Award winning chefs swap fancy kitchens for local farms

Simon Furley, Kyle McNamara and Alex Hall travel directly to farmers' front paddocks to source fresh produce to cook over open fire grills.

The trio had been working together for seven years before making the decision to establish their own catering business, Embers Wood Fire Dining.

Originally from Bath in England Mr Furley was the sous chef at Homage, Spicers Hidden Vale, Grandchester restaurant, before Mr McNamara and Mr Hall joined as chefs.

In 2018, the 100-year-old homestead burnt down with the restaurant which was rebuilt in 2021.

"For two years we cooked out of an old barn on charcoal the whole time and the idea for Embers came from the love of cooking over the fire," Mr Furley said.

An opportunity presented for Mr Furley to build a restaurant from the ground up at Beechmont estate, Gold Coast Hinterland.

The trio worked for two years together at The Paddock restaurant before deciding to try something different.

"At some point we thought, maybe we could do this ourselves, because the Scenic Rim is about 4000 square kilometres,...everyone has these beautiful properties, but there is not much catering in the area of a good standard," Mr Furley said.

"So we became a roaming mobile restaurant with capacity to cater for different events...we spent six months putting it together and launched Embers in January this year."

They also rent a space at Mount Tamborine where they conduct their masterclasses and teach the techniques they use such as cooking with open flames and adding flavour to diverse cuts of meat.

"We mainly cook with ironbark because it's abundant in the region...it burns low and slow," Mr Furley said.

"It is a hardwood with a low oil content in comparison to the other eucalyptus, which gives you a consistent long burn, fantastic for what we do...we use less wood, get better yield and cook times out of your product.

"We use sheep, cattle, pork and veal, mostly pasture raised and vegetables from the Scenic Rim."

Mr McNamara said they know their audience.

"Our inspiration comes from the beautiful produce and farmers around us...we know all the farmers we visit, we see what is in season, how their animals are doing and get involved with them as best we can...to make our menus more creative," Mr McNamara said.

Mr Furley said they travel to any location in south east Queensland for any kind of event, with their cooking equipment in tow.

"We aren't limiting ourselves to any possible opportunity and can travel to wherever we are needed." Mr McNamara said.

"It comes down to cooking styles and flavour and diversity, being able to do different things such as smoking, dehydrating, char and seer different cuts of meat, which all enhances it's flavour.

"When you have already got a product that is as good as it possibly can be from the region and you amplify it with cooking over some really nice local timber, you'll have the best of whatever you can get."

The three chefs started with local Scenic Rim producers like Towri Sheep Cheeses. Last week they cooked at the Towri Growers Market, an open farm even where local producers connect with customers.

They buy off the producer and cook the whole animal, in this case sheep, as a way to pay homage to the producers.

"We utilise things like the belly and the legs, showcasing how you can make those things stars...we break down the whole animal and use it different ways with a bit of imagination and creativity," Mr McNamara said.

Mr Furley said they already have a following from their restaurants and hope this would expand as their bookings increase as people discover their business.

"We'd like to have multiple trailers with a fridge option where we can have everything with us and roam further...at the moment we are on a small scale," he said.