary Wharf where she was appointed Marco’s first female Head Chef. In December 2006, Jane-Therese accepted the position of Executive Chef at Voyages Cradle Mountain Lodge. Here she spent almost two years managing the kitchens of this celebrated Tasmanian resort, voted Best Resort Accommodation 2008 at the Gourmet Traveller Awards. In September 2008, Jane-Therese returned to her state of origin when she accepted the position of Executive Chef at Queensland’s newest world-class luxury resort, qualia. Shortly afterwards, qualia was awarded Best Resort Accommodation 2009 at the Gourmet Traveller Awards. Jane-Therese’s passion is produce and she loves anything fresh. Her food represents her culinary soul and should always be healthy, organic where possible, modern and simple, uniquely prepared and imaginatively presented.
24 – 26 June: Peter Gilmore, Quay, Sydney www.quay.com.au
Peter Gilmore has been the Executive Chef of Quay Restaurant since August 2001. Peter is a 42 year old Australian, born and bred in Sydney. Since starting at Quay Peter’s creative and original style has seen Quay receive nine consecutive 3 Chefs Hat awards from the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide. In addition, Quay has been named Restaurant of the Year in 2003 and 2005. Peter describes his cuisine as “food inspired by nature” and his philosophy is steeped in the exploration of the texture of food and harmony of flavours. A passionate gardener himself, Peter works closely with farmers and food producers to source exceptional ingredients and create food that is a celebration of nature’s beauty and diversity. He has developed, in recent years, a ground-breaking collaboration with a Blue Mountains providore, with whom he cultivates rare, archival seedlings and designs menus “from the soil up”.
22 – 24 July: Frank Camorra, MoVida, Melbourne www.movida.com.au
“I was born in Barcelona, I grew up in Cordoba and moved to Australia when I was seven. Part Spaniard, part Aussie my roots are in the barrios of Spanish cities and the fincas and huertas (farms and kitchen gardens) of the Spanish countryside. And that’s where MoVida’s food comes from – the idea of taking something that is naturally beautiful and gently easing it through the kitchen so as to take none of that beauty away. You’re just adding a little something of your own skill, sometimes centuries old tradition, sometimes 21st century technique, but always respecting the season, always respecting the sense of place of the food. I share these ideas with the entire crew – plus an appreciation of wine, beer, music, architecture and the ability to enjoy ourselves as we cook for and look after others. I am lucky to have helped create something that everyone wants to be a part of.”
2 – 4 December: Dan Hunter, Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld www.royalmail.com.au
Started his career in Melbourne, Australia working at Langton's, and then Verge before moving to Barcelona in 2003 to work in the one Michelin star restaurant, Caelis. In January 2005 he moved north to San Sebastian in Spain's Basque Country to begin a period of work experience at the two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz. Soon after, he took on the position of Chef de Partie and then worked his way up to Sous Chef. In 2006 he took on the role of Head Chef, which he held for one year before returning to Australia. Dan returned to Australia in 2007 and shortly after moved to Dunkeld to take on the position of Executive Chef at the Royal Mail Hotel. The move has allowed him access to his own kitchen gardens with free-range chickens, fruit orchards and a green house for herb production. He now works closely with his dedicated garden and kitchen team to produce a unique style of food that blends his understanding of modern technique with an immense respect for nature, produce and seasonality
All events: James Halliday, Wine critic and author, www.winecompanion.com.au
James’ career started in law, before moving into winemaking, writing and judging in the 1970s. Since establishing the wineries of Brokenwood and Coldstream Hills, Halliday has written over 60 books and been a significant contributor to others, including Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson Pocket Guide. Many of his books have been translated into other languages, such as French, German and Japanese. He continues to write, judge and consult and has a weekly wine column for the Weekend Australian newspaper. He is often described as ‘Australia’s leading wine writer’.
All events: Simon Thomsen, Restaurant critic, www.simonthomsen.com
Simon is the restaurant critic for The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. His reviews appear in the taste.com.au food and wine section every Tuesday. He has written award-winning stories about food and travel for numerous publications, including The Weekend Australian Magazine. He’s worked as a restaurant critic for 15 years and spent the last six years as editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. He is a judge on Channel Seven's Australian adaptation of the cult cooking show Iron Chef.