Kasper Christensen

Kasper Christensen, Executive Chef at Endeavour Tap Rooms

ON TAP WITH KASPER

We caught up with Kasper Christensen to find out about his career history, philosophy on food and tips on how you can replicate his smoky meats at home.

Explore DRINKS: Tell us about yourself and how you got started in the industry? Kasper Christensen: I always wanted to be a chef. From a young age, I was always looking in the fridge, roaming the gardens and eating all the vegetables. My mother was a great cook, and I think this is where I picked up my love for cooking. My mother was also in the hospitality industry, managing a hotel, so I was exposed to the industry from a very young age. I completed my hotel school studies in Denmark, and from there I started working on a yacht for the Danish Royal Family as their private chef. I then worked a few years in Copenhagen, and then in Monaco. After my stint in Europe, I travelled to Australia where I have now been for 12 years. The food scene when I first arrived in Australia was very different compared to now. There

were a couple of good restaurants, however, a majority of the restaurants were not of the calibre they are today. The transformation over the years has been significant, and I feel people are more engaged and interested in food, dining out and enjoying the fresh produce Australia has to offer - we’re spoilt for great produce. Australia is a real hub for food and people enjoy experiencing new venues and eating out.

ED: How would you describe your philosophy on cooking and food? KC: My philosophy is finding the right produce and understanding the back-story of where the produce is from, how it was harvested, where it was raised, was it grain or grass fed and also the welfare of the animals. It’s about treating the produce with respect and using great quality ingredients. It’s all about respect and finding a good balance.

ED: You smoke a lot of your meats at Endeavour Tap Rooms. Is this a new method of cooking you had to learn? KC: When I was a teenager I worked in a fish shop, where we smoked seafood, however at Endeavour Tap Rooms smoking meats is taken to a whole new level and it has been a great stepping stone for me. We take an American style approach to smoking and use a lot of rubs on our meats to enhance flavours; whereas back home in Europe you would mainly use salt and sugar and no spice.

ED: What beer do you enjoy at Tap Rooms? KC: Being a pale Danish guy, I enjoy the lighter style beers. I like the Summer Ale they have on tap or a cold lager. The beer connoisseurs are probably laughing at me right now.

ED: Winter is approaching, and food and drinking habits often change. Do you alternate your menu based on the seasons? KC: We’re currently setting up to change the menu for winter, so keep an eye out for changes coming soon. The meat menu will most likely stay the same. However, our sides will change based on what’s in season this winter. ED: Can consumers smoke their own meats at home? KC: Consumers can 100 per cent smoke their meat at home; they don’t need a special cooker to do so. Smoking can work in a BBQ you just need a tray, woodchips and something to light the woodchips with. You don’t want a flame on the chips, but they need to be smoking. You need to check the woodchips throughout the process as they can go out, so you might need to re-light the chips a few times.

You can also buy a smoking gun, which is perfect for smoking vegetables and to smoke butter. To smoke butter, all you need to do is wrap the butter in cling wrap, then take the smoking gun insert into the butter and start smoking. You can either use wood chips or hay. The smoky butter works great with mashed potatoes.

EST 2010