Every shared meal is an opportunity for great conversation and meaningful memories. 

At Flotilla Restaurant, the team is all about good food, good wine and good company. And designing a dining experience that feels like coming home. 

For Head Chef Shayne Mansfield, the food and wine is only one part of entertaining. What matters the most is those you share it with. 

“Don’t stress about entertaining, just have fun. You can do whatever you need to do with a dish, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the people you’re eating it with.” 

Shayne has shared with us the secrets of Flotilla's delicious smoked beetroot tartare recipe.  

Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or creating a meal for someone special, the vibrant colour and rich flavour offers a memorable dining moment. 

Chef Shayne Mansfield sharing his creations at Flotilla Restaurant.

Sustainable bowls

Flotilla Restaurant is known for the care it takes to incorporate sustainability across all areas. Shayne’s passion for sustainability goes all the way to his work in creating ceramics for Flotilla. 

"Ceramics for me has always been a passion and I had always wanted to make plates for my restaurant." 

The Flotilla bowls are completely unique, using a mix of sustainable materials. 

"We have been thoughtful in the materials we use. Some of the bowls are made with recycled clay and also sand from Merryweather beach in Newcastle."  Shayne shares. 

"We also foraged seaweed that was lying on the beach. We dried it all out, turned it into a powder, and then folded it through some of the clay and glazes." 

You can read about Flotilla’s approach to sustainability in our Flotilla article. 

Ingredients

For the beetroot 

• 2 x large organic beetroots, washed 
• ½ x bunch thyme 
• Salt 
• Black pepper 
• Extra virgin olive oil 
• 5 x cornichons, finely diced  
• 2 x peeled eschalots, finely diced   

For the sauce romesco 

• 3 x large red capsicums 
• 5 x peeled garlic cloves 
• 2 x roma tomatoes 
• 125 gm slivered almonds 
• ½ tbsp smoked paprika 
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 
• Juice and rind of 2 oranges 
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

For the sorrel oil 

• 100 gm sorrel leaves (Can be substituted for rocket) 
• 100 gm extra virgin olive oil  
• 100 gm rapeseed oil  
• 100 gm baby spinach 

Shayne carefully plating up the Smoked Beetroot Tartare.

Method

1. Beetroot

We rake the coals from the nights service out and place our smoking chips in the woodfire oven (we use a mixture of cherry, apple and mesquite). We wrap the beetroots in hay and allow them to smoke over night for minimum 12 hours. The marriage of smoke and the intense heat of the coals allows the natural sugars in the beets to caramelize and intensify. We then allow them to cool before peel and then finely dice (brunoise).   

If you do not have a woodfire oven you can wrap beetroots in tin foil lined with baking paper. Add dash of olive oil and salt and wrap tightly. Bake in the oven at 190c for 90-120 minutes. 

2. Sauce romesco

Roast the capsicum over flames until blackened all round and place into a bowl. Cover with cling film and set aside. Then roast the garlic and tomatoes in 190c oven until well roasted. Place into a bowl and cover with cling film and let stand for ½ hour. Remove blackened skins and place into blender with the remaining ingredients, blend on high, season well, and reserve for later. 

If you do not have open flames you can roast the capsicum in the oven at 220c for 20 minutes or until skin blisters. 

2. Sorrell oil

Blanch the sorrel & spinach. Then refresh in ice cold water and squeeze out all the water in a chux cloth. Blend on high with oils and season well, then place into an oil cloth and let it hang over night.

The Issho Dining Table and Amara Dining Chair are the perfect pair to Flotilla’s laid-back entertaining style.

Assembling

Once beetroots are cool enough to touch carefully peel the skins off with a damp cloth. Finely dice the beetroots and place into a mixing bowl with the cornichons and eschalots and add 2 tablespoons of romesco sauce and 2 teaspoons of sorrel oil, season and mix well.  

For a meat option, you can add diced good quality beef (sirloin or fillet) to the mix. Use roughly 1/3 beef to the quantity of beetroot mix. 

Enjoy. 

Smoked Beetroot Tartare ready to be served at Flotilla Restaurant.

Tips from Shayne

“This recipe can be done with or without the meat element. I am a fan of meat but find myself leaning towards the vegan version of this dish. I think the earthiness of the beetroots really highlights all the other components. This dish will surely stand out at dinner parties.” 

“To add another element to this with any beetroots that are left over from the previous week we juice them and cook down with jasmine rice, blend, spread thinly, dehydrate, then fry, we dust it with vinegar powder we make in house.” 
 

Follow the Flotilla Restaurant and Head Chef Shayne Mansfield on Instagram for more culinary inspiration.