Talking food with Casey McDonald of Craggy Range Restaurant
Bob Campbell MW in Five Questions Become a member to view this article
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Chef Casey McDonald. Supplied. Photographer: Richard Brimer
Kiwi-born Casey McDonald recently joined Craggy Range as head chef after a distinguished international career that started in Wellington at Citron restaurant before joining Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco then, at 25 years of age, moved to The Square, a two-star Michelin restaurant in Mayfair, London. Next was a stint at Andrew McConnell’s Melbourne restaurant, then to Cumulus Up and Cumulus Inc. as Head Chef in charge of six kitchens.
McDonald spent his first weeks at Craggy Range Restaurant exploring farmers and food suppliers in the Bay to develop a menu that must surely be the envy of all winery restaurants.
Bob Campbell MW: I recently dined at your restaurant and was interested to note that the Craggy Range wines I enjoyed with my meal tasted even better than the same wines on my tasting bench. Any idea why that might be?
Casey McDonald: Lovely to hear. I know the winemakers often talk of our style of wine working better with food, but for me, I do think everything is better when you are in a nice environment with friends and hopefully good food!
BC: When you design a dish do you have a specific wine in mind?
CM: Yes, that is certainly a major part of my thinking. Obviously the season dictates the initial balance of the menu and then how it will go with the wine. So summer might be more suited to a crisp white wine and some raw fish with a cr̬me fraiche. The acidity in the wine cuts through the texture of the fish and creaminess of the cr̬me fraiche. In winter we have the fire on in the restaurant, we will think about one of our Craggy Range reds Рsyrah or a Bordeaux blend and then from there, the menu takes a protein focus utilising our coal grill
BC: What’s the most popular dish on your menu?
CM: Our fish dishes always really popular, the fish is always right off the boat and everything is whole so always so fresh. We often have Flounder, which is always filleted and cooked so it has a crispy skin and then served with romesco sauce and pickled clams. I think Flounder can be tricky and often eaten whole, so to see it filleted means we sell a huge amount of it!
Or our five-spice fried Shiitake mushrooms, which have been taken off the menu but they are so popular, we just have them almost as a secret menu item for customers who know to ask for them!
BC: Do you choose a dish to meet a customer’s tastes or to lure them out of their comfort zone?
CM: I think the perfect place to be when designing a dish is to make sure it is delicious and doesn’t require too much thinking from the guest! It must have that comfort appeal, but a difficulty slightly above what is achievable in the home kitchen. That’s where I like the dishes on the menu to be. Examples would be roast duck with great crispy skin, rich beef short rib that falls off the bone, clean and fresh raw fish dishes are great examples of what you can do at home, but it’s so much easier to go and order it!
BC: What’s the greatest food and wine combination you can think of?
CM: When cooking at home I love simple, and while it might sound a little boring, a stuffed roast chicken with heaps of lemon and thyme matched with chardonnay is pretty special and hard to beat. Something with some acid, obviously a Craggy Range chardonnay, Les Beaux Cailloux or a white Burgundy (if it is someone else’s shout!). Pierre Yves Colin Morey Saint-Aubin is a favourite.