Creative and complex, Australian Chef Shaun Quade spoke to Ramya Palisetty about the hidden narrative behind each of his dishes waiting to be unveiled at the table

Chef Shaun Quade’s style of cooking is referred to as minimum-ingredient and maximum-impact. He hired an acting coach for his floor staff at Lûmé because operating a restaurant like his is no different than putting on a show. “Everyone has their part to play to make the entire experience come to life. Much of being on the floor is storytelling so the staff needs to be confident in their delivery and presentation for every guest. Hiring an acting coach to work on their projection and posture just seemed like the natural thing to do,” asserted chef Quade.

The owner and chef of South Melbourne’s Lûmé, Quade never had any plans to become a pastry chef or even a restaurateur. Beginning his career at McDonald’s chain as a teenager, one thing led to another and in 2005, he ended up in Sydney’s Quay restaurant. With out-of-the box ideas, he never presents the menu until the meal is over, leaving the fate of the dinner in the hands of the chef.

Lûmé doesn’t just serve food, it creates experiences best enjoyed by curious minds. “Dinner at the restaurant is more than food and wine. We try to create a personalised experience each day for our guests like they’ve never had before. In the brief time that they spend with us, we want to immerse them into a world we have created for them, to break their reality for a few moments. People need to keep an open mind and be inquisitive as to what’s going on around them otherwise they will miss out on the small things.”

Serving highly-technical dishes like emu that looks like burnt eucalyptus, duck liver that looks like quince, the idea has always been to experiment with food. Said chef Quade, “People enjoy surprises and love the unexpected. When one exceeds the expectations of the guests, that’s when they have created something truly extraordinary. We always start with the best produce we can find from Victoria and present it in such a way that it not only looks and tastes great but also has a story to it.”

From hanging around the pastry section at Quay to becoming the owner at Lûmé, the transition has been hugely satisfying, stressful, exciting, all-consuming, heart breaking in his own words. However, most of all it was filled with fun elements because Chef Quade wouldn’t have it any other way.

The multisensory tasting menu is an experimental dive into flavours, textures and ingredients not so frequently used by other chefs. He has a food philosophy that is innovative, artistic and a little eclectic as well. “Everything on the plate must have a purpose and a reason. I’ve created dishes that have over 100 ingredients and also created dishes that comprise two to three. They are quite different but both made sense to me. I’ve communicated an idea through them. We never compromise with the quality of the produce and pick out ingredients from what’s the best in Victoria from farmers, fishermen and producers that practice sustainable methods.”

Chef Quade’s signature dish is touted to be sea pearl dish although he is not fond of this term. “Technically, all of the dishes have my ‘signature’ on them. The dish that guests consistently comment on the most would be the ‘Pearl on the Ocean Floor’ which is basically sashimi though it varies on what’s in season, with sea succulents and a ‘pearl’ made from miso and pine nut ice cream. I am inspired by the seasons. To truly call oneself a chef, I think an intrinsic sense of fascination with nature, an appreciation for ingredients in their rawest form and the readiness to draw one’s inspiration from what nature gives them is a necessary requirement. At Lûmé, we have numerous small farms in different parts of Victoria where farmers grow produce exclusively for the restaurant — according to our specifications.”

The pastry chef believes that the weirdest thing on the menu is cow’s udders though he uses it as a substitute for aged cheese because of its milk content. “People classify things as being weird if these are something they’re not accustomed to eating as part of their culture. What’s seen as weird to someone from Mumbai might be completely normal to someone from Berlin and vice versa. But that’s the most exciting part of being a chef. There’s an arsenal of ingredients and techniques around the globe to discover and create. Cow’s udder is actually a very common cut of meat to eat in Israel and it’s absolutely delicious.”