Delicious Australia – (12)December 2019

MARKLABROOYSTRETCHEShislong

frameandcaststhelurewideintothe

ocean.TheThreeBlueDuckschefis

fishingforhisdinner– andours.

Conditionsseemperfect,theocean

a glossyblue,butthefisharen’tbiting.

Fortwohourswe’rewithoutluck(couldit

bethediscobeatsweareblaringfromthe

boat?)untilourjovialMaldivianskipper

decidestohaltanddrophandlines.

Successis quick– LaBrooyreelsin 15

sizeablespecimensin rapidsuccession,

identifyingeachlikea pro,whilethecrew

chipin tocatchdozensofredemperor,

coraltrout,pearlperch,mangrovejack

andjobfish.A feastis imminent,although

nothankstome– mycontribution,a puffy

littlelemon-colouredtriggerfish,

unsurprisinglydoesn’tmakethecutfor

tomorrow’smenu!

WhentheThreeBlueDuckslaunched

theirrestaurantat WBrisbanelastyear,

littledidtheyknowtheglobalwavesit

wouldmake.Hotelmanagementwere

impressedwiththeirlaid-backluxury

ethos,andtakeoversof theWMaldivesand

Baliensued.LaBrooy’slaconicresponseto

theidea:“Cool,let’sgettropical!”

Yetwhiletheirrelaxedsurferreputation

maybedeserved,theDuckscreware

equallya hardworking,drivenbunch.It’s

whythey’vecomesofarfromthelittle

Brontecafetheyopenedin 2010(with

chefsDarrenRobertsonandAndyAllen

joiningtomakesixducksalongtheway).

Anavidhunter,diver,surfer,fisherman

andall-roundmodern-dayAlbyMangels,

LaBrooyis clearlyin hiselementin the

wild.Whileat seahespotsschoolsofbait

fish,pullsonhisdivinggearandjumpsout

in themiddleoftheoceanastherestofus

quavernervouslyontheboat.“Youcould

dropmeanywhereandI’dbeabletofeed

myselfandsurvive,”hesays.

Luckilyforus,thatincludesthe

WMaldives– a compact,picture-perfect

islandin NorthAriAtoll(oneof 26 atolls

andnearly 1200 islandsin theMaldives)

with 77 villasdottedoverthebeachor

oceanwithincredibleviews,private

plungepools,thrivingreef,sixeateries

andbars,anda ‘Whatever,Whenever’

philosophy.It’sanatmosphereof

decadentfun,witha residentDJplaying

tracksthroughoutthedayormanningthe

privateyacht,musicpumpingasyou

motorontoa desertedsandbarin the

middleoftheoceanfora sparklingswim.

Staffdanceandlaugh,andourWInsider

(a sortofsuper-chargedconcierge)

Chunky,whowasnamedaftera Bollywood

superstar,happenstomagicallyappear

wheneveryousomuchasthinkabout

needinghim.

AttheoutdoorKadarestaurant,resident

headchefNorbertoPalacios,an

ArgentinianbywayofMacau,recycledan

oldfirepittobuilda largeopenbarbecue

andusesit oncea weekfora bigcook-up

onthesand.Weeatwahoo,a fishrelated

tokingmackerel,thathassweet,mild

whiteflesh.It takeslessthananhourto

cookoverthecoals,flavouredsimplywith

lemonandoliveoil,andservedin tacos

withspritzes.

WhathappenswhenThreeBlueDuckstakeoverthekitchen

atWMaldives?Aseditor-in-chiefKerrieMcCallumdiscovers,

it’sanepicislandparty,anda menunottobemissed.

PHOTOGRAPHYJARRADSENG

ISLAND

@kerrie_mccallum @threeblueducks

TAKEOVER

176 delicious.com.au

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