On The Pass: Ben Williamson takes us behind the scenes of Agnes’ massive menu shake-up
Keeping a restaurant at the top of its game is no easy feat – especially when your restaurant is considered one of Brisbane’s best. Agnes – Anyday’s famed flame-fuelled Fortitude Valley restaurant – has maintained a high standard of excellence since it opened in 2020, with widespread acclaim placing it firmly in the upper echelon of Brisbane’s dining scene. While the restaurant could rest on its laurels and coast on the strength of its beloved menu, Anyday’s culinary director Ben Williamson has elected to push the boundaries of Agnes’ woodfired scope, overhauling the menu with 25 brand-new dishes. We caught up with the chef to discuss the mindset behind the menu and his picks for must-try dishes …
To start, we’d love to know what prompted this overhaul of Agnes’ award-winning menu. Was there anything in particular that told you it was time?
There hasn’t been such a meaningful change at Agnes for some time. While the menu was working really well, I felt there was a gradual reduction and honing of a smaller offering that I wanted to evolve. The intention was to return to the restaurant’s roots and bring a larger-format menu that refreshed the offering and brought excitement through the theatre associated with the open-format kitchen.
The update consists of 25 new dishes – has the menu ever been overhauled so comprehensively before?
No, this is the most comprehensive overhaul we have undertaken to date. While it has been a huge undertaking for the team, we have all loved the fresh start and direct re-engagement with the open-fire medium and why we cook the way we do, with the ingredients we do. Everyone has been so energised by the change, it’s great to see.
Was there a particular goal or any overall intent fuelling the undertaking?
Appreciate the pun here! I really wanted to reassert the ‘why’ of woodfired cooking with the team, but also our guests. We have such a loyal and engaging base of diners who I feel will love the new chapter and stories associated with Agnes. Most importantly, with the growth of Anyday it’s been amazing to write, test, build and execute this personally alongside the team. There’s so much of myself at the core of Agnes and it’s been really fulfilling to be there through it all and greeting the guests in venue over the past few weeks. This menu was completely built by myself directly from the ground up. I’ve loved every second of it.
The new menu takes inspiration from Spanish and Mediterranean cooking – how would you say these influences manifest across the offering?
There’s a lot of those elements throughout the new menu, which funnily enough were not directly intentional! The aim was always for the fire to be the flagpost and the menu to take inspiration from various cultures. I guess I felt that there was an untapped resource within that cuisine that we hadn’t explored yet. I’m a sucker for a traditional txistorra (a fast-cure chorizo-style sausage from Navarre, Spain), so that one is a bare bones reflection of the food I really want to eat. That’s probably what has dictated the menu most – if it is something I would love to eat and can’t get … it’s going on. There’s still influence from other cuisines there and I think it really blends well. However, that one is purely traditional – but will still eat brilliantly with a Japanese-inspired charred cucumber salad with peanuts and yuzu.
Subscribe for updatesWhat would you say are some of the biggest stylistic departures, if any, that might come as a pleasant surprise to Agnes regulars?
There’s a simplicity and honesty to the changes, but still the impact in terms of flavour. All the bones are still there and won’t be far from expectation, but there’s so much more to the mixing and matching. You could return multiple times and never have the same experience, or still come in for the experience you had in the past. It’s not too different in essence – just more to love.
Working with fire is a primal cooking technique – does open-flame cooking leave plenty of room for experimentation in the Agnes kitchen?
Definitely, the aim is to provide new angles to engage with and never losing sight of what made Agnes great in the first place. There will be much more to see and engage with in the hearths too. The visual aspect of the cooking has been enhanced. This certainly isn’t set either. We will continue to evolve over the coming months and beyond.
It might be hard to pick a favourite dish, but are there any new additions on the menu that you are proud of from a creativity perspective?
The chilled charred-cucumber salad is utterly delicious with various influences and techniques. We’ve also brought back the malted-grain sourdough with an overhaul in texture – a bread that was truly unique and I loved – with an added fermented potato flatbread straight off the griddle to tear apart and mop up the remnants of the dishes. The new duck is stellar, too – drawing inspiration from our senior sous chef Aga’s Indonesian heritage in the flavour profiles, with the same provenance and ageing techniques. I think it may be our best duck dish to date.
How do you envision Agnes’ menu evolving moving forward?
I’ve always loved a free and in-flux evolution, which we will continue to push. I’ll be spending much more time in the kitchen, too. Most importantly, Agnes is all about the theatre and warmth, so we will continue to develop the visual aspect. Ultimately, I want the regular guests to have new exciting elements to engage with and the team to continue honing the open-fire craft that defines us. Like the wood and flame, it’s a different story every time, so the craft is to flex and work with it to get the best out of daily changes in the produce and medium. That’s exactly what I love about Agnes the most.
For operating hours and booking info, find Agnes in The Directory.
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