FOOD + WINE
BIOTA
Backto BASICS IN AN AGE WHEN THE GASTRONOMY SCENE IS SWARMING WITH NOVEL CONCEPTS AND FOODIE BUZZWORDS ARE BECOMING COMMONPLACE, JAMES VILES IS IGNORING WHAT’S IN AND FOCUSING ON A HOLISTIC CULINARY APPROACH. Words Tatyana Leonov Photography Evan Dickson
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Clockwise from left: A chef cuts wood for the oven; James Viles; Food prep at the no-energy dinner; A pond is used to chill wine.
J
ames Viles is pulling wine out of a pond. He’s wearing gumboots and laughing alongside a few colleagues as he wrenches out a few more bottles...and then plunks them back in the pond. It’s evidently just another typical day at Biota Dining + Rooms. Located in Bowral, a picturesque country town in the Southern Highlands, ‘just another day’ at Biota is possibly as interesting as the most exciting day at most other workplaces. James Viles is no ordinary chef. In fact, the 36-year-old is pretty much the opposite of ordinary. Head chef and director of Biota, he creates food so mouth-watering that Biota is famed for being one of the most-awarded regional restaurants in Australia – La Maison du The Regional Restaurant of the Year for NSW and ACT for two years running, a sustainability award, and a consistent The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide two-hat rating for a number of years. The food James crafts isn’t just tasty, though. James cooks in a way that forces the diner to think. For James, food and thought go hand in hand and his menus, food preparation and even the kitchen set up reflect his philosophy. The wine in the pond was just one small component of a no-energy dinner that James held as a special one-off event. Understandably, no fridges were used (the pond was used as a natural cooling system), no electrical stoves, no power. Mood
lighting came from candles, live music (a beautiful transgression of vocal harmonies) set the scene, menus were handwritten onto corkboard, and credit card payments were not taken on the day. All the food was prepared using primitive cooking methods, such as wood-fire cooking, air ageing, fermentation, curing and smoking. Everyone loved it! NURTURING NATURE
Since then, James has organised several other thought-provoking events and he plans to hold many more. His objective is to inspire people to think about the way they approach dining. To James, eating is not simply about nurturing the body or relishing the meal, but also about knowing where the food comes from and having an appreciation of the progression from source to plate. “Mother Nature inspires me in every way. I have always loved being outside, so if I can emulate those stories onto a plate for the diner, then that just makes sense to me,” James explains. As a reflection of his passion for the natural, the sustainable and the seasonal, James sources food that is truly natural, sustainable 79 AUTUMN 16
FOOD + WINE
BIOTA Clockwise from left: The minimalist and earthy Biota interior; The wood-fired oven; A staff member admires edible garnish; Staff members pick herbs from the garden.
We use brook trout, rainbow trout and brown trout in the restaurant, depending on the time of year and where we’ve been fishing. We often camp beside the local river; the banks are lush
with river mint, fennel and purslane growing among the rocks.
James Viles’ river plants, steamed trout and buttermilk Trout roe 80g trout roe 30ml light soy sauce
2. Put a sprig of river mint on each fish, cover
and seasonal. These buzzwords are not just dustings on a main – they are the main – and the entrée and dessert, too. “I get my ingredients from local farmers and growers. Some are not commercial at all. Some people just bring kilos of ingredients into the restaurant and say, ‘James, can you use this?’ I say ‘Yes!’” James doesn’t just unearth the best; he grows a substantial amount of it in the two onsite vegetable gardens. “We grow camomile, borage, yarrow, pea shoots, Jerusalem artichokes, zucchini, eggplant and pumpkin,” he explains, looking around, aware there’s more to the already-impressive list. He’s always got a concept, an event idea, a community project in motion and they’re all environmentally friendly. “At Biota we have waterless toilets, we recycle all kitchen scraps, we don’t use any linen in the restaurant and we wash all room linen in house (there are 12 on-site rooms). We are far better for it,” he says. Further to that, in 2014 James was the first chef in the country to open a solar-powered kitchen. “We have over 1000 square metres of black roof space, so we thought it was a sensible way to save some money,” he explains. “Also, more to the point, we use Mother Nature to inspire us and give us direction in what goes on a plate – so it makes sense to use her to fuel our cooking as well.” 80 AUTUMN 16
1. Put the trout roe and soy sauce in a
and steam for about 6 minutes. Peel the
vacuum or cryovac bag, seal the bag and
paper away from each fillet, followed by the
leave for at least 3 hours in the fridge, to
fish skin. Season with the salt.
compress and marinate the roe.
Everything that comes out of the solar-powered kitchen is a reflection of James’ culinary ethos. The regional wine list works seamlessly with the food offerings too. “We serve mostly local and semi-local wines with a focus on sustainability and we like to work with grape-growers and winemakers who love their grapes,” sommelier and restaurant manager Ben Shepherd explains. “Biodynamic, organic and natural wines have an obvious place within these bounds. New for 2016, we are launching monthly regional wine dinners where we match wines from a specific region with tasty, seasonal food. ” Whether it’s the winemakers who love their grapes, the growers who appreciate the first shoots their vegetables sprout, or the farmers who nurture their cattle, this desire to work with passionate people is a perfect summary of the Biota culture. “We’re all connected to Mother Nature,” James says, “So we need to work with her and allow her to guide us in what we eat and how we treat each other. It’s as simple as that.”
Brown butter creme
OUT NOW
Buttermilk
100ml brown butter*, at room temperature
Recipe and image from Biota
120ml buttermilk
300g sour cream
by James Viles (Murdoch
10g salt
10g salt
Books $59.99). Available in all
2 tsp olive oil
good bookstores and online.
1. Mix together the brown butter and sour 1. Whisk together the buttermilk, salt and
cream and season with salt.
olive oil until slightly aerated.
Plants to finish Trout
River mint
2 brown trout or rainbow trout, filleted
Fennel
2 sprigs river mint
Purslane
10g salt
Wine
+S teamed trout and buttermilk Trout is an oily fish with a delicate flake. In addition, you have the nutty notes of burnt
* Brown butter
butter and the salty twang of the roe, so you
1. Cut four pieces of baking paper just
1kg butter
need a fresh and vibrant wine with a bit of
larger than the trout fillets. Place each fillet,
1. Put the butter in a large pan and boil until
body. The Hay Shed Hill Block 1 Semillon
skin side down, on a piece of paper. Put in
the milk solids begin to caramelise and the
Sauvignon Blanc 2014 is perfect. It showcases
a steamer, making sure none of the fillets
butter begins to foam and give off a nutty
the freshness of lemons and grapefruit while
overlap (you might need to use two layers
scent. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for
subtle oak influence has added some extra
of the steamer).
up to 1 week.
weight and mouthfeel.
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