our food philosophy
Introducing our Pastry Chef extraordinaire!
Lisa McCabe joined the Joseph’s kitchen back in July last year, just after we took over the Mansion Hotel. I was recently in a new menu tasting where Lisa put her dishes up for tasting, comment and explained her inspiration behind her dessert menu. I hung on her every word, engaged and salivating, so here she is folks I introduce to you Lisa McCabe.... Adriano Zumbo who? I will hear you ask after trying her delicious and often fun, pastries & desserts.
A 5th generation baker/pastry chef, Lisa grew up in the grain belt of Victoria, where she mastered the art of baking with her grandmother, cooking for hordes of shearers and shed hands on their farm. Learning the basics by reading some of our iconic female cooks, like Margaret Fulton, Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander she decided to take on an apprenticeship at the 2 chef’s hatted, Merrijig Inn in Port Fairy, from there it was onto the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, not a bad training ground at all.
Lisa finally walked into our kitchen, via Voyages Ayres Rock, El Questro, Brampton Island and more recently the Sofitel Melbourne. Here she worked under the guidance of Scott O’Brien and Ian Burch, where she was inspired to look at pastry and desserts from a completely new perspective.
“I want pastry to be the pinnacle of the dining experience, it must be an unforgettable item to end the diners evening. Pastry is about making people remember, delight and also leave with the feeling of happiness. While also exploring how to make an everyday item a thing for the guest to desire and yearn for at the conclusion of their meal”
You have succeeded Lisa, I am hooked and yearning.
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