Lamb biryani sausage, ‘Lankan-leaning’ pasta: Young Chef of the Year opens first restaurant

Viveik Vinoharan, The Age Good Food Guide’s current Young Chef of the Year, is stepping into his biggest role yet, leading the kitchen at a new restaurant where his Sri Lankan heritage will take centre stage. It opens on Wednesday at Mitcham distillery Dutch Rules.

The distillery door opened in a Whitehorse Road warehouse two years ago, pouring spiced gins inspired by founder Danny Perera’s Sri Lankan roots. But it was always part of the plan to add a dedicated restaurant to bolster the gin tasting flights and cocktails.

In many ways, Vinoharan was the perfect pick to run it. “We knew we wanted to showcase [the label’s] heritage, with food to match the cocktails,” Perera says. Meeting Vinoharan while the chef worked at Cremorne’s Lilac Wine ­– and “loving his energy” – was fortuitous.

Since leaving Lilac, Vinoharan has run a series of successful pop-ups across town. “I’ve really developed my food identity in the past year,” he says. “It’s what I like to call ‘Lankan-leaning’, with tonnes of spice, using really good Australian produce.”

That distinctive approach is what he’s bringing to Dutch Rules, where Perera has essentially given him free rein. That includes “throwing a few curveballs” that channel Vinoharan’s time cooking Italian and French food in Sydney, two years spent in Japan, and other influences.

Sri Lanka’s classic black pork curry gets a remix, lending its dark, smoky, almost-burnt flavour to lamb belly that’s slow-cooked, pressed into a skewer, then flame-licked to order.

An even more rule-breaking lamb dish is Vinoharan’s take on biryani – in sausage form. Smoked over cherry wood, the slicker-than-your-average snags burst with Flinders Island lamb shoulder, preserved lemon, fermented chilli, sultanas and rice. They’re served with a tangy cucumber salad and yoghurt from Macedon Ranges dairy Dreaming Goat.

As much as Vinoharan is passionate about best-of-the-best produce, he’s also getting creative with “byproducts”, which he says the farms he sources from have trouble selling.

“It’s what I like to call ‘Lankan-leaning’, with tonnes of spice, using really good Australian produce.”

Minced wallaby and pig skin form the basis of an unctuous, lemongrass-forward curry. “It’s like a ragu,” says Vinoharan, so he’s pairing it with house-made rigatoni and grana padano. Perhaps surprisingly, pasta will be a menu mainstay, courtesy of an extruder machine.

On the cocktail front, there’s a strong martini contingent ranging from plum to mandarin to Ferrero Rocher, and G&Ts that highlight the entire Dutch Rules range.

It might seem high-concept, but Perera is determined for the dining experience to be accessible to all types of diners, and as affordable as possible with no dish above $34. “There are only a few great places to eat [in Mitcham], so we wanted to cater to as many people as possible,” he says. Plans for pasta and steak nights will cement that.

The cavernous space has been refitted to usher in the restaurant. The front bar now flows into an open kitchen, more tables have been added downstairs, and the mezzanine level, which overlooks the room, is perfect for busy nights and functions. The copper still remains a centrepiece, joined by a new shelf of house ferments and pickles.

The Dutch Rules restaurant opens on Wednesday, April 15.

Open lunch Fri-Sun, dinner Wed-Sat

586 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham, dutchrulesdistilling.com.au