By Leigh O’Connor.
Imagine yourself dining on Middle Eastern food with contemporary flair at Cairns’ tallest rooftop bar and restaurant which offers 270-degree views of the Coral Sea.
Welcome to Rocco on the Esplanade where Chef Joe Marie Tayao oversees the kitchen delivering food as inspiring as the view.
Born in the Philippines, Joe began his hospitality career as a bartender at TGI Friday’s Subic Bay, where he mainly mixed drinks and performed flairtending, which later on allowed him to work on a luxury cruise ship travelling around Europe.
"I met Chefs from all backgrounds and learned a lot about their cuisines,” he explains. "That attracted my interest in food and I began to watch cooking series like MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen and Chef Boy Logro: Kusina Master, a local Filipino Celebrity Chef.
"I took advantage of the opportunity to experience different cuisines while working on the cruise ship by exploring the various locations where we stopped.”
Moving to Australia in 2017 to continue his culinary industry education, Joe worked part-time as a kitchen hand and eventually advanced to Commis Chef at Vivo Palm Cove in Cairns. Moving to Crystalbrook Riley when it first opened in Cairns in 2018, he met and worked with several well-known Far North Chefs, who mentored him and helped build his career.
Joe’s style is to use fresh, local ingredients in his dishes along with a variety of spices influenced by Middle Eastern cuisine as seen in his recipe for barramundi with corn, preserved lemon and ras el hanout butter, an ideal Summer dish to make over the holidays.
"Our menu at Rocco changes periodically, so we don’t really have a signature dish. One constant on the menu has been the variety of housemade dips with pita bread, which change in taste based on what’s available at the time of year.”
Obsessive-compulsive about organisation, cleanliness, quality and consistency, Joe loves how his profession gives him the freedom to experiment and come up with fresh concepts and to express his creativity.
So what does this talented Chef eat at home when he needs a comforting meal?
"Pork sinigang, a popular Filipino sour soup dish with vegetables – one of my all-time favourite comfort foods.”
