Wouther Debbes has control of the kitchen at Wollongong's Wild Moose cafe, which he built from the ground up with his partner Anki Rask. The cafe fuses Debbes's native South African cuisine with the Swedish dishes Anki grew up with.
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Why did you become a chef?
Well, to be truthful, destiny played a big part. Cooking has always been a big part of my life. I was never formally qualified, but in South Africa I worked front and back of house in various restaurants for the best part of 13 years. Only after injuring my back at work here in Australia was I given the opportunity to change careers and the choice was obvious. Passion won the day.
This is like my home, my family. As a foreigner, I don't feel foreign any more. Though you can put it on record that I will never shout for Australia in rugby union or cricket.
What is your signature dish?
There are a few, but I would say my Moroccan spiced chicken and prawn kebabs with sweetcorn fritters and served with a garden salad and harissa, which is a real winner.
How long did it take to develop a menu that fused Swedish and South African cuisine?
The seeds were planted around 2003 when we [Anki and I] met, but I would say about a few weeks of tinkering. Obviously in the beginning we didn't know what response we would get, we now have a fairer idea of what our client base wants and needs.
What are typical ingredients you work with from both cuisines?
African would be maize, coriander seeds, cumin and smoked paprika, to say just a few, while typical Swedish ingredients include potatoes, dill, onion, salmon and herring.
Is one country's dishes more popular at the restaurant?
It depends on the season, but generally the South African cuisine seems to be more popular due to the wonderful flavours. South African food is very flavoursome because of the different influences right through the years. Down in Cape Town, with all the explorers passing through with slaves from Asia and other places, you had all walks of life congregating there, so the cuisine is a massive melting pot of Asian, Dutch, German. My cooking is not one specific dish.
Why did you decide on the name Wild Moose?
We didn't want just another "Cafe on Flinders" so to speak, we wanted our name to portray our backgrounds. So wild equals Africa and moose equals Sweden.
To me, it's just not another cafe. I could have bought a house instead, but me and Anki wanted to follow our dream.
Have you ever eaten moose meat?
Absolutely, in the northern parts of Sweden it's nearly as popular and as common as beef.
What are your favourite ingredients to work with?
Most probably preserved lemons, cumin, smoked paprika, cajun spices, Moroccan spices and fresh coriander, and not forgetting the chillies of course.
What is it like working with your partner?
Well I wear the pants, and the missus tells me which colour to wear.
Anki, she's a lovely woman. We don't have a lot of family here, so it's not as if we've got other people to rely on, we really rely on each other, not only on the business side, but also on a personal level. It's just made us stronger.
Spiced chicken and prawn kebabs
INGREDIENTS:
Kebabs
6 chicken breasts, cubed
18-24 king prawns, peeled with tails on
5 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
tsp salt
6 bamboo or metal skewers
Harissa hot chilli paste
150g red or green chillies, finely chopped and deseeded
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green and 1 red pepper, grilled, skinned and chopped
cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1 tbsp ground cumin
Sea salt
Fritters
410g can of whole kernel sweetcorn, drained
1 onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
50g very fine cornflake crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
salt
cayenne pepper
2 tbsp butter
5 tbsp oil
METHOD:
Kebabs
■ Place chicken and prawns in a bowl and marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 30 minutes.
■ Thread chicken and prawns on to skewers, with three or four prawns per skewer.
■ Grill in a hot pan for 5 minutes on each side, basting regularly.
Fritters
■ Mix sweetcorn, onion, eggs, cornflake crumbs, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
■ Melt butter and oil in a frying pan and drop in a level tablespoon of sweetcorn mixture.
■ Fry on both side until brown.
Harissa hot chilli paste
■ Combine ingredients and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes. Store in a sterilised jar in the fridge.
■ Serve the skewers and fritters on a bed of salad leaves with the harissa. Serves 4 to 6.
