East 33 has announced a Chef Series which sees four leading culinary figures design an oyster accompaniment.
Neil Perry (Rockpool), Scott Pickett (Pickett & Co), Victor Liong (Lee Ho Fook, Chuuka) and Alex Pritchard (Icebergs) have all created a salsa, mignonette or vinaigrette which will be released in kits with 24 Sydney rock oysters over the next five weeks.
East 33 kicked off the series on 9 March with Perry’s creation; a desert lime and spring onion salsa.
“I have picked up on the sweet and saltiness of the oyster, bringing a little bit of acidity in,” says the chef.
“Pairing it with another great Australian native ingredient, the desert lime, which I have mixed with a little bit of spring onion, a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.”
From 17 March, Pritchard’s lemon myrtle and pink peppercorn vinaigrette will launch, with the chef also incorporating Meyer lemon for its subtle profile.
“The Meyer lemon has a wonderful balance of sweetness to acidity, while the lemon myrtle gives an incredible amount of fragrance,” he says. “The pink peppercorn gives warmth without overpowering.”
The chef says his accompaniment can also be frozen and served as a granita.
Liong has used ginger as the focal point of his soy vinaigrette, available from 7 April.
“This vinaigrette captures the essence of Cantonese cuisine and the subtle freshness of grated ginger and soy perfectly complements the brininess of the oyster,” says the chef.
From 14 April, Pickett will conclude the series with his native pepper and verjus migonette, which the chef says is one of his go-tos.
“This is my all-time favourite dressing where the combination of pepperberry, lemon aspen, finger and desert lime, eucalyptus and verjus comes together and takes the Sydney Rock to a whole new level,” says Pickett.
The accompaniments come in 100ml sizes and are available as part of the Seasonal Tasting Kit which includes 24 oysters and one chef accompaniment for $94.
Photography: Jason Loucas