Chef Jock Zonfrillo Cooked Us Fried Leaves and Alligator Meat

Jock Zonfrillo of Orana restaurant came to the BA Night Kitchen to make us some rather interesting Australian fare

October 3, 2014

When he was fed up with city life, Jock Zonfrillo, then 18, now renowned chef of Orana, did what anyone dreams of doing if they weren't bogged down by silly things like jobs or obligations or simple inertia. He moved to from Scotland to Australia. Nowadays, with the curiosity of an expat and the patriotism of an Aussie-by-choice, he dives deep into culinary history to fully express Australian cuisine, while keeping Aboriginal traditions—like fermenting mangrove seeds and eating succulents—alive and well and delicious. We can't go to Adelaide to see how he cooks kangaroo tail and saltwater-crocodile meat, so Tourism Australia brought the croc to us—well, they helped source some U.S. alligator, at least. And we discovered some amazing things about how to cook like an Australian, from a Scot, in New York.

Alex Lau
1/11
Where There's Smoke
That smoke filling the room? It's the taste and smell of Australia, Zonfrillo says. Just hope that the building's sprinkler system isn't very sensitive, and that you have a willing sous chef to fan the smoke.
Alison Roman/Instagram
2/11
Herbs Are Better Fried
Fried leaves make a killer snack—try sage or parsley—but they're even more impressive when the leaf is saltbush, an Australian semi-succulent plant that tastes just like a salt-and-vinegar potato chip. When are we going get some of that over here?

Alex Lau
3/11
Quick Vocabulary Lesson
A resident Australian in the crowd sets the record straight: "Shrimp on the barbie" isn't something anyone actually says. A real Aussie calls these beauties—seared and sprinkled with funky acidic Davidson's plum powder—prawns.
Alex Lau
4/11
A Toast!
Zonfrillo gives a toast the the crowd. He explains when he spends time with aboriginal tribes, he's there to just shut up, eat, and learn. He talks to elders, even homeless aboriginals on the street, to hear stories about dying out traditions. For example, the mangrove seed—an incredibly bitter seed that's almost like a fava bean—is traditionally buried in hot ash to kill the bitter flavor, and then fermented in sea water to preserve it.

Lilli Sherman/Instagram
5/11
Chewing Is Fundamental
"Not everything in life is silky-smooth and like butter," Zonfrillo says. "You can f-ing chew. That's what your teeth are for. If you don't, your teeth fall out." Moral? Eat alligator, preferably on a bed of fermented mangrove seeds and topped with black crunchies. Speaking of which...
Alex Lau
6/11
Don't Tell Anyone What the Black Crunchies Are
The guests will find out the secret behind these tiny, crunchy bursts of savoriness and a hint of citrus soon enough: They're ants. And folks will like them. See? They like them! Look at 'em ooh and aah.

Alex Lau
7/11
Eucalyptus Oil Is a Love Potion
It's a truly magical ingredient, slightly sweet but with the glossy depth of olive oil. Zonfrillo pours a mixture of eucalyptus oil and pure strawberry juice over a quenelle of set buttermilk; the liquids separate into tutti-frutti rings.
Alex Lau
8/11
Eat His Dust
Zonfrillo has us wanting to get into the powder game. Clockwise from top left: flaky pink Murray River salt; acidic Davidson's plum that's been fermented and dried as a next-level substitute for citrus; vinegar powder for that salt-'n'-vinegar punch; the flowering plant Geraldton Wax (looks like pine needles, tastes like lemongrass, goes great on seared scallops); dried and powdered bush tomatoes; and last but not least, those notorious black ants. They're the future, people.

Alex Lau
9/11
Rethink Pumpkin Spice
Zonfrillo slices his pumpkin paper thin, and coats the slices in lamb fat and salt before searing with a blowtorch. They're the perfect ribbony accompaniment to the tender roast fillet of black-faced Suffolk Lamb, the crowd-pleaser of the night.
Alex Lau
10/11
No Kangaroo? Don't Fret
If your local supermarket happens to be out of kangaroo, just sub in oxtail, as Zonfrillo does here. In Australia, the chefs at Orana do kangaroo the old-school way: burying the tail in hot ash and cooking it overnight until it falls off the...do kangaroo tails have bones? Zonfrillo did manage to smuggle in—that is, he just happened to run into someone who specializes in non-importable Aboriginal specialties who was able to supply him with—samphire, a native succulent that he chops up to resemble rice. This "faux risotto" gets combined with the "faux roo" and served in a spoon: a one-bite wonder.