From Opera House to Great Barrier Reef Brahimi Cooking up a Whitsunday Feast

February 2012: Hamilton Island’s first Great Barrier Feast event of 2012 (Friday 6th – Sunday 8th July) will see celebrated Australian chef, Guillaume Brahimi, of Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant, swap his Sydney Opera House residence for a Whitsunday kitchen. (www.hamiltonisland.com.au/feast) Launching the third year of the intimate Great Barrier Feast series, Brahimi joins an impressive Australian line up of acclaimed chefs that have taken the helm in previous years (read more). Held at Hamilton Island’s luxury resort, qualia, (www.qualia.com.au) the weekend will showcase the best Whitsundays and Australian haute cuisine with gourmands being treated to a once in a lifetime up close and personal weekend with leading culinary and wine experts. The weekend includes: Friday night welcome dinner: qualia‘s new executive chef, Alastair Waddell (read more), will present an opening night welcome dinner with wines paired and discussed by celebrated wine expert James Halliday. Saturday, master classes: two in-depth master classes will be offered with the guest chef leading up to Brahimi’s showpiece degustation dinner. Saturday night, showpiece dinner: held in qualia’s breathtaking Long Pavilion and presented by Brahimi. Throughout the weekend esteemed restaurant critic Simon Thomsen will emcee the event. Brahimi’s culinary prowess stems from his Parisian homeland where he worked at three-star Michelin restaurants, La Tour d'Argent and at Joel Robuchon’s Jamin, before emigrating to Australia. In late 2001, Brahimi took over the flagship restaurant at the Sydney Opera House, Bennelong, naming it Guillaume at Bennelong and meteoric accolades have followed. He also owns Bistro Guillaume at Southbank’s Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne. Honoured to launch this year’s Great Barrier Feast series, Brahimi said, “It is a real privilege to be able to celebrate the best of Australian cuisine in such a stunning location and swap my kitchen view of the Sydney Harbour for the Whitsundays Coral Sea. I’m also excited to work closely with Alastair since he was my Chef de Partie five years ago at my Melbourne restaurant Bistro Guillaume.” It’s fitting that qualia’s new executive chef, Alastair Waddell, will make his Great Barrier Feast debut with Guillaume, a previous mentor. At qualia, Waddell says his cuisine style is inspired by “the resort’s stunning island vistas and belief in creating menus that are light, fresh and healthy – always respecting the natural flavours and textures in the Whitsunday’s local produce.” Luxury accommodation packages: Guests can choose between the below accommodation packages for the gourmet weekend which includes the ‘Welcome’ and ‘Showpiece’ dinners and tickets to both master classes. Luxury resort of qualia, package prices start from AU$1,695 per person sharing Boutique Beach Club, packages are from AU$1290 per person sharing For groups up to eight people, stay at the new waterfront Hamilton Island Yacht Club Villas, room only rates are from AU$1350  Tickets for both dinners, welcome and showpiece, are an additional AU$720 total per person. Package inclusions consist of: Two nights’ accommodation Breakfasts both days ‘Welcome Dinner’ by qualia Executive Chef, Alastair Waddell ‘Showpiece Dinner’ on Saturday night prepared by Guillaume Brahimi Tickets to both master classes VIP chauffeur service VIP return Hamilton Island Airport/Marina transfers and use of non-motorised watercraft  qualia packages also include the hire of a golf buggy. Guests must be 18 years or over to attend the Great Barrier Feast event.To book: go to www.hamiltonisland.com.au/feast Biographies: Guillaume Brahimi, Guillaume at Bennelong, Sydney, www.guillaumeatbennelong.com.au - Guillaume Brahimi was born in Paris, France on 11 August, 1967 and became an Australian citizen in 1994. Guillaume’s passion for cooking began at an early age. Following a two year apprenticeship at Aux Charpentiers, he accepted a position as Commis at the three-star Michelin restaurant, La Tour d'Argent, progressing during his three and a half years to Chef de Partie. During his four years with Robuchon, he progressed from Chef de Partie to Sous Chef and was ready to accept his next challenge – a move to the other side of the world, Australia. After investigating the restaurant market in Australia, Guillaume opened a small restaurant in Sydney called Pond. Within only six months of opening, Pond earned a record breaking Two Chef Hats and a 16/20 rating. After his meteoric success with Pond, he was approached by the owner of the prestigious Sydney restaurant, Bilsons at Circular Quay. He enthusiastically accepted this challenge and after two years was awarded Three Chef Hats, Best French Restaurant and an increased rating of 18/20. During this time he was also a finalist for two years in "Gourmet Traveller Magazine, Restaurant of the Year". In late 2001, he was awarded the prestigious and much sought after contract to take over the flagship restaurant at the Sydney Opera House, Bennelong. Guillaume worked with leading Australian architect, Dale Jones-Evans to refurbish this spectacular venue and opened the restaurant in November 2001 as Guillaume at Bennelong. By early 2002, the restaurant was named by Conde Nast Traveller as one of the top 50 new restaurants in the world. Guillaume is also committed to various charities operating in Sydney. He is an active board member of The Sydney Cancer Centre Foundation and the Bestest Foundation. He has also hosted many charity events at his Restaurant, including the Sydney Children’s Hospital’s Silver Party for three consecutive years, and a fundraising event supporting Breast Cancer Research. Alastair Waddell, qualia, Hamilton Island, http://www.qualia.com.au - Alastair Waddell has been appointed executive chef at qualia. He previously held the position of sous chef for nearly three years under the tutelage of qualia’s former executive chef, Jane-Therese Mulry. Prior to qualia, Waddell was chef de partie at the 2 hatted Bistro Guillaume in Melbourne. Preceding his move to Australia, Waddell worked in his home town in Glasgow, Scotland with renowned chef, Paul Tamburrini. He held the position of sous chef at The Bistro, at One Devonshire Gardens hotel and the Georgian room in Cameron House, Loch Lomond. Both hotels were awarded the prestigious 3 AA Rosette rating. He’s passionate about the ‘nature cuisine’ movement led by Noma restaurant in Denmark and believes in giving the greatest respect to nature in his cooking, always using local produce when possible and recognising the importance of flavour, texture and presentation. At qualia, Waddell’s cuisine is inspired by the resort’s stunning island vistas, creating menus that are light, fresh and healthy. However, as a proud Scotsman, he has introduced black pudding to the menu which is now one of the resort’s most popular main courses. James Halliday, Wine critic and author, www.winecompanion.com.au - James’ career started in law, before moving into winemaking, writing and judging in the 1970s. Since establishing the wineries of Brokenwood and Coldstream Hills, Halliday has written over 60 books and been a significant contributor to others, including Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson Pocket Guide. Many of his books have been translated into other languages, such as French, German and Japanese. He continues to write, judge and consult and has a weekly wine column for the Weekend Australian newspaper. He is often described as ‘Australia’s leading wine writer’. Simon Thomsen, Restaurant critic, www.simonthomsen.com - Simon is the restaurant critic for The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. His reviews appear in the taste.com.au food and wine section every Tuesday. He has written award-winning stories about food and travel for numerous publications, including The Weekend Australian Magazine. He’s worked as a restaurant critic for 15 years and spent the last six years as editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. Simon hosts a weekly talkback slot about food on Sydney’s ABC 702 with Deb Cameron every Thursday at 10.45am. He has appeared on Masterchef, was a judge on Iron Chef Australia and featured in two SBS documentaries, High Steaks and Heat in the Kitchen.