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Game, set, hats: the top serves at the Australian Open 2020

Carrie Hutchinson

LOMAH will be plating up grazing platters throughout the tournament.
LOMAH will be plating up grazing platters throughout the tournament. Supplied

Australia's top chefs are serving up aces on a plate at this year's tennis tournament. Here's a taste of what's on the menu.

It is fair to say most of us don't expect a lot when we duck off to the food outlets at most sporting events. For the past five years, however, Australian Open organisers have been taking the food options to the next level.

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"People in Melbourne think carefully about what they eat, where they eat and when they eat," says Tennis Australia's chief revenue and experiences officer, Richard Heaselgrave. "We started with this principle: if I go to a really good sporting event why would I turn off my radar for good food?

"We have a great tennis event, but we wanted to have the biggest entertainment event in the world. If we want that, particularly with Melbourne's credentials around food, then you have to offer something that's as spectacular."

Here, we take a look at the delicious options, from Melbourne Park to Melbourne's restaurants, being prepared by some of the country's most renowned chefs.

Tennis ball baos from Mr Miyagi.
Tennis ball baos from Mr Miyagi.Supplied

Tastes to tempt all

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The surprises begin in the Australian Open's major public areas like Grand Slam Oval. Among baos from Mr Miyagi, pavlovas from Cacao and lamb bowls from Hellenic Express, chefs like Attica's Ben Shewry and Atlas Dining's Charlie Carrington are dishing up a storm.

Carrington is debuting his new Mediterranean street-food restaurant, LOMAH, at the Best of Victoria pop-up. Between matches you can try the grazing platter for two, overflowing with hummus, falafel, salads, pickles, nuts, cheeses and pita bread.

"I'm really excited about the grazing platter because it is simple and really tasty," says Carrington. "On a stunning day at the AO I think it's the perfect dish for people to share and enjoy. We celebrate Victorian produce throughout out all our venues and the AO will be no different."

"You've got to have price range, variety and quality experiences for everybody," says Heaselgrave about having top chefs' creations in areas for the general public. "So you might not be able to get a table at Attica for months, but you can go to an Attica pop-up, which has never been done before, and have something really creative."

At Grand Slam Oval Countryside the Attica chefs will be serving two dishes – a smoked kangaroo kransky in a bun with onions and Davidson plum sauce, and green ant and avocado tostadas – from 2pm each day.

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"They are delicious dishes and showcase ethical Australian ingredients that people might not have had the opportunity to try yet," says operations manager Kylie Staddon. "These ingredients are not difficult, they are delicious and unlike anything else in the world."

For those who've never tried green ants, Staddon describes them as "citrusy and bright, a little like lemongrass or limes".

Nobu's yuzu cheesecake.
Nobu's yuzu cheesecake.Supplied

Something special

Some of the finest tennis players will be smashing it out of Melbourne Park, and all that incredible action can really make a spectator hungry. Luckily, especially for those who like to plan ahead, there's the opportunity to relax and revive at outposts of some outstanding restaurants. Nobu will be recreating its contemporary Japanese cuisine, including the tennis ball-shaped yuzu cheesecake, , at a Riverside Terrace outpost, which is also where you'll find Rockpool Bar & Grill. There you can expect a five-star experience and the finest locally sourced produce transformed into a three-course lunch or dinner, with dishes like roasted scallops with orange oil and Aleppo pepper (pictured below).

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Chefs close up

Photo: Jennifer Soo

One of the big hits last year was the AO Chef Series. Diners gather late in the afternoon for champagne and canapes, followed by a specially created degustation menu with matched wines. It's done and dusted in time for the night session.

"Most of the chefs come to the table and really enjoy interacting with the guests," says Heaselgrave. "Last year about 40 per cent of the guests went on to the tennis and the other 60 per cent got through the degustation then hung around for hours. It's not about whether you even watch tennis."

In 2020, the Chef Series it's an all-female affair with Donna Hay, celebrity chef Sarah Todd, Michelin-starred Duangporn 'Bo' Songvisva of Bangkok's Bo.lan and rising star Analiese Gregory all preparing a selection of their best dishes.

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Gregory (pictured) helmed hot Hobart diner Franklin until the end of last year and is now working on a cookbook, television show and a new project with a conservation angle in an art gallery next door to Franklin. She's also bringing Tasmania's finest to the Open.

Photo: Fiona Hamilton

"Because they approached me when I was at Franklin and that is the way I cook and the produce I'm passionate about, that's what I wanted to bring to Melbourne," says Gregory. "Since I moved to Tassie, everything's become very produce-focused. I don't think of a dish and decide that's what I want to cook, it's more about what I can get down here that's really good and showcase at its best."

Her menu includes dishes like Blackman Bay oysters with elderflower jelly – "in terms of Pacifics, they're probably my favourite oysters" – fresh jersey milk curds with Tasmania tomatoes, peaches and mead, and a dessert of cherry kernel custard with fresh cherries and fig leaf granita.

Game, set, match made in heaven

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Imagine this… A pairing of Melbourne's finest restaurants – Maha and Ishizuka, Chin Chin and Kisume, Stokehouse and Matilda, among others – followed by a seat at both finals. It's the collision of sporting and gastronomic dreams and it's called the AO Finals Table.

You'll join a small group of diners on both nights before being picked up in one of the AO cars – yes, the same ones that ferry around the Fed and Serena – and deposited at Melbourne Park in time to get to your seat. That's the latest innovation, involving 22 restaurants and 23 hats, from Richard Heaselgrave and his team.

Charlie Carrington's hatted Atlas Dining has been teamed up with chef Coskun Uysal of hatted Turkish restaurant Tulum for the weekend. "To be invited to be a part of the Finals Table is great because there are plenty of other restaurants involved – some of my favourites – and it's great to be recognised alongside them," says Carrington, adding guests will be treated to Atlas's new Lebanon menu.

"My favourite dish is the mezzes," he adds. "It's a lot of little dishes served together at the same time – it's delicious, simple and excites the palate."

Perhaps the ultimate in indulgence will be the Supreme Degustation pairing of Shannon Bennett's Vue de Monde and Ben Shewry's Attica.

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Photo: Supplied

"We'll be serving a tailor-made menu highlighting some of our favourite dishes with premium wine matches," says Attica's Kylie Staddon. The menu includes Aussie-themed dishes including emu liver bagels, damper and crab, potatoes cooked in kelp (pictured) and kangaroo and truganinni, and Attica's famous marron dish will make an appearance.

Not that the Finals Table comes cheap. Packages, which include tickets to both the men's and women's final, start at $3,200 a person. But, as the kids with well-heeled parents say, YOLO!

The Australian Open at Melbourne Park runs from January 20 to February 2. For restaurant and dining package details and bookings, head to ausopen.com/hospitality

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