Dave Young says working for a business – rather than working as a chef in a restaurant he owns – has freed him up to be more creative. Photo: Zoe Helene.
New National Triangle restaurant Ballyhoo is set to open at the end of August with well-regarded Canberra chef Dave Young at the helm. Ballyhoo is the final venue at The Lawns of the Lobby dining precinct, alongside fine dining Japanese at Koto, as well as the more relaxed garden bar Rosa’s.
Dave Young was the previous owner and chef at Temporada, which shut earlier this year. After closing his own restaurant, he was approached by the owners and will now take the reins as executive chef for Ballyhoo.
“Temporada fans definitely have something to look forward to,” Dave told Region.
“Ballyhoo is very Temporada-ish with some of the formality removed. This is going to be a little more casual and approachable. But the food is still taking centre stage.”
Ballyhoo throws tradition out the door in favour of quirky fun. Photo: Zoe Helene.
Dave is looking forward to working with the large wood grill in the kitchen at Ballyhoo to lean into smoky, charred flavours like whole-grilled rainbow trout and showcase the punchy, bold South American flavours of grilled flank with chimichurri.
“You know chefs and fire – it’s like catnip! The wood fire is really the workhorse of the kitchen; it’s pretty big, and we want to use it for most of our mains,” Dave said.
“Nothing beats the flavours of stuff coming off a wood grill. Like, nothing!”
Ballyhoo – as the off-beat name suggests – throws tradition out the door in favour of quirky fun. The restaurant will have communal seating, casual dining, and a relaxed vibe to encourage a full wind-down from the APS daily grind. Dave says the style of service will be “deliberately less formal” than at Temporada.
The venue shares a kitchen with next-door Rosa’s, which has already become a popular after-work venue in the Parliamentary Triangle for its quick bites, tasty pizzas and moreish cocktails. Dave has been developing a menu of Mediterranean flavours that will showcase the fluffy baked bread coming out of the pizza oven: think, anchovies, charcuterie, and taramasalata. He says Rosa’s is a great place for a casual pizza, snacks and wine on the lawns, while Ballyhoo is the ‘big sister’ offering a more elevated meal.
Temporada closed in May of this year. Photo: Temporada.
Dinner service will start on Tuesday, 20 August, and lunch service will follow a few weeks later once the team has settled in and the weather warms up. Bookings are now open for a run of limited ‘first look’ dinners, with a full launch planned for Spring.
Dave says that working for a business – rather than working as a chef in a restaurant he owns – has freed him up to be more creative. He knows the expectations for Ballyhoo are “reasonably high”, but taking away the administrative burden of running a small business will allow him more time to focus on creating delicious food.
Ballyhoo is located on King George Terrace, Parkes. Book now for a first look, or follow Ballyhoo on Instagram.
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