Meet Didier: Añada’s chef and what’s new on the menu
On Sunday 25 October, Dani Valent reviewed Añada in the Good Food guide in The Sunday Age. Her verdict: we're "having a golden period". Much of the credit goes to the person running the pans.
Meet Didier
Angel "Didier" Chavez was born in Mexico to a Spanish mother. He cooked in Mexico and Spain before the Lucas Group brought him to Melbourne to cook at Grill Americano. Before joining us, he ran events at Society. At Añada he cooks closer to his own heritage, in a 35-seat room where every plate goes out a few metres from the pass.
What's new on the menu
Didier changes the menu as the season and the produce change, so treat this as a snapshot. Some of it may be gone by the time you read this, and something better will be in its place. Right now, these are the new dishes we're most excited about:
Kingfish crudo ($30) with salmon roe, avocado and passionfruit. Bright, sharp and very easy to eat on a warm night.
Mojama salad ($28). Mojama is tuna loin salted and air-dried for a month, the way they've done it on the Andalusian coast for centuries. Here it's sliced thin with jamón and tomatoes.
Baked scallop with sobrasada ($14.50). Sobrasada is a soft, spreadable Mallorcan sausage. Under the grill it melts into the scallop.
Goats cheese galleta with walnut and hot honey ($8.50). A one-bite tapa to start.
Braised pork cheek ($65) with saffron and brie risotto and a Pedro Ximénez jus. The big, slow plate on the menu.
The paella de marisco stays, of course. Didier explains what makes a great paella here. See the full menu.
Wine of the Week: 2022 Lacrima Baccus Brut Nature Cava
Valent's advice was to start with a glass of cava, and we agree. This one is bone dry, from Penedès near Barcelona. Brut nature means no sugar is added after the second fermentation, so it's crisp and clean. It's $20 a glass, or $9 at happy hour, 5 to 6pm every day. Drink it with that kingfish. Browse the wine list.
Come and meet him
Dinner is every night from 5pm, with weekend lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Book on OpenTable or call (03) 9415 6101.
More from the kitchen: What makes a great paella · Basque food in Melbourne
