Chefs' Recipes

"Strangely enough, rosemary loves coconut and this makes a great refreshing dessert to eat any summer's day," says Dave Verheul.

This was one of the first dishes we had on the menu at Ester," says Mat Lindsay. "I suggest putting a mussel and a pickle on top of some freshly grilled bread or a potato chip and dipping it into aïoli - a DIY canapé."

Don't be fooled: this rich fondant-like cake is so simple to prepare it could soon become your standby for all those moments when a last-minute dessert is required.

This riff on the classic Australian snack by Poly's head chef Mat Lindsay is a more grown-up version, but just as moreish.

By cooking leeks whole - tough outer layers and all - you achieve a wonderfully tender result with the flesh inside.

Pineapple roasted rôtisserie-style is a revelation. It could only be a dessert by Mat Lindsay of Ester and Poly.

We've teamed up with OzHarvest and Kylie Kwong to create Gourmet Leftovers: a fried rice that uses up your Christmas produce.

We've teamed up with OzHarvest and Darren Robertson to create Gourmet Leftovers: a zucchini salad that uses up any odd ends from Christmas.

There's not a lot of meat on quails so the best way to eat these is with your hands - pull them apart, dip them in the sauces and get a bit messy," says Mat Lindsay.

"This dish has been a mainstay since Liberté opened," says chef Amy Hamilton. "It's pure party food; fun, and deceptively easy."

"Spicy 'nduja and octopus are a great match," says Andreas Papadakis. "We make the 'nduja into a dressing for the perfect balance of spicy and salty."

"This tempura batter gets really crisp and works really well with the garlic-scented soft almond purée in the flowers," says Andreas Papadakis. "It's the perfect snack for a dinner party."

"This is inspired by a very simple Roman pasta dish, cacio e pepe, meaning cheese and pepper," says Andreas Papadakis.

"Fennel's flavour changes dramatically as you grill it, and it gives it more depth," says Andreas Papadakis.

"Hazelnuts make this dish unique with their fragrance," says Andreas Papadakis. "It's a simple dish and making the base sauce in advance makes things a lot simpler."

This bright pea risotto recipe is the perfect way to welcome spring - and it hails from one of our favourite Hobart restaurants, Fico.

"Like with any fish tartare, the freshness of the fish is very important," says Andreas Papadakis. "Spanish mackerel is an oily fish and requires a little acidity, which comes from the pickles."

"This is our take on berries and cream, with the addition of a simple and delicious spice cake and caramelised white chocolate," says Andreas Papadakis.

Seek out some top-shelf cream – you'll taste the difference.

With sweet pastry, an almond filling and crème Chantilly.

This wattleseed and honey cake is from Adam Wolfers' Sydney pop-up, Casoni.

A soul-reviving soup.

"Ramblr's muscat custard and quince is one of my all-time favourite desserts - can you please publish the recipe?" - Antonio Rossi, Prahran, Vic

"I'm a big fan of the mussels in vermouth with nettle butter at Banksii. I'd love to know how to make it." - Hayden Winter, Bowral, NSW

"Could you print the recipe for Aria Brisbane's fried Brussels sprouts dish? It's simply delicious." - Anjali Iyer, Burleigh Heads, Qld

"Sang choi bau, a staple of Chinese-Australian restaurants, is one of my favourite Chinese classics," says Kylie Kwong. "I love the contrast of textures and temperatures"

"This Cantonese classic needs no introduction, and needs little in the way of tweaking to bring it up to date," says Kylie Kwong.

This roast chicken recipe is sourced from Epocha restaurant in Carlton, Victoria.

"This beautifully simple dish is a direct reflection of who I am and where I've come from," says Kylie Kwong.

The chef's take on the Cantonese classic.

Chef Kylie Kwong still enjoys her mum's chiffon cake topped with seasonal citrus fruit, making room for a slice every time she brings it into Billy Kwong.

"Lemon chicken is one dish I don't look back at with nostalgia - there's no love lost there," says Kylie Kwong. "This is my interpretation, which steers well clear of the processed sauces from a jar."

"The spicy eggplant at Sydney's Good Luck Pinbone is one of my favourites. Would you get the recipe?" - Susan Ridge, Bowral, NSW

"Would you please ask Iberia in Adelaide to share the recipe for its caldoso?" - Jill Sawyer, Adelaide, SA

"Everyone loves fried rice. Growing up, we'd have it twice a week, and even devoured it cold," says Kylie Kwong. "XO sauce takes it to another level."

"The saffron spätzle dish at Lulu La Delizia is spectacular. I'd be most grateful for the recipe." - Luka Weber, Fremantle, WA

This recipe for buttermilk waffles with rhubarb and rose compote is from Cornersmith's in Marrickville, Sydney.

"So simple yet so sublime," says Curtis Stone. "I love that these ultra-airy pancakes require no whisking of eggwhites to lighten them - the key lies in a very lumpy batter."

"Here's a peek at what's on the breakfast menu in LA's hipster neighbourhoods," says Curtis Stone, "and I'm a fan. Opt for a poached or fried egg on top, and use the sambal oelek at your discretion."

A fluffy omelette with all the trimmings, direct from Proud Mary Café in Collingwood.

"Guajillo chillies give the smooth chilli sauce here just the right amount of heat," says Curtis Stone. "The sauce is married with crisp tortilla chips for this popular Mexican breakfast dish."

"Think of this as twice-baked brioche," says Curtis Stone. "Once baked, they're the perfect combination of creamy, custardy and crunchy, all at the same time."

"One bite of these crisp, buttery waffles and you'll never go back to regular waffles again," says Curtis Stone.

"The granola at Pigeon Hole in Hobart tastes like no other. Could you ask for the recipe? " - Rajesh Anand, Auckland

"My best mate's father was a fisherman and he taught us how to fish," says Clugston. "On the weekends we'd catch blackfish and snapper in Boambee Creek and I'd take them home for Mum. This recipe is really about a super-fresh fish dressed simply with briny olives and crunchy nuts."

"I'd love to attempt the pumpkin galette at Fred's in Paddington. Can you publish the recipe?" - Jacinta Johnson, Woolloomooloo, NSW

Mini brioche filled with rhubarb jam makes for the perfect tea-time treat.

"Even though dried kelp or kombu is Japanese, it's always associated with Noma," says Clugston. "When you roast kombu it's rich and dark and packed with umami and salty, almost like liquorice."

"On a recent trip to Hong Kong I had the most amazing mushroom rice at Yardbird. Can you ask the chef to share the recipe, please?" - William Liu, Redfern, NSW

"Every time I go back to Australia we go on surf trips up to Yamba and we buy a couple of kilos of cooked prawns, and sit on the headland and eat them with a dipping sauce," says Beau Clugston.

"When I put a version of this on the menu at Le 6, I imagined summer back home on the north coast of New South Wales." says Clugston.

"Living in France, I'm influenced by what's eaten here, especially classic so-called peasant food like liver and onions," says Clugston.

"This is an idea I got when I was travelling around Australia with René Redzepi; the Aboriginal elders threw the clams or oysters on the fire until they sang," says Clugston.

Serve Babajan’s lamb lahmacun - Turkish flatbread topped with spiced lamb - hot out of the oven with a crunchy salad, sumac, olive oil and hummus.

This rich love cake recipe, fragrant with spices, made with semolina, cashew nuts and rosewater, has a fudge-like centre and lasts a good few weeks, getting better with age. What’s not to love?

Surprise your guests with this hot cocktail that pairs perfectly with black cake. It's a welcome end to a celebratory meal.

This deconstructed mushroom, onion and fennel omelette is made to be a side for braised lamb shoulder.

Rich with sweet spices and soured with tamarind, this black braised brisket dish is robust and hot. Serve it with O Tama Carey’s cabbage mallung and rhubarb achcharu.

The chewy texture and touch of South East Asian flavours adds a twist to the traditional crudités at holiday meals.

This sweet and hot rhubarb achacharu, a Sri Lankan pickled vegetable mix made with mustard seeds and ginger, perfectly complements O Tama Carey’s black beef brisket recipe, or any other rich meat dish.

"Who doesn't like doughnuts? In this case we flip the model and make them savoury umami bombs with the addition of parmesan and capers," says Achatz. "The pine-nut butter acts as a savoury frosting and the raisins add a slight sweetness."

"The flavours in this cleansing dessert combine to give a taste that's greater than its simple parts would have you imagine," says Carey.

"Admittedly, on the surface this dish seems a bit odd," says Achatz. "Cocoa, pumpkin, cardamom, lamb? This is a perfect example, however, of a technique we use frequently at Alinea called 'flavour bouncing'."

Vincent’s brioche bread and butter pudding is perfectly cut through by a rhubarb compote. Winter baking starts here.

"Twenty years ago when I was a young cook at The French Laundry in Napa, California, I was talking to a chef friend of mine in the kitchen who confidently claimed that ingredients sharing the same colour pair with each other and dared me to prove him wrong," says Achatz. "To this day, I still haven't, and this creamy, spicy and somewhat sweet white-on-white dressing proves it."

"This is a delicately spiced curry dish with lots of green flavours - bay leaves, green chilli - and a light curry powder," says Carey. "This dish uses some of my favourite flavours from both Italy and Sri Lanka."

O Tama Carey's lattice-like fried eggs drowned in a creamy curry sauce are perfect for a hearty breakfast but work just as well at any time of day. Serve them topped with seeni sambol, a Sri Lankan sweet-spiced caramelised onion relish.

The Henry Austin’s hearty braised beef shin is slow cooked until the meat is so tender it’s almost falling off the bone. Accompanied by their mixed grain salad and a herby yoghurt sauce, it's a perfectly balanced and comforting meal.

Fresh coconut and warm spices feature in O Tama Carey's cabbage mallung, a common dish in Sri Lankan meals. Serve it alongside her black braised brisket.

A chicken schnitzel is hard to go past; The Unicorn Hotel’s extra crisp panko breadcrumb version is impossible to resist. Serve it on mashed potato with parsley, lemon wedges and their flavour-packed gravy.

This riff on a dish from the Alinea opening menu uses dried Korean chilli threads to replicate the tingling sensation of spicy cinnamon chewing gum.

This warm cake gets gooier as the banana and olive oil ice-cream melts into a sauce. It'll remind you of the sticky puddings of your childhood.

Saint Peter's Josh Niland recommends these deliciously crunchy beer-battered onion rings as a side dish to his seafood-focused restaurant's staple, fish and chips.

“The caramel is a modern take on preserving, the hot caramel capturing the fruit’s flavour, like a refined jam,” says Saint Peter's Julie Niland.

In addition to the pork patties we’ve got here, Brisbane restaurant Hello Please serves this with pork belly that’s been simmered in an aromatic stock, pressed overnight, then pan-fried.

Isaac McHale's take on the classic mint ice-cream cone topped with chocolate flakes is sure to be a hit.

"Scallops and citrus have a wonderful synergy whether they're raw or cooked," says Saint Peter's Josh Niland.

Served with mountain bread, the smoky eggplant flavour of Blue Nile's Ethiopian eggplant dip is the perfect way to start your evening.

The classic English corned beef bun is taken to another level by London's Luca restaurant with a walnut, parmesan and horseradish sauce.

Fiery and briny pasta that will keep you coming back for more. And more.

Saint Peter's cured ocean trout, fennel creme fraiche and brioche toast- For brioche dough, combine yeast and milk in a small jug and stand in warm place until foamy.

"It's so important at Saint Peter that the fish and chips gets put on a pedestal as a dish of importance and luxury," says Josh Niland.

At London restaurant Luca, Isaac McHale's streamed trout is topped with a seaweed butter, reminiscent of his time at The Four In Hand bistro in Sydney's Paddington.

“If you don’t have surplus fresh berries, frozen are a perfect substitute; just give them a little more time in the sauce to warm through and soften,” says Saint Peter's Julie Niland.

This tasty combination of salt cod, charred capsicum and spinach makes the perfect antipasto dish.

"Spanish mackerel has a high oil content which lends itself to this acidic and mineral-driven garnish," says Saint Peter's Josh Niland.

Tivoli Road Bakery share their recipe for a stunning blood plum galette with a golden spelt pastry.

"This is a fabulous salad that really shows off the best of summer," says Saint Peter chef Josh Niland. "Look for fragrant peaches and heavy, juicy oxheart tomatoes."

Pork and fennel sausage finds a new life in Isaac McHale''s ragù, served here with dumpling-shaped gnocchetti Sardi. Anchovies add a small burst of umami.

At Melbourne's Ricky & Pinky, their steamed snapper is served with a Shaoxing wine-based Chinese broth spooned over. It's incredibly aromatic.

Start your day on a refreshing note with the nourishment of Ruby's Diner breakfast salad with poached eggs, avocado, kale, broccolli and other healthy herbs.

Monty Koludrovic, executive chef of Icebergs Dining Room and Bar and The Dolphin Hotel, shares his charcoal glazed pork neck, fragrant baked vegetables and laver sauce recipe.

Sydney salad delivery company Yield hit that perfect sweet spot between seasonality, good ideas and good taste.

Isaac McHale shares his recipe for the succulent roast rump of beef stuffed with pancetta served at Luca, his new London restaurant.

Como Shambhala shares their recipe for spiced chicken skewers, served with a grainy barley salad.

"Making strawberry ice-cream just got easier - with this no-churn version you don't need any special equipment," says Curtis Stone.

"Pandowdy is an American classic dessert - a bit like a crumble, but with discs of flaky pastry shingled over the fruity filling instead, allowing the strawberries to bubble up through the gaps," says Curtis Stone.

"My pit-smoked sweet potato is inspired by the hangi dinners I used to enjoy with my family in New Zealand," says Pontoon chef Lance Cameron. "It's served with sheep's milk yoghurt or goat's curd and lots of interesting textures, including toasted buckwheat, puffed wild rice, sunflower seeds, pepitas and crisp coconut. Feel free to add nuts, too - almonds, cashews and walnuts all work really well."

Bondi Trattoria's Joe Pavlovic perfects the meatlover's pizza; fior di latte cheese, charred eggplant, pork and fennel sausage, and salty jamón ibérico.

Annam's Jerry Mai delivers full-flavoured Vietnamese fare in this sweet and spicy pork dish.