All shook up
It’s the little things that count. Certainly, that’s the case with Adam Wolfers’ cooking at Middle Eastern restaurant Gerard’s Bistro in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. Since moving north earlier this year to run Gerard’s kitchen, the former Sydney chef of Ételek and Yellow fame has been busy reworking the menu.
Myriad clever details now elevate Gerard’s contemporary take on Middle Eastern share plates, making you pause and reassess what you think you know about the cuisine. It’s progressive Middle Eastern, remastered.
A case in point: Wolfers’ hot riff on zhoug, the spicy green Yemeni sauce which, at Gerard’s, sees fiery fermented chilli mixing it up with intensely flavoured coriander root to powerful effect. “The fermented chilli gives it a real kick,” says Wolfers. “Traditionally, zhoug is a spicy condiment that uses raw chillies, garlic and coriander leaves, but we do it differently.”
Wolfers also rejigs the standard köfte, adding a dose of local flavour. Kangaroo mince is served moulded around a bone, with a tahini dipping sauce that’s fermented and given a boost with chickpea miso. It’s an umami-laden explosion that works perfectly with the spiced-up roo and accompanying chilli oil.
“There’s so much diversity to Middle Eastern cuisine. We’re just scratching the surface,” says Wolfers, who’s tapping into his family’s Sephardic links at Gerard’s, as well as taking inspiration from local produce. “I’ve been doing lots of reading and we’re working with farms to create diversity. It’s really exciting.”
Wolfers’ dishes are presented simply, but they’re richly layered with texture and flavour. Skills picked up working at Sydney’s plant-based Yellow also inform what’s on the table, with vegetables taking central roles: cabbage threaded onto skewers and smoked, for example; celeriac “flatbreads” providing a tortilla-like accompaniment to lamb
