2021 BEEF + LAMB YOUNG AMBASSADOR FINALIST
“I entered this competition to inspire Maori and Pasifika youth to dream big, push through barriers, and see past their circumstances”
Lyall Minhinnick works at Fleurs Place in Moeraki. Having grown up in Auckland his journey to Moeraki is quite a story in itself that happened about two and a half years ago. Lyall headed to the South Island on a food tour with his partner, Aunty and Uncle - which also included the SIX60 concert in Dunedin. The night before the concert they were searching for the best seafood place to eat and somehow landed several hours up the road at Fleurs Place in Moeraki. Lyall returned after the concert and has never left.
Growing up he saw how his family were inspired by cooking and he got a lot of knowledge from his nan and his uncles helped which him to get where he is now. He remembers the food he and his nana made nourished them, but his passion for food inspired him to become more creative with his cooking –– he decided he wanted to be a chef.
Lyall left school at the age of 14 and began planning his life. He got a job at a gas station and worked there until he was old enough to start a hospitality course at Manukau Polytech. While studying he landed his first job as a kitchen hand. Watching the chefs communicating and enjoying what they were doing showed him commitment, leadership, teamwork and passion.
As a chef Lyall says he would love to put more Maori inspired food onto a menu and one day be able to open his own restaurant serving natural food that is soulful. He says a lot of people are getting back to their roots and foraging and as chef he wants to carry on doing that and to reach out to other Maori and Pacific people to do the same thing.
“I think young Lyall would be pretty proud because this Lyall is loving exactly where I am and what I am doing.”
Lamb rack, lamb belly crackling, beetroot pickled onion, beetroot ketchup, roasted fennel, cauliflower puree roasted harissa cauliflower, pickled cucumber and sea asparagus, raita and lamb jus.
Beef fillet with smoked beef cheek, oyster mushrooms, confit Maori potatoes, leek and fennel puree, laver-bread wafer, charred onion, Maori spinach dust, nori butter and jus.
READ MORE
BEEF DISH
Beef fillet with smoked beef cheek, oyster mushrooms, confit Maori potatoes, leek and fennel puree, laver-bread wafer, charred onion, Maori spinach dust, nori butter and jus.
Lyall wanted to reflect the beautiful environment where he works with the ocean lapping at the front door. Fleurs Place has a reputation for gathering, harvesting and working with what the area provides, such as locally grown oyster mushrooms, Maori potatoes, fennel and seaweed. He felt all these flavours would combine beautifully with the light clean flavour of a beef fillet, delicately sous vide for the most tender outcome.
To add a punch of flavour he chose to pair the fillet with an opposing flavour and texture of the more gelatinous beef cheek. He lightly smoked the beef cheek before braising to intensify and add a denser beef flavour to his dish.
“While foraging on my way to work, I decided I wanted to showcase the clean subtle flavours of the coastline herbs and vegetables of Moeraki. I felt they matched so well with the purity of New Zealand grown beef raised on the well-nourished soil of the farms it is grown on.”
LAMB DISH
Lamb rack, lamb belly crackling, beetroot pickled onion, beetroot ketchup, roasted fennel, cauliflower puree roasted harissa cauliflower, pickled cucumber and sea asparagus, raita and lamb jus.
Lyall chose a premium cut of French lamb rack as the star of his lamb dish and paired it with the off cuts - the lamb flap and fat cap to make a delicious lamb belly crackling. He says using these off cuts adds an interesting texture and flavour to the dish without overpowering the clean and subtle flavours of the rack. He made the lamb crackling by roasting down the flap and cap until crisp then combining it with smoked sea salt, smoked garlic and toasted fennel seeds, all flavours he felt would complement and enhance the flavour of the lamb. Once the lamb rack is cooked and cut this crispy crust is pasted back onto the lamb rack using Dijon mustard to stick the crackling onto the rack.
To get inspiration for his lamb dish, Lyall visited the historic Totara Estate Gardens. While there he took the time to learn about the history of the paddock to plate journey as well as harvesting heritage vegetables from their gardens to use on his lamb dish.
“Using all these vegetables and also now having the knowledge of the history of New Zealand lamb has given me inspiration to showcase our lamb through my dish and tell the story to our guests through what is on the plate.”
LYALL MINHINNICK
IN THE NEWS
