A cold beer with Brendon Coffey

New Zealander Brendon Coffey, as executive chef, is the where the accolades and criticism stop cuisine-wise at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa on Denarau Island. 
And when you are responsible for feeding guests on resort-studded Denarau Island in Fiji, then you had better be good at it, because it’s only a short jandal flop to the next restaurant.

Coffey started as assistant executive chef in 2006 when the Sofitel was the first of a whole bunch of new resorts on Denarau Island, and quickly took over the top job. He is now in charge of up to 60 kitchen staff and responsible for all the cuisine at this five-star resort.

Up to 80 percent of food in Fiji is imported and resort cuisine in Fiji is typically dominated by European-style recipes and menus with light regard to local recipes and produce with their strong southern-Indian influence. The exception is the ubiquitous kokoda or local version of raw fish (usually mahi-mahi) marinated in lime juice and then in coconut milk, common throughout the Pacific islands.

Brendon Coffey is one executive chef who embraces the local cuisine as much as he can. Fiji has no shortage of vegetables grown in its cooler altitudes and the south-west-Indian Gujarati cuisine is predominately vegetarian and a perfect way to take advantage of the endemic vegetables, fruits and produce, says Coffey, who is married to Sharon, a Fiji Indian. Also a chef, she met Brendon when they worked together at Auckland’s old Killarney Street Brasserie and the pair moved to Fiji for a lifestyle change. Sharon’s heritage, her cooking and Fiji’s lively blend of Indian and Pacific island flavours passionately influence him, says Brendon.

“Then there’s the straight south-Indian influence with dishes that use coconut cream and coriander flavours. The wonderful thing is that there are just so many different types of Indian foods and spices available here that you never tire of discovering something new.”

Coffey advises travellers to get stuck into local fruit and vegetables while in Fiji – particularly the pineapples, mangoes and paw paws.

“I’m also talking of fruit off the trees along the roadside, authentic vegetable curries cooked by the local ladies. Seriously, I’m the last person to be a vegetarian, but if I was, Fiji is definitely the place to be.”

 The Namatakula Markets are open daily and are close to Denarau Island, he adds.
“In terms of food, my favourite is katabagi – which is a sweet and sour spinach, cooked with eggplant and smeared into paste to be eaten with roti. Giant mudcrabs and reef fish is also amazing here.”

A local brewery produces both Bounty Rum and Fiji Bitter. Coffey says he not only likes the local beer but sometimes roasts chicken in it with lemon, and is not averse to using the local kava drink in his cooking. 

“We use kava to create ‘kava ice cream’ and as a secret ingredient on special occasions to create things like kava-coated seared tuna – delicious.”

Fijians usually cook with whatever’s growing in their garden – an approach that appeals to Coffey. 

“We still use around 90 percent local product and local distributors. We do still import certain things however, such as fine olive oils. Fiji offers the best rocket and herbs, so we ensure the best Italian oil to complement that.”

He encourages local suppliers to sell directly to the kitchen door – fishermen with red-flame snapper and mud crabs from the Denarau mangroves, and farmers with boxes of fruit and vegetables.

With such a rainbow of flavours, simplicity is the approach Coffey applies in the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa’s cavernous kitchen.

“We are a multicultural nation and have a lot of flavours to share, so from my side of things I advocate simplicity when I cook. Simple flavours are the best.”

Chef’s last meal questionnaire: Brendon Coffey

Most overrated ingredient?
Tripe and brains. Never could figure how people manage to put this on menus.

Most underestimated ingredient?
Cabbage and cauliflower

Milestone career experience?
So many... but the most recent would be being part of our charity function for Cure Kids Fiji, a great event for a great cause, follow the link to give me a donation for Team Fijiwi (Fiji and Kiwi).

http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/

Toughest cooking lesson?
Learning to cook duck curry for my Fijian-born (chef) wife. That was a tough day!

Worse aspect about cheffing in the tropics?
Floods and cyclones! Very tough day or three.

Oldest and most valued piece of personal equipment?
My wife. Can I class her as equipment?  Hospitality can be a tough career especially for a family, my wife has been so supportive and encouraging in all aspects of what I do. Maybe take off the oldest bit but certainly most valued!

You are limited to three flavourings - what?
Fresh limes, coriander, chilli, fresh masala, kaffir lime, mango, curry leaf, soursop, Fiji mandarins... is that three?

Favourite cookbook?
Thai Food, David Thompson.

Always within reach?
Fresh limes, coriander, chilli, fresh masala, kaffir lime, mango, curry leaf, soursop, Fiji mandarins… and a cold beer.

Food aversions?
Most but not all offal.

Recipes guests won’t let you take of the menu?
Currently, keema naan, Thai BBQ chicken, kokoda.

Will ‘small plate/share plate’ dining fit into a Fiji resort? 
Absolutely. They are called chasers. Little plates of snacks generally eaten while sitting under the mango tree having a few cold beers.

Cooking superstitions?
Not so much a superstition as a lesson I learnt in my early kitchen years and one I pass on to the young ones today: “There are two people who know everything you do… your mother and the Chef.”

End of service treat?
A cold beer and a massage.

What do you cook at home?
A range of different things depending on the mood or of special interest at different times. Predominantly, it is simple and fresh. Sharon, my wife, also does a lot of her local style food which is just the best.

Always in your home fridge?
A cold beer.

What do you do on your day off?
Have a cold beer and a massage! Sometimes while fishing, or sometimes on the beach, or even under the mango tree, occasionally on the golf course, and even sometimes on a quiet island.

Cooking philosophy?
Simple, fresh, good quality ingredients. Be passionate! Work hard.

Expensive food indulgence?
Bluff oysters… who would ever have thought!

Pet peeve about other restaurants?
Make-believe ethnic restaurants. Cook the real thing.

Worst meal ever?
At a neighbouring resort. I’ll keep the details for my memoirs!

What do you miss about NZ?
Let me see… the rain, getting up early when it’s cold and dark, the traffic, the cost of car parking, tasteless produce. I mean seriously – I live in Fiji!

What do you hope to be doing career-wise at 60?
OK, I did research your previous interviews with the two past chefs and noticed the question has changed from 50 to 60? Well, very happy to tell you what I might be doing career-wise at 50! Actually I’m doing it already… 45!

What would you feature in your last meal?
As a person of Christian faith, I would probably be focusing more toward my first meal in heaven than my last here on earth. However, I would probably be inclined to partake in communion and God willing it would be a nice crusty, but soft, sourdough or Middle Eastern style bread with some EV olive oil and some of Aunt Phy’s eggplant chutney. The wine, of course, would be an Otago pinot noir.

Winter 2010

Copyright 2009 Foodstyle Review. All Rights Reserved
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material is governed by our subscriber terms and conditions. For non-personal use, please contact us. www.foodstyle.co.nz.