Amy Hamilton is the chef-patron of Albany’s French-Vietnamese inspired, Liberté, a wine and cocktail bar serving drinks and French Vietnamese food in the historic London Hotel. Amy serves up an unpretentious menu full of flavour and made with seasonal produce from the Great Southern.

If you love a French-inspired sweet treat with a whisky-based sauce, scroll down to check out Amy’s Mandarin Crêpes Suzette with Limeburners Whisky. If you’re planning a trip away, take a drive into the Great Southern and visit Amy Hamilton’s Liberté, in Albany.

Plus, if the idea of combining chicken wings with a touch of truffle inspires you, check out Amy’s truffle honey-fried wings, with produce sourced from Mount Barker Chicken and Truffle Hill truffles.

Tell us a bit about your love for cooking and the story of Liberté.

When I first opened Liberté I started off doing my take on a modern French bistro because the interior of this building looks very Parisian, but after a year or so I started to explore the Vietnamese fusion, which I felt was missing from the dining experiences on offer in Albany.

I actually got into cooking by accident, I was doing an Arts Degree in Perth and needed a job and saw an advert for Must Wine Bar back in 2001 for their opening kitchen team. I very naively thought I could be a kitchen hand – but before long, the unexpected creativity of cooking drew me in.

Working with the other locals, Limeburners.

Limeburners (Great Southern Distilling Co.) is Western Australia’s First and only Premium Single Malt Whisky Distillery, distilling an array of spirits. Amy uses their beverages in the Liberté bar and in her dining menu.

The company has been operating for almost twenty years and is owned and operated by a WA-based family. The family operates their distilling from three ‘Centres of Excellence’ which each focus on their own spirits. You can also find Limeburners and their Ginversity in the Swan Valley.

Their Margaret River Distilling Co., focuses on producing vodka and gin which is produced right amongst the wine region, an ideal location to source their local botanicals.

Their Tiger Snake Distillery is based in the Porongurups and focuses on Sour Mash Whiskeys, which is their take on American bourbon.

Limeburners is based in Albany and producers Single Malt Whiskys, as well as their two different kinds of liqueurs, a Karri Honey Whiskey Liqueur and the Oráiste, an orange-flavored brandy-based liqueur.

For the Karri Honey Liqueur, the team infuses locally sourced honey into their whiskey. Their Oráiste Orange Liqueur, combines their house-made brandy with locally sourced oranges.

These liqueurs are best enjoyed as is or with a few drops of water or an ice cube. However, they are also particularly tasty when added to cakes, milk-based beverages or cocktails, or desserts.

Learn more about Limeburners via their website, and on social media; Facebook and Instagram.

Mandarin Crêpes Suzette with Limeburners Oráiste Orange Liqueur.

Preparation time: 15mins | Cooking time: 30mins | Serves 4-6

Oráiste is the Gaelic word for orange and is a tribute to the origins of the traditional techniques used to craft this spirit. It is a blend of Western Australian cask-aged, single estate spirit and the essential oils of hand-picked sweet and bitter Great Southern oranges which are macerated in the cask. A secret recipe of spices is added to create this unique spirit.

Ingredients

For the batter

• 500g whole milk
• 2/3 Tbsp caster sugar
• 65g unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 Tbsp canola oil
• 175g plain flour
• 1/3 tsp Salt
• 6 Tbsp lager

For the sauce

• 330g mandarins, juiced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 135g caster sugar
• 50g unsalted butter, cubed
• 6 drops of cardamom bitters
• 50ml Great Southern Distilling Co. Oráiste Orange Liqueur

For the garnish

• Whipped cream
• Star anise, micro-planed to a fine dust
• Crumbled pink peppercorn

Method

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl

1. Melt the butter.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
3. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth.
4. Rest for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce

1. Fine strain the citrus juice and heat in a saucepan with the sugar. 
2. Add the liqueur. 
3. Heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
4. Simmer gently until a syrup forms.
5. Add the bitters and turn off the heat.
6. Add the cubed butter and agitate until dissolved.
7. Set aside to room temperature.

For the crêpes

1. Heat a crêpes pan. A non-stick pan will also do.
2. Very lightly grease the pan with melted butter.
3. Using a ladle, pour 2 Tbsp or so of batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated.
4. Cook the crêpe for about 45 seconds on one side, or until golden.
5. Using a palette knife or fish slice, flip the crêpe over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.  The top of the crêpe should be slightly freckled.
6. Fold each cooked crêpe into quarters and set aside until the entire batch of batter is cooked.

To serve

1. Add the crêpe quarters back to the pan.
2. Spoon over the citrus sauce.
3. Cook gently until the crêpes are heated through. The sauce should be slightly caramelised.
4. Layer a few crêpes per person or lay them all out on a platter.
5. Top with whipped cream, star anise dust and crumbled pink peppercorn.

Et voilà! Enjoy with your favourite warm brew or a glass of sparkling.

Amy Hamilton and Liberté.

Find out more about Amy Hamilton on Instagram and Facebook and to experience her French-Vietnamese fusion using Great Southern produce, visit Liberté.

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Limeburners – Great Southern Distilling Co.

Did you know? Kleenheat provides the LPG energy needs required by our business customer Limeburners – Great Southern Distilling Co.

This family-run, Albany-based distillery is an award-winning success story for WA and around the world.

Our supply of LPG to their distillery, allows them to keep producing single malt whisky, liqueurs, vodka, and gin, year-round.