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** EDITED: Not even i’m prepared to accept such appalling grammar as what I read in this post **

I’m going to attempt to explain Tetsuya’s to everyone who reads this today…..

First things first, Tetsuyas is a top-five, world-class restuarant with a French-Asian inspired fare, degustation-style food and a continually evolving menu.

An extract about Tetsuya partially sums up this amazing chef:

“Tetsuya Wakuda grew up in the Japanese town of Hamamatsu until at the age of twenty-two, armed with his only piece of information about Australia (that there were lots of koalas and kangaroos around) and having only a limited grasp of English, he decided to travel to Australia. This same thirst for new experiences is reflected still in Tetsuya’s approach to food.

Arriving in Sydney in 1982 with nothing more than a small suitcase and a love of food, Tetsuya landed his first job as a kitchenhand at Fishwives in Surry Hills. A year later he was introduced to Sydney chef Tony Bilson, who was looking for a Japanese cook to make sushi. It was there at Tony’s kitchen at Kinsela’s Tetsuya realised that he wanted to cook, and that he could indeed cook very well. Here also he learnt the classical French technique which forms part of his style today.

“I made a lot of things up along the way, and luckily for me, people like the way it tasted.”

Tetsuya left Kinsela’s in 1983 and in partnership with the head waiter opened Ultimo’s, where he quickly learnt the responsibility of running his own business. His own restaurant, Tetsuya’s, opened in 1989 as a tiny shopfront in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle and was booked out with daily waiting lists.

In November 2000, Tetsuya relocated his restaurant from Rozelle to 529 Kent Street, Sydney and since then has evolved his style and reputation to become one of Australia’s, if not the world’s, most renowned chefs.

Tetsuya is part of an elite group of international chefs that has influenced other chefs through their personal styles and unique approaches to food. His culinary philosophy centres on pure, clean flavours that are decisive, yet completely refined. His amazing technique, Asian heritage, sincere humility, worldwide travels and insatiable curiosity combine to create incredible, soulful dishes that exude passion in every bite.”

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The Menu

Tasmanian Pacific Oyster with Rice Vinegar

Snow Egg & Caviar Sandwich

Tartare of Tuna on Sushi Rice with Avocado

Tuna Marinated in Soy and Mirin
Spring Bay Scallop with Wakame & Lemon
Cold Corn Soup with Basil Ice Cream

Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon & Fennel

Seasonal Green Salad

Ravioli of Lobster & Crab with Shellfish Essence

Twice Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Braised Daikon & Bread Sauce

Grilled Wagyu Beef with Asian Mushrooms & Lime Jus

Lime Sorbet with Feijoa

Strawberry Shortcake

Blue Cheese Ice Cream with Pear & Sauterne Jelly

Floating Island with Praline & Vanilla Bean Anglaise

Coffee or Tea & Petit

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To say that the food was delicious would underestimate. To say the service was the best i’ve ever experienced would be a disservice to the staff who greet you at the door (all 7 of them) through to the waiters perfection in both introducing each plate, sharing minor anecdotes on world topics and generally making you feel like the only person in a restaurant of 40.
To say that the attention to detail was so impeccable can only be described by providing you with a working example.

At the beginning of the meal Kath indicating her dislike of Mushrooms. To compensate for this minor request, her entire menu was modified to appropriately accomdate this subtle shift in palate and to ensure that her experience was both as unique and as satisfying as the food of those around her.

To say that it was perfection would be getting very close to the reality.

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The occassion was Kath’s Fathers retirement dinner and I was lucky enough to be invited along as part of the celebrations.

A fantastic night though is only as good as the company that you enjoy. Thankfully, the company that I had the pleasure of sharing was fantastic, an extension of my own family, something that I have dearly missed while in Sydney and away from my siblings.

I feel truly blessed to have been a part of the experience.

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The entire night was absolutely amazing, there is simply no other way to explain a night at Tetsuyas.

Amongst all of the above, Kath and I were greeted with an extra-special gift…. the gift of results hard earned. By chance, Kath and I were in the same clothes as we were about four months prior on an evening out of significance and back in the same loungeroom for photos before our worldly adventure.

The difference this time around was a combined 20kg’s of weight between us and the contrast in the photos is simply astonishing, a nice mid-way signoff to the goals that we had set ourselves in the months prior to our transformations.

Loving all your work
Adam