Three Blue Ducks celebrates 10 years

This September will mark the 10-year anniversary for Three Blue Ducks, a group of six mates who share a love of food and surf. On Wednesday, September 23, the Ducks will come together and celebrate with a special dinner in the Rosebery venue, cooking alongside some of their dearest friends and alumni. Following the dinner, the Bronte venue will also showcase its 2010 opening menu for one week, across breakfast, lunch and dinner.

An idea born from the surf and anchored in cafe culture, the Three Blue Ducks is made up of Mark LaBrooy, Darren Robertson, Andy Allen, Chris Sorrell, Sam Reid-Boquist and Jeff Bennett, who all share the same desire to offer a more sustainable and ethical approach to Australian dining. Despite the growing number of owners and venues over the years, their ethos remains the same: encouraging their community to “grow what you can, buy food mindfully, buy it locally, cook it thoughtfully and waste nothing where you can”.

Lucky ducks

Three Blue Ducks will use the 10th birthday as an opportunity to gather their community and thank them for their ongoing support over the years. This is especially important in the wake of what’s been a tumultuous year for the hospitality industry.

“It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come and how lucky we are,” says LaBrooy. “Particularly off the back of such a challenging year for our industry. What started out as a couple of kids in the surf dreaming up a future has grown beyond anything we could have expected.

“When we first launched back in 2010, we had one 18-seat venue staffed with our friends, family and anyone else we could rope in. To look at where we are now, we just feel really fortunate to be celebrating with a community that welcomed us from the beginning.”

Getting the gang back together

On September 23, the team will be joined by a group of Ducks alumni including Luke Powell (LP’s Quality Meats), Mike Clift (ex-Rockpool), Jemma Whiteman (Café Paci) and Shannon Debreceny (Victor Churchill). Together with Allen, LaBrooy and Robertson, they’ll serve a four-course feast made using fresh, sustainable and locally sourced ingredients.

Sparkling wines will be available courtesy of Cape Jaffa, with the team from Young Henrys supplying beers. Sorrell, Bennett and Reid-Boquist will join the chefs on-site for the evening, with all six owners sharing hosting duties and stories from the archives. In line with current capacity restrictions, the evening will be made available to 110 diners.

“We’ve always been so lucky to work with an incredible crew at the Ducks, from our staff through to our suppliers,” Robertson says. “We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate 10 years than bringing those people back together.”

Step back in time

Alongside the dinner, the Ducks will also bring back their 2010 Bronte opening menu for one week only, treating guests to a time capsule dining experience between September 21-27. The menu will span breakfast, lunch and dinner. Menu highlights include their crowd favourite bacon and egg roll made with organic eggs, pimento salsa and hollandaise sauce; calamari with smoked corn, dashi jelly and chawanmushi custard; twice-cooked chilli jam duck with spicy Chinese broccolini and herb salad; as well as smoked potato ice cream with chocolate cookie and dessert lime granita. Guests dining Friday and Saturday evening will also enjoy a complimentary glass of Cape Jaffa sparkling to celebrate a decade at Bronte.

Three Blue Ducks 10-year anniversary dinner will be held at the Rosebery venue on Wednesday, September 23. Bookings can be made by phone at (02) 9389 0010 or email enquiries@threeblueducks.com. Three Blue Ducks time capsule menu will be available at the Bronte venue from September 21-27. Bookings can be made by phone on (02) 9389 0010, with walk-ins welcome. For about Three Blue Ducks, head to the website.