Local master chef

Perry Hill, head chef at The Point Restaurant at the Ramada Hotel in Ballina, will be cooking up a storm at the North Coast National with his demonstration of how to make an Indian Kerela fish curry.

Doug Eaton

PERRY Hill grew up eating and cooking the produce grown at his family’s homes, first at Tabbimoble and later at Grafton. It’s little wonder he went on to become a world-class chef.

After working around the globe and, most recently, in Sydney, Mr Hill recently decided it was time to come home to the Northern Rivers and resume the love affair with the local produce that helped inspire his career.

Now working as the head chef at The Point restaurant at Ballina, Mr Hill is preparing to pass on some of the lessons about food he has picked up over the years with a cooking demonstration at the North Coast National this weekend, alongside Gavin Hughes of the Byron at Byron and Scott Frost of Lennox Head’s Seven Mile Cafe.

Mr Hill said he planned to show Northern Rivers residents how to make an Indian Kerala fish curry – a simple dish that took about 20 minutes to create from scratch and required only a single pot for cooking, giving the magic combination of delicious, easy and involving little washing up afterwards.

Critically, the curry can be made using only local produce. Even the spices in Mr Hill’s dish, such as ginger and tumeric, are locally grown.

The demonstration will be one of the closing acts of the Northern Rivers Food Celebration – a virtual festival within the show organised by Alison Drover for Northern Rivers Food.

Ms Drover, who organised the successful Breakfast on the Bridge event at the Harbour Bridge as part of the Sydney International Food Festival, has put together a three-day program that reads like the food world’s answer to the Byron Writers Festival.

The ‘food celebration’ covers topics ranging from growing your own produce, to using indigenous foods, to tips on how to make simple, healthy meals for your family.

The food celebration will also include its own version of ‘show food’. There will be chips – hand cut from local potatoes, seasoned with sea salt and served with a tangy aioli made from local finger limes; there will be burgers – made from top quality Hayters Hill beef.

Ms Drover has also recruited the Country Women’s Association to the celebration; they will be showing off their scones and handing out copies of the recipes.

Ms Drover said while this would be the first food celebration, as part of the 125th North Coast National, she expected there would be more.

Regional Food Celebration highlights

Thursday, October 21:

11.30am-12.30pm: Garden Guru, Phil Dudman’s tips on growing your food.

Friday, October 22:

10am-11am: Cooking demonstration and discovery session with Jaaning Tree head chef Clayton Donovan and Gunnawannabe cafe owner Mick Roberts.

11.30am-12.30pm: ‘The Councillor, the Cook and the Kid’ Cook Off.

7.30pm-8pm: The health benefits of indigenous food.

Saturday, October 23:

12.30-2.00pm: Chefs Gavin Hughes (the Byron at Byron), Perry Hill (the Point) and Scott Frost (Seven Mile Café) talk about inspiration and easy dishes you can make at home using local produce

1.30-2.30pm: Advice on how best to make, and taste, good coffee and the benefits of growing coffee beans locally.

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