Skybury's new chef doesn't have to look far for inspiration. 

Mark Ford // 31 // Skybury Australian Coffee Centre executive chef

He’s a literal example of a local boy done good. Mark Ford lives just up the road from his new (and old) workplace at the Skybury Australian Coffee Centre at Mareeba and his emphasis is on using local produce wherever possible.

Not only that but he’s locally born and bred, having learnt his trade in a variety of restaurants around the Far North.

There seems to be something about the place that, like a magnet, keeps pulling him back. Mark, the executive chef at the centre, has returned after a well-earned break that included a working holiday overseas and a stint on his parents’ cattle property just up the road at Dimbulah.

“I hadn’t really taken any time off in the last 15 years so it was time for a break,” Mark says of visiting friends in restaurants overseas and learning new trends and techniques.

“A friend of mine is the sous chef in a private member’s club in Edinburgh so it was interesting to see what they’re doing there.”

But now he’s back, revitalised and with plenty of new ideas and twists on old favourites. The menu is new, with daily specials giving regulars something different to try each time they pop in.

“Our fish might be barramundi but each day it will be served differently so the specials board will really be worked up with daily options for these menu staples,” Mark explains.

“Food should satisfy and essentially we have gone back to some of the favourites our regulars have told us they love.”

And local customers are getting to stamp their mark on the menu with their tastes reflected in a few dishes Mark will keep available.

“It’s really just the beginning. This is just the first step, we’ve done a quick menu to start off and we’ll keep evolving over time.

“What we want to do is keep it a bit more flexible so we can use the local produce a bit more by doing daily specials.”

Pawpaws, grown on the property, are a feature of the new menu, as are African limes and longans, he says.

Local custom is important to the business, with Mark estimating 50 per cent of their clients are from the Far North.

He says the new menu is all about satisfaction. “For example, we have always had great breakfasts, but now we have even more options and more reasons to come out. As well as classics such as eggs benedict, there’s the Skybury brunch (which leaves nothing out) and new breakfast additions (extra bacon, extra mushrooms, extra anything!).”  On the lunch menu (served from 11am- 3pm) Skybury has brought back the tasty slow cooked rib fillet – tender, local beef.

Guests arriving after lunch will still be able to have a tasty, filling snack from Skybury’s bakery. “We have tasty toasted paninis, savoury croissants and freshly made quiches to satisfy the hungriest guests,” Mark says.

Sweets and all the regular Skybury coffees are featured but there are also indulgences such as a liqueur affogato which involves balls of vanilla ice cream topped with an espresso and Amaretta.

At Skybury, you’ll be eating and drinking the fruits of their labour, perhaps from a bush or tree you drove past on the way there.

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