By Leigh O’Connor.
If you can’t cut nicely chopped chives, then you had better get out of Chef Jordon Garcia’s kitchen!
This Adelaide-born Chef leads the restaurant crew at Chef-hatted Annata on Willoughby Road in Crows Nest, where Modern Australian fare and a chic restaurant ambience set the scene for a fine dining experience to remember.
Starting his career at an Italian restaurant on Lygon Street in Carlton, Jordon climbed the ladder of success learning there was more to the industry than just reheated pasta and frying chips.
"By the final year of my apprenticeship, I felt I actually started ‘working’ in the industry and growing an appreciation for quality food and cuisine,” he explains. "I spent two and a half years working at the Carlton Wine Room where my interest in modern cuisine took hold.
"I read my first cookbooks from famous Chefs and spent most of my paycheck eating out.”
His interest in fine dining was ignited and Jordon began following the careers of high profile local and international Chefs, leading him to move on to restaurants both in Australia and abroad.
"I travelled to many great restaurant destinations, including Singapore, the USA and extended periods in Canada and Mexico. Working overseas made me appreciate Australian working conditions and the ever availability of some of the best produce in the world, which makes being a Chef much easier.”
Jordon says his past experiences in different restaurants have really shaped the style of cuisine delivered at Annata, consciously or not.
"I think our foremost style at Annata is that of a modern European bistro, the core of the menu is very familiar in a sense, but we try to steer away from being overly classic and too obvious. The food is firstly built around quality produce and the seasons, followed by the exploration of techniques to highlight the ingredients.”
He is a big believer that every plate should be balanced without unnecessary additions, executable during busy service and should leave the diner wanting one more mouthful.
A perfect example of this philosophy is the dessert recipe for caramelised dark chocolate brûlée with mint gelato, Jordon shares with AGFG readers.
"This is a version of the classic brûlée that suits colder months with flavours of caramelised sugar and dark chocolate that pair refreshingly with a mint-spiked gelato,” he says. "Match this dessert with a good quality Pedro Ximenez or a fortified Australian Shiraz.”
Jordon runs a tight-knit team at Annata and says it would be hard to imagine working somewhere else without them.
"I also love the neighbourhood feel of Crows Nest and Annata. I don’t love the hustle of big cities that much, so it is nice to have this little area that feels its runs at its own pace.”
Just make sure to keep a tidy workstation, cut your chives nicely and to cut the tape on labels if you want to keep this creative Chef happy!
