Vic Cherikoff heads north to the beachside suburb of Avoca where French Chef, André Chouvin runs Feast Restaurant. Every seat in the house commands stunning beach views, but more importantly it boasts some of the best food for many miles around.

Once occupied by the Awabakal Aborigines, the first European land grant in the vicinity was that of Irish army officer John Moore. He received a 640-acre grant of Aboriginal land in 1830 which he called Avoca and he built a house on a ridge overlooking Avoca Lake, just to the west of the beach. He planted cereals, fruit and grapes. In 1836 he was charged with cattle theft but was acquitted. He journeyed to the goldfields in the 1850s but while he was away, his house burned down. Today, Avoca beach has become a popular holiday retreat for Sydneysiders because of its close proximity to ‘the big smoke’.

Chef Andre’s food at Feast Restaurant is influenced by 3 star chef, Paul Bocuse as well as Michel Lorrain, Marc and Paul Haeberlin and uses the finest Australian produce, even though the menu is classic French. Feast’s kitchen brigade is regarded as one of the most skilled on the central coast and boasts a team of 7 chefs each shift. Andre’s food is extremely flavoursome as much as it is visual art. Two dishes which are symbolically served at Feast Restaurant are the Australian lamb loin and ratatouille as well as the golden cappuccino dessert. His lamb loin is served in a deconstruction style which is gaining popularity in Europe and the USA in recent times. The golden cappuccino is created in a chocolate cup and is served complete with mock-froth and cocoa dusting.

Web links

www.feast.com.au

Address

Shop 3, 85 Avoca Drive
Avoca, NSW, 2251
Australia

Recipes from this Episode

• Barralax on rainforest herb linguini
• Wattleseed pavlova
• Wine drenched lamb with Alpine Pepper mash

Other Episodes from this series

• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast
• Australia Day on Sydney Harbour
• Banjo Patterson’s Restaurant on the Parramatta River