This visionary chef layers flavours that unfold on the palette.

After first entering the kitchen at 15 as a way to escape school, Ben Williamson realised that for him, this was much more than just a job. Now, he’s executive chef at Brisbane’s hatted Gerard’s Bistro, and the accolades for his work keep pouring in. Gerard’s features modern, Middle Eastern-accented cuisine, which Ben mastered while living in Bahrain for five years, working and travelling throughout the broader region. When he returned, he became determined to share what he’d learned. “It was an incredible experience. I discovered a longing to explore the flavour memories of those times,” he says. Ben took on coveted positions at Brisbane’s Cha Cha Char, 1889 Enoteca and Urbane, before taking the helm at Gerard’s in 2012. In the dish pictured, Ben combines complex Middle Eastern flavours with premium quail from Queensland’s Banyard Game Birds. He says his close connection with owners Clive and Erika Wylie creates a better understanding of both farming practices and restaurant needs. “Their willingness to work on experimental products and techniques results in some of the most excellent, plump and sweet quail the country has to offer. Coated in parsnip glaze and roasted with a sauce of their own juices and burnt almond oil, they’re simply sublime.”

An extra-wide oven means simplicity when cooking for a crowd, while consistency is vital for achieving an expert-level feast.