Lizard Islands new Executive Chef Anthony Healy is preparing a week-long culinary Christmas season celebration this year.While guests snorkel or dive the beautiful Great Barrier Reef or simply sink their feet into the islands 24 powdery white beaches, Healy will be creating a specially designed Reveillon Christmas Eve Menu, a Christmas Day menu and a New Years Eve menu for the festive season.
The Reveillon is a European tradition in the form of a long dinner or party usually held the night before Christmas Day. A good cause for celebration on Lizard Island, the Reveillon menu will offer 24-month aged Jamon Iberico with a celeriac paste to start, followed by organic quail and boudin noir, roast barramundi, organic duck breast and followed by apple tarte tatin. The five-course Reveillon dinner will be matched by a selection of Australian, New Zealand and French wines.
On Christmas Day, guests will be treated to a light, yet traditional, Christmas dinner offering smoked ham hock terrine, local painted crayfish, seared red emperor, slow roast Australian turkey breast and traditional Christmas pudding. On New Years Eve, celebrations on Lizard Island will kick off at Ospreys Restaurant with oysters and cream, matched with NV Louis Roederer Champagne, followed by Western Australian Marron, seared coral trout, eight-score Wagyu sirloin, a selection of cheeses and fresh fruit and the dessert finale – Healys interpretation of a deconstructed Snickers bar, a layered chocolate ganache with a salted peanut butter parfait, a nougat espuma and a salted butter praline. The seven-course New Years Eve dinner will be matched by a variety of Australian wines.
This will be Healys first Christmas on the island. He joined Lizard Island from Hayman Island where he was Chef de Cuisine in La Fontaine restaurant for two and a half years. He has a culinary career spanning 10 years around the world working in top restaurants in London (Les Trois Garcons), France (La Cote Saint Jacques) as well as Australia (Il Centro).
The main pavilion on Lizard Island houses the fine dining restaurant, Ospreys, and under the direction of Healy, the restaurants menu changes daily.
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