Fresh from winning this year's Hunter Culinary Association Food Fight, chef Tim Montgomery has turned his attention to tuna.
He is joining Nicolas Pedemonte in Âpé Chilean Nikkei Restaurant's kitchen on July 23 for the much-anticipated Tuna, Fire and Friends as part of the second annual Newcastle Tuna and Seafood Festival.
The month-long tuna and seafood festival has officially reached the halfway mark.
Each of the four courses by Montgomery and Pedemonte will be paired with a premium wine by the award-winning Andrew Thomas Wines.
"These collaborative dinners present a wonderful opportunity for chefs to put themselves outside their comfort zones or the constraints of their everyday restaurant offering and give the guests a truly interesting and unique dining experience," Montgomery told Food & Wine.
"Cooking over coals and blending Asian, Latin American and European cooking styles is very exciting and a fantastic opportunity for me to get creative and think outside the square.
"A close friend of mine is actually from Chile and we often cook together socially. I'm probably going to use at least one of his recipes in my menu at Âpé."
Montgomery is executive chef at The Maryville Tavern, where he and his team have added a limited-edition dish to this year's Tuna and Seafood Trail, available this month only during the festival: Aleppo-crusted southern bluefin tuna served with crispy eggplant, a golden raisin and almond agrodolce, and wild sorrel.
"The inspiration stemmed from our head chef Luke McEnallay and myself discussing Chinese crispy sweet and sour eggplant," he said.
"We developed a more European version that really works with the natural richness of tuna.
"It's been amazing to see how it's been so well received by our guests at the Maryville. I feel that the Newcastle public have really gotten behind the tuna festival and seafood trail activations this year."
There are more than 40 seafood dishes to sample on this year's Newcastle Tuna Festival Seafood Trail as well as 10 feature events. Participating chefs have put a lot of thought and creativity into their dishes, using everything from mussels, tuna, salmon and prawns to snapper, crab and mahi mahi.
Âpé Chilean Nikkei Restaurant's seafood trail dish is a "Chilean Tuna Sando" that Pedemonte says is inspired by the "sandwich marino", a popular seafood sandwich from northern Chile.
"We've reimagined it using local Australian tuna while incorporating Japanese techniques and flavours that reflect our Nikkei style of cooking," he said.
"The word Nikkei literally means 'of Japanese descent' or 'Japanese diaspora'. In the culinary world, it refers to the cuisine created by Japanese immigrants and their descendants, particularly in Peru, where Japanese techniques were combined with local ingredients and flavours.
"Today, Nikkei cuisine has evolved beyond Peru. At Âpé, our interpretation is Chilean-Japanese Nikkei, where we combine traditional Japanese techniques with Chilean ingredients, flavours and cooking influences. Chile has an incredible seafood culture and produce that naturally complements Japanese cuisine, making the two traditions feel like they belong together."
Pedemonte said the collaborative dinner at Âpé on July 23 promised to be memorable, "whether you're passionate about seafood or live-fire cooking or simply love discovering new food experiences".
"Tim is creating one entree and one main course, while I'm responsible for the appetiser, one entree and the dessert," he said.
"One of the entrees will showcase premium tuna, while the remaining courses will celebrate Australian seafood.
"Our aim is to highlight the quality of the produce through Japanese techniques, charcoal cooking and balanced flavours. Guests can expect fresh acidity, umami, smoke and subtle fermentation, creating dishes that are vibrant, clean and designed to let the seafood shine.
"Each chef brings their own perspective, making every course different, and giving diners a chance to experience flavours and techniques they won't usually find on one menu."
Tuna festival organiser Taiyo Namba said the response to this year's event had been "amazing". He's heard from many participating venue owners and chefs, all of them happy with how their special seafood dishes are selling.
Many have been selling out, such is the demand.
"Hotels have got back to me saying there are more 'staycations' and people from outer Newcastle coming into the city for the event than they thought they would get, and hotels are pushing people to tuna festival venues, which is great," Namba said.
"I'd love to build on that momentum and encourage everyone to get out, support the venues over the next two weeks, and try something new.
"Don't forget to have your seafood trail festival passport stamped for the chance to win $5000 worth of travel vouchers, along with plenty of other great prizes."
