100 GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU
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s a kid growing up in Sawtell on the north coast of New South
Wales, Beau Clugston spent many a weekend fishing and gathering
oysters in Boambee Creek with his best mate. That’s when he
wasn’t surfing. When the tide was low in the estuary they’d scrape the oysters off
the concrete pylons of the railway bridge that ran above the creek and eat them raw
on the spot. The fish would be grilled on a public barbecue nearby or taken home
to his mum for dinner. In those early teenage years Clugston was always the one
who manned the barbecue or made the toasties when mates came over.
“Without me knowing it, I had a passion for cooking,” says the 32-year-old,
reflecting on a culinary career that’s taken him from Sawtell to Sydney, London,
Copenhagen and now Paris. He’s mastered the techniques required of world-class
fine-dining restaurants and the wild creativity that’s a central tenet at Noma in
Copenhagen. Yet one of his most lasting impressions came from Aboriginal elders
in Acacia who showed him how to dig for mud clams with his feet and then cook
them on the campfire until they sang. “This is the recipe: light a fire, rinse off the
mud, throw on the fire, when it starts to whistle, take it off, eat – that’s it,” he says,
recalling a trip to the outback with Noma’s René Redzepi last year.
Clugston worked at Noma for six years, leaving after heading the kitchen in its
Sydney pop-up in 2016. He then moved to Paris where he took over Le 6 Paul Bert,
a bistro in the 11th arrondissement, in November. He called time after four months,
citing “creative differences” with owner Bertrand Auboyneau. But his passion for
Paris and determination to shake up its food scene are undiminished. “I feel like
I want to conquer Paris, that I’ve done good and bad and I want to continue that. The
story’s not over.” The best part of the experience is that he found the beginnings of
a culinary voice that’s a distillation of his 14-year career and his surfside upbringing
and won acclaim for deceptively simple dishes with pure, intense flavours.
“The food I cook is very raw. It can be just three ingredients – say kiwi, avocado
and caviar. It brings to bear everything I’ve learnt, especially from Noma – it’s
taste- and product-driven.” While he revels in the produce available in Paris,
compiling these recipes to feed the family and those mates who come over made
him “really homesick”. “It’s easy to get good stuff here but it’s hard to get incredible
stuff like you do back home. I still don’t think I’ve ever tasted better produce
anywhere else in the world.”
Potato salad and horseradish cream
“Restaurant Schønnemann is the go-to place in
Copenhagen for old-school smørrebrød and fish
(and schnapps, but that’s another story),” says Beau
Clugston. “We’ve had a few Noma Christmas parties
there. You always get whipped cream and horseradish
on top and this salad is an adaptation to suit our
Australian lifestyle.” Start this recipe a day ahead
to infuse the horseradish cream.
Prep time 35 mins, cook 20 mins
(plus infusing)
Serves 6-8 (pictured p98)
1 kg small new potatoes
200 gm (about 20) mixed cherry tomatoes,
halved
150 gm (1 small) telegraph cucumber,
half-peeled, cut into 1cm-2cm pieces
½ cup (loosely packed) dill, coarsely chopped
½ cup (loosely packed) 2cm chive batons
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Horseradish cream
200 ml pouring cream
20 gm (¼ cup) finely grated horseradish1 For horseradish cream, combine cream and
horseradish in a bowl, cover and refrigerate
overnight to infuse. Before serving, whisk to
soft peaks and season to taste. (If you don’t
have time to let the cream infuse, use lots
more horseradish.)
2 Place potatoes in a large saucepan of cold
salted water, bring to the boil, then simmer
until just tender (15-18 minutes). Drain and
set aside in the pan to steam dry and cool,
then halve.
3 Combine tomatoes, cucumber and herbs in
a bowl, add potatoes and mix well. Season to
taste. Whisk olive oil and vinegar together to
combine and toss through salad. Serve with
horseradish cream as a dipping sauce.“ThefoodIcookisvery raw– it can be just three
ingredients. It brings to bear everything
I’ve learnt, especially from Noma.” BEAU CLUGSTON