Brisbane’s best chefs team up for a one-of-a-kind fundraiser dinner at Gerard’s Bistro
Only in the rarest of circumstances would you see the head chefs of Gerard’s Bistro, Stanley, OTTO Brisbane, Joy, ESSA and Agnes working together in the same kitchen. Well, the recent floods were certainly a near-unprecedented occurrence – one that has had a discernible impact on Brisbane’s hospitality industry. In response to the devastation wrought on Southeast Queensland’s farmers, producers and suppliers, an A-Team of local culinary talent will descend upon Gerard’s Bistro on Wednesday March 30, putting on a one-off dinner to raise funds for growers that have been hit hardest by the recent downpour.
Anyone with an active social-media account would have found it hard to avoid seeing the surreal scenes of last weekend’s wild weather and the ensuing rise of flood waters – footage of homes and businesses being destroyed or damaged have proliferated across Instagram and Facebook in the aftermath. Gerard’s Bistro executive chef Adam Wolfers not only saw things unfolding online, but also in person. As a resident of Paddington, Adam glimpsed first-hand the impact flood waters had on the neighbouring suburb of Rosalie while, at the same time, updates were coming through thick and fast on the heartbreaking toll the tide was taking on trusted small-scale farms like Loop Growers, Neighbourhood Farm and The Falls Farm. Growers such as these are integral pieces of the local hospitality ecosystem – their crops are funnelled to gourmet suppliers that, in turn, distribute them to high-end restaurants across town, including Adam’s Gerard’s Bistro. After seeing the effect waters had on the farms and the supply chain, Adam decided to be a proactive player in helping get these farms back on their feet the only way he knows how – by cooking up a storm. Adam reached out to Michael Nguyen of Inala-based supplier Thai Hoa Grocer to secure a list of chefs that relied on the same farms for their fruit and vegetable needs, hitting them up one by one to see if they’d be interested in joining forces for a night of food-based fundraising. The pitch was an easy sell – soon Adam had an all-star roster of culinary wizards eager to lend their talents in the kitchen.
The Farmers Flood Relief Dinner will be taking place at Gerard’s Bistro at 6:30 pm on Wednesday March 30, with a cadre of cuisiniers enlisted to contribute to the evening’s menu. Though the old adage of “too many cooks spoil the broth” usually rings true for amateur chefs, Adam’s assembled team is full of pros. Participating on the night will be Louis Tikaram of neo-Chinese superstar Stanley, Fin Burgess of ESSA, Oscar Solomon of cutting-edge Japanese restaurant Yoko, Ghanem Group’s executive chef Jake Nicolson, Aleg Gregg of fire-powered restaurant Agnes, Will Cowper and Gianna Ephraims of OTTO Brisbane, Sarah Baldwin of in-demand degustation restaurant Joy, and Gerard’s Bistro’s head chef Juliette Markovich. Each chef will contribute a main-sized dish or a snack to the evening’s menu, with their contribution expected to be a reflection of their own tastes, techniques and inspirations. Several notable suppliers will be generously donating produce for the night, including Thai Hoa Grocer, Fish Factory, Westholme Wagyu, Fino Foods and Inala Fish Market. In addition to the dinner, guests will be able to bid on an assortment of covetable prizes, which will include the likes of an eight-person degustation at Gerard’s Bistro, an intimate four-person experience at Joy and a day trip to Australian Age of Dinosaurs in Winton, courtesy of Alliance Airlines. All proceeds from the dinner and prize raffle will be donated to the affected farms for the re-purchase of seeds, tools and equipment to get each grower back to operational form as quickly as possible.
Seats for the Farmers Flood Relief Dinner are on sale now for $300 per person – click here to secure your spot.
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