“Chefs have huge egos, I don’t know if you know that” celebrity restauranteur, Luke Mangan confides to noodlies, Sydney food blog.  The confession is delivered deadpan so I’m not quite sure if Mangan’s serving up a fact or pulling a leg.  Watch the featured noodlies video below: was Mangan cheeky or serious?  Mangan evidently respects the Peruvian born, now LA based Ricardo Zarate, named by Food & Wine magazine as America’s best new chef, 2011.  This fondness was developed after he dined at Zarate’s restaurant in LA, Mangan loved the experience so much, he brought the exciting young chef to Crave International Food Festival and glass brasserie for the past few years.  Mangan describes Zarate as “a brilliant chef”.

Tonight, I’m lucky enough to sample some canapes prepared by Zarate and his team at Mangan’s glass brasserie as well as conduct a one-on-one video interview with the articulate Zarate. Watch the video interview below.

Zarate employs standard Peruvian ingredients, aji amarillo (yellow Peruvian chilli) and lots of potato – his love of seafood is also very evident.  In Zarate’s kitchen these ingredients pop to life, whether it’s leche de tigre (tiger’s milk) a zesty punch the the face made from left over ceviche (raw fish) marinade, tangy tomato compote with fresh sea urchin, spicy tomato salad with red snapper or the creamy smoothness of potato and quail egg in feta cheese and aji amarillo sauce.

According to Zarate, Peruvian food is a melting pot of different cultures developed over 500 years, firstly with the Incas, then the Spanish who also brought Moroccan and African influences, the pot got more complex with the arrival of the Europeans contributing French and Italian flair and then finally the influences of Asia, firstly Chinese and then Japanese. Zarate says Chinese food in Peru is called “sifu” food, from the Cantonese ‘to eat’.

peruvian tiger's milk
peruvian tomato compote fresh sea-urchin
peruvian potato salad spicy red snapper
glass brasserie kitchen hilton hotel sydney
ricardo zarate and thang ngo, noodlies sydney food blog

About glass brasserie

The restaurant is the by celebrity restaurateur Luke Mangan with interiors by New York designer Tony Chi, the 240-seat establishment features a 13 metre floor to ceiling glass wall overlooking one of Sydney’s famous landmarks, the historic Queen Victoria Building.  Conveniently located in the heart of Sydney, glass brasserie offers quality food in an elegant environment avoids being stuffy.

glass brasserie
Hilton Hotel,
Level 2,  488 George Street, Sydney
Ph: 9265 6068

This noodlies, Sydney food blog experience was courtesy of glass brasserie and the Hilton, Sydney.