As my time winds down here in Cairns, I’ve made a point to have at least a goodbye / thank-you coffee or meal with all of the people who have made my short time here so memorable.
I could not have ignored the contribution my rugby coaches had made to my Cairns experience. They were all too gracious in taking in a big lug of a Canadian, knowing nothing about the game, and including me immediately in team practices and weekend matches (even allowing me to substitute in for the A-team at the end of the season for a short shift).
So, as a sincere thank you for their time, efforts and generosity, I invited them to the waterfront for a full-on barbecue meal experience in the only way I know how: over-the-top!
After a great day at Turtle Cove beach / resort north of Cairns,
I headed down to the waterfront, armed with armloads of food and picnic hardware. (<- even I must admit, it was pretty full-on ... LOTS of great food) Since my head coach Billy and his wife are from Papua New Guinea, assistant coach Lance and his wife Liz are Aussie, as-is co-worker Nicole (her bf Dylan is Kiwi … ignore that for a moment, though) and I’m Canadian (<- no?!), I figured I would theme the menu based on our respective cultures’ cuisines. The resulting menu: Appetizer course – Australian-themed: locally-made artisan cheeses and crackers, served with Paw Paw and Jaba chutneys. Main course – Canadian-themed: line-caught Barramundi w/ Brown Ale Maple-Glaze, served w/ bbq’d vegetables. (fish provided by Lance, who had just returned from an extended fishing trip up north – sweet!) Dessert – PNG-themed: banana cake. The result was a fantastic few hours of stories, food and laughter. One last picture to commemorate the evening, with the quickly-rising full moon in the background. A great memory, for sure. 
** Kinda cool: the below recipe comes from FoodTV.ca, Canada's Food Network. The recipe is from a show called "License to Grill" hosted by a guy named Rob Rainford. I actually took a 3-month food theory course from Rob Rainford at George Brown College ... so it's appropriate I'm using one of his show's recipes. :)
Ingredients:Marinade
1 x orange, halved and sliced
1 x lime, halved and sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 knob ginger, chopped
1/2 red onion, halved and sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 bottle Brown Ale Beer
6 tbsp of vegetable oil (90ml)
1 tbsp hot sauce (15ml)
Brown Ale Maple Glaze
1/2 bottle Brown Ale Beer
2 cups of orange juice (500ml)
3/4 cups of maple syrup (175ml)
3 tbsp of hot sauce (45ml)
1 tbsp of ginger, chopped
1/8 cup of lemon juice
Celery salt to taste
2 tbsp of garlic salt
Directions:
For Marinade:
Make marinade by combining orange slices, lime slices, garlic, ginger, onion, cilantro, Brown Ale Beer, vegetable oil and hot sauce in large bowl. Place fish fillets / pieces in a large sealable plastic bag, pour marinade over top and marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours, or up to 24 hours.
For Brown Ale Maple Glaze
Preheat grill to 400°F/200ºC. Make glaze sauce by combining in medium bowl Brown Ale Beer, orange juice, maple syrup, hot sauce, ginger, lemon juice, celery and garlic salt. Place fish on grill and cook, turning, until done, about 3-5 minutes per side. Brush fillets with maple glaze sauce and cook additional 3-5 minutes on opposite side.
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