By Leigh O’Connor.
Embark on a French-Japanese culinary journey from the land to the sea, passing through the meadows and the sky, under the guidance of Chef Victor Emmanuel.
Opening his first restaurant in Tasmania at just 23, Victor now heads the kitchen at Mount Paul Lounge on Coles Bay Road in Coles Bay, the onsite restaurant for Freycinet Resort, where every meal is a dining experience celebrating the state’s natural bounty in a seasonal omakase-style menu.
Starting his cooking journey at 14 as an apprentice in a French Michelin-starred restaurant, Victor confesses to not being a very good student at school and to quickly find his way in life, his father pushed him into an internship which had him hooked straight away.
"After having graduated from one of the most prestigious cooking schools in the world, I was quickly spotted by great Chefs and was directly hired in Paris in a famous restaurant,” Victor tells AGFG. "I quickly moved up the ranks, restaurant to restaurant.”
A big fan of Japanese culture, he travelled to Japan to spend time with a sushi master and improve his skills, learn traditional recipes and cultivate his vision as a young Chef.
"My style is inspired by Japanese and French cuisine and focuses on the product. I take care of the produce and respect it without distorting it too much, combining flavour and seasonal produce with each other to create dishes.”
Mount Paul Lounge’s omakase menu changes daily depending on the season, weather and Victor’s mood.
One thing you will usually find is original housemade ice cream and sorbets as seen in Victor’s recipe for pine smoked oyster, with oyster ice cream and pineau des Charente emulsion:
"This recipe is a mixture of all the good memories of my childhood, close to the Charente Maritime department in France with the sea, oyster farms, seaweed, cognac distilleries and herbs drying in the sun,” he recalls fondly.
It’s not surprising then that when Victor doesn’t feel like cooking it is a great seafood platter from the local market that takes his fancy along with crusty bread, salt, butter and a cold glass of white wine.
We finish with a confession from this talented and creative Chef:
"My mother makes olive and lemon chicken tagine better than me!”
