Restaurant: Songbirds in the Forest

From the outset, Songbirds in the Forest's head chef, Philip Edwards, has been cooking for only the finest restaurant establishments and his employment history is an impressive record of one leading restaurant after another. Born and bred in country Victoria, Philip decided at age 17 to pursue his career as a chef. He secured an apprenticeship at Two Faces, one of Melbourne’s leading restaurants, where he developed his creative flair under head chef Hermann Schneider. Philip then took his skills to Melbourne’s Restaurant Ondine which soon became a style-setter and won Victoria’s Best New Restaurant Award.

Moving north to accept an offer from the then newly-opened six-star Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast, Edwards touts his experience there as being fantastic but admits he missed working in the more intimate atmosphere he now finds at Songbird’s. A breathtaking venue where guests dine on a covered verandah surrounded by 51 acres of rainforest, Edwards’ vast skills helped earn Songbird’s the title of Restaurant and Catering Queensland Restaurant of the Year 2006. In his time off, Edwards prefers “simple dishes based on sound nutrition and fresh flavours.” His advice for cooks at home: “Use the best ingredients you can find and don’t overwork the flavours. Most people overcook vegetables and mess around turning meat over frequently. Less is more in both situations.”

Belinda King