GOOD AS GOLD
There’s a humpback whale blowing off steam in the middle distance, and closer to shore board-riders and swimmers breasting the waves. We’ve scored a coveted lunch spot out on the deck at The Tropic, hard up against the railing directly above the beach at Burleigh Heads, on the southern end of Queensland’s Gold Coast. Looking northwards along the sand, spectacular views stretch all the way up to the high-rises of Surfers Paradise.
Sitting temptingly between us is a sunshine-yellow table filled with small plates. There’s beef tartare with a tiny quail egg, white anchovies dressed in olive oil, taramasalata and a loaf of house sourdough – all the tasty handiwork of The Tropic head chef Guillaume Zika and his team.
Zika, once head chef at London’s now closed 2 Michelin star Hibiscus, is used to competing for attention with glorious vistas. The French expat headed the kitchen at Sydney’s prettily located Cottage Point Inn, when he first relocated to Australia with his Aussie wife. Then, he opened Mrs Sippy in Bali. He’s learned along the way exactly how to keep diners focused, no matter what else is in view.
“We use amazing produce and let it speak on the plate. It’s very chilled and the dining here is casual,” he says.
When the role at Burleigh Pavilion turned up after Zika returned from Bali, he couldn’t believe his luck. “I didn’t want to go back to Sydney,” he says. “There’s good energy here.”
It’s the kind of energy that’s infectious – and it’s pulling in lots of newcomers to the Gold Coast, where the population is booming. The Regional Movers Index, a report that tracks the flow of people from cities
