The desert restaurant has just been nominated in the World Culinary Awards for ‘Oceania’s Best Fine Dining Hotel Restaurant’ (only NT restaurant on list) and ‘World’s Best Culinary Resort’ (only Australian resort on the list).
Meaning ‘beautiful dune’ in local Pitjantjatjara language, Tali Wiru is an exclusive four-hour outdoor dining experience set on a dune-top with sweeping views to Uluṟu, Kata Tjuta and the vast Australian outback.
Limited to just 20 guests per evening and operated seasonally from April to October, the experience showcases authentic native flavours and ancient techniques.
Chefs use carefully selected produce from around Australia to create culinary masterpieces and bring the landscape to life.
The Indigenous-inspired, chef-hatted experience has just been elevated with new menu items and pairings from renowned Aussie winemaker Penfolds.
New menu items include:
- Shark Bay Scallops with Bowen mango and salt bush salsa
- Wild Kangaroo Loin with caramelised onion and baby herbs
- Quaker’s Hill, Confit Duck Breast with Riverlands emu pate on lavash crisps, with apple cider pickled red onion
- Wild Moreton Bay Bugs with muntrie pomegranate glaze, ice plant, native finger lime caviar and lemon myrtle beurre blanc.
We spoke to Matt Cameron-Smith, CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, operators of Ayers Rock Resort, about the nominations and the new menu.
Q: What is your reaction to being nominated in the World Culinary Awards?
A: We take great pride in the quality and personality of the menus at Ayers Rock Resort, so to have our unique dining options acknowledged like this on the world stage is a huge thrill.
Our culinary teams work so hard to source and create imaginative dishes incorporating Australia’s freshest produce with unique Indigenous flavour combinations – so it’s wonderful to see them recognised in this way.
Q: What are the challenges of preparing gourmet-quality food in a desert location?
A: We’re very remote here – closer to a space station than a traffic light – so that does mean we have to look further afield when it comes to sourcing our ingredients.
We grow what we can in the resort gardens – things like salt bush and quandong – which are lovingly tended to by our resort gardeners.
But mostly we have to go out to suppliers throughout Australia, ones we know we can rely on to deliver quality produce to us in good time.
We also like to source more widely from Indigenous-owned suppliers where we can; the likes of Yaru Water in NSW, Munda Wines in SA, and Jarrah Boy beer and Beechtree Distilling Co. on the Sunshine Coast – we aim to create an environment where Indigenous enterprise can thrive.
Q: Of the new menu items, which dish are you most looking forward to trying?
A: My favourite new dish has to be the Wild Moreton Bay Bugs with muntrie pomegranate glaze, ice plant, native finger lime caviar and lemon myrtle beurre blanc.
The flavours all meld together so perfectly with the creamy sauce and the dish really hero’s native ingredients like finger lime and lemon myrtle.
We recommend pairing the dish with Penfolds Cellar Reserve Riesling from Clare Valley, which has lemon and lime flavours that beautifully complement the citrus elements of the dish.
Q: How does it feel to be the highest rated restaurant in the Northern Territory?
A: I think the NT should be on more traveller’s lists as a must-do culinary destination. We have some phenomenal restaurants and unique outdoor dining options that showcase a melting pot of unique flavours.
So we’re incredibly honoured that Tali Wiru’s been awarded a Good Food Guide Chef’s Hat and is now the highest rated in the NT; we have plenty of very worthy competition so it’s huge privilege!
