MICHAEL Ryan is just at home in a Japanese pub as in a fancy restaurant.
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The award-winning Beechworth-based chef said some of his favourite meals were in izakaya – Japanese gastropubs that serve bar snacks and after-work drinks.
Long inspired by Asian food and culture, Ryan now hosts tours to his favourite parts of Japan.
“Japan is a great place to eat at all levels from a bowl of noodles right through to high-end Michelin stuff,” he said.
Having opened Provenance at Beechworth with partner Jeanette Henderson in 2008, Ryan has skillfully applied Japanese techniques to his contemporary Australian fine-dining menu inspired by North East produce.
Since 2011 he has held on to two chefs hats in The Age Good Food Guide and was named best new country restaurant in 2010.
“It’s never the goal to get hats,” Ryan said.
“Awards are good and they do drive business to you.
“But we do what we do as well as we can do and hopefully people will notice.”
Provenance was listed at No. 34 in Gourmet Traveller Top 100 Australian Restaurants 2017.
The restaurant will host a cocktail night with canapes open to the public on Monday from 5pm, to mark Melbourne Cup Eve.
What's your favourite dish?
For a comfort food dish, it’s a good roast chicken cooked over coals.
What's the biggest product discovery you have made in cooking?
Most recently, Long Lane Capers from Mansfield. When you open the lid it smells like flowers; intense and beautiful.
What are the staples in your pantry?
Chilli sauce; Kewpie mayonnaise; Vegemite – I love it; dried noodles; Asian stuff, it’s what I like to cook.
What's your secret vice?
Kewpie mayonnaise
What is your most unforgettable meal and where?
For me, it’s about serendipity as much as the food. Company is what makes a great dinner. I like izakaya (Japanese gastropubs that serve small, typically inexpensive, dishes with drinks).
What's your favourite cooking utensil?
Chef’s knife
What's in your kitchen toolkit?
A good palette knife, a cleaver and a bone saw.
What did you have for dinner last night?
I went to the Empire Hotel (Beechworth) for bar snacks; I had betel leaves with salmon and other interesting dishes. Delicious!
What are you drinking?
Cocktails or sake.
Details:
Provenance,
86 Ford Street, Beechworth
Phone: (03) 5728 1786
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