When a proud 90 year old grandfather takes the time to sit down and write a letter to The Wombat Post about his local grandson’s recent achievement it seems like there might be a story worth telling.
Matthew Carnell, the subject of the letter, recently competed in the Australian Chef of the Year competition being held as part of the Food Services Expo at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Matthew is the chef and owner of Bistro Terroir which has been running now for over seven years in Daylesford.
Matthew entered the competition last year but for various reasons was unable to compete and this year he was invited to compete as one of 300 chefs from around Australia. There was an interview process consisting of 10 questions followed by some cook-offs and ultimately it was narrowed down to 32 chefs from every state who would compete for the title. Matthew was included in those initial 32.
Over the course of two days, the 32 were divided into 8 teams of 4 to complete a “cook-off”. Matthew was in Team 7. All competitors were given a mystery box with all ingredients needing to be used in the menu. Matthew’s mystery box contained Rockling, Mussels, Scallops and Clams – perfect for him as he loves cooking with seafood – with 4 entrées and mains to be produced for the judges in an hour! Entrée was a Scallop Tartare with pickled clams and vegetables. The Main was Poached rockling in a provincial fish stew with mussels. Everyone was judged on flavour, presentation, cleanliness and organisation and would lose points for not keeping to time as well. Cooking up two courses in one hour when you’ve not seen the ingredients or had time to plan is no mean feat! Matthew’s secret? He always writes up a menu and workflow plan to help keep him on track, particularly when up against the clock.
Matthew won his heat and moved into the 8 finalists on Day 2 where it was sectioned into 2 heats of 4 competitors. Again, it was a mystery box situation with 4 proteins of Eye Fillet, Rockling, Prawns and Mussels and 1 hour to cook entrée and main course. For Entrée it was Beef Tartare with potato chips and a pomegranate reduction, for Main it was Butter Poached Rockling with steamed prawns and mussels and a citrus beurre blanc. Matthew finished 3rd in his heat – the judges loved his tartare, said it was the best they had had all week but the pomegranate reduction, in Matthew’s words, “threw it off’. I think Matthew is now swearing off using pomegranates again – he’s never really been a fan apparently – and that just sealed the deal!
For Matthew this competition was about inspiration for his restaurant team and his children – the whole family, including Grandad of course – observed Day 1. He said, “I really enjoyed the opportunity to compete and got what I wanted out of it. I particularly wanted my kids to see me having fun participating in a competitive environment whether you win or not. It was important for them to see me giving it my best.”
So will he compete again next year? This year’s winner received $6000 but next year’s will receive $30,000 so it’s very tempting but depends on whether he gets invited!
What’s next for Matthew? Well he’s now a participant in a family winery so learning to make wine is a high priority where the plan is to rebuild up the winery and make a wine specifically for Bistro Terroir. Watch out for that release next year.
Thank you Frank Carnell for bringing this story to our attention. To know that Daylesford and Hepburn has a chef that finished in the Top 8 of the Australian Chef of the Year amongst all our other fabulous chefs and restaurants is just another feather in our region’s cap. We certainly punch above our weight here in Daylesford and Hepburn.
Related stories:
Burrow Banter with Matthew Carnell
