At Jamsheed, chef John Cassie’s cooking is driven by a love of nostalgia and comfort food, filtered through the bold, fermented flavours of Southeast Asia. It’s an approach shaped by time spent at Cutler, Waxflower and Bar Liberty, all of which inform the way he builds flavour and thinks about a menu.
Childhood memories turn up reworked and rewazzed, with bo ssäm-style pork and koji-cured carrots, curries and chillies sitting alongside an eclectic wine and cocktail list. Everything is built to be shared with a glass of something wild and wonderful from Jamsheed owner Gary Mills’ ever-changing collection.
Here’s Cassie on how it all comes together at the table.
Which dish best captures the Jamsheed vibe today?
Our pork jowl and pickled pineapple dish nods to a childhood favourite my nanna used to cook – ham steak and canned pineapple rings. It’s adapted for a modern palate with a bit of inspiration from Korean bo ssäm. The jowl is first cured for a few days in brown sugar, salt and spices, then slow-cooked overnight with fermented chilli bean curd, soy, sake and mirin. We then give it a lick of fire on the hibachi for some char and glaze it with a sauce we make from the braising liquid and some smoked apricots. We serve it alongside pineapple pickled in rice wine and some cos lettuce leaves to cut through the rich, gelatinous pork.
I’m here for a good time, not a long time.
You can’t miss our flatbread that’s cooked in the wood-fired oven. It’s served with cashew butter spiked with a little sherry vinegar alongside our house seasonal pickles and ferments – it’s a great place to start. Add some rock oysters with our lacto-fermented Kashmiri chilli and lime sauce and a glass of crisp vermentino, or Gary’s classic Candy Flip pét-nat, and you’ve got a quick visit sorted. Our chicken schnitzel, velvet-brined with ginger and lime and served with pickled ginger sauerkraut, is a great option for a quick meal as well.
Got anything light and fresh?
The braised heirloom daikon radishes, herbal chrysanthemum dashi and purple mustard leaf is light but warming. That said, it still packs some depth and complexity from the dashi that we make with a mixture of kombu and dried herbs and flowers. Also fitting the bill for something on the lighter side is our chicken terrine, marinated with Shaoxing wine and sesame oil and served with koji-marinated purple carrots and roasted chicken skin.
How do you look after vegetarians, vegans and people who can’t or won’t eat gluten?
A good part of our menu is gluten-free or can be modified to be, and I’m always happy to adjust things for vegans as well. The daikon radish dish is fully vegan and gluten-free, and our wood-fired celeriac and oyster mushroom dish, served with wild rice braised with black cardamom, can very easily be adjusted to be cooked without butter.
What if we really want to go big and go crazy? What have you got for us?
For a more extravagant experience, I’d suggest our tasting menu, paired with a selection from Gary’s extensive wine collection. The 300g porterhouse steak with pink peppercorn jus and charred Hakurei turnips glazed in citrus butter, or the house-made duck sausage with pomme purée, caramelised apple and onions and curry-leaf gravy, served alongside one of the incredible syrahs from Gary’s cellar. It really hits that need for something rich and decadent through the colder winter months.
And to close?
An old favourite returning to the menu is our slightly gooey chocolate torte, served with a miso-salted caramel cream. I’m always a fan of a little savoury in desserts, and the white miso really adds that salty umami hit to the rich chocolate.
Jamsheed Wines, 4 Albert St, Preston, open 5pm–11pm Thurs, 3pm–11pm Fri, 12 noon–11pm Sat, 12 noon–6pm Sun, jamsheed.com.au, @jamsheedwines