Meet the man who turned the humble betel leaf into a must-have flavour experience.
Sydney chef Martin Boetz has not only created some of Australia’s most exciting Thai infused dishes at his multi-award winning Longrain restaurants but inspired thousands of householders with his cookbook Modern Thai Food.
Unfortunately he has no plans to create a Longrain in Perth but luckily the wily team at BamBOO, in Mount Lawley, have convinced him to fly over annually and provide a night of sumptuous feasting, including signature Longrain cocktails.
This year the focus will be on WA’s fresh seafood by Catalano’s.
‘It’s easier on the barbecue and it cooks quicker this way and I know that WA has a good selection of seafood such as dhufish and scampi,’ Boetz said from his Sydney restaurant.
‘One thing I will be doing which isn’t seafood is the Thai beef salad but I will be making betel leaf with dhufish, which will be roasted in the wood-fired oven there.’
A seafood curry created in a sizzling paella pan with Thai basil will also be on the menu.
Boetz said the secret to good Thai food was getting the right balance between the hot, sweet, sour and salty.
‘Reading and practicing and talking to people who are good at creating Asian food’ were his biggest tips.
When in Thailand he spends most of his time in Bangkok and when Thai food becomes too much he will cook himself some rustic Italian.
Although originally trained in western restaurants, Boetz together with sommelier Sam Christie created Longrain around the concept of communal long tables to recreate Asian style banquet dinning in a sophisticated warehouse-style setting in Sydney’s Surrey Hills in 1999.
By that time Boetz had been working as the head chef at Sailors Thai for a number of years and took his knowledge to create an award-winning formula for modern cuisine, which saw the birth of his second restaurant in Melbourne’s Little Burke Street five years later.
‘They’re two different people. It’s like they have different personalities even though I thought they would be similar,’ Boetz said.
‘Sydney and Melbourne people have different tastes and like different things so it took a while to create a loyal following in Melbourne.
‘(For example) braised veal chin is not popular in Melbourne but is exhaustingly ordered in Sydney, which I find bizarre.’
Boetz will be joined by 42 Below’s Jeremy Shipley and Luxe Bar’s Andy Freeman, who will style Pacific Pash and Soho-la cocktails muddled from fresh mint, lychees, limes, pineapple and vodka.
Clare Valley’s Knappestein wines will also be served with the three course meal, with tickets available at $100 per person from the website www.bamboobamboobamboo.com
Aja Styles
