7 minute read
CHEF PROFILE: PAUL WILSON
Honest and rugged
Now that Paul Wilson’s autumn residency at McLaren Vale Hotel has come to a close, the accomplished chef reflects on regional dining and reflecting an area through food.
RENOWNED CHEF Paul Wilson has completed his autumn residency at the McLaren Vale Hotel, operated by Palmer Hospitality Group. Throughout the residency, Wilson has revitalised the venue’s food offering with locally focused and elevated bistro-style dining.
Throughout his decades in the industry, Wilson estimates that he has participated in more than 20 restaurant openings, both for his own projects and with other operators. During the past 15 years, Wilson has run his own business as a restaurant consultant, representing respected venues such as Icebergs in Sydney. In addition, he was one of the founding members of the Melbourne Pub Group, which has since sold its assets to Australian Venue Co.
I thought that if I could… [assist] by training the next generation of chefs and giving opportunities to suppliers, it would be a nice way to finish of f my career.
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Wilson moved to Sorrento with the vision of opening a new pub in regional Victoria. While the impacts of Covid meant that Wilson was unable to open his venue, he was instead af forded a chance to reassess his career trajectory.
“I stayed in Sorrento and just worked as an executive chef at a local restaurant. I did quite well, and won a hat. It was during that weird time with two years of lockdowns in Melbourne, so it was just survival mode. During that period, though, I rediscovered my love for cooking and my enjoyment of country life,” he said.
In addition, the combined effects of the pandemic and the current economic climate on the hospitality industry pushed Wilson to reconsider his consulting business.
“Consulting work was thinning down because the industry was in a state of flux, and no-one was really opening restaurants. The industry was pushing me towards employment, and I wanted to stay in a role where I could be really creative,” he said.
Moving to Adelaide to be nearer to his wife’s family, Wilson began looking for a new role, and was introduced to Palmer Hospitality Group director, Martin Palmer, through mutual friends. Wilson was then offered a residency at the McLaren Vale Hotel and is now transitioning to a wider role focusing on the dining offering across the group.
A REGIONAL APPROACH
Whereas the majority of Wilson’s experience has been in inner-city venues, crafting a menu for a regional venue such as the McLaren Vale Hotel required a different approach. While a metropolitan menu can be primarily driven by the venue’s identity and point of difference, Wilson sees a regional menu as being driven by its clientele.
“In regional areas you have two kinds of customers: locals, who are critically important, and urban travellers with a passion for your area. In our case, due to the wine and coastal tourism aspects, the hotel has both hooks to work with,” he said.
Despite the prestige of the wine industry in McLaren Vale, Wilson explained that the area still has a regional town feel.
“The McLaren Vale Hotel was already established as a popular pub, and quite posh for the area. The wineries in the area are fantastic, and they’re very international, but McLaren Vale itself is very rugged. It’s a real country town, and most of the hospitality offerings are pretty fair dinkum,” he said.
In line with the preferences of the local patrons, a more traditional menu was provided at the Vale Bar, with an elevated offering at Bellevue Dining. Wilson said that this approach saw success.
“It took longer to win over the local bar flies, who were more enthusiastic about true blue pub foods; a meat, potato, and gravy crowd. We adapted the bar menu to of fer a great version of this comfort food, and now everyone seems happy.”
INSPIRING SURROUNDS
When creating the Bellevue Dining menu, Wilson primarily sought to reflect the surrounding McLaren Vale region in his dishes.
“With the proximity to the ocean and the rolling hills, it’s a sight to be seen. McLaren Vale has everything going for it: good soil, a good climate for winegrowing and distillation, and some of the most exciting young guns in the wine industry coming out of this state. It’s a cultural dream.
“All this meant in my mind that the food had to have a retro and European feel, with flavours that complement wine, and that it didn’t take itself too seriously,” he said.
This focus on regionality also led Wilson to prioritise the use of local produce in the dishes.
“For me, the important features were exposing seasonal produce in South Australia and McLaren Vale producers. For example, 80 per cent of food was genuinely local to the McLaren Vale and Fleurieu areas. Essentially every dish had a local story and supported the community,” Wilson said.
As well as proving popular with tourists and other hospitality professionals, Wilson said that the new menu bolstered the McLaren Vale Hotel’s beverage performance.
“The venue has a terrific wine list, and it’s not a typical wine list for a pub. Some of the wine wasn’t being drunk because the food didn’t correlate with the quality and artisanal nature of the wine. My menu boosted wine sales, and it has increased interest in drinking wine in the pub.”
PERSONAL FAVOURITES
One of Wilson’s favourite dishes on his menu heroed exotic mushrooms from local grower Choice Mushrooms.
“We make a dish with raw egg yolk, truffles, and truffle pecorino. You mix the egg yolk through when the mushrooms are warm, which makes a sort of carbonara sauce. It’s really yummy,” he said.
When it comes to mains, Wilson would opt for the corned beef cheek from Ellis Butchers, served with root vegetables and white onion sauce, or the onion tart served with Woodside Cheese Wrights’ goats cheese.
“If I were to have a dessert from the menu, I would probably go for bread-and-butter pudding, because it’s nostalgic and reminds me of my mother’s cooking in England,” Wilson said.
“In retro times, you made things to share and to enjoy as a family or a group, and dishes were made from simple ingredients. I like that approach to this area. It’s quite rustic, quite rugged, and honest.”
NEXT STEPS
Wilson has relished the opportunity to work in a kitchen-focused role at the McLaren Vale Hotel, and to build connections with diverse contributors to the hospitality industry.
“I’ve come out of an executive role, where I wasn’t wearing a chef’s uniform, and I was more of an orchestrator and a leader of large teams. To be part of a team, to be hands on and creative and working closely with suppliers, going to the markets, going to visit farmers, are all things I did when I was top chef. I really loved that time in my career, and it was fantastic to go back to those roots,” he said.
As Wilson transitions into to a wider role across Palmer Hospitality Group, Zac Kranjcec will take over as head chef. Formerly from Fishbank in Adelaide, Kranjcec was selected by Wilson, and the pair have worked closely together as Kranjcec takes the reins.
In his new role, Wilson particularly looks forward to sharing his extensive industry experience with the next generation of chefs.
“I was attracted to Palmer Hospitality Group because of its people-first culture. I am at the stage of my career where I have a strong desire to give back and share my knowledge from a 30-year career at the top of European and Australian hospitality. The group is very diverse with pubs, restaurants and regional outposts, so there’s a lot of scope I hope I can make a contribution to,” he said.
“It’s challenging seeing my friends in Melbourne struggling because of skill shortages and various industry challenges at the moment, so I thought that if I could address that in my own way by training the next generation of chefs and giving opportunities to suppliers, it would be a nice way to finish of f my career.”
