Diners are loving what one Italian chef is doing with dishes that pay homage to both his homeland and Australian produce.
HE’S ITALIAN and fiercely proud of it…and the diners at Brisbane’s Bacchus Restaurant are loving it!
Manuele Erriu, Bacchus Chef de Cuisine, is the passion behind the restaurant’s Early Summer Menu, creating dishes that are a reflection of places he calls home, yet with a modern twist.
In the menu Chef Manu pays tribute to his birthplace by the sea in Roseto degli Abruzzi with a range of dishes. He also champions the place he has called home for 10 years, with a kangaroo tartare and a range of Australian flavours.
There’s also an eye-defying dessert that promises to keep the doctor away.
The Early Summer Menu includes a full a la carte offering, two degustation experiences (main and vegetarian options) and a bar selection.
Bacchus has paired the menu with an award-winning wine list featuring 700 offerings and more than 50 wines ‘by the glass’.
The list celebrates the great grape growing regions of Queensland and the world, and the Bacchus cheese trolley remains one of the best in the country.
Back to Manuele. He has a deep love of food and local produce. He started working in the kitchen of a local Italian restaurant when he was 15 during the summer and on weekends. It’s where he fell in love with food. He said he still remembers his first oyster as a joyous moment.
He’s since worked in London and back in Italy, and then came to Australia. He joined Bacchus under the mentorship of Massimo Speroni and followed him to Newcastle to open JANA Restaurant at the QT HOTEL (sister to Bacchus) before returning to his beloved Brisbane where he now takes the culinary lead.
And what are his must-haves in his fridge? Extra virgin olive oil, garlic, tomato burrata.
BACCHUS APPLE
INGREDIENTS
Gel Centre:
- Apple Juice
- Sugar
- Agar
- Yuzu Juice
- Dill
- Fresh Chopped Granny Smith Apple
Mousse:
- White chocolate
- Vanilla
- Mascarpone
- Sugar
- Cream
Lemon Sponge:
- Flour
- Egg
- Lemon juice + zest
- Sugar
Outer Shell:
- Cocoa Butter
- White chocolate
Mirror Glaze:
- Water
- Condensed milk
- White chocolate
- Sugar
- Neutral glaze
- Food colouring
METHOD
Gel Centre
Boil all ingredients until combined.
Blend
Added chopped Granny Smith apple set in freeze in spherical moulds
Mousse
Melt chocolate with hot cream & sugar
Add vanilla and mascarpone
Add cold cream and emulsify
Half fill apple shaped mould with mousse
Insert apple insert
Fill remaining mould with mousse and lemon sponge then set in freezer.
Lemon Sponge
Whip egg white and sugar then set aside
Mix flour, egg yolk, sugar and lemon juice + zest together
Fold in whipped egg white into lemon mixture
Bake it in a tray at 170c
Outer Shell
Melt cocoa butter and white chocolate
Dip Mousse in cocoa butter mixture
Set in fridge
Mirror Glaze
Boil water with sugar then add neutral glaze
Add the boiled glaze into white chocolate, condense milk and colouring then emulsify
Set in fridge
Once outer shell is set, pour over mirror glaze.
Return to fridge to Set
SERVING
Lay a small amount of chocolate soil
Place finished apple in the middle
Garnish with edible flowers and Bacchus logo.
