Mister Jennings - Richmond

After spending time in internationally renowned kitchens such as El Bulli and the Fat Duck, Ryan Flaherty came back to Melbourne and opened the Estelle in Northcote with Scott Pickett. After enjoying success there, Flaherty is taking on his first solo venture with Mister Jennings. Located on Bridge Rd in Richmond, Flaherty along with Jack Ingram (from Bistro Vue) are serving up some beautiful and exquisite food.

That night, we opted for the 5 course tasting menu ($80pp). Before the actual 5 courses, we were given a glimpse of Flaherty's playfulness with an amuse bouche of his take on a Dagwood dog - a little boudin blanc encased in a delicate batter served with a house made ketchup with smoked paprika.

Our first course was a cold dish - a smoked eel parfait with pickled beetroot, toasted sourdough and sorrel. It was deliciously creamy but with great texture and acidity from the beetroot pickles. Perhaps my favourite dish of the night.

Next up was the dish Mister Jennings will most likely be known for, Frozen Kangaroo, wasabi avocado cream, jellied veal jus, raspberry and nashi pear. The kangaroo is peppered and seared on the outside and like a carpaccio, is then frozen so it can be thinly sliced. The idea is to leave the kangaroo slightly frozen so that it melts in the warmth of your mouth, and when eaten together with the other elements of the dish creates an exciting mix of temperature and texture.

Following was duck with radish and peanut. A perfectly cooked piece of duck with radish placed on top of a lovely peanut emulsion. A new flavour combination for me, but one that worked very well.

Our final savoury course was as simple but as good as it gets. A perfect medium rare Rangers Valley sirloin with a side of twice cooked chips and salad. What more could a diner ask for? (apart from more steak, that is) Despite the level of skill and technique that both Flaherty and Ingram possess, it is good to see that they know exactly when to keep things simple.

Dessert was also a highlight of the evening for me, we were given two different types desserts to share amongst the table. Firstly, there was a Jaggery sponge with fennel and apricot. A beautiful dessert of sweet apricots surrounded by an incredibly aerated sponge.

Our second dessert was my favourite - chocolate, cardamom and orange. Orange segments are encased by chocolate ganache, chocolate sorbet and chocolate dust rested upon a chocolate sable biscuit. It's finished off with a drizzle of chocolate sauce right at the very last minute for added chocolatey goodness and just a touch of showmanship. The dessert as a whole is divine and as hard as it is to believe is well balanced and not too sweet at all. The spiciness of cardamom marries all the flavours together.

The small team at Mister Jennings are an inspiring bunch, it was great to receive a small tour from Malcolm Singh (front of house) and chat with the rest the guys in the kitchen. From what I hear, there are a lot of exciting things planned for Mister Jennings including a chef's table in the next year, for which I will be eager to get a seat (there may have been mention of truffles, caviar, foie gras) 

It's been a real pleasure to see the evolution of Mister Jennings unfold and I look forward to seeing this restaurant continue to grow.


142 Bridge Rd, Richmond 
Ph: (03) 9078 0113
www.misterjennings.com.au