Bacchus delights with a rare Flavour Update

Chef Massimo Speroni offers insights on new dishes and flavours

After being appointed Head Chef at Bacchus Restaurant earlier this year, Massimo Speroni wasn't shy in putting his creative flair for food to work – creating a new layer to the overall dining experience in the form of a Raw & Share menu. Now, he's changing things up again with a flavour update starring Australian seafood and Kangaroo, as well as new takes on Italian favourites!      

Chef Speroni's updated menu celebrates food through his own lens, and while Bacchus is famed for the range of extraordinary Degustation's offered, the A La Carte menu commands its own stage, and this is where he has focused his flavour-sharp eye.   Gone is the notion that Bacchus is a special event fine diner, rather, the restaurant is simply a home to brilliant flavour adventures, from a single steak, to a decadent dessert, to a 7-course culinary journey (imagery available on request, example attached).

The Flavour Update:

With Spring and Summer well and truly arrived, the Raw & Share menu is designed to entice diners. The Salmon Tartare with Pere Labat 50° Mojito jelly and fennel is a new and standout flavour-infused experience. It joins the Snapper Carpaccio with cucumber, yoghurt and Oscietra caviar Beef Tartare with quail egg, shallot, lemon and mustard dressing, among many others that begin the culinary adventure at Bacchus.

Chef Speroni talks of the 24 hour 75 degree Tongue dish which is served with char-grilled avocado and white balsamic gel as one of the dishes he is most proud of. “The Tongue is a difficult cut to find in restaurants and not an easy one to sell. We cook it for 24 hours sous-vide with a mix of herbs, spices and extra virgin olive oil. This dish is a mix of Australian and Italian ingredients.”

The Entrée menu features three new dishes: Fraser Island crab with avocado and basil pesto; grilled octopus from Freemantle in Western Australia with wasabi and cauliflower puree, and spinach and tapioca chips with smoked burrata, eggplant and chilled tomato.

A surpise is the Gnocchi dish and Chef Speroni warns not to be fooled by the name. “The name evokes their shape and the idea behind the dish, but they are prepared completely differently. I call them 'pillow fish' as they are created from a fish base, with fresh cream and egg white. The dish is full of flavour, served with sautéed mussels, grilled and deep-fried calamari, fresh tarragon, confit tomato and a classic cannellini beans puree and topped with a mussel sauce.”

It's in the Mains area that Chef Speroni has made his flavour changes felt, with three new dishes and an update to a fourth.  Kangaroo sourced from Paroo premium farm in NSW has been introduced, served with celeriac, lemongrass, brussel sprouts and horseradish, with Chef Speroni enamored with the tender qualities of the cuts. Also new is the Salmon dish with black turtle bean, parsley gel, green beans and puff rice. The much-loved Risotto dish remains on the menu, but tweaked – it now presents with herbs, fennel, chevre and blood orange dust!

In a nod to his origins, Chef Speroni has introduced Ravioli to the repertoire. “These are not traditional ravioli – there are just three flavours: parsley, garlic and gazpacho. The ingredients work together in a beautiful way, and diners are surprised when they finally taste one, for they are liquid.”

Also put under the microscope is the Grill menu, with the result now a clever curation of Australian seafood, including the famed Kingfish, and beef.

To Dessert!  While the five options many sound simple in Banana, Chocolate, Lemon, Apple and Coconut, anyone who has dined at Bacchus knows the presentation and preparation involved is worthy of any artwork hanging at GOMA..

Chef Speroni explains the newest addition – LEMON. “Lemon stars Limoncello, Lemon Jam, Lemon Candy and meringue. The idea come from the beautiful and rich tasting desserts in Naples and Capri, where a friend has a restaurant and I have spent much time. This is the perfect dessert for Summer Brisbane season – the lemon is full of power but at the same time fine and delicate.”

Wine connoisseurs and newbies alike are well looked after with the Bacchus wine selection featuring a world-class list of over 200 offerings – curated by Sommelier Andrew Giblin. Chef Speroni and Giblin have worked hard together to match wines and enhance the flavours of all dishes.

Speroni joined the Bacchus team in January this year, direct from the 2 Michelin-starred restaurant San Domenico in Imola, Italy where he was Sous Chef, working with owner-chef Valentino Marcattilii. He also worked with Chef Marcattilii in his formative years as a Chef de Partie and Junior Sous, and credits the famed Italian chef for much of his flavour preferences now.

He brings with him star-studded experience – having worked at the 1 Michelin-starred restaurant Café le Paillotes in Pescara, under Chef Consultant the acclaimed Heinz Beck from the 3 Michelin-starred La Pergola. At the opening of the five-star Romeo Hotel in Naples he worked under Chef Andrea Aprea and for the high summer season of 2014, he was Head Chef at the Hotel Monte Del Re's fine dining restaurant.

Bacchus Restaurant is lauded as one of Brisbane's leading dining experiences and has won numerous awards across food, service and wine. Detailed service and a very genuine love of food and wine are its signatures. Bacchus is also the home of Dom Pérignon in Queensland, the first and only in Queensland and one of only three venues in Australia.

ENDS

For more information, imagery, menus and more please contact Kath Rose & Associates on 07 3357 9054 or 0416 291 493 or email kath@kathrose.com