Far North Flavours

FAR NORTH FLAVOUR flair Brian Crisp discovers why Shangri-La The Marina, Cairns Executive Chef Aaron Habgood found his “own true style” after moving to Tropical North Queensland.

TAKE a few minutes to explore Aaron Habgood’s Instagram account and you will see just how good Cairns-created food looks on a plate.

Habgood is the Executive Chef at Shangri-La The Marina, Cairns and his social media is testament to the culinary colours and vibrancy on offer in Tropical North Queensland.

During his career Habgood has cooked for Prince Charles, John Howard and countless celebrities but believes he has found his niche by bringing the unique tastes, flavours and smells of perfect Cairns produce to the plate.

“Far North Queensland would have to be one of the most exciting places in Australia when it comes to its people, its food, its colours and its smells,’’ he says.

“I love working with seafood and meats and complimenting them with the sweet and sour flavours of the tropics, there’s nothing quite like barbecuing and smoking with Tablelands ironbark timbers.”

Most visitors to Shangri-La The Marina, Cairns will savour Habgood’s cooking in The Backyard which is the hotel’s waterside restaurant.

“Our menus are inspired by our region,’’ he says.

“The dishes are fresh, vibrant and flavoursome and reflect where we live. Would they work elsewhere? Maybe. But you would be taking away that essence and feeling of FNQ.

“There is something unique about sinking your teeth into a mud crab you just caught down the road, especially if it’s served with homemade chilli jam sweetened by local coconuts.

“People still care about where their food comes from, and that’s a good thing. It lets chefs, like me, tell stories through cooking.

“The suppliers we use buy and support local growers and producers first. Living in such a dynamic and almost isolated place like Far North Queensland, we are almost self-sufficient up here which is great for chefs. And customers.’’ Habgood says he is always up for a challenge when creating menus for events and conferences.

“I know I get overly excited when clients say, ‘wow me’,” he grins.

“Chefs in Cairns are probably some of the most versatile in the country, and we are inspired by the very region itself.

“We have the freshest fish market in the world with the Great Barrier Reef right on our doorstep, and we have the healthiest volcanic redsoil farms in the Tablelands producing so many types of fruit and veg, and some glorious pastured cattle.

“We produce our own chocolate and some great coffee and tea, who wouldn’t want to be a chef here.”

Habgood started his cooking career at the Landmark Park Royal in Potts Point and worked at hotels around Sydney before following in the footsteps of so many young Aussies and making the big move to the United Kingdom.

He worked at the Berkley Hotel in Knightsbridge and Relais & Chateaux in Dorset before joining the team at Sienna’s in Dorchester, with that address collecting its first Michelin star while he was serving as sous chef.

Habgood, who is now the father of two outdoor-loving kids, moved back to Australia in 2008 and first worked as Sous Chef at Shangri-La Sydney before migrating to the top corner of Queensland in 2013.

“Having lived in Cairns now for almost 10 years, I have fully embraced the region and its landscape,’’ he says.

“I would like to think my attention to detail still remains strong from those Michelin restaurant days in England, but I’m having a lot more fun doing it now than I ever have.

“I put that down to living in the most exciting place on the earth.’’

DISCOVER FAR NORTH FLAVOURS

Memorable menus

Sarah Nicholson discovers that planning a menu for a special MICE moment is about thinking local. And dreaming big.

SHANGRI-LA The Marina, Cairns Executive Sous Chef Simon Capewell has a simple message for event organisers planning a menu.

“There should always be a ‘wow’ factor – smoke from a jar of potato salad, watermelon made to look like sashimi, gold leaf on a lobster taco – because you want to give people a talking point,” he said.

“The menu should grab your delegates’ attention when they read it, and there should be a dish they are talking about when they leave and then describe to friends when they get home.”

Capewell, who worked in hotel kitchens around the world before moving to Australia in 2004, says paddock-to-plate eating is still significant but has evolved past the simple tracking of how far ingredients travelled before being served. “Sustainability is essential and people now want to know where their ingredients come from, the story about how they were grown, like understanding an animal wasn’t stressed when it was slaughtered or the story behind the family that owns the farm.

“We can plan an event where the chef will come out before each course to talk about the ingredients, how the food was prepared, and the ideas behind the menu.

“Or we can take that a step further and jump in a van together for a little road trip, head up to the Tablelands to pick limes in a family-owned orchard before visiting the fishmonger to select the fish for a special ceviche.