A four-course dinner for the senses at Bird Rock

Bird Rock owner Anthony Gist is on a mission to bring Jan Juc’s iconic “Birdie” back to life.

The Californian chef and restaurateur, who also owns Bell Street’s Roku Den and Alisitos, has been the driver behind “Vinyl
Sundays” at Bird Rock as well as movie screenings on Wednesday evenings in a bid to create a “community hub” that extends beyond an eatery.

“It’s all about bringing Birdie back to life and bringing exciting stuff to the community. We just want people to get out and enjoy winter,” says Anthony, better known as “Ant”.

“The town’s growing so fast. It’s winter, but there’s still people out. We’re quite lucky in Torquay and Jan Juc that we have so much fun stuff to do – whether it’s coming to Birdie or to Bells Beach Brewing. It’s an awesome culture for not just being active, but socially active.”

A lover of all things food and beverage, when the opportunity to work with local winemaker Sierra Reed of Reed Wines arose, Ant says he couldn’t resist. The pair recently collaborated alongside Bird Rock’s head chef Matthew Tippett to create a wine matched four-course degustation dinner.

After a wine tasting at the restaurant, Matthew headed for the kitchen and began cooking dishes that matched the flavours of Sierra’s authentic wines.

“Matty’s really taken the project on. We all had a tasting before he made the dishes. It’s challenging to match food with
wine and we had to make a few changes to get it right. Matty’s done an amazing job – kudos to him because it’s hard to put
yourself out there,” says Ant.

“He really took control with the flavours.

The fun thing was working with Sierra. I feel like I was a bit of a catalyst for them to come together.”

Locked in for Monday June 24, the degustation dinner will begin with canapes and a cocktail followed by:
• Beetroot carpaccio, orange, fennel, goats cheese and pistachio matched with Rose Marie (Tempranillo Heathcote, Victoria 2018)
• Pan fried snapper, mushroom, potato, parsnip and tomato matched with Alexia (Grenache Barossa Valley, South Australia 2018)
• Grilled lamb, pea, carrot and kale matched with Knife Edge Shiraz (Grampians, Victoria 2017)
• Vanilla cheesecake and blueberries matched with Knife Edge Shiraz (Grampians, Victoria 2018)

“Meet your local winemaker with Sierra Reed” begins at 6.30pm on Monday June 24 at Bird Rock (2 Princes Terrace, Jan Juc).

The degustation dinner is $110 per head. Bookings essential via phoning 5261 6743.