Food
The Gold Standard in Good Taste with JW Marriott
With executive chef Paul Smart and Citrique, JW Marriott has rewritten the rules of Gold Coast dining and hospitality.
While Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast has long been a favoured holiday destination, it’s been its beaches and sunsets that have drawn crowds rather than its culinary reputation. That’s all changed since the arrival of Citrique at JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, which has brought world-class flavours to travellers’ tables since its 2020 launch.
“Bringing new, exciting dishes to the palates of our patrons is very exciting for me,” says Citrique Executive Chef Paul Smart, who first earned his stripes at the Ritz London before establishing an international career that has seen him cook for Queen Elizabeth II, serve with the acclaimed chefs of El Bulli (voted Best Restaurant in the World from 2006-2009), take out the title of winning challenger of Iron Chef Thailand in 2012 and 2013, and contribute to the extraordinary success of the multi-award winning Room 81 restaurant.
With his work at Citrique, Smart delivers on JW Marriott’s philosophy of mindfully selected cuisines, drawing on the resort’s signature JW Garden for many of the fresh herbs and vegetables used in his dishes and in the restaurant’s award-winning seafood buffet.
Executive Chef Paul Smart in the JW garden, smart educating
“The local produce in southeast Queensland is important to our menu creations,” he says. “Citrique not only showcases the best of the region’s ingredients, it also highlights the resort’s sustainability practices.” Smart points to the integrated ecology of the restaurant’s supply chain by way of example.
“Family tours of the Garden and herb planting sessions are hosted by the culinary team, to share with guests the importance of sustainability at the resort. Australian native bees have been introduced, to assist in pollinating these seasonal herbs, edible flowers and fresh vegetables. And our Worm Farm allows all our kitchen scraps to be recycled into compost, which is then absorbed back into the Garden.”
It’s a virtuous circle that embodies the essence of the restaurant’s ocean-and-paddock to plate philosophy.
A NEW DESTINATION IN DINING
As to the menu, Smart cites the variety and quality it offers diners, and its representative nature. “We host monthly cultural cuisines with flavour festivals at Citrique. Currently, we’re spotlighting Thai; May boasts Korean, while the winter months will be focusing on Italian, Spanish and Indian.” If all the world’s a stage, the tables of Citrique stage the world on a plate.
The inviting environs of Critique at JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort and Spa.
Dish recommended by executive chef Paul Smart, Oven-baked snow fish.
When asked what dish he would recommend to first time Citrique visitors, Smart offers a mouth-watering suggestion. “Our oven-baked Snow Fish – a delicate, ethically sourced, flaky fresh fish. It has a high fat content from swimming in Tasmania’s Southern Ocean, and holds lots of juice content without drying out. We serve it with multiple cauliflower textures – roasted with dukkah crumble, cauliflower purée, picked cauliflower, served with a white miso beurre blanc sauce. I’m especially proud of it.”
Along with the resort’s Chapter & Verse and Misono Japanese restaurant, Citrique establishes JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa – and the Gold Coast itself – as a true food-lover’s destination. Set within luxurious grounds with world-class facilities and spacious accommodation inspired by the area’s natural surroundings, visitors enjoy panoramic views of both hinterland and ocean – making Citrique and JW Marriott the perfect location for celebrating most any occasion, and creating lasting, joyful memories.