Meet the chefs - Justin North



A behind every great chef is a list of great ingredients which is what brought chef Justin North and producer Rob Bauer together, but they have more in common including tenacity under adversity.

Justin hails from Sydney and is nationally known for his restaurants Becasse and Quarter 21, sadly now in receivership. 
Rob Bauer, one of Justin’s favourite producers, lives and farms organically at Gatton in the food bowl of the Lockyer Valley which was devastated by floods in 2011.

Bringing these two together in for a Delectable workshop at South Bank on July 28 is a great idea and I’m looking forward to hearing them share food love, picking up some useful hints and tips and a discovering some of Becasse’s secrets.

I asked Justin a few Brisbane/Queensland centric food questions –

Your favourite Queensland ingredient is?
Noosa Spanner Crab

What has been your favourite meal in Brisbane and where did you have it?
Many years ago Kym Machin cooked for me when he was at Urbane and it was wonderful. I am looking forward to trying Esquire when I come up for delectable Brisbane.

If you were designing a dish to represent Brisbane what ingredients would you use and where would you like to eat it?
A lovely salad of Bauer’s organic sweetcorn with Noosa spanner crab and confit buddha's hand eaten by the river.

What will you be sharing through your event on the Delectable program?
Useful tips on sourcing great produce and some wonderful cooking techniques.

What most surprises you about dining in Brisbane?
To be honest I don't get up to Brisbane as much as I would like to, it sounds like a lot of interesting things are happening in the food scene.

“Delectable Queensland is a great opportunity for me to meet with local producers and share our philosophy of the importance of supporting small local producers and encouraging chefs and general public to source sustainable local ingredients,” Justin says.

“This will also be an opportunity for me to share the values of Australian Year of the
Farmer (AYOF) and Target 100, both initiatives support local farmers and growers, and support Queensland after the devastating floods and cyclones last year.”

What to expect at the workshop?  “With his classically European approach, Justin prepares an elegant three course winter menu, featuring Queensland produce from Bauer Organic Farms, highlighting the value of using local and organic produce.”


Win tickets for two to Justin’s session. Give me your best reason why you should win the two tickets in a comment below and like and share this post on Facebook.  I have two tickets (one double pass) to this session to give away and the competition will close at 5pm on Wednesday, July 25.  Please only enter the competition if you are able to use the tickets.

Check out the other Delectable chef workshops and be in the running for tickets to these sessions too!

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post