AFTER travelling to some of the most exotic destinations in the world, one of Britain’s top chefs, Tim Payne is in the country.
And while it may be his first trip to Fiji, he is already picking up ideas about his culinary treats when he jets back to work on an island in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain, Ibiza.
Payne, who is at the newly-opened Vibe Bar and Restaurant in Nadi, says he is enjoying his time in Fiji and taking note of the different styles of cooking.
“Fiji is a beautiful country and the food is a little different from Europe, most probably because Fiji is isolated,” he says. “There are some great products here- fresh fruits, clams, fish and meat. So there is a good variety of local products.”
The 46-year-old is in Fiji to help out his friend Graham Applin, the owner of Vibe Restaurant and Bar.
“It is my six-month vacation and I asked Graham if he wanted me to come over and help him to see how we created dishes in Europe.
“Some of the dishes I did are quite good and I have tasted some of the local dishes. I work in Ibiza which is usually very busy in the summer, and now, I want to incorporate Spanish and Mediterranean styles using local ingredients.”
Payne says some of the local products like coconuts, clams and ginger worked well with the dishes he was trying to create.
“It’s a sort of fusion between Fiji and the Mediterranean.”
And Payne is no stranger to creating dishes with the best of both cultures in mind.
He has 28 years of experience as a chef and has worked alongside some big names in the cooking industry, such as Gordon Ramsay of Hells Kitchen and Marco Pierre White.
He started working at the age of 18 at Northcote Manor in Lancashire before moving to one of London’s premier restaurants, Indigo Jones. His precocious talent was quickly spotted and he was hired by Marco Pierre White to work at his two Michelin star restaurant, Harvey’s. He then went to work at Le Tante Claire, another two-star Michelin restaurant.
He continued working in different places and after working as a consultant for five years, he moved to The Paradise in Kensal Rise, London, where he was the executive chef and then moved to Ibiza last year to work with DJ Carl Cox at Sands Ibiza. Here, Payne is the head chef.
And working in places like London, New York and Sydney has given him an idea of what styles to incorporate in his dishes.
He says there are certain areas where Fijian chefs could improve on.
“I think things like the pizzas are terrible — they are more like bread. From my perspective, the chefs are trained too hard to copy certain styles of cooking. You should use local products as much as possible because it tastes better.
“Hopefully, while I am here, I can help to influence some of the dishes. After this, I am going back to Ibiza and I start work in April.”
He said one of the ways in which Fijians could learn to better enjoy their meals was to make the food they were eating a bit simpler.
“Fijians eat large portions and we need the menus to be a little more refined. We want to make the products speak for themselves and highlight the local products.
“Vibe Restaurant hosts hospitality nights on Monday and I encourage local chefs to come here and see how we work and how we are incorporating dishes with both the local and European style.
Payne will be in residency at Vibe until March 29.
