Garry Kindred is riding the wave of culinary success.
Garry Kindred is riding the wave of culinary success.
There aren’t many people who can claim to have cooked dinner for all the best surfers in the world in the one night. Not to mention, have them coming back for more year on year.
One man who can though, is Garry Kindred. Executive Chef at The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Garry and his team have been dishing up dinner at the World Surf League Awards for six years and it’s no wonder the surfing elite keep coming back.
The 2018 menu was next level with two tasty entrees to get the party started. First up was Black Sesame Cured Salmon with white soy, yuzu, pickled fennel, red radish and seaweed or Chilli Roasted Duck with preserved mandarin, amaranth, pomegranate and pistachio salad. So fancy.
For mains, the salty ones were offered Angus Beef Sirloin with tarragon Dijon king mushroom, potato gratin, greens and pan jus or Sage and Onion Chicken, crispy pancetta, sautéed gnocchi, seasonal greens and natural jus.
Not only was the food delicious and meticulously prepared, there were 200ish of each dish, which is a crazy feat in itself.
Side note: it’s quite the experience watching a team of highly qualified chefs prepare over 800 dishes in perfect harmony. Barely a moment of chaos to be seen.
The ability to produce such decadent dishes (in huge numbers) comes from Garry’s 12 years at the helm of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre’s culinary team. Combined of course, with a passion for quality, locally sourced produce and a total of over 25 years in the biz.
Garry began his stint in 2004 as a Sous Chef and today, along with a talented team comprising of Adam Hall and Alicia O’Brien, creates banquet menus made up of the tastiest of dishes.
They’ve done some incredible themed menus too. Think hundreds of tiny macaroons attached to parachutes falling from the ceiling. Wish we scored an invite to that one.
The point is this, the next time you’re invited to an event at the Convention Centre, GO, your tastebuds will be forever grateful.
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
