Jock Zonfrillo Street-ADL and Orana Australia

Last week saw the opening of Street-ADL and Orana restaurants by Scottish-Australian chef Jock Zonfrillo in Adelaide, South Australia.

Renowned for his research into both Australia's native ingredients and indigenous culture, Zonfrillo has opened a dual restaurant concept comprising Street-ADL, an accessible, energetic bar and dining experience and Orana, a small, intimate restaurant offering more complex dishes.

A very personal journey, Street-ADL and Orana are the culmination of a decade’s worth of research by Scottish born Zonfrillo, who immigrated to Australia in 2000. At that time, his
search for the true taste of Australia began, taking him to all areas of the continent and resulting in a deep-rooted respect and love of country.

Street-ADL

Every nation in the world celebrated its own identity and culture through its street food. At Street-ADL, the tastes and flavours of Australia are celebrated with dishes like Pulled Sangas (sandwiches with hot smoked kangaroo shoulder), BBQ KI Marron (Kangaroo Island marron quickly blanched and then BBQ's with Australian mountain pepper) and Pork Ribs (marinated, slow cooked, glazed and fried in guandong and bush tomato). Street-ADL is a large bar and restaurant with shared seating for informal fun dining. The menus are displayed in a series of light boards, creating a unique and purposeful art installation. The use of native ingredients spreads from the dishes into the cocktail menu where classics are influenced using the flavours of guandong jam, native mint and lemon aspen, amongst others. The spontaneous energy at the bar can ofter overflow and, with access to these unique ingredients from the kitchen, bespoke one off cocktails are created in the moment, such as riberry caipirinhas or cinnamon myrtle sours. Street-ADL is about enjoyment - it's about accessibility and having a great time with great food and great drinks.

Orana

The upstairs restaurant, Orana, meaning 'welcome' in some Aboriginal language, is by contrast a smaller restaurant for 25 guests. it has its own separate entrance and includes a dedicated small and private lounge area. Zonfrillo has created two tasting menus that can be matched by wines or by juices suggested by the establishments' wine director, Joshua Picken. Dishes like Fire Charred Coorong Mullet, Flax Lilly & Sweet Apple berries or Fresh Mudcrab, Sandpaper Fig and Wild Pea showcase Jock Zonfrillo's philosophy and journey of country.

The restaurants are located in central Adelaide in the East End District, famous for its art and food festivals. Working with local graphic design team MASH, Zonfrillo's vision has been further manifested. 'It was a unique situation to work with a client who not only had the concept strongly created in his mind, but had also purchased most of the interiors in advance' explains Dom Roberts, Creative Director of MASH. 'Our job was to pull together all the different elements of Jock's offering: the Bar, Street-ADL and Orana. Street-ADL is a fun, loud, almost chaotic location with a strong, dynamic energy. However, in direct contrast, Orana is more intimate, more understated and it was here that we wanted to provide a subtle link to Jock's amazing and visionary support of indigenous ingredients and growers. One way to create the identity of both was to create a continuous piece of art that flowed through both establishments - uniting them. We sourced the Italian artist known as 2501 to achieve this, introduced him to Jock and it went from there really.'

Jock Zonfrillo embraces all the elements of Australia- from ancient civilisations to the modern day - and in the process creates a food philosophy and cuisine style that are uniquely his own. his curiosity for the land, the produce, the people and the history of the country has resulted in over a decade's research and exploration of regional Australian produce. Street-ADL and Orana are home to the findings of that journey and its evolution. Above all, Jock Zonfrillo embraces and connects with the ancient culture of the Aboriginal people and country. he explains, 'Our cooking simply respects Australia's food history. We celebrate produce from all over the continent. Of course there is a strong influence from South Australia and the abundance of local ingredients on our doorstep, stretching from the Adelaide Hills to the coast. We approach our cooking with an understanding of where our ingredients originate and the culture of the Aboriginal people, whose philosophy to heal and be healed by the land and to always give back more than you take, strongly influences the identity of our kitchen.'