Rich Keam, winner of 'Best Jobs in the World' is Taste Master Western Australia (http://tastewesternaustralia.com/). Kiren Mainwairing, chef and owner of Co-op Dining in East Perth, is Rich's expert local guide as they head to Perth's Rottnest Island. Their mission: to catch, cook and taste Western Rock Lobster.
It's the heart of what we call the 'White Crayfish Run', when the lobsters, or crayfish as they are known to the locals, malt their shells and become a much lighter colour, almost a pale pink, and certainly much lighter than the reds. They are preparing to camouflage themselves as they march out across the sand to deeper ocean waters. Rottnest Island is an A-Class protected reserve so catching the lobsters close to the shore is recreational not commercial and regulated by rules aimed at sustainability.
Local fisherman and chef Aristos Papandroulakis takes the boys to pull up a pot of fresh lobster. Kiren brings along a selection of ingredients he's sourced from around Perth to create a delicious meal of BBQ Lobster with a salad of grilled peaches and nectarines, Australian samphire, fennel pollen, beans from Perth City Farm, Grenache grapevine leaves from the Swan Valley, and sweet potato leaves. The dish is truly a celebration of Western Australian produce.
Rich Keam is originally from Brighton, UK. He was one of 1,000s of entrants to Tourism Australia's Best Jobs in the World campaign. He arrived in Perth in August 2013 to take up his prize job as Taste Master of Western Australia. Eating and drinking his way around the state... Hard job right?
