Galician chef Santiago Fernández, or Santi as he’s known to his friends, has been named Regional Chef of the Year by The West Australian Good Food Guide 2018.
The honour was coupled with the recognition of Voyager Estate, the WA winery where Mr Fernández is the head chef, as Regional Restaurant of the Year.
After arriving in Australia with his Brazilian wife and daughter in 2010, Mr Fernández spent the next five years working as the head chef of Sault in Daylesford in Victoria.
He then moved on to Voyager Estate, located within the world-renowned WA wine region at Margaret River.
Chef Santiago Fernández. Source: David Griffen
Despite his vast international experience, which included stints at award-winning restaurants Tristan in Mallorca, Toni Vicente in Santiago de Compostela and Tapies in Lleida, as well as restaurants in Germany and Mexico, Mr Fernández knew that he needed to undertake a new adventure.
At the Voyager he found a special one: Matching the wine with his dishes.
“They [Voyager Estate] produce their wines and we have to create the dishes that go well with those wines, it is a reverse process,” he told SBS Spanish.
“Instead of giving the food to the sommelier, I have to make dishes that match the wine we produce.”
This undertaking provided him with the fuel he needed to continue his culinary journey, following a stint that he said he became “very lost”.
However, his experience and creativity prevailed and although he doesn't primarily focus on traditional Spanish dishes, he continues to be inspired.
"We are inspired by many techniques or dishes of Spanish cuisine, Galician, where I am from and the good thing is to listen to what the wine says and make the dishes have the same intensity of flavour and nuances as the wine that the client seek," he said.
"The cuisine we make here is very inspired by the sea, by the marine products and the good wine, the coast, the climate.”
Mr Fernández said the Margaret River region provided him with the produce which reminded him of his home region in Spain.
Recipe of brown and green gazpacho by Santiago Fernández Source: David Griffen
The Good Food Guide’s review of Mr Fernández stated: “The food is woven into the fabric of the estate’s wine story, which means the menu and the progression of dishes have to tell a convincing tale with matching wines and precision cooking. And indeed, Voyager Estate’s dining is very narrative – there’s a point to why certain dishes are presented and when.”
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