Head Chef - Adam Ion
Adam originally came to Port Douglas for a short holiday visit with his Fiancé. Quickly they both fell in love so much with the casual way of life, the tropical food and the great weather that they cancelled their other holiday plans and found jobs. For Adam this was firstly at ‘Nautilus Restaurant’ before moving to ‘2 Fish’ where he now enjoys the position of Head Chef
Adam’s passion for cooking started at a young age where he used to help his Mum make jams and amazing cakes, cookies and pies. Adam says “I will never forget how she used to let me always ‘lick the spoon’. I think that is probably where I got my interest in exploring lots of different flavours and how they all can work together”.
It wasn’t until Adam had started working as a waiter after school and on weekends to make a bit of extra ‘pocket money’ that he realised he could combine his interest in cooking created by his mother with a career as a Professional Chef. After completing his training at Inverness College and working in a number of hotel kitchens in Ardnamurchan on the west coast of Scotland he secured his 1st Head Chef position at the Westin Isles Hotel on the Isle of Mull. Adam says “this is where I could really start letting loose with some of my own ideas that utilised the abundant local seafood of the region.”
Adam says “When creating a new menu I look for what is in season, especially locally. I do try to be different and come up with interesting combinations of textures and flavours that no-one else has thought of. What I love at the moment is all the new fresh ingredients I am discovering in Tropical North Queensland. It’s really exciting to be able to explore the possibilities with all the variety of tropical fruits and reef fish that simply weren’t available where I come from in Scotland.”
Adam does admire many chefs including the likes of Gordon Ramsey for his dramatic zeal and Heston Blumenthal for his innovativeness but the main influence is Marco Pierre White where it all started for the modern UK food scene. One of Marco’s quotes that underlines Adam’s attitude in the kitchen is “It’s all about keeping the chefs interested in the kitchen and if I have passion then they have passion.”
With Adam now heading up the team at 2 Fish he is really well positioned to re-define the simple clean & fresh flavours of local produce, revive the principle of ‘fish cooked perfectly’ in the menu structure and develop new and innovative approaches to ‘Tropical Seafood Dining’ that has seen 2 Fish Restaurant consistently placed at the top of its game for a number of years.
