Taste of the south

Tonight’s going to be big — just ask Silas Masih who will be cooking up a storm to showcase the fresh produce and wines at the finale of the seventh annual Taste Great Southern festival.

Mr Masih, of Pepper & Salt Restaurant, Denmark, will be guest chef at Globe Restaurant at the Parmelia Hilton, Perth, alongside head chef Chad Miskiewicz.

The pair have combined their creative talents to come up with a five-course menu at $140 a head, matching food and wine from the Great Southern.

Canapés with seaweed-crusted snapper from Albany will be tasted with Kerrigan and Berry riesling from Mt Barker, Denmark’s Scotsdale marron has been matched with Oranje Tractor sauvignon blanc from Albany and Butterfield beef from Borden has been combined with cabernet sauvignons from Howard Park and Castelli.

Mr Masih loves using quality local produce in his kitchen, saying when you put good food on the table, you don’t have to mask the flavours.

“From a chef’s perspective, it’s about sustaining the local economy and having input into the region,” he said.

“It’s really important as chefs and for the food industry as a whole to start to acknowledge that if we don’t use local produce, we are putting locals out of business.”

Other producers to be showcased include Over the Moon cheeses as well as wines from Forest Hill and Harewood.