French food downunder

Guillaume Brahimi's worldly curiosity led him to Australia where he now lives, cheffing at the Sydney Opera House's Bennelong restaurant to great acclaim. Photo / Supplied

When your restaurant is situated in an iconic building there's an expectation that the food will be just as impressive. All too often, this isn't the case. Fortunately Guillaume Brahimi, the award-winning chef at Bennelong in the Sydney Opera House, delivers - exceptionally well. The restaurant was awarded three stars in the Australian Gourmet Traveller 2009 Restaurant Awards, while his second restaurant, Bistro Guillaume at the Crowne Casino in Melbourne, was voted Best New Restaurant in the 2009 Age Good Food Guide. Impressive.

And now Brahimi is coming to New Zealand as the first guest chef for the Winter Food & Wine Weekends being held at luxury lodges The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in Hawkes Bay and The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs in Matauri Bay .

If your interests include playing golf, indulging in spa treatments, eating food created by some of the world's top chefs and wine from local vineyards, then these weekends are for you.

Brahimi will be joined by winemaker and viticulturist Steve Smith from the Craggy Range Vineyard at Kauri Cliffs on Saturday May 30. In early June, celebrity TV chef Rick Stein and Trinity Hills Wines winemaker John Hancock will team up at Cape Kidnappers, as will Australian star chef Neil Perry and Dr Neil McCallum of Dry River Vines later in September.

Brahimi, who was born in Paris and became an Australian citizen in 1994, will be showing off the French style of cooking which sparked his meteoric rise to the star he is today. He shares his story with Viva:

What inspired you to become a chef in the first place? I really struggled at school. I just didn't want to be in that classroom. But when I first went into a kitchen I felt at home. And unlike school I was good at it.

What are your fondest memories of learning to cook in France? From my mother. She was really the one who introduced me to the joys of cooking. Whenever I'm with her, in Australia or France, I never cook. I leave it to Maman.

What brought you to Australia? It was either Australia or America. I wanted to see the world, I was curious about how other people lived and, yes, how they were eating.

When you investigated the Australian food scene on your arrival to Australia, how did you find it? I was actually really impressed with the produce. Australian people like their food. French people live for their food. So there is a difference, but all in all I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cuisine and intrigued by the multicultural aspect of living in Australia.

The first restaurant you opened in Sydney, Pond, was winning awards within six months. What was the key to its success? I put my head down and just did my thing. The restaurant critic Terry Durack wrote good things, and my reputation began to grow.

Describe your signature cooking style. Classic French with an appreciation for good, honest, wholesome food. Technique and presentation are vitally important but the real hero is the produce. You compromise on [that], you're finished.

How has being in Australia influenced your approach to food? French cooking can at times be rigid. With Australian cuisine you can be a little more fluid. I've also become a huge advocate for organic produce.

How has French cuisine evolved in recent years? There's been many stages, haute cuisine, bistro style and I have an appreciation for all of them. When I go to Paris I like to see what the top chefs or the emerging chefs are doing. I'm always blown away.

Are their extra pressures running a restaurant in Australia's most iconic building? Bien sur. And that's what appeals to me. A commitment to excellence, as the Opera House deserves.

What is your favourite ingredient to cook with at the moment? I love truffles. When I can source good truffles I like to have a bit of fun with them.

What dishes that you're serving at the moment are you loving? There are two: royale of asparagus with yabbies and truffle, and farmed Barossa Valley pheasant cooked two ways - breast roasted on the bone with pine mushrooms, broad beans, artichoke and 20-year-old balsamic followed by confit of leg on a bed of baby mixed leaf.

How is the restaurant in Melbourne different to the one in Sydney? Bistro Guillaume is all about the food I like to cook at home. Simple, rustic and flavoursome. I tend to show off more at the Opera House.

When you return to France, do you have a favourite restaurant? I love L'ami Louis in Le Marais, Paris. I have the pate, which is indescribable and the chicken. The servings are so big, so if you're going for dinner, forget lunch.

When you come to New Zealand what will you be talking about? I have a fondness for New Zealand. I asked my wife to marry me here. Thankfully she said yes. But I won't be talking about that, more likely how great the food and lifestyle are.

* The price for each weekend is $800 per person and includes luxury accommodation, degustation dinner with matched wines, tutored wine tasting, full breakfast and choice of a round of golf or a 50-min massage in the Day Spa. Kauri Cliffs ph (09) 407 0010 or Cape Kidnappers ph (06) 875 1900.