I was stoked to attend the launch of ‘Hoi Polloi‘ last Wednesday night at Old Parliament House. Hoi Polloi – a restaurant for the people, designed by the people – has a belief that food bonds people together and that all things local should be celebrated {as do I, just check out my ‘love local‘ series}. Restaurant Associates Executive Chef, Andrew Collins has carefully crafted the menu to reflect this.

“Fresh produce and local provenance is at the heart of the Hoi Polloi menu. Our approach is classic flavours reinvented with modern twists, and continually evolving with the seasons. From slow cooked lamb shoulder to our famous passionfruit pavlova, we have a little something for everyone.’ said Collins.

Now they certainly brought the concept of being ‘for the people, by the people’ to life when they invited 11 of Canberra’s food bloggers/social media influencers to design a #pollieburger inspired by past Prime Ministers, using a list of ingredients which could be found within the Hoi Polloi kitchen.

Now, I pulled Malcolm Fraser out of my media kit and with an hour to design said burger was a little worried {see my worried face below}. Thankfully, the lovely Hoi Polloi team had provided us with a little write up about each Prime Minister which gave us a good direction to move in.

Fraser was a keen fisherman and loved multiculturalism – so I forged ahead creating my burger ‘A Fish called Multiculturalism’ which consisted of grilled cod on a seeded roll, topped with smashed avocado, red onion, watercress and pesto mayonnaise.

I worked along side Megan from ‘The Girl has Sparke‘ who also created a fish burger. We discussed the come back of iceburg lettuce and how most foodies love a good seeded roll. Alas, neither of us made the top three burgers – which will now go on the menu {the burger with the most votes at the end of the month will secure its very on spot on the Hoi Polloi menu}. How cool is that?

Want to know who you can vote for?

1. ‘The Royal Touch’ by Anna from shenANNAgans {inspired by Paul Keating}: wholemeal roll, chicken breast, bacon, iceberg lettuce, caramelised onion, blue cheese and mayo.
2. ‘The Full Yard’ by Be from Inexplicable Wanderlust {inspired by Bob Hawke}: milk bread, beef rissole, grilled pineapple, mayo, tomato chili relish, cheddar cheese, sliced beetroot, caramelised onion and iceberg.
3. ‘1 in a Billy-On’ by Natalia from Hey I’m Natalia {inspired by Billie Hughes}: milk bread, chicken breast, grilled pineapple, chipotle, ketchup, Swiss cheese, smashed avocado, spanish onion and rocket.

 

Now, I was glad that I was in round one of the #pollieburger challenge, because this meant that I could go back to sampling all their tasty treats and hitting up the pavolva bar. Umm, yes, you read that correctly – they have a PAVLOVA BAR!

A delicious station contains all you need to make the very best pav you could imagine; perfectly crisp meringue {which are raspberry or liquorice flavoured} that can be smothered with cream, raspberry, passionfruit or mango coulis, fresh fruit – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi fruit, mango, pineapple, and/or {kidding, who would pick ‘or’} shards of white or milk chocolate – even chocolate ‘dirt’.

 

It was a super fun launch and I wish the restaurant the very best in this tough market. If you’re a Canberra local or headed to Canberra on a trip in the near future – I highly recommend a visit.

Canberra locals can look forward to a range of events at Hoi Polloi over the coming months including Sunday Jazz Sessions, Friday Night Drinks and a range of social and themed events, guaranteed to impress.

Hoi Polloi is open daily for lunch from 11:30am to 2:30pm. To make a reservation or for more information, visit http://www.hoipolloioph.com/or call 1300 870 433.