Nourish - November 2017

W

HASTIE: BBQ

MORE THAN

JUST MEAT

“I think people tend to be surprised

by things like the vegetables,” Lennox

Hastie says. “Obviously people expect

a lot from a piece of meat, and people

tend to be surprised when they see

we have a lot of fish and shellfish on

the menu. Which is obviously a lot

lighter. But when you haven’t got that

protein focus, you’ve just got a simple

vegetable that’s grilled on the coals and

finished with a bit of olive oil and salt,

and that’s it. It’s amazing how complex

and how delicious that can be.”

Wood, smoke, embers and ash – these

are some of the crucial ingredients in

Lennox Hastie’s restaurant, Firedoor.

Based in Surry Hills in NSW, it’s a

far cry from the traditional asadors of

Basque country, where he first learned

to cook with fire at a restaurant called

Etxebarri. But, as he’ll tell you, that’s

kind of the point.

“It’s very difficult to move away

from restaurants, especially when

they are such a seminal experience

in your life,” Hastie says. “I spent

five years there, and obviously I sort

of found my passion when it came

to working with fire. But when you

look at it, that restaurant in [the

Basque country] is very much a

product of its environment. It’s based

on the surrounding woods and the

ingredients and how those work

together. So it was very different

coming to Australia. It’s probably the

most diverse of any other, in terms of

those native Australian woods and the

ingredients we have here that don’t

exist anywhere else in the world.”

Firedoor is the only restaurant in

Australia where the menu is completely

‘fire powered’. A move that was

considered, even by Hastie, as a huge

risk. “I thought, if you really believe in

something you’ve just got to go with it,

so I decided to take the leap of faith and

I did it...but it does bring challenges on

a daily basis,” he says.

The first thing a chef at Firedoor

does when they get into the kitchen is

light a fire. Which, as anyone who’s a

keen camper can attest to, isn’t always

the easiest thing to do – even with all

the right tools.

“Even within summer and winter we

can notice a difference in how the wood

burns. And where the wood is coming

from, at different times of year and how

long it’s been seasoned – they all play a

part in how we operate because of the

fundamental role that wood-burning

process plays.”

One unique feature of Firedoor is

the f luid and improvised nature of the

menu, which is instigated by the nature

of Hastie’s chosen cooking technique.

“Fire is completely wild and

unpredictable, and that is absolutely

ref lected in the menu. Not only the

wood burning, but – because it’s such

a simple form of cooking – it relies on

the best quality ingredients of the day,”

Hastie says. “Sometimes we only get a

handful of these ingredients, because

the producer doesn’t have enough

to supply a commercial market, for

instance. Sometimes we’ll just get

a few portions of something, so we

print the menus every service, because

you’ve got ever-changing ingredients,

and that ever-changing nature of

the wood.”

In a restaurant environment, the

explosive nature of fire could spell

disaster. But not in Hastie’s kitchen.

He has taught each of his staff to not

only light a fire, but to understand the

harmony of heat.

FINDING FIRE WITH

Lennox Hastie's unique cooking style is both a homage to the wood-fired ovens of the

past and a nod to the blazing future of modern Australian cuisine. We spoke to him about

challenging our current definition of barbecue and the vast potential of cooking with fire. 

Words/Interview: MADDIE LAKOS

Photography: NIKKI TO

Lennox Hastie

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE

IN-SITE APP & SCAN PAGE

Scan here to watch

Lennox Hastie prepare the

famed Firedoor aged steak.