admin June 15, 2022
In a world-first, Anchor Restaurant in Elwood is set to be the first restaurant ever to use Australian grown sesame seeds, with the restaurant exclusively serving up the local ingredient all winter long.
Anchor co-owner and head chef, Rosalin Virnik has worked tirelessly to find an Australian sesame seed producer, and is excited to be the only restaurant to feature the seed on the menu.
Having always been sourced from overseas suppliers, the locally grown and processed sesame seeds are being supplied to the Bayside restaurant by Tony Matchett, owner of Savannah Sun Foods in Cairns, QLD.
The elusive sesame seeds are set to be showcased in Anchor’s delicious tahini, which is used to make their famous tahini sauce, baba ganoush, hummus and Moroccan spice mix. The Anchor team is also busily working on creating a sesame seed dessert for diners to enjoy in the coming weeks.
“It is such an honour to be the first restaurant in the world to use Australian grown sesame seeds. Our Modern-Australian Restaurant has many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences, so sesame seeds are a prized ingredient to us. Before opening last year, I searched
high and low for an Australian sesame seed grower but I was unable to find one. I am just so happy to have now found Tony and to be able to stock his beautiful seeds,” said Rosalin.
“At Anchor, we use only the finest quality produce that is sourced from Australian producers wherever possible. Sesame seeds are an ingredient that forms the basis of many of our tasty dish components, so it was really important for us to find a local seed grower and throw our support behind another Aussie producer. The fact that Tony is also trusting us to be the first restaurant ever to use his seeds for at least a few months is incredibly humbling.”
With over 25 years’ experience across farming and agronomy, Savannah Sun Foods owner, Tony Matchett, prides himself on undertaking local food processing to drive value creation at the farm gate level, and disrupting food ingredient imports into Australia.
Savannah Sun Foods’ products are sustainably certified, reducing waste and removing chemical fertilisers from their production system to ensure they grow and produce nutrient dense, healthy high quality food.
“Seeds grown overseas are often mistreated with radical processing, using harsh caustic-based chemicals. These chemicals often remain and amplify their toxicity on the seeds, and the overseas processors also release these pollutants into their local environment. By using Australian grown and processed seeds, Anchor is supporting a local producer who doesn’t use harmful methods of processing, offering a better tasting ingredient component for our dishes,” said Rosalin.
Anchor is now serving dishes made with Australian sesame seeds.
For further information on Anchor Elwood and to book a table: https://www.anchorelwood.com.au/
