PILBARA DINING EXPERIENCE WHILST TAKING IN THE 'STAIRWAY TO THE MOON'

BY TANGIORA HINAKI AND JESSIE AYRE

North West Brewery and Iluka’s Hospitality united forces this month to bring together a romantic evening for Pilbara locals which included a trip out to Dampier's Hearsons Cove to admire the stunning Stairway to the moon, before heading back to North West Brewery for a Pilbara-inspired dinner and drinks.

Chef Zach Green was interviewed at the event and spoke about how the unique and tasty meal came together with the Stairway to the Moon as its theme.

“I've always wanted to do something with Kresta and Dan (North West Brewery). I was going to do pop-ups around the Pilbara and I wanted to come to Karratha, he said.

We came up with a pretty sick menu. He opened his kitchen to me. A lot of Head Chefs don't open their kitchen for another Head Chef. The last two days have been incredible, I think we've got like a house-on-fire and we came up with a menu like no other.”

Half Shell Baked Scallops served at Hearsons Cove at ‘Stairway to the Moon’.

The evening began at Hearsons Cove, where chef Zach and team cooked canapes of half-shell baked scallops with saltbush, chilli, burnt butter, and bush tomato chutney.

Point Samson Cod with finger lime and cherry-smoked Kangaroo crostini were served alongside the alluring view of the staircase to the moon.

The patrons were then taken back to North West Brewery to enjoy an entree of Sweet chili mango Mud Crab and Crocodile Laksa which included ingredients such as baby Barramundi and Crocodile. However, the menu had a personal meaning for Zach Green.

“I think if you walk into an Italian restaurant, or you're walking into an Indian restaurant or an Asian restaurant, you know you’re celebrating their culture. So for me putting Indigenous ingredients on a plate … you're celebrating a 60,000-year-old culture and it's also around fusion as well.

I always say every ingredient has a story to tell - one being the crocodile that you're eating tonight - a lot of people ask me why crocodile and so for me, it’s about my son's that I sadly lost with a former partner.

We lost three sons in the space of 18 months and their totems were the crocodile.

I put trust in my chefs to be able to cook the crocodile and the way it should be caught but that significant dish represents a lot of my family up in the northeast of Arnhem land.

Zach believes that one of the universal languages is food.

“We break the stereotype and learn about cultures through food. I want to see more Indigenous chefs and Indigenous people in hospitality.

I think we're able to empower mob to do whatever they want in life rather than being told what to do and told they need a job to support their family.

My passion is empowering the mob to do whatever they want to make a positive change for the family.”