Anchor Bar its your turn! If you haven’t dined or sat beside the pool here yet you are definitely missing out. The service, food and drinks are all without fault and that view is WOW, with beautiful food at very reasonable prices for the area.
Our latest chef profile is Alex, who has worked for Anchor Bar for nearly 12 months.
We ask the serious questions, with a few fun ones thrown in for good measure.
What would you consider to be your signature dish?
Just about every time I tell someone that I cook for a living, they ask me this question. My answer is always very vague too. I don’t really have a signature dish, I get bored too easily. But a dish that I have on the menu at the moment that is a winner, is the Soft shell crab with wakame and chilli jam aioli.
When you are not cooking what is the one dish you love to eat?
I’m a simple kind of person, when I’m not cooking I could easily devour a whole bag of salted cashews in a sitting.
Least favourite dish to cook?
I’ve worked in a lot of pubs. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a good ol’ chicken parmi, but I could easily go through life without having to serve up another parmi – chips – salad.
How long have you worked in a kitchen and where have you worked?
I started out at the cheesecake shop as a teenager in Townsville, after mastering the pavlova I decided to get myself an apprenticeship – 12 or so years later here I am.
What made you want to become a chef?
I can remember trying to cook with my brother when we were both in primary school him handing me things out of mums pantry like cream of tartar green, food dye, multiple spices, hundreds and thousands and me mixing it up in a coffee mug and hitting 5 mins on the microwave then trying to convince the other to eat it….maybe my fondness of good food came from knowing what bad food really tasted like.
What bought you to Airlie Beach?
My wife and I were both offered jobs here about 18 months ago and jumped at the chance for a literal sea change and haven’t looked back.
If Hollywood made a movie of your life who would you like to see cast as you?
Ron Pearlman. Then some dragons and b-grade special fx to spice it up a little.
In 3 words describe WFS?
DEDICATED – TO – GOOD – CUSTOMER – SERVICE – I’m a Chef not a Mathematician
What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
I always carry a shifter and a screwdriver in my kit and always seem to find a use for them…turning on broken gas knobs tightening that rattling fan blade that has been driving you insane for the last 3 days…. a bottle opener, yes…. a bottle opener.