As a 14-year-old school kid washing dishes for pocket money in a Yorkshire restaurant, Matt Blackwell never imagined he’d make hospitality his career, never mind doing it on the other side of the world. Or that one day some of his favourite ingredients might be camel cheese and feijoas.

Blackwell, who moved to Australia in 2016, is head chef at Brisbane’s celebrated restaurant at QAGOMA, a place that showcases the best of Queensland and Australian produce in a space that exhibits some of the best modern art in the world.

So, how influenced is he by the art surrounding him?

“It’s not a direct focus, I mean, I’m not trying to match the menu to what’s on in the gallery, but when the exhibition changes, we do try and use certain things. Like when we had Chiharu Shiota on, we were using a few more Japanese ingredients and I think the guests, especially returning guests, pick up on that.”

Blackwell runs an agile kitchen, with individual dishes changing frequently, due to seasonality and availability.

“Because we print the menus in-house, when we get really small amounts of something, we’re able to work that into the menu. I love the freedom of being able to take advantage of something, especially if it has a short season. Like we recently got a couple of kilos of feijoas, they are an absolutely amazing fruit that only have a six- or seven-week season in Queensland.”

Another local ingredient that excites Blackwell is camel cheese from Summerland camel dairy, just out of Ipswich, which he uses in an American-style cheesecake.

This month, Blackwell has put together a special multi-course chef’s menu for American Express delicious. Month Out, which has been designed to give guests, particularly first-timers, a real taste of QAGOMA. “It’s been really popular,” he says.

The special menu is made up of five courses, starting with an oyster dressed with yuzu and brown rice miso. There’s a mini Mooloolaba yellowfin tuna tart with cured egg gel as well as an entree of hiramasa kingfish with mussel beurre blanc and salmon roe. A main of short rib is brined, then slowly cooked for 72 hours.

“It has a marinade of mirin and tamari and we serve it with a beef and bone marrow sauce that is blended with green pepper and whipped up to a foam so it’s really light,” Blackwell says.

The last of summer’s mangoes have been fashioned into a mango and sake lees ice cream, with apricot vanilla jam, white chocolate crumble and shards of liquid nitrogen frozen mousse.

It’s pure Queensland and pure art on a plate.

For details on more deals and offers see delicious.com.au/dmo.

GOMA Restaurant
What: American Express delicious. Month Out Chef’s Menu
Where: Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Pl, South Brisbane
When: May Price: $92 for five courses
Web: qagoma.qld.gov.au

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