Harvest Newrybar have appointed Alastair Waddell as head chef.
Waddell will be involved in all aspects of the business, from developing new dishes for the restaurant and creating bespoke menus for wedding and events to experimenting with the artisan bakery and its historic 108-year-old wood fired oven.
Waddell will also oversee the daily-changing offering at the boutique Harvest Deli.
The chef has been discovering all that the Byron Hinterland has to offer via weekly outings foraging with in-house wild food researcher Peter Hardwick.
Each Wednesday, the duo will present a selection of ideas and flavours on a plate after a day of foraging and developing (including pickling and fermenting) at the Wild Harvest Sessions.
As an advocate for root-to-stem cooking, Waddell is looking forward to working alongside Harvest’s permaculturists Rachel Rouse and Janene Price, and making the most of Harvest’s sprawling gardens, using all elements of their produce.
“Passion lies in utilising the food from the land around us, from local farms and foraged items to our own garden,” says Waddell.
“Building a close relationship with Hardwick [has helped me] unlock flavours from native ingredients and enhance dishes with the use of his unique ferments. I always look to extract the purest flavour from produce and serve it in a way that does the product justice.”
Dishes will include raw oysters with kelp oil and pandanus vinegar alongside kangaroo tartare and suckling pig.
