Award-winning Parisian-style bistro Onzieme is among the first Canberra restaurants to feature Gundagai Lamb’s premium GLQ5+ lamb on their menu, offering diners a delicious woodfire slow-cooked lamb shoulder.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and Onzieme
I am a former public servant turned chef in Canberra. I opened Onzieme after running the kitchen at Bar Rochford for a couple of years.
Onzieme is a pretty small casual restaurant based on my time in Paris learning how to cook in the 11th arrondissement (onzieme means 11th in French). I loved the creativity and flexibility of the restaurants that were doing amazing things. I worked at a place called Au Passage where they made everything from scratch. I remember getting 2 whole lamb every week and learning to break them down into all the different cuts for the restaurant. It was great!
We are a 100% wood fire restaurant so everything we do is cooked over coals or in our wood fired oven. We change the menu a lot, based on what our suppliers are telling us is in abundance or in season.
What made you choose Gundagai Lamb for Onzieme?
Hearing the Gundagai story from Molly and understanding their whole approach to supporting farmers and quality control is great. Understanding where our meat comes from is really important to me, knowing that the farmers are employing best practice farming and that is fully transparent all the way through the processing line is great.
How will you be using Gundagai Lamb on your menu?
In one way or another I think we will be working with Gundagai for a while. At the moment we cook the lamb shoulder overnight in the wood fire oven before we press it. We also have the option for bigger tables to have whole lamb leg or shoulder cooked slowly as a big sharing piece.
What do you look for in ingredients for your menu?
Seasonal, ethical and where possible local. We want to make sure the producers that we have on our menu operate on the same values as us about sustainability, seasonality and quality.
How important is local produce to your menu?
Cooking local in Canberra can be difficult, especially in the colder months because there aren’t heaps of growers. But when you connect with them it is great! It is really special being able to tell customers that what they are eating was picked that morning and tell them the story of the people behind the produce.
Have you noticed any changes in what Canberrans are looking for in their dining choices over the last few years since Onzieme opened?
I think people are increasingly looking for a more relaxed environment when they go out. People still want great tasting food and wine, but I find that a more relaxed setting makes for a more enjoyable experience overall.
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Following Gundagai Lamb’s partnership with Canberra distributor Long Valley Meats, the GLQ5+ will also be available to restaurants on the NSW South Coast, with plans to expand further where possible.
Book at Onzieme: https://www.onzieme.com.au/