By Leigh O’Connor.
Born in Edinburgh, Michael Lee grew up on the outskirts of the city in a little mining village with his Mum, Stepdad, little brother and twin sisters.
He trained as a fabricator/welder and it wasn’t until he travelled to Australia on a one-year working holiday that he discovered he loved the pressure and busyness of a commercial kitchen.
"At the time, I was 23 and had never cooked anything before, it fascinated me,” he tells AGFG. "I watched and asked questions and started getting involved in prep jobs, most of them unglamorous – but I loved it.”
For the past four years, Michael has overseen the kitchen as Head Chef at Potager on Carool Road in Carool. This 13-hatted venue also holds an AGFG Readers’ Choice Award for Modern Australian cuisine and sits on a small 10-acre farm in the picturesque countryside, making it a popular dining destination with locals and visitors alike.
After his first stint in Australia, Michael returned to Scotland where he immediately set himself the goal of moving back permanently.
"I went back to welding, saved and waited two years for my residency to be granted. I returned in 2009 and made my new home on the Gold Coast, I continued welding but became unhappy with what I was doing and decided I needed a career change.
"I’d fallen in love with cooking and quit my highly skilled, well-paid job to do my Cheffing apprenticeship at The Star Casino, graduated and worked there as a Commis Chef until 2015.”
Michael says his previous trade was a creative and hardworking industry, when he fell out of love with that and in love with cooking it was another industry that allowed him to be creative and express himself, albeit in a different fashion.
"It’s now with food rather than metal, but it’s an industry that allows me to thrive on pressure and stay true to my creativity. For me, expressing that creativity is a good outlet and allows me to stay motivated.”
Describing his style as nostalgic, Michael uses fairly simple flavour combinations that work with a few twists here and there.
"A lot of the food and flavours I use remind me of my family and childhood growing up with a Mum who hated cooking! I’d say my style has changed slightly over the years to become a little more refined, but definitely playful.”
His dish of Fraser Island spanner crab ceviche – find the recipe here – comes from a great collaboration dinner Michael did with a wild food forager and is a play on a previous dish made with both Queensland scallops and Australian Bay lobster.
"This time, it’s using the beautiful Fraser Island spanner crab. The sweetness of the crab combined with the other elements make it a delight to eat and it is also visually appealing.”
Michael loves the fact that no two days are the same in the Potager kitchen, it’s always creative, hard-working, mentally challenging and fun. We are sure he will be sparking our appetites with delicious cuisine for some time to come.
