Cooking with flow of the seasons

UMA’s Halls Family Dairy cheese tart, dulce de leche, quinoa crumb, with Berry Sweet berries.

From serving up sandwiches and juices at his mother’s hotel cafe in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India to curating some of the best of Peruvian food in Perth, UMA Executive Chef Xerxes Bodhanwala prides himself as a champion of plating up local produce fi rst, which the star dishes on his menu can attest to.

Mr Bodhanwala’s decision to become a chef was a spur of the moment one – made after attending a presentation by Le Cordon Bleu, after which he was accepted into its Sydney culinary institute at the age of 17.

While not Peruvian himself, going on to work under the acclaimed Peruvian-Australian chef Alejandro Saravia gave Mr Bodhanwala an appreciation for the cuisine, which he said just clicked with him.

“The beautiful thing about Peruvian cuisine is because it’s a combination of five different regions, it all blends in, which is very Australian,” Mr Bodhanwala said.

“It’s obviously South American but also has Chinese, Japanese and African influence, as well as European, Italian and Spanish touches.

“Australia is also a fusion of many different cuisines, so it works really well.”

UMA Executive Chef Xerxes Bodhanwala.

Like many chefs, Mr Bodhanwala’s approach to creating his dishes usually starts with a concept before incorporating the right ingredients, but some products have inspired him to shape his menu around them instead.

“There’s always a time where you see an ingredient you’re playing with and you’re like, ‘oh, that will fit really well into this category’,” he said.

“This happens a lot, especially when we come across suppliers where we can add an ingredient to an existing dish or substitute the dish and see where it pops.”

A prize of the Western Australian dining scene, Mr Bodhanwala has made great use of at UMA is Fremantle Octopus.

“Its product has been on our menu in different forms for many years now, and it’s been great to have it,” he said.

UMA’s Pulpo a la Piedra dish features Fremantle Octopus.

UMA also draws upon Halls Family Dairy, which is based out of Wokalup, and has been on the restaurant’s menu for almost 18 months.

“We use Halls Family Dairy cheese to make a Basque-style cheesecake – it’s very savoury and moreish because of the type of cheese,” Mr Bodhanwala said. “The cheesecake has a saltiness to it, and we serve it with dulce de leche, fresh berries and a quinoa crumb.”

Despite his international upbringing, Mr Bodhanwala has, and always will, put local first where possible.

“We’re very proud of being associated with Plating Up WA, as we’ve been using local produce from day one – this has always been our philosophy,” he said.

“There’s no point flying stuff in from all across the world if you can’t showcase what’s local to your region.

“The advantage we have in WA is that we have so many farmers and we are on the coast, so why would we want to use anything from elsewhere?

“It’s more fun for us and exciting for the customer when you see the menus change for the seasons.”

As it appeared in Buy West Eat Best’s Plating Up WA 2025 edition.