View a selection of the videos that showcase the Scenic Rim Region.
Seated and Bibbed
Chef Profiles and signature dishes
Restaurant Directory
Cafés Directory
Caterers’ Directory
Chef Profiles and Signature Dishes
THE Scenic Rim is home to some fabulous restaurants. In this section, Scenic Rim Chefs will be profiled alongside their most popular dishes.
If there’s a Scenic Rim chef or restaurant you think we should profile, send us an email, tourism@scenicrim.qld.gov.au
Kooroomba Vineyard Restaurant, Mt Alford
Liquid Amber Bistro, Tamborine Mountain
O’Reillys Canungra Valley Vineyards
Tatra Winery Restaurant, Tamborine Mountain
The Polish Place, Tamborine Mountain
The Royal Hotel, Kalbar
Kooroomba Vineyard Restaurant
168 FM Bells Rd, Mt Alford (via Boonah)
5463 0022
www.kooroomba.com.au
Mark Naoum
CHEF Mark Naoum has been at the helm of the Kooroomba Vineyard Restaurant for the past four years and in that time he has developed a reputation for serving modern meals with an Australian and Mediterranean twist.
He uses traditional applications with a fresh approach.
The menu changes with the season but you’ll usually find a good selection of dishes featuring beef, game, fish, and some vegetarian offerings too.
Something that you will always find on the Kooroomba menu is the lavender ice-cream, made using Kooroomba’s own lavender. Mark says it has quite a strong taste and is made by infusing the cream with lavender ahead of making the ice-cream.
“Some people love it, some don’t, but a lot of people ask to try it,” he says.
“It does taste like it smells, a little bit. It also depends on the quality of the lavender that comes through, different seasons produce different lavender.
“We always marry the ice-cream with a berry compote which is quite tart and cuts back the lavender flavour.”
Another popular dish is the rabbit. Recently Kooroomba’s rabbit has outsold its beef offerings.
During Summer Mark offers rabbit rolled in Serrano, a Spanish ham. The rabbit is wrapped and cooked for about three hours just below boiling. It is served with shitake mushrooms, a sun-dried tomato tart and a golden shallot puree.
“It’s the first time we’ve put rabbit on the menu here and it’s been right up there,” says Mark.
“It was a better seller last week than the sirloin.
“I source the rabbit from NSW, it’s not available in Queensland but all of our fruit and vegetables are sourced locally.”
Mark joined Kooroomba after stints as the Executive Chef at the Rainbow Shores Restaurant and as the Sous Chef at Michael’s Riverside Restaurant in Brisbane. He also worked at the Sheraton Grand in Scotland prior to coming to the Scenic Rim.
He says most of the dishes on the menu complement Kooroomba’s wines.
“My belief is that good food goes well with good wine,” says Mark.
Liquid Amber Bistro & Grill
Mt Brewery and Witches Chase Cheese Factory
165-185 Long Rd, North Tamborine
07 5545 2032
Liquid Amber
YOU could forgive Liquid Amber head chef Laurence Griffin if all of his dishes featured cheese and beer.
He is at the helm of a modern, fresh restaurant which is situated in the heart of an, open-air gourmet cheese and beer factory.
But Laurence says it would be too ‘cheesy’ (pardon the pun) if all he served in his restaurant were cheese and beer-inspired dishes.
Sure you’ll find some innovative uses of the local Witches Chase Cheeses, but the menu also features Laurence’s innovative take on simple dishes.
“There is a lot of cheese on the menu but I didn’t want to go too gimmicky,” he says.
“For more cheese you can go to the cheese shop and order a cheese board.”
One of Liquid Amber’s most popular cheese dishes is the lightly-battered zucchini flowers, served with a goat’s curd, pumpkin, spinach, fetta and truffled honey.
Not only is this dish beautiful to look at, it tastes great too.
“Zucchini flowers are a great looking product,” says Laurence.
“I source mine from Mt Nathan, the female zucchini flowers which feature in this dish grow a zucchini and a flower, where as the male variety just have the flower and are often used by chefs as a garnish.”
Laurence opened Liquid Amber for owners Andre and Meredith Morris in December 2008. He was enlisted as a consultant by the couple, who later convinced him to stay on.
Laurence, who previously owned and ran the highly-regarded Salty Plum in Broadbeach, has a strong following among diners who appreciate his uncompromising standards.
The New Zealand-born chef has been working in the industry for 27 years and had just broken out of restaurants to embark on a career in teaching and consulting when he was offered the chance to open Liquid Amber.
“It was a good chance to get off the Coast, because I have run quite a few businesses, they have been successful and I do have a good following,” he says.
“This is a different environment, a bit of a change.”
O’Reillys Canungra Valley Vineyards
Lamington National Park Rd, Canungra Valley
07 5502 4900
www.oreillys.com.au/cvv
ROB Wauters didn’t have to look far for inspiration for his signature dish.
The O’Reillys Canungra Valley Vineyards head chef wanted to incorporate one of the vineyard’s most popular drops and create a dish which offered diners an extraordinary culinary experience.
And so he created the slow-baked Silky Oak pork belly, served on a potato gratin with a pan apple jus.
The pork belly is slow-cooked for four hours in the Canungra Valley Vineyard’s Silky Oak Liqueur.
Rob says this process results in tender, juicy meat that’s full of flavour.
“The pork belly is one of the fattier products but I’m not overly concerned about the level of fat in food because it’s what imparts a lot of the flavour,” says Rob.
“I use a bottle of Silky Oak in the pork belly, with a puree of apples, a bit of sugar and some apple juice to ensure the pork remains wet enough.”
Rob also adds star anise, cinnamon and fennel to create a really distinctive flavour.
During the long cooking process most of the pork fat is released from the meat and is able to be separated from the liquid which becomes the sauce.
Rob cooks the pork until it is ‘pushy soft’, allows it to cool and then carves the meat.
He says while cuts like pork belly and brisket may not be common choices in many home kitchens, more and more chefs are choosing them above their more expensive competitors. But he says the decision has nothing to do with price and everything to do with flavour.
“Because they’re tougher cuts a lot of chefs are going that way and slow cooking them,” says Rob.
“You’ll get more flavour from the cheaper cuts.”
Canadian-born Rob has been cooking for about 15 years, starting out in his homeland, before travelling to New Zealand and then to Australia in 1982.
He’s been with O’Reillys Canungra Valley Vineyard for about three years. Prior to this he worked for a number of Gold Coast establishments, including Palm Meadows Resort.
Where possible Rob says he sources local produce and tries to include fresh, in-season ingredients on his ever-changing menu.
“We have a local lady who supplies lettuce and strawberries,” says Rob.
“I have a great butcher, a family man, who I trust to always get me really fresh meat.
“Seafood is a bit harder so unless I know it’s really fresh I won’t use it.
“The only thing you will consistently find on our menu is the pork belly, I developed it about two years ago and it’s been really popular.”
Tatra Winery Restaurant
160 Main Western Rd, Mt Tamborine
07 5545 0989
www.tatrawinery.com.au
Tatra Winery
ANDRE and Svetlana Jaworski offer visitors to their Tatra Winery restaurant a hearty serve of their Polish and Russian homelands.
The couple delivers an innovative selection of Slavic cuisine, drawing from the best Russia and Poland has to offer.
Andre was born and raised in Poland, while Svetlana hails from Russia.
They met at dancing classes on the Gold Coast, fell in love and together have transformed an overgrown avocado farm on Tamborine Mountain into a little piece of Eastern Europe.
As well as a rustic cellar door, the couple recently opened their new and spacious themed restaurant.
They are open seven days a week and have something for everyone – European breakfasts, light lunches and heartier Slavic cuisine.
Andre says their best sellers include the French spinach quiche, cooked to a method he learned in France, and the home-made Hungarian beef pie with a mushroom sauce.
But it is the beef and chicken shaslicks which really have diners talking.
“We marinade the beef using a traditional Russian recipe, it is based on honey and doesn’t feature any soya sauce or things which Australians like to use in their marinades,” says Andre.
“We use good quality rump steak and serve the shaslicks with a salad.”
Andre arrived to Australia in 1982 after fleeing Poland via Germany. The former engineer spent time in Melbourne, Sydney and north Queensland before settling at Tamborine.
His love of food and of cooking stems from his Polish upbringing.
“In a country like mine there were no restaurants after the war so everyone cooks at home,” says Andre.
“We ate very good food, home food and that is the basis for our menu.
“I have been trained by my aunties and my family and have continued to develop my skills since then.”
Andre returns to Poland annually, not only to see family, but to also expand his skills. He learned to make the bread which features on his menu while working in a Polish bakery during a holiday two years ago. He has also worked in a Polish meat factory, learning to make traditional sausages.
Since they opened the doors to their Tatra Winery in 2003 their food and wine have won awards.
In 2008 and 2009 their restaurant was named Queensland’s best restaurant in a winery at the Restaurant & Caterer’s awards.
The Polish Place
333 Main Western Rd, Tamborine Mountain
(07) 55 451 603
www.polishplace.com.au
The Polish Place
PHILIP Sowter proudly boasts that he and his wife Ania are among Tamborine Mountain’s longest-serving restaurateurs.
The couple has lived on the mountain for 27 years and opened their Polish-themed attraction shortly after arriving.
During their 27 years in business they have closed the doors just a handful of times – for Christmas Day, family weddings and funerals, and they have developed a strong and loyal following.
Philip is a high school science teacher and the journey from education to the kitchen happened almost by chance.
”We came up here to the mountain for our honeymoon, I was a teacher in Tasmania,” he says.
“We loved it and moved here. I took a job at Marymount College on the Gold Coast and we started up here with nothing.
“We built a house, a coffee shop and gallery.
“It evolved very rapidly.”
As the business grew busier Philip had to decide, classroom or kitchen. He chose the kitchen, joining Ania, a former physical therapist and rhythmic gymnast who later trained as a chef.
As well as Polish cuisine, the couple introduced self-contained chalets, a bigger art gallery and five years ago a bigger restaurant, which serves up to 80 meals on a Sunday, with a bar.
The Polish Place was recently named the best themed restaurant at the 2009 Gold Coast Restaurant & Catering Awards.
The restaurant serves traditional Polish meals, and many of the recipes are inspired by Ania’s Polish childhood.
Her mother’s six-layered rum chocolate torte is hit with customers, as is the Bigos, a traditional sauerkraut-based smoked meat dish, also known as the huntsmen’s stew.
The pierogi, traditional Polish dumplings are also popular, but it is the duck for two which is the restaurant’s signature dish. It recently featured in Vogue Entertaining and is served in a confit-style. The meat is preserved in its own fat and is stuffed with granny smith apples, salt and marjoram. It is served with granny smith apples, European sour cherries, red cabbage and Polish gnocchi.
Philip and Ania use free-range ducks, sourced from northern NSW. The ducks are big and plump and the meat is incredibly tender.
“We serve very wholesome food,” says Philip, who retired from teaching 11 years ago.
“We don’t change our menu often, we can’t change. If we took the bigot off the menu we’d be lynched.
“We make all of our own cakes and we serve light meals, such as the Polish open sandwich, the Polish thin soup and the hot apple pancakes.”
A visit to The Polish Place is a memorable experience and is guaranteed to leave you feeling full and very satisfied.
The Royal Hotel, Kalbar
Corner of George and Edward Streets, Kalbar
5463 7188
Jason Somers
VISITORS to the Kalbar Pub’s restaurant are in for a surprise.
While they may expect to find deep-fried pub grub at this country hotel, what they discover is far from it.
Chef Jason Somers has a background in up-market restaurants and he’s applied his skills to the menu at the Royal Hotel, Kalbar.
Jason has been a chef for 23 years and has spent the past eight years working in the Scenic Rim.
He was the first chef at the Kooroomba Vineyard’s restaurant, before moving to Zest Restaurant at the Commercial Hotel in Boonah.
He joined the Royal at Kalbar in 2008 when it re-opened after extensive renovations.
“I’m trying to use this place as a tourist attraction to draw people to Kalbar,” says Jason.
“I like to keep the menu interesting so people keep coming back, they don’t expect the sort of food that we serve.”
Jason changes the menu seasonally but you’ll always find steaks, fish and salads on offer.
The lunch specials, which are priced between $12.95 and $14.95 are always popular, as are Jason’s chef specials.
The meals are often inspired by Italian and Thai flavours.
A popular dish during Summer is Jason’s Barkers Creek rib pork cutlet.
The infused mid-loin of pork is tender, very sweet and tastes more like ham than it does regular pork.
Jason teams it with a fresh mango salsa, a sweet potato hash brown and a minty yoghurt drizzle.
“The pork comes from Kingaroy and is tenderised and infused with a great flavour,” says Jason.
“I’m also well known for my steaks, we have quite a selection. We do a 400g t-bone, 400g rump, 250g eye fillet and a pasture-fed rib fillet for those people who don’t like to eat grain-fed beef.
“The steaks are offered with a number of sauces, potatoes and vegetables or salad and fries. We also do a great ocean and earth creamy garlic sauce.”
And if you’re still hungry don’t go past Jason’s crispy lemon pepper calamari. It’s very popular, so much so, that Jason’s been going through 5kg of squid a week – not bad for a country pub.