Chef David Harrington

Private Chef In Canberra

Well traveled and highly experienced chef with 20 years in the industry. From Michelin starred restaurants in France, to stints in Peru and Ecuador in South America. Proficient in many styles of cooking, with a focus on quality ingredients and outstanding flavours. Expert in wine pairings, whisky pairings and craft beer food combinations. Have cooked for celebrities and dignitaries in formal and informal settings.

I feel comfortable cooking in many different styles, adopting regional methods from all over the world, while tilting naturally towards solid french technique. I love quality ingredients, natural yet distinctive flavours and a little bit of spice.,

For me, cooking is a form of artistic expression that speaks of terroir and community, with a healthy splash of technique and science.

For me, cooking is...

A form of artistic expression that speaks of terroir and community with a healthy splash of technique and science.

I learned to cook at...

Various establishments in Sydney, Canberra, Peru, Ecuador, France and have taught and cooked in Nepal, Malaysia, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, Thailand...

A cooking secret...

Looking at the same ingredient with a different cultural or technical angle, every time I step into the kitchen.

My menus

Bocuse Dinner

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Beef tartare with cured yolks baby leaves and toasted sourdough bread

Frothy porcini cappuccino with truffle salt

Oysters with champagne vinagre mignonette

House cured salmon tartare, with green apple and avocado

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Truffled Soup cooked in puff pastry with seasonal veggies, chicken and foie gras

Duck and foie gras terrine with sourdough toasts

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Potato crusted coral trout with orange and saffron cream, fennel and baby carrot crudité

Herb crusted lamb backstraps, lavender and honey jus, celeriac mash and autumn vegetables

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Mandarin soufflé

Concorde: Crispy cocoa meringue with dark chocolate mousse, and seasonal berries

Nikkei: japanese and peruvian fusion

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Tuna belly ceviche with ponzu, chilli and lime

Scallop tiradito with green mango som tam

CauSushi: Pressed Inca Gold Potato with chili and lime, rolled with blue swimmer crab and avocado

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Snapper escabeche, peruvian style, with casava, wrapped in a banana leaf

Anticucho: Beef tenderloin skewers with dried chili marinade

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Beef tenderloin "Saltado" with wok´d veggies, soy jus, and crispy rice cake

"Arroz con pato": Creamy rice with duck confit and sliced duck breast, pickled onion and chili with stout jus

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Custard apple and dulce de leche with meringue crumble

Suspiro de limeña: The national dessert of Peru with dulce de leche and Port Meringue

Modern Australian

STARTER

Choose 1 dish

Spring asparagus velouté with lemon myrtle and grilled asparagus tips

Beef tartare with cured yolks and beetroot variations, sourdough crisps and native pepper

Cured Qld scallop carpaccio with spicy green mango Som Tam

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Kangaroo tartare dolmades with crispy quinoa tabbouleh and yogurt dressing

Chorizo stuffed calamari on the grill with cous cous salad and spicy chimichurri

Roasted beetroot carpaccio with macadamia spice rub, goats cheese and sourdough crackers

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Barramundi with green curry emulsion, jasmine rice, baby corn and bamboo shoots

Crispy pork belly with Kakadu plum sauce, sautéed asian greens, and pickled chili

Native spiced Lamb tagine with saffron cous cous, roasted eggplant and charred heirloom carrots

Roasted cauliflower with coconut yogurt and tahini sauce, crispy onion and pickled vegetables

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Orange blossom and vanilla panna cotta with honey poached citrus fruit and pistachio praline

Passion meringue pie with passion fruit curd, torched meringue, and coconut crumble

Chocolate pavlova with crispy cocoa meringue, dark chocolate and rum mousse, berries and chocolate shavings

Bocuse Dinner

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Beef tartare with cured yolks baby leaves and toasted sourdough bread

Frothy porcini cappuccino with truffle salt

Oysters with champagne vinagre mignonette

House cured salmon tartare, with green apple and avocado

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Truffled Soup cooked in puff pastry with seasonal veggies, chicken and foie gras

Duck and foie gras terrine with sourdough toasts

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Potato crusted coral trout with orange and saffron cream, fennel and baby carrot crudité

Herb crusted lamb backstraps, lavender and honey jus, celeriac mash and autumn vegetables

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Mandarin soufflé

Concorde: Crispy cocoa meringue with dark chocolate mousse, and seasonal berries

Nikkei: japanese and peruvian fusion

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Tuna belly ceviche with ponzu, chilli and lime

Scallop tiradito with green mango som tam

CauSushi: Pressed Inca Gold Potato with chili and lime, rolled with blue swimmer crab and avocado

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Snapper escabeche, peruvian style, with casava, wrapped in a banana leaf

Anticucho: Beef tenderloin skewers with dried chili marinade

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Beef tenderloin "Saltado" with wok´d veggies, soy jus, and crispy rice cake

"Arroz con pato": Creamy rice with duck confit and sliced duck breast, pickled onion and chili with stout jus

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Custard apple and dulce de leche with meringue crumble

Suspiro de limeña: The national dessert of Peru with dulce de leche and Port Meringue

Modern Australian

STARTER

Choose 1 dish

Spring asparagus velouté with lemon myrtle and grilled asparagus tips

Beef tartare with cured yolks and beetroot variations, sourdough crisps and native pepper

Cured Qld scallop carpaccio with spicy green mango Som Tam

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Kangaroo tartare dolmades with crispy quinoa tabbouleh and yogurt dressing

Chorizo stuffed calamari on the grill with cous cous salad and spicy chimichurri

Roasted beetroot carpaccio with macadamia spice rub, goats cheese and sourdough crackers

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Barramundi with green curry emulsion, jasmine rice, baby corn and bamboo shoots

Crispy pork belly with Kakadu plum sauce, sautéed asian greens, and pickled chili

Native spiced Lamb tagine with saffron cous cous, roasted eggplant and charred heirloom carrots

Roasted cauliflower with coconut yogurt and tahini sauce, crispy onion and pickled vegetables

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Orange blossom and vanilla panna cotta with honey poached citrus fruit and pistachio praline

Passion meringue pie with passion fruit curd, torched meringue, and coconut crumble

Chocolate pavlova with crispy cocoa meringue, dark chocolate and rum mousse, berries and chocolate shavings

Bocuse Dinner

STARTER

Choose 2 dishes

Beef tartare with cured yolks baby leaves and toasted sourdough bread

Frothy porcini cappuccino with truffle salt

Oysters with champagne vinagre mignonette

House cured salmon tartare, with green apple and avocado

FIRST COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Truffled Soup cooked in puff pastry with seasonal veggies, chicken and foie gras

Duck and foie gras terrine with sourdough toasts

MAIN COURSE

Choose 1 dish

Potato crusted coral trout with orange and saffron cream, fennel and baby carrot crudité

Herb crusted lamb backstraps, lavender and honey jus, celeriac mash and autumn vegetables

DESSERT

Choose 1 dish

Mandarin soufflé

Concorde: Crispy cocoa meringue with dark chocolate mousse, and seasonal berries

Chef David's reviews

4.88

•

88 services

Couldn't recommend Chef David high enough. I booked Chef David as a surprise Valentine's Day dinner for my partner and we were blown away. Will be using Chef David again. - Craig

David and his team gave us a truly special dinner experience at our company's Founders dinner to mark its 20th anniversary, an important event for us. The food was incredible, the service and quality of engagement by David and his team with everyone at dinner made everyone feel at home and valued. David is a lovely guy and a terrific chef. He understood what this dinner meant to us. I would have no hesitation in recommending David fully! Thanks David!

We had the most fabulous experience - from the inital enquiry, all the way through to the end of service. This was a special event for my family and David exceeded our expectations - from communication, to the menu selection, the food and the service. David's waiter was also excellent. Would book David again, and have told all our family and friends that private chefs are the way to host a dinner party. Thank you, David.

Awesome service from David. So glad I chose his service for my sister's birthday. Will do it again no questions

David provided outstanding food for my husbands 40th birthday party in Canberra. The food options proposed worked so well for a fussy crowd and the quality of food and presentation was awesome. Everyone loved it. He was punctual, and responsive when I would have questions during planning. My kitchen was left absolutely spotless too. Highly recommend David!

David was a wonderful addition to our evening. He worked swiftly and provided a delicious meal for our guests. David left the space completely cleaned. He went above and beyond to make our event fun and fulfilling.

We loved our experience with Chef David. From the unique menu, dish quality to the story behind each dish - it was all thoughtful and delicious. Chef David was engaging and happily shared his knowledge and expertise with our group. It couldn’t have been better.

Chef David did an awesome job cooking for 7 of us guys for a 30th birthday dinner. Communication was easy and he definitely nailed my brief of a dinner with big flavours and had menu options for all the things I requested in the brief. The food was excellent and all my guests complimented his creations, we especially loved the Orange Blossom Panna Cotta with Pistachio Praline for dessert. Because we were doing the event at an AirBnB I was curious what the cleanup process would be like but David left the place spotless and all I had to do was turn the dishwasher on. I would definitely hire David again and recommend to my friends.

David was fantastic. Amazing food, great conversation and overall experience. Liz was friendly and attentive. Highly recommended and will engage him again. Better than a high class restaurant!

Chef David was amazing, he cooked us the most delicious Spanish feast and was such a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend chef David!

David provided us with an exceptional meal and a wonderful night for us and our guests. I would heartily recommend his services and would definitely use him again, should another such event arise.

Chef David was incredible. Will book him again when our next occasion comes! Going above and beyond just cooking a meal for us, great experience and great conversations!

Chef David not only delivered astounding food, but was also very engaging in conversation and was a very interesting person to talk to. Had an excellent night and would highly recommend for anyone else. Will very much be booking this again!

David Harrison was excellent. His food was delicious and creative - tuna cerviche, king mushroom risotto, delicious scallaps with pumpkin and apple veloute, lamb shank provencale and hisbiscus poached pears accompanied by chocolate deliciousness. The tastes combined some South American influence together with some Asian and modern Australian tastes. Incredible! Highly recommend, David.

Chef David Harrington was incredible! All 10 of us including our guests immensely enjoyed the delicious 4 courses he prepared and served. He accommodated all our dietary preferences and requests and was lovely and approachable. We will definitely use his services again and highly recommend him!

David went above and beyond to make our night a special experience!

David prepared a paella for main course that was a sensational experience for our family gathering The lead up dishes were also of high quality Would strongly recommend David for a great experience

The overall experience was amazing! David and his team were incredibly professional and everything from the service to the food was unbeatable! I couldn’t recommend highly enough!

Could not recommend Chef David highly enough. Was the perfect way to celebrate the wifes 40th, everyone was absolutely in love with the food. If youre thinking about booking in, just do it!

Chef David was amazing! He was creative and flexible for our friends surprise party. Highly recommend!

Couldn't recommend Chef David high enough. I booked Chef David as a surprise Valentine's Day dinner for my partner and we were blown away. Will be using Chef David again. - Craig