Brisbane chef chuffed: Obama returned for seconds

A Brisbane chef has the right ingredients when it comes to ensuring the world's most powerful leaders come back for seconds.

US president Barrack Obama tasting Ben O'Donoghue's Aussie style barbeque at Queensland Parliament House. Facebook : Ben O'Donahue

Well-known chef Ben O'Donoghue served the likes of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, his British counterpart David Cameron and US president Barack Obama at the leaders' retreat during the G20 summit last weekend.

He served up an Australian style menu, complete with Flinders Island lamb, Mooloolaba prawns and various Australian salads.

Mr O'Donoghue told 612 ABC Brisbane's Rebecca Levingston that he was chuffed to see Mr Obama come back for seconds.

"Barack said 'I will come back for seconds' and he did," he said.

"There was a commotion at one stage when the organisers of the G20 were on their headsets saying 'POTUS is moving, POTUS is moving'.

"Then they said 'stand down, stand down he is only going to the buffet'."

He said the president was eager to eat as much of the Australian produce as he could.

"He [Obama] told me that he had worked out twice that day, so he was allowed to come back for seconds," he said.

"We had a laugh and I said he was in good shape and he asked me to cook his lamb a little more."

The cookbook author and chef has cooked for many celebrities, but he said this experience topped his list.

"I have cooked for Tony Blair, and I cooked for the Italian prime minister and the French president when I was back in the UK, for the Rolling Stones as well," he said.

"But I think this takes the cake to have all 21 of the world leaders at my barbeque."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott served by Ben O'Donoghue at the leaders' retreat. Flickr: G20 Australia

The first people to arrive at the barbeque were Mr Obama, Mr Abbott and the president of China, Xi Jinping.

Mr O'Donoghue said his heart was pounding when they arrived.

"They came up to the barbeque and I shook their hands as they came through," he said.

"Vladimir Putin was pretty cool; in the news afterwards everyone said he was given the cold shoulder, but his table was the most social out of all three of the tables."

Planning the menu for the world leaders

The now Brisbane-based restaurant owner said he was nervous ahead of the day with planning starting three months earlier.

"I had a headache an hour before, I was stressing a little bit," Mr O'Donoghue said.

"The call originally came from the Prime Minister Tony Abbott; it was his idea to have the barbeque and who did he go to? Me.

"I knew about three months beforehand and I had to submit a few menus to the PM's office."

British Prime Minister David Cameron, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper enjoy the barbeque cooked and served by chef Ben O'Donoghue  Photo : G20 Australia

He said his first menu featured wagyu, but he had to remove it as it was already on another dinner menu for the leaders.

"The PM wanted something different. He wanted lamb so I smoked it, marinated it and barbequed it before serving it with an eggplant caviar alongside puffed grains, pearled barley, wild rice and some buttermilk tahini," he said.

"Also I had Moreton Bay rock oysters and Mooloolaba king prawns, all simply cooked.

"I did a kale salad and it kind of ticked all the boxes as we had the Indian PM who is vegan, as well as Halal meat."

Source : ABC News  Jessica Hinchcliffe  20th November 2014