If you’re asked to list iconic Australian treats, a few quickly spring to mind: Tim Tams, Freddo Frogs, Redskins, Fantales, Caramello Koalas and, of course, the Cherry Ripe. But these are hardly anyone’s idea of fine-dining – so if you’re one of Australia’s best restaurants, why would you turn to “junk food” for inspiration?

Well, when you’re as wildly inventive as Melbourne’s Dinner by Heston, perhaps the question is, why not? And it’s that spirit of innovation that has seen the Cherry Isle Bar hit their menu. And to go with all this innovation is a little slice of history.

 Australia’s oldest chocolate bar was actually inspired by a song – yes, that’s right, our beloved Cherry Ripe was developed based on the rhythmic ramblings of 17^th– century English poet Robert Herrick, who wrote the words to a song of the same name. Thus, we have a story too good to be ignored by a Heston Blumenthal restaurant where every item on the menu has a celebrated historical connection and fascinating backstory.

Ashley Palmer-Watts, group executive chef of Dinner by Heston restaurants, stumbled upon the story during a trip to Australia last year when he met renowned food historian Professor Barbara Santich. Here to make some changes to the Melbourne menu, Ashley asked the professor what she thought was the most iconic Aussie sweet. It had to be the Cherry Ripe, she replied.

Having never tasted a Cherry Ripe, Ashley headed straight for a convenience store, bought one, and slowly and carefully studied each bite of a bar usually speedily devoured by its fans. From there, it was off to the test kitchen to draw from these iconic flavours and make something really special, while keeping the theatre of the bar’s history.

After playing around with countless kilos of cherries, chocolate, coconut and other well-matched flavour compounds, the Cherry Isle Bar was born, and it’s a beauty. Although inspired by the Cherry Ripe, it’s unique and like nothing you’ll have tasted before. Says Ashley: “If you can deliver something familiar but that still has a surprise, that’s a brilliant thing to do in a dish.”

So what actually goes into a Cherry Isle Bar?

It starts with a coconut cake soaked in coconut rum (which, of course, Dinner by Heston brews itself). A morello cherry jam is spread over a piece of the cake, which is then topped with cherries soaked in Amarena (a black-cherry-based digestive). This is then encased in a very smooth Valrhona chocolate mousse and set into the spherical bar that floats on a light and crispy chocolate and coconut biscuit. Now here comes the mega-fun part. Using a paint spray gun (yes, just like one from the hardware store), the bar is coated with chocolate and cocoa butter to give a velvety finish. Finally, to prove this ain’t no ordinary chocolate bar, it’s paired with cherry and coconut gels, grated coconut and almonds, and an almond-and-bay-leaf-infused ice cream.

Just as the original Cherry Ripe brought together England and Australia through a poet and a confectionary company, so the Cherry Isle Bar brings together Heston’s London and Melbourne restaurants. Not only is the dish wonderfully pretty, but the smooth outside hides the hidden treasure of coconut and cherry flavours inside – a delightful surprise for those lucky enough to have a Cherry Isle Bar set in front of them.

And now, having devoured this incredible concoction myself, all my dreams are focused on Tim Tam having a fascinating enough backstory so that Ashley can develop an outrageously good version of my favourite tea-soaking snack!

For more information, visit: dinnerbyheston.com.au