Black sesame custard with mandarin, star anise and kaffir lime oil.
Canberra native Ben Willis is the owner of, and chef at, the ACT's Aubergine and Temporada restaurants. After starting his career in Canberra, he worked away for nine years, mostly in Europe before returning to take over Aubergine in 2008. Aubergine has had two Chef Hats for the past five consecutive years, among t many other accolades. In 2014 Willis opened Temporada to similar acclaim. See aubergine.com.au; temporada.com.au.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE TABLE IN CANBERRA?
At the moment I keep going back to XO Restaurant at Narrabundah shops. It's a lively modern Asian restaurant run by people that are really happy to be there, just cooking the food they love along to a soundtrack of music they just felt like listening to that day and inviting everyone to hang out with them. See xo-restaurant.com.au.
Ben Willis.
THE LOCAL FOOD DISCOVERY OF THE PAST YEAR?
A good friend and ex sous chef from Temporada, Adam Bantock, has set up his own shop in Yass cooking the kind of country style food that's been missing from around the outskirts of Canberra. He's cooking the sort of food that is meant to be in that location. He's using ethically sourced produce with seasonal awareness and competent, intelligent cooking. I can't wait to get out there again over winter for a long lunch and some hearty braised meats. See clementinerestaurant.com.au.
WHAT IS CANBERRA'S BEST-KEPT FOOD SECRET?
Everyone knows the farmers' markets on Saturday mornings at EPIC are great and extensive – but for a chef with a three-year-old, getting over to the other side of town early in the morning to get the best on offer is almost impossible. Many Canberrans don't even know that many of the same and completely new stallholders set up on Sunday mornings at Phillip CIT building (technical college). It's two minutes from my house and seems to grow bigger every week. See canberrafarmersmarkets.com.au/southside-farmers-market.
PLACE TO GO ON A DAY OFF?
Sunday afternoons at Grease Monkey for burgers and beer. They play live music and it's child friendly so we can catch up with friends easily and just relax. See greasys.com.au.
FAVOURITE INDULGENCE IN CANBERRA?
Silo Bakery is a Canberra institution and I am a massive fan of their breads but their tarts and pastries are also pretty special. We'll grab several to take home and share them for a late breakfast as a treat occasionally. See silobakery.com.au.
PLACE TO GO FOR A BIG NIGHT OUT?
Hotel Hotel, and the whole New Acton precinct is really amazing. A drink at Parlour before dinner at Monster and then staying on in the bar at Hotel Hotel as it is open and serving food until 1am. See hotel-hotel.com.au.
BEST TIME TO VISIT, AND WHY, FOOD-WISE IN CANBERRA?
March is a good time for food and visiting Canberra in general. The farmers' markets have plenty of local produce on offer after the hot summer and before the cold weather comes. You've also got Good Food Month with the Night Noodle Markets and various food events. It is on at the same time as the Enlighten festival which lights up the Parliamentary Triangle buildings and other Canberra landmarks with pictures and artwork.
WHAT SHOULD A VISITOR AVOID, FOOD-WISE, IN CANBERRA?
Now is the beginning of the truffle season and every year I'm getting more impressed with the truffles we get our hands on locally. However, so many restaurants put out their truffle degustation and charge way over the top prices for just grating a bit of poor quality truffle on their standard menu and totally destroy the experience. Do your research and find the places that know what they're doing with them, especially if you've never had them before so you don't end up wondering what all the fuss is about.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.