Former Barrio chef opens new Byron Bay restaurant with a focus on fermenting

A NEW restaurant championing sustainable seafood and inventive fermented vegetable dishes has opened at the Byron Bay Spirits Company in the Arts and Industry Estate.

FERME, which means “farm” in French and is also a nod to “fermented”, is led by former Barrio chef Luke Haroon. The 26-year-old said the lively, sour notes of fermented vegetables pair naturally with the distillery’s spirits.

“Some people think fermentation is just to save vegetables from going off, but I believe if you get a vegetable in its prime it comes out beautifully and the flavours are very punchy,” he said. “Fermented vegetables are also really good for gut health. It’s what I was taught to do at Barrio for six years, so I was really happy to bring that to Byron Bay Spirits Company.”

Born in Bellingen and raised in Mullumbimby from age five, Haroon began working at Barrio at 18. He has since completed stints at Milk and Honey in Mullumbimby and Kahakai in Byron Bay before the opportunity to open FERME arose.

“They offered me the space rent-free and I liked their ethos of small batches without many preservatives and honouring time-honoured traditions,” Haroon said.

Most of FERME’s produce is sourced locally from the Mullumbimby and Byron Bay farmers markets and nearby producers, including Byron Bay Cheese Co., Australian Bay Lobster, Amari Farms and Edens Landing Organic Vegetables.

Signature dishes include cured paperbark smoked fish with pickles; butter-poached lobster tail with smoked finger lime, asparagus and snow pea; and deep-fried lacto brussel sprouts with fermented chilli emulsion, garlic truffle honey and parmesan.

“I just didn’t want to put meat on the menu because most people eat meat at home a lot,” Haroon said. “My mum and girlfriend are both vegetarian and I get really disappointed when we go to restaurants and the vegetarian dishes aren’t thought about as much.”

The restaurant currently seats 40 diners, with plans to expand and add an outdoor area next year.

“It’s very exciting for growth in the future,” Haroon said.