Spicers Hidden Vale, set on 12,000 acres at the fringe of Queensland's spectacular Scenic Rim, has welcomed Antoine Potier as their new head chef, building on Spicers' passion for the natural brilliance of seasonal ingredients and respect for the productive environment.
Potier takes over from Tom Mumford as head chef at the retreat's dining venues. The gloriously rustic The Barn and degustation fine-dining at Homage, one of Queensland's finest regional restaurants, where Potier's wife Odara is the manager.
Homage's creative, unfussy cooking style and commitment to quality and sustainability at every stage of the supply chain saw Homage awarded two hats in Australian Good Food Guides from 2020 to 2023.
Potier works with Spicers Hidden Vale sous chef Kane Trewhella, who played a vital role in the success over the past six years and the retreat's rebirth from a devastating fire in 2018.
Since moving to Australia five years ago, Potier has worked in various hatted restaurants between Sydney and Brisbane, most recently as head chef of Brisbane's renowned e'cco Bistro.
Born in Brittany in north-west France, Potier started his kitchen career in Michelin-starred restaurants from Burgundy and Paris before moving to London and building his craft for four years as a sous chef in a Michelin-starred French restaurant in bustling Soho.
Potier has now adjusted to cheffing life in the country and Spicers' incredible commitment to sustainability and hyper-local ingredients. They feel that not over-complicate things is an underutilised skill and let the produce speak for itself.
"I am a chef that loves travelling, and you can feel it in my cuisine, but I want to make the quality produce shine in the same ethical environment in which I grew up in Brittany," said Potier.
Potier later said, "It felt natural to move to Hidden Vale and execute a paddock-to-plate cooking style. It's like returning to my roots but on the other side of the globe."
Fresh honey, fruit, herbs and vegetables are harvested daily from the Homage market garden, fruit orchard, beehives, free-range farm and hen house or sourced from a select few nearby producers.
There are no shortcuts at Spicers Hidden Vale. Preserving the natural bounty involves pickling and drying in the smokehouse and preserving room to minimise food waste. Almost all of what's not used in the kitchen is recycled onsite by the chickens or collected by Mallow Sustainability to ensure food waste is composted and not binned.
"Our mangoes are grown on the property and locally are in season, so we're serving them fresh with cheesecake and a refreshing sorbet, simply seasoned with lemon myrtle powder, which we make from our own tree," Potier described.
"We also preserve and pickle green mangoes, which we use to enhance the dish," Potier said.
The kitchen team behind The Barn and Homage Restaurant have built their style around traditional methods of cooking and preserving, using coal pits, a long, open-air grill in heritage brick and steel, and a traditional wood-fired oven that permeates the menus at Spicers Hidden Vale.
Take the heritage-breed rooster, served with curried corn puree and a rooster fat crisp. The entire rooster is used: a slow-cooked breast, confit legs, offal mousse, the skin transforms into crisps, and jus is made from the bones.
Potier said, "We source our roosters from Sammy at Grandchester Heritage Chickens, who are just down the road from Spicers Hidden Vale."
The corn in the rooster dish is from Spicers' garden and local farms, prepared in many different ways, including a fermented sweet corn curry and a fragrant fermented powder.
"This dish reflects Homage's philosophy and will remain on the tasting menu as a signature dish," said Potier.
Spicers Hidden Vale is an escape just an hour's drive from Brisbane that combines the style and comfort of a luxury retreat with the warmest the country welcomes.
Discover a regional adventure and experience, the bush at its best in understated luxury, with 'farm-gate to plate' dining and a great range of nature-based activities.
Find space to relax, listen, laugh, and embark on a revitalising adventure among 12,000 acres of true Australian Bush.
