Open House Food Service November Issue

Print Post Approved PP231335/00017

11 13 Australia’s leading news magazine for the hospitality industry

PASS IT ON NAME

Just desserts Catering for a sweet tooth Luna feast Planning for Chinese New Year www.openhousemagazine.net

TICK

Sara Lee’s breakfast treats

Baked temptation

CAB Audited. Circulation 20,555 — March 2013

CHOOSE A CLOTH YOU CAN TRUST

CHUX Superwipes feature the HACCP Australia certified colour coding system to reduce crosscontamination risks and help you keep the focus on food safety. Choose CHUX Superwipes for exceptional absorbency, durability and rinse-ability.

phone: 1800 240 502

www.cloroxcommercial.com.au

HACCP Australia Pty Limited endorses CHUX 速 Wipes (PE-197-CA-03) as a food safe cleaning aid for use in food manufacturing, processing and handling operations that are conducted in accordance with a HACCP based Food Safety Program.

OPEN HOUSE NEWS

Editor’s word

W

Women leading fast food charge T

he fast food market has seen a boom since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, with many Aussies trading down to consume more fast food, and according to BIS Foodservice’s Fast Food 2013 Report Series, consumers of the quick-service bite are more likely to be mid-to-high income earning women.

“It has been a bonanza in the fast food market since the GFC,” said Sissel Rosengren, head of BIS Foodservice.

“Not to denigrate the quality of fast food in Australia – which includes everything from a drive-thru hamburger to a chicken wrap and prepared meals such as soup – but there is a noticeable ‘trade-down’ effect that occurs in any economic downturn.

“As a result, fast food chains are on the increase and are now the dominant force in the fast food market for the first time in Australia’s history, which goes against the notion that we are a country that loves its independents.”

cent of the market in terms of all fast food eaten.

“Many might assume women are buying fast food for others, but what this report shows is that women are actually more likely to eat fast food than men,” said Rosengren.

“The assumption is that men are typically the fast food eaters, given the marketing by fast food chains usually focuses on blokes relaxing at the beach in their ute with a chicken burger or eating a pizza while watching the footy.

But women are the biggest fast food eaters across all fast food categories, by a healthy majority.”

Another common misconception is that fast food is the “food of the working class”, said Rosengren.

The report, which surveyed more than 1200 people aged 14 plus on their personal eating habits, found that women are the biggest fast food eaters, making up 56 per

“The shine is coming off the fast food chains which are now starting to feel the same pinch the rest of the industry has been feeling,” Rosengren said.

CONTENTS

However, the report series warns the boom in fast food may be over, with signs emerging that the market is on the decline as the industry deals with tighter customer budgets and belts.

Industry news......................................... 04

Seafood.................................................. 24

Cover story – Sara Lee........................... 08

Training.................................................. 28

Q&A – Peter Battista............................. 12 Consultant chef...................................... 14 Origins of Chinese dumplings............... 14

While many restaurateurs have expressed concerns about having to take mobile eftpos units to the table, or ask diners to pay at the counter, proponents say the move is necessary to combat credit card fraud, which added up to almost $261 million in 2012.

While the move to a pin-only system will certainly attract grumbles from some customers, most will no-doubt be pleased to know that their money is safer.

Nothing leaves a bad taste in your mouth quite like knowing you’ve been ripped off.

“You are just as likely to see someone in an office job eating a hamburger and chips as you are someone who is only eating fast food because it is the cheaper option.”

According to the report, Australians spent $15 billion dollars on fast food in the past 12 months, around 3.088 billion servings (including beverages from fast food outlets).

Profile – Cath and David Hopgood........ 10

ith the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announcing recently that it is proposing to allow Visa, MasterCard and American Express, along with participating financial institutions, to put their heads together regarding getting rid of signatures as a way of authenticating credit card transactions, it seems we are onestep closer to a pin-only future.

Ylla Wright Managing Editor @ohfoodservice

24

Chinese New Year.................................. 30 Design.................................................... 32 Cooking the books................................. 34

Sustainability......................................... 15

Products................................................. 36

Desserts.................................................. 16

Culinary clippings.................................. 38

Seafood.

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 3

NEWS

Aussie restaurants win design awards Kiosk, on Torquay's foreshore, won the overall award for Best Canteen.

Older Aussies reveal sweet tooth A recent study by Roy Morgan Research has revealed that sweeter spreads such as jam, conserves and marmalade are considerably more popular among older Australians than younger generations.

The survey revealed that from June 2012 to June 2013, 32 per cent of Australians aged 14 and over ate sweet spreads in an average seven-day period – but among Aussies aged over 65, that figure is almost double.

D

esigner Michael Fiebrich, of Michael Fiebrich Design, has won the prestigious 2013 International Design & Architecture Award – Best Restaurant/Asia Pacific for his work on Crown Perth’s Italian restaurant, Modo Mio (pictured).

Held recently at the Hurlingham Club in London, the award ceremony recognised the company for its work on the venue’s interior, which features hand painted frescoes, custom mosaic walls and blown glass chandeliers.

Almost half (47 per cent) of Australians aged 65 and over ate jam, conserves or marmalade in an average seven-day period. The older generation is also extremely fond of honey, with 38 per cent consuming it in an average week, while the younger generation prefer salty spreads such as Vegemite.

“As the Baby Boomer generation ages, it will be interesting to see if this trend continues,” said Angela Smith, group account manager at Roy Morgan Research.

Fiebrich is also responsible for the design of a number of other venues at Crown Perth including Silks restaurant, as well as Japanese restaurant Nobu, ISIKA Day Spa and the VVIP Crown Mansions.

Foolscap Studio’s “sound makeover” of Melbourne’s Golden Fields restaurant has won the inaugural Dine Hear Acoustic Designer 2013 campaign.

Acknowledging the noise complaints of many Australian diners, Knauf, a company which designs solutions for better acoustics, launched the Dine Hear campaign. As part of the campaign, a selection of Australian designers and architects redesigned the acoustics of their favourite restaurants.

Foolscap Studio’s makeover concept for the Golden Fields restaurant in Melbourne’s St. Kilda addressed a problem common to many modern restaurants.

“The restaurant space is clad with hard, smooth materials,” said Phoebe Baker-Gabb of Foolscap Studios.

“These surfaces cause sound to reverberate around the narrow space making it difficult for diners to hear one another and negatively affecting their experience.”

The new design concept for Golden Fields worked with the restaurant’s aesthetics to create a fractured acoustic ceiling to minimise noise levels for customers.

City of Sydney increases outdoor dining options Llankelly Place laneway in Sydney’s Potts Point is set to become home to open air eateries and community activities this summer as part of a City of Sydney trial to increase outdoor dining options.

Three Australian restaurants were also recognised recently at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards, beating entries from 61 countries.

Alfred & Constance in Brisbane, a multi-purpose venue built between two timber houses in Fortitude Valley, won the Best Australia & Pacific Bar. The Century, at The Star in Sydney, won Best Australia & Pacific Restaurant, with the winning features including a “Great Wall” of 82,230 chopsticks, low-hanging teacup lights and a wall of stacked fish tanks. Victoria’s Third Wave

Dine Hear campaign overcomes noisy restaurants

“Currently, a higher proportion of 50-64 yearolds eat salty spreads like Vegemite, Marmite and Promite than jams or honey. Will their tastes get sweeter with age or will this generation's savoury preferences continue into their later years?”

Best in the west Western Australia’s best restaurants were recognised recently at The West Australian Good Food Guide 2014 launch held at the State Theatre in Perth.

Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill Perth won the Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year award, scoring 17.5 points out of a possible 20 to secure a two-star rating for the fine dining restaurant. The restaurant, located at Crown Perth, also won Emirates Wine List of the Year. This is the second time the venue has been awarded the two titles.

The Regional Restaurant of the Year title was awarded to Wills Domain Winery’s restaurant, Wills Domain, in the Margaret River wine region, while Print Hall took out the Best New Restaurant award.

For the second year running Scott O’Sullivan, the chef-owner at Red Cabbage Food and Wine, was named Chef of the Year.

4 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

The improvements to Llankelly Place will not only give residents and visitors new places to dine, but it will also support local businesses. Extra room for outside tables for the duration of the 12-month trial is expected to boost the appeal of the laneway and make it a community focus point.

The trial, which starts on October 1, follows

The facility, which employs more than 200 people, produces more than seven million meals – over 20,000 meals a day – for business and economy passengers on approximately 120 flights.

discussions with local businesses about ways to establish Llankelly Place as a hub for community activity.

“Llankelly Place is an ideal spot for outdoor dining as it’s close to the main street but wide enough for more tables and chairs,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.

The centre includes robotic food-handling technology, specialised technology to track equipment throughout the centre and an advanced under-floor waste processing system to improve hygiene and reduce landfill.

“Kings Cross is home to a diverse community as well as a destination for thousands of visitors. We want to ensure there’s a range of activities and services for everyone, and outdoor dining should be a part of that.

Qantas consulting chef Neil Perry said Qantas had recently made a range of improvements to meals for domestic and international customers, many of which are prepared at the Brisbane catering centre.

“The City is working with the Potts Point Partnership and local businesses to explore options for public art, street markets, live jazz and other activities that will add to the strong village feel that’s so important to the area.”

Three of the best for Fresh Sydney’s Fresh Catering was the stand out winner at the recent 2013 Restaurant & Catering HostPlus Awards for Excellence for Sydney and surrounds, taking home three awards.

Gault&Millau to launch Sydney restaurant guide Leading international restaurant guide Gault&Millau will launch its first-ever Australian guide, the 2014 Gault&Millau Sydney Restaurant Guide, next month.

More than 300 Sydney restaurants have been reviewed using the same judging criteria applied to restaurants in Europe, which places more of a focus on the chefs and their food, rather than on ambience, décor, location and etiquette.

Gault&Millau scores each restaurant out of 20 with 90 per cent of the points focused on food. Hats are awarded for scores of 11 and above and range from one to five golden hats, with the latter being a perfect score of 20.

The first Gault&Millau guide was published in Paris in 1972 and since then the company expanded to seven countries.

“We're thrilled to be able to bring Gault&Millau to Australia and celebrate the talent of chefs in kitchens all over Sydney,” said publisher Fritz Gubler.

“For the first time, they'll have the opportunity to be benchmarked against their counterparts in Europe and show the world the high quality of food we are lucky to have in Australia. We believe Australian chefs and diners alike will embrace another opinion on where to find the best food.”

Heston Blumenthal partners with Coles British chef Heston Blumenthal (pictured above) has partnered with Coles to create an extensive range of products with a focus on Australian and Indigenous ingredients, which will be available from the supermarket chain next year.

Watch the video in the Open House iPad app.

Blumenthal is currently exploring the country’s ingredients as well as meeting with local suppliers and manufacturers to incorporate as many native ingredients as possible in the new range.

“Australia not only boasts one of the most exciting restaurant scenes in the world, but the whole country seems to be excited by the food scene so there’s a brilliant energy,” Blumenthal said. “We are hoping to create something a little innovative and a little different for Australian shoppers.”

To be updated seasonally, the range will feature a variety of products across meat, deli, bakery and grocery. Blumenthal’s range of Christmas puddings and mince pies are currently available at Coles with the retailer expecting to sell more than a million units over the festive season, and the chef is also appearing in new Coles TV campaign.

Qantas opens flagship catering centre Qantas has officially opened its new $80 million state-of-the-art catering centre in Brisbane.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said the new facility, which is Qantas’ flagship catering centre, will ensure the freshest and highest quality meals are served to customers.

“This facility showcases the very latest in technology, environmental and operational efficiency,” he said.

“A just-in-time delivery model, where automation has been incorporated to reduce the time taken to prepare catering for flights, means our customers get the freshest possible on-board meals.”

The company was awarded Venue Caterer of the Year (Museum of Contemporary Art), Caterer at a Major Event (Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour) and Caterer of the Year by the NSW Restaurant & Catering Association.

Other major award winners on the night included Tetsuya’s which won Sydney’s Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year; Ananas Bar & Brasserie, which was named the city’s Best New Restaurant; and Mizuya in Sydney, which won the Consumer Vote Award.

The winners will compete with other region finalists in the national finals to be held in November.

Jamie Oliver expands Ministry British chef Jamie Oliver has stepped up his campaign to target diet-related disease in Australia, announcing he will open another Ministry of Food Centre in Wetherill Park, in New South Wales, in August 2014.

Oliver’s Ministry of Food is a community-based program designed to inspire people to get back to basics in the kitchen, cooking meals from scratch using fresh ingredients.

“I am so excited that the Ministry of Food is growing and expanding into Western Sydney in New South Wales,” said Oliver, via a live webcast.

“This will be our fifth Ministry of Food Kitchen in Australia, following the strong interest we have seen in both Queensland and Victoria. Australia is truly leading the way when it comes to using food education to tackle the problems of diet-related disease. It’s a really positive move in the right direction and something all countries around the world should tackle.” OH

Want more industry news?

For even more industry news, in-depth reports and new product information, or to sign up for Open House weekly email newsletter, visit www.openhousemagazine.net. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@ohfoodservice). Or download the free Open House iPad app, packed with additional, exclusive content and updated monthly, from the iTunes app store.

6 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

Crack the breakfast puzzle with Farm Pride eggs

Puzzled about what to serve at breakfast? Farm Pride eggs are the answer.

Our easy to use products include scrambled, poached, hard-boiled, fried eggs, or omelettes and crĂŞpes. Farm Pride eggs are a key piece of any great breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Visit farmpride.com.au or call 1300 361 993

cover story

Baked perfection Breakfast is a quick and easy way to boost the bottom line, and Sara Lee’s range of “fully baked” Danish pastries, muffins and new sweet croissants are the perfect way to start the day.

T

he Continental breakfast is a staple on menus across the world and a great way to tap into the consumer’s need for a quick and tasty morning treat. Sara Lee’s comprehensive range of baked breakfast treats is the perfect way to cater to consumer demand for convenient breakfast items, whether it is for sit-down or take-away.

Let’s face it, baking takes time and for many foodservice operators that is a luxury they simply don’t have, which is why Sara Lee puts so much effort into finding a solution to create a delicious range of tasty “fully baked” treats that are snap frozen to guarantee a consistently great tasting product every time.

Sara Lee has introduced a sweet filled croissant to its range of baked breakfast treats, making it a must for every morning buffet. The two irresistible croissants, Chocolate and Custard Crème, are a delicious way to start the day.

The Custard Crème Croissant has a deliciously creamy custard centre and is sprinkled with sweet crumb, while the Chocolate Croissant has real chocolate in the rich chocolate sauce filling and is further topped with chocolate flakes.

Made with real butter and delicate pastry to create 96 layers, all Sara Lee croissants have a light and flaky texture.

Featuring traditional flaky pastry with a generous real fruit filling, Sara Lee has two new flavours, apple and berry, in its range of Danish pastries. The new Apple Danish is made with real apples and a touch of cinnamon, while the new Berry Danish features real blueberries.

Using Australian ingredients where possible Sara Lee chooses Australian butter and flour and the best seasonal fruits available. Sara Lee’s range of Danish pastries is prepared the traditional way with the dough rested before baking to achieve that authentic light buttery flavour.

Baked until golden all Sara Lee’s pastries are then snap frozen and each tray is flow wrapped for your convenience. Remove only what you need for service.

Muffins are a perennial favourite with breakfast consumers, and Sara Lee’s range of muffins is sure to please. Moist and soft Sara Lee’s muffins are baked to a recipe Australians know and love, with more real quality ingredients for great taste and texture.

With four flavours to choose from in the petite range, Blueberry, Chocolate Chip, Apple & Spice and Banana Nut, Sara Lee’s 25g muffins contain no artificial colours or flavours, and are made with real ingredients from Australian suppliers to ensure that fresh taste every time.

Put a smile on your customers’ faces every day with Sara Lee’s utterly irresistible “fully baked” sweet treats. OH

8 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

CONVENIENT 144 PAR-BAKE ROLLS PER CARTON 3 VARIETIES IN ONE CARTON – WHITE, BROWN & MULTIGRAIN IDEAL FOR LIMITED FREEZER SPACE PERFECT FOR FUNCTION CATERING

STOCK UP FOR CHRISTMAS! Order today through your local foodservice distributor (Speedibake code 9345) or call 1800 086 926 or email foodservice@gwf.com.au ® Registered trade mark of George Weston Foods Limited. All rights reserved.

in Multig ra

MIXED DINNER ROLLS SELECTION CARTON 9345

Brown

IT UP

White

MIX

NEW!

Speedibake Cla ssic Mixed Dinner R olls Selection Conveniently m ixed cartons of par-ba ke dinner rolls

Profile

Fighting chance When chef Cath Hopgood’s husband David appeared on My Kitchen Rules it was the first step toward the couple achieving their dream of running culinary tours to famous battlefields, writes Ylla Wright.

F

de-stressing after returning from a tour in Afghanistan, according to Cath.

ood and military history may not seem like the obvious combination, but for chef and teacher Cath Hopgood and her husband David, one half of the soldier duo who competed on My Kitchen Rules Season Three, screened in 2012, it’s a match made in heaven.

“He was, after 20 odd years, in the process of deciding whether he was going to stay in the army or if there was something outside of it for him,” she says. “It was a chance for him to take his mind off all the military things that had been in his life since he left school.”

Since David’s appearance on the popular reality TV show, the pair has started up Cook with Love, a Townsville-based company which runs cooking demonstrations, classes and what Cath calls “Culinary Battle Tours”.

After being the seventh team eliminated in a sudden death cook-off against competition front runners and eventual winners Leigh Sexton and Jennifer Evans, David ultimately decided to stay in the army (he’s currently completing three months training to become a major). The idea to set up Cook with Love came out his desire to remain involved with cooking.

“We host small group tours to countries that have a military history, working with a battle tour company to develop an itinerary that encompass the culture and culinary aspect of the country as well,” Cath explains.

The couple came up with the idea after doing a Battle of the Somme tour in France.

“The guide that we had was fantastic,” says Cath. “Because I was a chef we got him to take us to all the local restaurants, rather than just hotel restaurants, and we thought wouldn’t this be good to share this with other people. There are lots of people who might be like us, where one person is interested predominantly in the military side of the things, and the other one not-so-much but is interested in the cuisine and the culture.

“Because David is a current serving member of the ADF [Australian Defence Force] and I’m a chef these are our two passions.”

Working with a South Australian company who were doing battle tours to Vietnam, the couple came up with an itinerary for their first tour, which included attending the Battle of Long Tan day service; a

speed boat ride up to the Cu Chi tunnels, a network of connecting underground tunnels used by Viet Cong soldiers in the Vietnam War; and a full-day cooking class at the Saigon Cooking School.

“One of the first foodie things we did was a Saigon Street Eats tour,” Cath recalls. “They pick you up on the back of motorcycles and drive you around the back streets to a number of different little restaurants. We went to one of the famous ‘snail streets’, where they serve all different seafood, cooked right in front of you. We didn’t stick to dinner at the hotel every night; we ate with the locals, ordered what the locals ate.”

While Cath admits that groups do tend to split down the gender divide, with men “predominantly

10 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

wanting to do the military things” they are just as interested in getting hands-on in a cooking class.

Basically unable to cook when they met in 2001 (“he could cook tacos”), Cath readily admits it was David’s appearance on My Kitchen Rules that has allowed the couple to follow their dreams by running the tours.

“We were actually trying to do it together but when we got down to the last form we realised I couldn’t have had any commercial experience at all,” she said. “You have to be a complete novice.

That’s when Scott [Bradshaw] agreed to do it.”

While much of the drama of the show derives from contestants losing their cool, David saw appearing on it as a way of

“It’s been a good experience for him,” adds Cath. “Cooking is something in his life that’s not related to the military, and that he can say he is confident doing and enjoys doing.”

Next up for the pair is a tour to Thailand in April 2014, where the itinerary includes the Anzac Day service in Hellfire Pass on the Thai-Burma railway, where more than more than 2700 Australian prisoners of war died in 1942-43, as well as a number of Thai cooking classes and market tours.

“The Vietnam tour will also definitely go ahead in August as well,” Cath says. “One thing we would like to do in Vietnam next year is incorporate KOTO [Know One – Teach one] into our tour.

It’s a not-for-profit organisation which is all about educating disadvantaged youth and helping them to get jobs in the hospitality industry. We’d like to be able to give something back; maybe share some of our skills with them.” OH

We’ve captured this year’s flavour trends from around the world. ( It’s up to you to release them! )

At McCormick we recognise the passionate, adventurous nature of chefs. We understand that in the ongoing effort to set your food apart from your competitors, you’re always keen to experiment with new flavours and new ideas.

together with

That’s why for the first time, we have developed five unique flavour blends based on results from the McCormick annual Flavour Forecast.

These fabulous blends are available now from your local foodservice distributor and represent the pinnacle of flavour innovation. So use the McCormick Flavour Forecast range in your recipes today and bring your business to the forefront of flavour trends.

Be first to use the Flavour Forecast blends in your menu!

For more information visit www.flavorforecast.com or phone McCormick for Chefs customer service on 1800 100 750. www.mccormick.com.au/foodservice

Q&A

Bean there, roasted that Fresh from America’s Roasters Guild Retreat, Belaroma’s master roaster, Peter Battista, speaks to Anna-Louise McDougall about the tricks of the trade and the secret to the perfect cup of coffee.

Q: Where did your passion for coffee come from and how did you get into roasting as a profession?

A: Growing up in an Italian household, I was lucky enough to be introduced to good food and coffee as well as wine with water and beer (even grappa) from a very young age. No matter if you had your nonna’s stovetop, zia’s (aunty) Napoletana (coffee pot) or zio’s (uncle) La Pavoni lever machine, you were going to get their version of coffee and some sort of opinion about it. My relatives used to be in the hospitality trade. In the early ‘50s, when they came to Australia, they quickly realised that coffee, unlike tea, was not widely available, so my father and uncle went to Italy to buy a coffee roaster. After studying and working in commercial cookery and patisserie, I applied for a job at Belaroma in the warehouse. Lucky for me, the roaster there left soon after and I slipped into the job with about one month’s training.

Q: You’re accredited with several coffee certifications including “Q grader”. What does that involve?

A: The Q Grader’s course is a one-week intensive specialty coffee course for coffee professionals with participants required to pass a series of 22 exams. Subjects tested relate to general coffee knowledge, sensory skills relating to taste, olfactory (relating to aromas), triangulations, matching coffee pairs and acids they contain, roasted sample identification, green and roasted coffee grading and cupping.

Q: What’s the secret to roasting coffee to maximise flavour and freshness?

A: Firstly, you must identify the purpose for roasting a coffee. Is it for cupping, filter, espresso, with milk and/or sugar? How much does a customer want to pay for a single origin or blend?

Once you have done that, you must select coffees suitable for those outcomes. Put simply, you

must gently roast coffee without scorching it with appropriate airflows and energy including cooling the coffee as quickly as possible.

Q: How important is the packing and storing process to ensuring quality coffee?

A: Very important; when it comes to freshness, you must pack off the coffee in suitable airtight bags as soon as possible after cooling with as little oxygen as possible in the bags. Some roasters nitrogen-flush their bags in much the same way that potato chips and lettuce leaves are packaged.

Once properly packaged, store the coffee at room temperature (22°C) and out of direct sunlight. Do not leave coffee in your car to re-roast and don’t buy more than you use.

Q: You’ve recently come back from the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 13th Annual Roaster’s Guild Retreat.

What did that involve?

A: I got to meet a whole bunch of coffee roasters and other coffee professionals including farmers, exporters, importers, quality assessors and small business owners. I chose four subjects to study as part of the SCAA roaster’s qualification course.

These related to green bean buying, sample roasting, roasting concepts and roast profiling. All the subjects done at Q graders are also taught at the Roaster’s Retreat. We also attended a lecture and discussion relating to the science of roasting and the future quality of coffee coming from origin. Whenever people get together and start talking about coffee, I’m always interested in learning anything new or giving confidence to lesser experienced roasters.

12 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

Q: Did you learn any new techniques?

A: Some new techniques learned have been wet blending and roast development before and after first crack. I am looking forward to doing the other subjects offered in order to be exposed to other parts of the coffee network.

Q: American coffee is generally considered to be pretty poor. Is this the case and how does it differ to Australian coffee?

A: The main difference is that Americans drink mainly filtered coffee and we drink espresso coffee. I think that quality issues arise with coffee in both countries when people become complacent, don’t like change or say “this is the way it’s always been done”. You always have to ask yourself: who is the end user of this particular coffee I am drinking? How well has this machine/ utensil been kept and cleaned? Is the person serving this coffee a professional or just a parttime employee? There is good and bad coffee everywhere, you just need the information to seek out the coffee you want, taste it and make your decision if it’s good or not from there.

Q: You’re a roaster, a judge at barista championships and a regular coffee drinker. What do you think makes the perfect cup of coffee?

A: Balance is always the key. If you have a coffee with acidity, sweetness, body, flavours and aftertaste all detectable and working in harmony, you deserve to be blown away and it always helps when your barista or waiter/waitress greets, serves and sends you off with a smile. OH

www.cerebosfoodservice.com.au

Just pour, heat and serve.

Perfect every time.

Serving suggestion

Now you can serve premium, consistent quality long shelf life

free, has no artificial colours or flavours, no added MSG and is bain

gravies and sauces without labour worries or preparation hassles.

marie stable for up to 8 hours.

Gravox has done all the work for you, creating a premium range of

So if you want fantastic flavour, superior sheen, smooth texture,

liquid gravies and sauces that you can offer with confidence.

great mouthfeel and consistent quality that’s perfect every time,

Available in 5 different flavour profiles, each gravy or sauce is gluten

simply choose Gravox Premium liquid gravies and sauces.

FREE OFFER ARMORY_CER0003_OH

To celebrate the introduction of this fantastic product, we’re giving away 100 FREE 4x 2kg packs of Gravox Premium Liquid Gravy or Sauce.

Hurry, to secure your FREE pack call 1300 365 865 during office hours (EST).

Offer is only available to genuine foodservice establishments. Limit one pack per establishment. Offer ends when a total of 100 packs is reached.

Origins of...

Chinese dumplings Boiled, steamed or pan fried, Chinese dumplings carry with them a wealth of history and tradition, writes Anna-Louise McDougall.

A

popular choice for yum cha lovers and a staple throughout China, the dumpling comes in a many different varieties.

As with many ancient foods, an exact date is difficult to pinpoint but dumplings are said to have come from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). The dumpling is said to have acquired its semicircular shape to commemorate the legend of Pan Gu, a famous Chinese fable about the world’s creation.

In the fable, Pan Gu separates the world into two half-egg shaped parts – the sky and the earth.

Originally called jiao'er (tender ear) for their shape, the name slowly evolved to jiaozi, meaning “horn”.

The earliest recording of dumplings in ancient literature was in 500 AD

where the dumpling, “jiaozi”, was described as an extremely delicate food, “shaped like half moon and was passed around the world.” With the lack of cooking resources at the time, their delicacy made dumplings an exclusive dish to be savoured.

Another legend suggests dumplings originated from Zhang Zhongjing, known in Chinese history as the "medicine saint” who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty more than 1800 years ago. The folk tale suggests he would wrap mutton, chilli and warming medicinal herbs in dough, folding it into the shape of an ear, boil them in water and give them to the poor during winter to heal their frostbitten ears. Zhang is said to have distributed them from the day of Winter Solstice to New

Year's Eve, when the villagers had fully recovered.

Today, eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival is a tradition in most parts of northern China. The dumpling’s shape is also like that of gold ingot (ancient Chinese money); eating dumplings during the Spring Festival means to “gather money”. It is still a custom for the first Spring Festival dumpling meal to be eaten by midnight of Chinese New Year’s Eve. Guoti, pan-fried dumplings, are said to date back over four millennia. The first mention in literature dates back to the Song Dynasty around 1000 AD in ancient China, where guoti is described as being exceptionally good for the human soul. However, another legend tells of a chef in China's Imperial Court who accidentally

Make breakfast a priority The thought process of a lot of restaurant operators when it comes to reviewing the staffing levels of kitchens are disturbing, to say the least. I have had many ferocious arguments with general managers and food and beverage managers who insist on using apprentices to cover shifts because they are not willing to employ qualified trades people. The most common one is on the breakfast shift; I can still hear it ringing in my ears – “you do not need another chef, just roster the apprentice on”.

This is not an unusual situation but it is mind numbingly stupid of managers to purposely push head chefs into doing this. It is widely known that you receive most of your complaints in hospitality from three areas: if you are in the hotel game it is the check in and check

out process, and for the rest of us, its breakfast. Even if you consider the work commitment alone of having your young apprentice arrive at 5am to get prepared for service, do you seriously want to risk having them in control of your kitchen? I have absolutely no issue with employing apprentices but in this day and age the breakfast shift is fraught with danger, and having this entire shift hinge on a junior who may or may not have had sufficient training to complete the shift or may or may not have had a substantial outing the night before and call in sick?

Not only is it a poor practice to do this but I do not ever recall the menu being cheaper due to having an apprentice cooking it. I do not recall menus getting smaller. Or having the skill requirement watered down due to the apprentice cooking it.

14 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

burned a batch of dumplings and with no time to prepare a new batch, announced that they were his own special creation.

Italian explorer Marco Polo is said to have introduced dumplings to his home country, where they appear as ravioli. Similarly, dumplings are a staple in traditional cuisine across Asia, for example the Japanese gyoza, the Korean mandu, the Nepalese momo and the Indonesian pangsit.

Perhaps the most famous dumplings are served in the ancient city of Xian in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Home of the Xi'an Dumpling Banquet, locals say no visit to the city is complete unless one visits the Terracotta Army and partakes in a “dumpling dinner”. OH

Consultant chef

Breakfast menus these days mimic lunch and dinner menus in respect to the complexity of dishes and it is an absolute disgrace to think that the general public does not deserve the talents of a chef preparing their meals.

The apprentice is not your personal slave nor should they be used or treated as cheap labour. They are there to learn the culinary arts and deserve to be treated as such and if you want to employ them in any other manner, simply sack them and allow them to seek decent employment. Then get off your butt and do the shift yourself. Let’s see how long that lasts before another chef’s position magically appears.

After having this very debate with a restaurant owner some months ago I threw out the challenge that if they could competently work

Glenn Austin

www.glennaustinconsulting.com the breakfast shift for three days I would become their equity business partner/manager. This was the safest bet I have ever entered into; all went well until it came to actually having to cook something… I have never seen so many eggs thrown in the bin; that poached egg technique is a difficult one to master!

Sustainability

Food for thought With food shortages and hunger affecting millions of people around the world, including Australia, foodservice businesses are encouraged to do their bit to alleviate the problem, writes Ylla Wright.

W

simply is no longer ample to meet the growing demand so we’re adopting new solutions including arranging the manufacture of key staple foods and partnering with farmers for more fresh produce.”

orld hunger was in the spotlight last month with the release of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) 2011-13 hunger figures, which showed that despite an overall decline in the number of people suffering from hunger – from 870 million to 842 million – some regions have experienced a rise in the past few years because of pressures including repeated food crises and food price increases.

According to the report food parcels are the most common type of food assistance required, making up more than 70 per cent of food welfare. This directly correlates to the increase in low income or single parent families relying on food welfare, as these groups require access to staple ingredients to prepare meals. The most common types of food needed are cereals, fruit and vegetables, bread, meat and milk.

According to the FAO figures, the number of hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa increased by one million compared to 2008-10 estimates. As a region, sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest prevalence of hunger, with an estimated one in four people not having enough to eat. Closer to home, 38 per cent of people in Timor Leste – more than one in three – don’t have enough to eat in terms of dietary energy intake, and this number appears to have increased in recent years.

While Foodbank mainly works with the food and grocery industry, farmers, manufacturers and retailers, as well as the corporate sector and government, to tackle the problem of hunger in Australia, fellow not-for-profit food rescue organisation OzHarvest collects surplus food from restaurants, retailers and other foodservice businesses and redistributes it to charities feeding those in need.

Responding to the figures, Oxfam Australia’s food policy advisor, Kelly Dent, called on the Australian Government to continue to invest in food security.

“According to FAO data, about 22 million people in Indonesia don’t have enough to eat – that’s almost the entire population of Australia,” she said.

“Australia has the ability to be a leader in tackling hunger, investing in agriculture and in particular, prioritising small-scale producers, who play a critical role in feeding millions around the world.

“At a time of belt-tightening and budget cuts, the Government must not forget that investments in food security and small-scale agriculture can reap massive benefits in the fight against hunger, which is essential if we are to contribute to a more prosperous region.

“We know that eradicating hunger is possible and we know what needs to be done – the question is whether we are determined to make this happen.”

But it’s not just overseas that people find themselves without enough food to eat. An estimated two million Australians rely on food relief, from organisations such as the Salvation Army and the St Vincent de Paul society.

Even more alarming in a country as well off as Australia is that 65,000 Australians are turned away from charities each month because there isn’t enough food to give them, according to food rescue organisation Foodbank’s 2013 End Hunger Report, which was also released last month.

Based on a national survey of charities and community groups on the rising problem of

food insecurity in Australia, the report found low income and single parent families are the largest groups requiring assistance with 60 per cent of charities providing assistance to these groups, with one in three of those who receive aid being children. Low income and unexpected circumstances or events are the most common reason for those who seek out food relief were the most commonly cited reasons for seeking aid.

The report also found that 65 per cent of people who rely on food relief do not receive all they require, and 80 per cent of welfare agencies report not having enough food to meet total demand.

“Hunger in Australia affects more people than many realise, and families are increasingly relying on food relief due to difficult economic times,” said Enzo Allara, chairman of Foodbank Australia. “For many Australians, it only takes one unexpected cost or event to tip the balance.

Foodbank and charities around the country are working together to help these individuals and provide the food they need but the demand is increasing significantly faster than our supply.”

“Foodbank currently provides enough food for 88,000 meals a day, yet 80 per cent of charities reported not having enough food to meet current demand. Our traditional model of collecting surplus food from manufacturers and retailers

While there are restrictions on what can be donated for food safety reasons, excess food is collected at no cost to the food donor and distributed to charities across Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle in New South Wales, Adelaide in South Australia and Brisbane in Queensland.

Drivers are all trained in safe food handling and refrigerated vans are used to transport the food; donations reach their destination within a couple of hours of being picked up.

Other, similar organisations operate in other states. Sustainable food website foodwise.com.au publishes a list to help businesses find one close to them.

Another option for restaurateurs interested in helping alleviate hunger is supporting StreetSmart’s DineSmart fundaiser, which sees participating restaurants ask diners in the six weeks leading up Christmas to add a small donation ($2 or more) onto their bill, with funds raised going to local grassroots homelessness organisations. A second fundraiser, CafeSmart, asks cafés to donate $1 per for every coffee they sell, and coffee roasters to donate beans.

To date StreetSmart has raised and distributed more than $2.55 million to 724 grassroots projects.

With this year’s Dine Smart event due to kick off on November 11, organisers say they already have more than 100 restaurants and cafes involved. Last Christmas 176 restaurants participated, raising $361,471. Every little bit helps. OH

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 15

desserts

Cut to the chase Consumers are turning to desserts as a way to reward themselves. Often beyond the skills of an ordinary home cook, desserts are the culinary spectacular that closes a good meal. In fact they are so good, many operators have decided to skip to the finale with dessert restaurants cropping up across the country, discovers Sheridan Randall.

T

here’s a reason desserts are put at the end of a meal, serve them first and no one would stay for the other two courses. Well maybe not, but consumers are definitely looking at desserts in a whole new light, happy to consume them anytime of the day, and with or without a savoury meal accompaniment.

Located in New South Wales’ picturesque wine region the Hunter Valley, Sabor in the Hunter caters solely for those looking to satiate their sweet tooth, stocking around 50 desserts, which can be paired with one of the many offerings of the local wineries or a coffee. Founded

by Fernando and Renata Antao Sabor’s many customers are looking to reward themselves.

“People are so restricted in their everyday life when they do come out they let loose,” says Fernando Antao.

“A lot of our customers are from Sydney and they live a very strict life. A coffee in the morning, a rush before they go to work, grab a sandwich for lunch, and they get

back home and can’t be bothered to make dessert. When they go on holiday they are so relaxed they want something different.”

Sabor’s dessert range, which is centres on decedent cakes and pastries, handmade chocolates and Portuguese tarts, all sprang from one recipe handed down from Fernando’s grandmother.

At that time the couple owned a pizzeria in Pyrmont in Sydney.

“The pizzas were okay but we started making grandma’s original recipe for a Portuguese chocolate mousse, and people started coming in more for than the pizzas,” he says.

Looking for quieter life they sold the pizzeria, started to wholesale the mousse, and looked for somewhere in the Hunter region to get away from it all. They settled on a six acre block, where they built somewhere to live, a commercial kitchen and dessert bar.

book, someone drives in, serve them a coffee, sit back down and carry on reading a book,” Fernando says.

Open only three days a week, Friday through to Sunday, and public holidays, Sabor sells between 500-600 desserts on a slow week and up to 1000 desserts on a long weekend, which doesn't leave much time for reading.

“People like Adriano Zumbo and the MasterChef shows have helped, as they concentrate on desserts,” he says.

Although neither Fernando or Renata had any formal training as pastry chefs, they simply “love what they do”. Now with the help of pastry chef Nicole Stang, the dessert bar comes up with a new dessert around every three weeks.

“We have a lot of trial and error – looks great, tastes like crap or looks crap but tastes great – and because our cakes are on display they have to

look good,” he says.

“Ninety per cent of the work is getting the recipe right. There are thousands of moulds you can buy, so shapes are easy to do these days.”

Finding the balance between creating something new and exciting but still appreciated by their consumers can be tricky.

“It’s not an easy thing but we try and be a little off centre with some of our desserts,” he says. “Sometimes people love it and they come back for more and sometimes it’s just a little bit too weird for them.

“We do a chocolate and salted caramel tart – and if it’s not sold out by 11am there is something wrong.

We have found that people don’t like alcohol in their dessert. People are still very funny with chilli and chocolate and orange and chocolate.

We have tried to push them but they don’t tend to sell.”

“We thought we would make a few desserts every week, sit back, read a

Pierre Roelof's pistachio, rum, ginger and cereals dessert.

16 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

The Taste of Summer Has Arrived.

GRAPEFRUIT & ORANGE SORBET REFRESHING DREAM Our grapefruit sorbet is not only supplemented by pink grapefruit pulp but receives its surprising taste from the orange pulp.

For further information or sample requests, please call (03) 9922 1474 and quote “Refreshing Dream” or visit our web-site.

WWW.MOEVENPICK-ICECREAM.COM

Lauren Murdoch's avocado parfait.

head that it was what I needed to do to make myself relevant and keep people coming back. But actually no one really picked on the fact that it was a new menu, and I then realised that it was taking its toll. I now do a new menu every three weeks.

“I also do a best of menu every three months, and that’s been a great way of showcasing dishes that really resonated with the public. I always thought it was shame to do a dish that everyone really loved and it was only going to get exposed to such a limited amount of people.”

Each evening starts off with his signature Dessert Tube, but after that it is a trip into Roelofs’ imagination.

Willy Wonka Melbournians are also having their appetite for all things sweet well catered for, with people queuing every Thursday night for pastry chef Pierre Roelofs’ now famous dessert degustation evenings.

Taking over Cafe Rosamond in Fitzroy, Roelofs and his team serve up four courses of dessert magic.

“The pricing of the dessert evenings means that most people can afford to come and so I am exposing myself to a whole load of people who would never have eaten high end fine dining desserts,” says Roelofs.

“I get everyone from hipsters to 80 year old women coming out with their granddaughters and everything in between. That’s one of the most exciting things about the evening because everyone feels welcome.”

“Pastry chefs have always been a bit different in the kitchen, but it’s changing now, with other chefs being more like pastry chefs in that rigorous technical approach to what you do.”

With his reputation hinging on the success of these weekly nights, Roelofs says he felt pressurised to keep changing the menu so as not to lose repeat customers.

“For the first two years I used to do a brand new menu every Thursday,” he says. “I was making life quite hard for myself and had it in my

With 20 years of experience as a pastry chef, both in Australia and in Europe, including head pastry chef at two Michelin star The Vineyard, in the UK, and a stint at the Fat Duck, Roelofs has a strong

“I stay away from themes as they put you in a certain mindset and pretty much try and have an open mind,” he says. “The challenge is to keep doing new things but not to start reaching for things just for the sake of being different. Being older and wiser now I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel or be provocative in my choices of flavour combinations.

Everything has to be delicious and interesting and that’s the bottom line for me now.”

Five-star fantasy Sydneysiders it turns out are also partial to a dessert or three, with the dessert degustation events at the Shangri-La Hotel selling out in a matter of minutes. Headed by the hotel’s pastry chef, Anna Polyviou, the first one took place in June this year. Somewhat of a flag bearer for the pastry world – Polyviou is also the chairman and one of the founders of the Sydney Pastry Chef Club, an industry-learning programme for executive pastry chefs launched in 2011 – she holds the events in the hotel’s kitchen.

“No one remembers the entrée and main,” she says, half joking, adding that the event is “a bit of a show”.

“We always have an interactive course that people can get involved in. It’s not just about sitting there and eating, we want to show off our skills and get people entertained and have them talking about it when they walk away.”

Now in its fourth year, Roelofs says that there has been a renewed interest in desserts.

Not one to shy from the limelight, Polyviou clearly has fun with the menu, reinterpreting classics and adding her own twist, and if possible even her name.

“I think there is a generation of pastry chefs that view desserts in the same way other chefs do savoury food,” he says. “It’s seen more as a gastronomic entity in itself rather than the past when it was just a collection of sweet things, such a chocolate mouse and maybe ice cream with a garnish. There wasn’t the same depth or seriousness.

Desserts are now balanced, exciting and challenging.”

“I had one called Anna’s Mess a twist on the Eton Mess, with sorbet and meringue and chocolate,” she says. “The beauty of it was we poured a hot liquid over it which melted everything, and there were pop rocks so when they were eating it was popping in their mouths, and it melted in front of them, and it had that wow factor. They loved the fact that it finished in such a mess.”

One of the reasons desserts have seen such a resurgence among the public is the technical aspect in their preparation. Quite simply, many desserts are just too difficult to make at home.

“Some of the desserts I do have up to 20 processes involved which is beyond the range of most passionate home cooks,” he says.

“I dabble in a bit of everything and reference childhood things and chocolate bars and that sort of thing,” he says. “I have always used a lot of vegetables and use a lot of grains and pulses and that is a big part of the new pastry movement – there is a lot more freedom, and pastry chefs feel they can be a lot more open about what they do.”

foundation upon which to reference.

Others included “Lick me”, a parfait on a stick, with a crunch in the middle and mango pearls and honeycomb, and “Caramalise me Casey”, named after her partner.

Anna Polyviou's Nuts over Honey Pears.

18 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

“Desserts are supposed to be fun and making people feel special as well,” she says. “Sugar makes you happy, and that’s what we want you feel.”

sOME ThingsarE MEant

tO bE made in

australia

At SPC, our products are proudly sourced from local ingredients.

Like the deliciously juicy peaches grown by farmer Nick Parris for over 60 years, in the fertile soils of the Goulburn Valley.

This commitment to quality Australian produce means: • The finest fruit created in superior growing conditions • Confidence in our safe farming and packing practices • Supporting our farmers and regional economies • Dramatically reducing your company food miles

Call us today to see how your kitchen can switch to Australian made. spcardmona.com.au | Tel: 1800 805 168

SPC is a trademark of SPC Ardmona

dish to appear in front of them.

and pineapple being used in their macarons and cakes.

“The reaction has been good although you still see people coming up and saying they ordered the chocolate and we say ‘yeah we know’,” says head chef Jarrod Hudson.

“We have all the flavours we are so used to back home [Malaysia] and put them into a French technique,” he says. “Our passionfruit tart has kaffir lime in it. So it’s not Asian as in what you would get at Yum Cha. It’s something created on what we like to eat. It’s about Asian influence.”

Easy Tiger's chocolate and pandams dumplings.

Polyviou recently teamed up with Bernard Chu and Yen Yee from Melbourne patisserie Luxbite for an Asian Dessert Degustation, a follow-up to one they had done in Melbourne earlier.

“It’s good to see dessert is taking over,” says Chu. “Luxbite is all about Asian flavour with French technique,” he says, with flavours such as bamboo oolong, pandan, lemon, ginger

Launching Luxbite around three years ago, Chu says it was a case of educating people to the new flavours.

“People thankfully have been very open,” he says. “Customers used to come to the counter ask if it would taste like Tom Yum.” Wanting to avoid being seen as a gimmick, he says that he could “do a satay macaron for the gimmick but for me it’s not about that”.

“Before we put anything on the menu we make sure that I like it, my partner likes it and the staff like it,” he says. “We are going to launch our own chocolate box and we are going to include it in that, and no one is going to ask if it tastes like Tom Yum again.”

Luxbite's meringue monster with green tea sponge.

Asian flavours The flavours of South East Asia are making themselves felt in a number desserts in restaurants across Melbourne. Easy Tiger’s take on Thai street food came up trumps with their much praised chocolate and pandanus dumplings, melon and salted coconut cream dessert.

The dish came about after experimenting with a previous dessert that used smoked coconut candy in the middle of the dumpling instead.

Not your average looking dessert, the green dumplings have confused many a customer expecting a rich chocolate

With the spectrum for what ingredients can be used in a dessert widening, Hudson says that it was working for chef and author Christine Mansfield that opened his eyes to what could be done.

“For me desserts need texture right across the whole plate,” he says.

“There has been an introduction of [new] flavours into dessert and we use a bit of salt and some others use corn, carob and pumpkin, but the Thais were doing that 100 years ago.”

However, Hudson is aware that traditional Thai desserts would not sit well with a Western palate.

“They use of lot of rice flour that Western palates can’t handle and they love the garish colours and it’s not very natural looking,” he says. “So I take the influence of Thailand and mix it with the

Tropic-Anna coconut dacquoise, feuilletine crunch, piña colada crème, tropical compote Piña colada crème

Feuilletine

300ml coconut purée/cream

400g white chocolate 150g Pailleté feuilletine (chopped crêpes dentelles/French crispy pancakes)

75g caster (superfine) sugar 15g gelatine (gold) (softened in ice cold water with excess water squeezed out) 150ml Crème fraîche 370ml whipping cream (35% fat semiwhipped) 50ml Malibu rum Coconut dacquoise ‘sponge’ 200g blanched almond meal 60g plain (all-purpose) flour 240g icing (confectioner’s) sugar 300g egg whites 135g caster (superfine) sugar 100g desiccated (shredded) coconut

White chocolate discs 400g white chocolate Piña colada crème Warm the coconut purée/cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the gelatine.

Pour into a bowl and whisk in the crème fraîche. Allow to cool until semi-set. Once semi-set, whisk again by hand and fold through the semi-whipped cream, followed by the Malibu rum. Place in the piping (pastry) bag and reserve in the fridge.

Coconut dacquoise ‘sponge’ Sift together the almond meal, plain (all-purpose) flour and icing (confectioner’s) sugar. Whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer until soft peaks form, gradually adding the caster (superfine) sugar. Take the mixture off the machine and gently fold through the sifted

20 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

dry ingredients, along with the desiccated (shredded) coconut.

Spread onto two silicone baking paper-lined trays, 400g per tray, and bake at 160°C for 6 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool as fast as possible.

Feuilletine

out the dacquoise ‘sponge’ to a diameter of 5.5cm. Place a 5.5cm white chocolate disc on top. Pipe small rounds of the piña colada crème around the disc, then place a white chocolate disc with the centre cut out on top. In the centre place 0.5cm dices of tropical fruit.

Garnish each cake with three sprigs of lemon balm.

Melt the white chocolate and mix in the pailleté feuilletine. Spread evenly onto the dacquoise ‘sponges’ (from above recipe) once these have cooled. Place into the freezer.

White chocolate discs Temper the chocolate. Spread thinly onto acetate sheets. Once semi-set, cut into 20 discs of 5.5cm diameter and 20 discs of 5.5cm diameter with a 3cm hole cut out in the middle.

To assemble, use components/ garnishes of fresh tropical fruit, such as pineapple, mango, papaya or passion fruit pulp, according to season; sprigs of lemon balm.

For each of the 20 cakes, cut

• The recipe by Anna Polyviou has been edited from the original courtesy of The New Pâtissiers

by Olivier Dupon published by Thames & Hudson $70.

A super chef’s secret weapon A chef’s job is always busy and at times a secret weapon to help manage the demands of the kitchen is what every chef needs. Anchor Cooking Cream can turn any chef into a super chef faster than a speeding bullet. It is already reduced, so it reaches a coating consistency at amazing speed, greatly reducing cooking time. It won’t split or separate in acid or at high temperatures and the high fat content makes it particularly suited to thick, creamy sauces. Equally impressive in preparing cold desserts, Anchor Cooking Cream is every super chef’s secret weapon.

Contact your Fonterra Rep or visit fonterrafoodservices.com.au for further information and recipe ideas.

FOODSERVICE Dairy for Today’s Professionals

techniques I picked up from working with Christine and mould them in that way.”

Another dessert popular with their customers is the caramelised coconut custard, poached pineapple and crispy black rice.

“We were playing around with wafers but we don’t want to use butter or flour because ware trying to keep it as Thai as possible. So we started playing around with glutenous rice, and cooking it, blending it, making into a paste and then drying it and frying it, and then we thought why not try black rice. It looks like a black prawn cracker and we tossed it with lime sherbet to give it a bit of sour.

“The baked coconut custard is essentially a caramel cream but I just used coconut cream and coconut sugar to take that French out of it and serve it just like a caramel cream. It’s cooked exactly the same. That’s why it marries beautifully with Western palates.”

C

allebaut, the finest Belgium Chocolate in the World, and Savour School’s award winning pastry chef Kirsten Tibballs are proud to present a delicious recipe for you to serve at home or at a dinner party.

Chocolate Mousse 55g 90g 220g 115g 345g 75g 790g 12 QS

Milk Bulla Thickened Cream 35% fat Egg Yolks Caster Sugar Callebaut Sao Thome Origin 70% couverture Callebaut Java Origin Milk 33% couverture Bulla Thickened Cream 35% fat Fresh Raspberries (per glass) Icing Sugar for dusting

Although now off the menu, Dandelion’s Che Co Hai Aunty 2’s Che also got tongues wagging among Melbourne’s gastro set.

Based on a Vietnamese sweet soup that is ladelled into a bowl over ice cream and eaten as a snack, the dessert added grass jelly and beads of toddy palm to create an eye and mouth watering dessert.

“Vietnamese people don’t generally eat desserts the way Western people do,” says Dandelian's head chef Geoff Lindsay. “They tend to just have fresh fruit at the end of a meal and are more likely to eat sweet things throughout the day as snacks.”

The strong French influence throughout Vietnam, thanks to their colonial history, has left

Boil milk and cream together in a saucepan and whisk the egg yolks and sugar together separately in a bowl.

Pour the boiled milk and cream over the combined egg yolks and sugar and return to the stove on a low heat stirring continuously cook to 74°C and strain over the couverture and whisk until combined. Semi-whip the chilled cream and fold through the chocolate mixture. Place 4 raspberries in the base of each glass and then pipe the prepared chocolate mousse on top.

Garnish with additional raspberries and dust them with icing sugar.

Finish with a chocolate heart garnish.

A signature recipe from Kirsten’s award winning cookbook ‘Chocolate to Savour’

22 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

Anna Polyviou's Snow White Goes Bad dessert.

them with “an amazing legacy of fantastic pastries, ice cream and techniques and understanding of what good pastries should be like”, says Hudson.

“That gives us a fairly broad scale to work with, so for example we take a classic French dish like a crème brûlée and ask that recipe to speak with a Vietnamese accent or conversely we take something that is Vietnamese such as a che and try and put a Western flavour around that.”

With desserts seen primarily as a reward in the West, they are devoured with gleeful abandon despite being loaded with all the things we are told we should avoid – sugar, fat, carbohydrates. In Vietnam it is the reverse, he says.

“Asian desserts tend to be a bit lighter in that that are essentially fruit based and contain less dairy products, and use smaller amounts of pastry,” he says.

“A stand that sells che might have up to 50 ingredients and you would select the ingredients you felt your body needed at any particular time. In the warmer months they eat things that are cooling, which is why we used a grass jelly in our che, which is like a tea jelly made with a particular Vietnamese grass, which is good for cooling the body down.”

Masterclass Avocados are a common dessert in many South East Asian countries, with chef Chui Lee Luk, formerly of Claudes and now Sydney’s Chow Bar and Eating House, saying she used to eat raw avocado halves sprinkled with sugar or condensed milk as a child.

Desserts at Sabor in the Hunter.

See the recipe in the Open House iPad app.

Harking back to those memories, avocade blancmange with cocoa jelly, pear and caramelised white chocolate features on the new menu. Using almond milk, and cream, the avocado is pureed in and then set with gelatine.

“People are open to this style of dessert,” she says. “I did a version of this while I was at Claude’s and just reworking it here and it is one of the most popular desserts.”

A series of masterclasses organised

by Avocados Australia were held across the country recently, with the fruit being showcased across all three courses. With the desserts, many of the chefs involved went for an Asian influence.

“I don’t really like cooked avocado,” concedes Lauren Murdoch, head chef at Sydney’s 3Weeds.

“So what I wanted to do was go through the different cuisines that do it, and for dessert I went a little bit Thai.”

Murdoch opted for an avocado parfait, tapioca, passionfruit and to palm sugar.

Anglaise, Pamer broke down the recipe to “better understand where the avocado can be placed into it”.

“South East Asia does avocado with palm sugar drinks and things like that so I thought I would do a parfait kind of thing,” she says. “So I actually made it almost like a cream pretty much, with palm sugar through that, and put it on a soft coconut meringue. Then some passionfruit granita and palm sugar syrup. I also did a bit of coconut milk on the side with some tapioca in it.”

“Naturally the fattiness of the avocado was a great substitute far the cream in crème Anglaise so we created avocado cream Angalaise,” he says. “Beautiful colour, textures and flavour.”

Tamas Pamer, executive chef at InterContinental Sydney, produced two desserts for his masterclass – Avocado Ravioli and Ile Flotante Avocado Creme Anglaise.

“At the very beginning I experimented with the product more in the Asian flavours and techniques,” he says.

“After a few attempts we felt confident about the product consistency, texture and palete.

We decided to do what we can do best and use European techniques to recreate traditional dishes in a modern, sophisticated way.”

For the Ile Flotante Avocado Creme

And for the Avocado Ravioli, Tamas went back to his childhood, a place where for many the dessert always ruled supreme.

“On hot summer days my mom would flavour yoghurt, add whipped cream to it, freeze it as a sweet treat for the kids,” he says.

“I thought this would be a great combination to use. Take the best organic yoghurt with the creamy avocado, and balance it out with passionfruit for the frozen yoghurt.”

Then he added some coconut sponge, cocoa nib crisp and aerated chocolate “to compliment the dish”.

“I believe consumers are generally looking for innovation especially in desserts,” he says.

“New flavours in an interesting combination.” OH

TONDA, Excellence by Design • • • •

The first revolving gelato display Distinguishing circular shape Intelligent defrosting system When closed, display rotates showing ice cream or desserts from all angles • Airtight seal

moffat.com.au Free Phone 1800 023 953 MOFFAT 1385

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 23

Seafood

Deep sea wonder With a high fat content, delicate taste that carries a range of flavours and large flake, chefs are falling for new sustainable Glacier 51 Toothfish, writes Ylla Wright.

F

ew new products cause as much of a buzz amongst chefs as that of Austral Fisheries’ Glacier 51 Toothfish, which was launched into the Australian market in May. A deep water fish caught in Antarctic waters more than 4000km from the mainland, the Glacier 51 Toothfish has a unique buttery texture, delicate flavour and large flake that have chefs clamouring to add it to menus.

While Patagonian toothfish has previously been on the sustainable seafood no-go list, thanks to unsustainable and illegal fishing practices, the Glacier 51 product comes from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified Australian Heard Island and McDonald Islands Patagonian toothfish fishery.

Certified by the MSC in March 2012, the fishery has demonstrated that fish stocks being targeted are healthy, its fishing practices have minimal impact on the marine eco-system and the fishery is well managed overall. The fishery (along with all other MSC certified toothfish fisheries) was elevated in early 2013 to the status of “best choice” or “good alternative” on the highly regarded Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guide to sustainable species.

“For the last 10 years we’ve been

busy getting our credentials right in that sustainability space,” says David Carter, chief executive of Austral Fisheries.

“In the early days that was really about controlling our borders and asserting sovereignty over Australian waters, by drawing the attention of the international community and the Australian government to the threat that was posed by illegal operators.

“The gains that have been made in that decade have been quite extraordinary, and clearly at the heart of Monterrey Bay’s willingness to adjust their consumer advice.”

PR turnaround Patrick Caleo, country manager of MSC, says that toothfish has undergone “a massive turnaround”.

“Toothfish has always been the poster boy for all things bad, due to illegal fishing, but the past few years, due to the work the fisheries have done, both with certification and their own work, they’ve lifted their game.

24 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

“The fisheries have done a lot of work regarding collecting information on bycatch, the effect of fishing on the seabed, introducing a number of new areas to be closed and making changes to gear and fishing practices.

And the fishers themselves have done a lot of work to reduce the incidence of illegal fishers, which has been of real benefit to the stocks.

It’s measurable and it’s manageable now.”

Caleo says the benefits of achieving the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s recommendation can’t be underestimated. However, there’s still plenty of work to be done to get the word out there that toothfish is now a sustainable option.

“People have seen the imagery of illegal fishing boats being chased across the ocean and that’s a hard thing to turn that around quickly but with help from organisations such as ours, and open discussion about the issues and the changes that have

happened, it is happening,” he says.

Benefits for chefs Seizing the opportunity provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium announcement, Austral Fisheries launched its Glacier 51 product at the Noosa Food and Wine Festival. Carter says it has been very well received.

“Toothfish is a deep sea, cold water species, with a very high oil content,” he says. “Some of the assessment samples we’ve tested have shown oils of 24 per cent, so it is a really rich fish.

“All you need to say to a chef is 24 per cent fat and they get it in an instant; suddenly their brains turn to the opportunities for preparing it, pairings it with acidic elements, through to its ability to take up a smoke, or hold a flavour. Toothfish is naturally very delicately flavoured and the high oil content brings a smoothness to the texture which is quite sublime, and unlike anything that the Australian palate has been used to.”

Presented as paired fillets, which weigh about 3.5kg per side, and come frozen, vacumn packed and with the skin on, Carter says they are easy to portion and offer good value.

“It comes down to the oil content; it’s not something

This needn’t be hard work.

Cookers keep it simple.

FILL • Simple • Safe • Cost effective • Environmentally positive

CBO150OH

• Australian oil & system

For more information phone 1300 882 299 or visit www.cookers.com.au

EMPTY

that you need to put on the plate in a 200g or 250g portion,” he says. “A portion size of 80g, 100g or 120g is going to fill you up.

“We’re not pretending its cheap in a per kilo sense, but the portion size means that it’s still eminently affordable as a per serve proposition and it competes with any of the premium proteins that will appear on a menu.”

Carter believes that another key part of

the appeal of the Glacier 51 product is it story and third-party certification.

“Many of the chefs that we’re dealing with are protecting a brand in their own right, so they don’t want to be embarrassed by having people suggest that they’re dealing with rare or endangered species,” he says.

Practical applications Restaurants already using the fish include Sydney’s Fish & Co., Flying

Certification know-how • The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international not-forprofit organisation set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. MSC maintains the most widely respected and accepted global standard for the certification of wild capture seafood. The program is based on a rigorous science-based standard and independent, third-party assessment by internationally accredited certification bodies. In Australia, there are more than 200 MSC labelled products available and seven MSC certified sustainable fisheries. These include the Northern Prawn Fishery, Mackerel Icefish, Spencer Gulf King Prawns, Lakes and Coorong fisheries and the Western Rock Lobster.

• The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) is an international, not-for-profit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. Its Best Aquaculture Practices certification standards examine farm compliance issues such as community property rights and relations, worker relations, the environment, fish management and welfare, wildlife interactions and supply storage and disposal.

On the production side, it addresses management practices such as quality and staff, environment and food safety and verification and traceability. New Zealand’s largest aquaculture producer of fish, New Zealand King Salmon gained certification with the body in March 2013.

• Seafoodintelligence.com is an independent seafood market intelligence news and information service. The annual report is designed to help key players and stakeholders assess the level of proactive transparency and communication displayed by salmon farmers worldwide as they relate to corporate, social and environmental sustainability.

Tasmanian salmon producer Tassal was this year named as one of the world’s top two salmon farming companies.

• The Aquaculture Stewardship Council is an independent notfor-profit organisation, which was co-founded by the World Wildlife Foundation and IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative) to manage the global standards for responsible aquaculture.

The ASC’s aquaculture certification programme and seafood label recognises and rewards responsible aquaculture.

Tassal Tasmanian Salmon.

Fish and Mr Wong; Melbourne’s Grossi Florentino, Cellar Bar, and the RACV Club; Jellyfish in Brisbane; Wasabi in Noosa; and Jolley’s Boathouse in Adelaide.

“What’s not to like about Patagonian toothfish?” says Mark Jensen, head chef of renowned Vietnamese restaurant Red Lantern in Sydney.

“It is an uber cool fish that has a unique taste and texture, and it is caught in one of the most inhospitable regions in the world.”

Easy to portion, thanks to its large size, the fish responds well to a variety of cooking techniques, according to Jensen.

“The two techniques I favour are char grilling and steaming,” he says. “I prefer char grilling the fillet but I tend to steam the smaller tail cutlets, the throat and the backbone.

Because the spine is so big even when carefully filleted a substantial amount of sweet juicy flesh is left on the bone.”

With toothfish able to handle both strong aromatic flavours such as galangal, chilli and garlic because of its high oil content, and delicate flavours such as mirin, soy and Asian herbs, it’s a versatile addition to Red Lantern’s menu.

In one popular dish Jensen marinates the fillet with coriander roots, garlic, galangal, lime leaves and fish sauce, char grills it and serves it with pickled green papaya.

“It also works well with banana blossom,” he says. “Basically anything that is acidic or astringent to balance the richness of the fish.”

The response from Red Lantern’s customers to the fish has been extremely positive.

“The majority of our customers are blown away,” Jensen says. “It offers them an experience they have never had before.

“Then, we also get the customers who quite happily berate us for using a fish that in most part of the world is under threat. Most are prepared to hear our explanation of why we are using it, and how and

26 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

where the fish is caught but some just can’t move on from what they have read in those ‘fish guides’.

Today, more than ever, everyone is a seafood expert.”

Michael Hartnell, executive chef at Melbourne’s Eureka 89, appreciates both the versatility of Glacier 51 and its “interesting, attention grabbing story”.

“It’s always good to know that the food we are eating isn’t harming our environment or just as importantly, the environment of other animals in that area,” he says. “More and more people are becoming aware of over fishing and the dangers it poses. To be able to have a quality fish like this knowing that it’s not being over fished and is being caught with the correct, safe method for the environment, just makes it more enjoyable to eat.”

The versatility of the fish means that “you can use it for an awesome ceviche or sashimi or sear it and roast it through in the oven to achieve a beautifully crisp skin”.

“I prefer to classically pan roast the fish with the skin on and baste it with a knob of butter,” Hartnell says. “It’s a very robust flesh which has a natural, rich, almost buttery flavour.”

Hartnell complements the richness of the flesh with other robust flavours such as chilli and garlic.

“At the moment we are pan roasting it to get a nice crispy skin, then accompanying it with a South American style garnish which is chargrilled octopus, padron peppers, a nice spicy chorizo and a chimmi churri sauce,” he says.

“It’s an extraordinary fish,” adds Carter. “It steams; it bakes; it smokes. I’m not big on it deep fried and battered, but everything else is pretty good.

“The fish in the hands of a professional chef just really speaks for itself.” OH

training

Global network The hospitality industry has always been global, but the increasing presence of international hotel brands in Australia has put managerial skills at the forefront of those navigating their way in a more complex and competitive system, writes Sheridan Randall.

T

he hospitality industry has always relied on “on the job” training – it’s part of its DNA. Do the hard yards, learn from the bottom up and with ambition, tenacity and hard work you can make it to the top.

“The old fashioned traditional way dating back to Escoffier was that you started either as a porter or a pot washer depending on which road you wanted to travel and you would just work your way up by hard work, dedication and loyalty,” says Jenny Jenkins, general manager, business and hospitality at Think Education Group, which oversees the William Blue College of Hospitality.

“It’s not the case now. Education is seen as opening doors, and quite rightly so as the programs are really beneficial and teach skills base as well as theoretical concepts.

“I think generally our hospitality training is of a global standard – but what we don’t have is enough graduates. Hospitality needs to be profiled more as a career. I think that there is greater understating by general managers that formal education in hospitality is of benefit.”

Twenty five years ago if you wanted to further your academic qualifications in the world of hospitality you went overseas, often to Europe, particularly Switzerland,

and to the US, home of the iconic Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Known simply as the “Hotel School” by its many alumni, Cornell is making an appearance in Australia for the first time in 25 years, when it offers its Summer School development programs in Australia next year.

Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) in partnership with Tourism Training Australia (TTA) secured the agreement for Cornell to conduct their Senior Executive Development and Food and Beverage Executive Development programs in Sydney in May 2014.

Tony South, chairman of TAA,

Ivy Leaque heads to Australia Apply now by contacting our office on

1300 139 108 or visit www.htn.com.au

Cornell’s Senior Executive Development Program will focus on the application of financial management concepts useful in analysing hospitality operations.

Emphasis will be on communicating and interpreting financial data from a general manager perspective so they can deal more effectively

28 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

with the business. The format involves lectures, case studies and problem sets.

The Food and Beverage Executive Development Program is designed for the food and beverage or restaurant manager seeking to gain a competitive advantage for their business. The course will

develop abilities to identify and integrate trends in the industry, using operations based marketing, sales promotion, creating customer value through staff training and motivation strategies, menu development, forecasting, budgeting, labour scheduling and food production.

knows firsthand how important it is to back up practical training with theoretical knowledge, having witnessed the first boom in international hotel brands in Australia back in the ’80s.

“It was an explosive period in inbound tourism and a boom in construction, with a vast proportion all the room stock in Australia opening in the five to seven years between 1985 and 1993,” he says.

“New hotels and the arrival of new international hotel operators were looking to start up with Australians who were already experienced in local conditions.

“The hospitality industry has always had more than its fair share of ‘on the job learning’ which is not a bad thing. But as you get into the higher levels of management you need to add to that on the job training with higher levels of theoretical knowledge.”

It was at that time that Cornell first introduced a number of courses here in Australia, which “with all the brand value attached was quite a coup”.

Other institutions followed their lead, offering dedicated managerial training for the hospitality sector, including the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, The International College of Management Sydney and Southern Cross University’s (SCU) School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

“Essentially it’s always been an advantage to have qualifications,” says Stephen Shaul, lecturer at SCU’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. “There are now a lot more places to get a tertiary qualification.”

Trends in the managerial world come and go, but the core goals remain the same – to help drive business.

“When I started becoming a manager I worked for a large multinational company and it became much more enclosed and regimented and you had a lot less freedom,” he says.

“Now that’s kind of evolved a little bit and while you still operate in guidelines, goals and rules there is a lot more ability for managers to exercise their own judgement particularly when it comes to driving customer satisfaction.”

Students expect to learn the basics of marketing, HR management and other core disciplines at SCU, but it is the unknown challenges that often present the greatest issues in the working world.

“Increasingly the university’s role is one where are preparing students for an environment they wouldn’t expect to encounter,” Shaul says.

“It’s a global market place, and those sort of cross cultural issues and different approaches to motivation and HR are really quite challenging for anyone working in the industry and I like to think we arm them pretty well to face those

challenges and address those issues at university level.”

South says that the expansion by international hotel chains in Asia, particularly China, is an opportunity for Australian managers.

“Where big international hotel companies don’t have the ability to tap into a trained workforce, they have had to work from scratch effectively and grow their own,” he says. “A lot of the companies growing strongly in Asia have taken Australians and put them in other parts of the world to help them shore up their management talent and help them train the younger inexperienced people coming through.”

The hospitality industry is as reliant on sound management skills as any other industry, according to Jenkins.

“You have to determine your market, your advertising channels, your return on investment and also be entrepreneurial and innovative if you are going to go into business by yourself, because the competition is fairly fierce out there,” she says.

“Now that online education is more prevalent, and you can study from diploma to advanced diploma

and bachelor online, it is enabling hospitality professionals that are in work to actually study while they are working.”

However, the value of face to face learning, especially in the hospitality industry is not to be underestimated, says Shaul.

“The collaboration and networking that is involved means our alumni very often remain in touch with each other beyond the course and that is a big factor in our industry,” he says. “It can’t be overstated – the networking is huge and gives them the ability to bounce off each other throughout the industry and that’s something you just don’t get online.”

Describing the network of Cornell alumni as “incredibly powerful”, South says that studying at Cornell “gives people an opportunity to establish contacts with their peers that they might never have had”.

“In any major city anywhere in the world there are Cornell graduates,” he says. “That’s always a group of people that are in close contact with one another, know each other and often create opportunities for each other.” OH

Experts in foods and hospitality training As the specialist centre for foods, tourism, hospitality and events training, William Angliss Institute is Australia’s largest training provider of its kind.

For training solutions for your business: call 1300 ANGLISS or visit www.angliss.edu.au

3566-V1 1013

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 29

chinese new year

Lunar feast Chinese New Year is all about bringing people together to enjoy the best in life and ensure a prosperous 12 months ahead. But it is not limited to Chinese cuisine, with plenty of Asian restaurants joining in the celebrations, discovers Sheridan Randall.

P

Umi Kaiten Zushi, which has a chain of sushi bars and a Japanese restaurant under its umbrella, participated in last year’s Lunar Feast for the first time and has just finalised the menu for next year’s, according to the group’s director Jessie Xiao.

“We have a close working relationship with the City Of Sydney and thought it’s a good opportunity as a marketing exercise for us to get

involved, especially as we are in the Haymarket area,” she says.

Xiao says that although Japanese culture is more in tune with the Western calendar it still recognise the lunar calendar.

“We thought we would get involved because it’s more about festivity,’ she says. “In Chinese culture it’s very much about Chinese food, but for the younger generation it’s more about celebrating with your family and friends rather than just traditional cuisine.”

Australia’s multicultural mix also means that their customers would be coming from all across Asia as well as Australia. With that in mind, Umi Kaiten Zushi have tweaked their menu, which was more of a three course meal last year, to sharing style dishes, which are a “celebration of richness in food”.

Basil Chicken Gyoza Wings.

“We did some very colourful sashimi items,” she says. “If you pronounce it [fish] in Chinese it has a lot to do with good luck.”

bookings, with some of their sushi restaurants taking a more casual approach, as “these days people tend to dine more casually”.

Another area they looked at was

“It’s a good initiative by the City of Sydney and there are no particular costs to get involved so it’s a good opportunity,” she says.

With only two restaurants of the group’s restaurants involved last year, they are including all four in 2014.

“The last one we relied on the City Of Sydney to promote it, but this year we are doing some promotion ourselves on Facebook and various media outlets,” she says.

Festive feast For Mike Huynh, director at Silks Catering in Melbourne, Chinese New Year is always about “plenty of food and plenty of drinks”.

“Where we get involved is for big events which happen the week before Chinese New Year’s eve,” he says.

See the recipe in the Open House iPad app.

30 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

Silks clients over the period are mostly community groups and corporate companies, particularly law firms and banks that are trying to impress their Asian counterparts.

Huynh will brief Western clients about the banquet menu as to the

Food images from Umi Kaiten Zushi.

reparations are well underway for the 2014 Sydney Chinese New Year Festival, which celebrates the Year of the Horse, between January 24 and February 9, 2014. Last year the City of Sydney’s Lunar Feast saw Sydney restaurants serve up everything from a vegan Buddhist feast to a Taiwanese banquet, with set price meals to celebrate the Chinese New Year Festival.

House Specialty – Mixed Selection of Freshly Made Gyoza.

enjoy flavour a lot more, as the flavours are quite intense,” he says.

“Quail is very gamey, pungent meat and not popular with Australians.

But once they try our quail they fall in love with it.”

Inset: Scampi and Seafood Squid Ink Udon.

cultural significance of the dishes.

“There is a particular dish called yeesung, which is raw fish with salad, and usually they put some prawn crackers in as well,” he says. “Raw fish is meant to represent smooth sailing for the year ahead and what you are meant to do is toss it. The higher you toss it the more luck you get. You are meant to eat a lot of sweets during that time, as sweets represent a sweet life.”

With a standard banquet at around eight courses, “which we can tweak a little bit”, clients expect a lavish affair.

“With Asians it’s all about saving face,” he says. “If they hold an event it has to be festive, with lots of food and lots of drinks. Always more than just enough. They want everyone to leave full, so it’s never a small event.

With bookings coming in eight to 10 months before the date, it’s a case get in quick or be disappointed.

“an overview of Chinese cuisine”, the menu takes its cues from across China’s many regions, “without watering down the flavour”.

“What we find now is that Westerners

“Once we meet our quota that’s it,” he says. “It’s always big – it’s always full on. I guess that’s why for us we cram so many events into such a short period of time.” OH

“For a big banquet you’re looking at eight courses with a whole suckling pig cut up, but they want to see the whole pig. Then you have the salmon salad. You have crab claw, which is crab meat rolled into a ball fried and then with fried noodles on top to give that bite.”

Shark fin soup, though controversial, is still in high demand, he says, which keeps it on the menu despite a desire to move away from it. Lobster is also a must have item, with Silks Catering getting through around 2000 of them over the Chinese New Year period – which makes locking in orders with suppliers vital, especially when you’re competing with China for Australia’s highly sought after seafood.

“Fresh lobster is very hard to get so we need to pre-order it from our suppliers,” he says. “We get it straight from the fishermen, whether it’s WA, SA or Tassie. We order it a year in advance and then update our suppliers with any changes to the quantity we need. That goes for quail and abalone.”

Offering what Huynh describes as

A Chinese New Year tradition

Authentic recipe Easy-to-prepare Cost effective 3 Delicious 1kg packs Pork & Chives Pork with Prawn & Egg Chicken with Mushrooms Contact Hakka Pty Ltd at T: 02 93521388 E: enquiries@hakka.com.au W: www.hakka.com.au

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 31

Design

Hey, good looking For designer Paul Kelly, good restaurant and bar design isn’t just about stylish décor, it’s also about psychology, emotion and functionality, discovers Ylla Wright.

W

hen the new Garden Pavilion opens at The Oaks Hotel in Sydney’s Neutral Bay next month, it will be the culmination of a $4 million refurbishment of the iconic hotel under the direction of Paul Kelly, from Paul Kelly Design.

One of Australia's top pub, restaurant and hotel designers, Sydney-based Kelly has an impressive resume of design projects, including The Ivanhoe Manly, The Bourbon Sydney, Sokyo, Black by Ezard and The White Hart, stretching back over the 17 years.

Phase one of The Oaks project was completed earlier this year, when the hotel’s signature Bar & Grill reopened with a new look and a new menu, thanks to chef Danny Russo.

Renovating such a beloved Sydney institution, which has a place in the memories of many Sydneysiders, was no mean feat.

“The first thing I do with any project is analyse their business,” says Kelly. “Work out who’s going there, why they’re going there, what gaps there are in the market, what customers they’re missing out on, who we can bring to the site. But at the same time it’s very important to look after the existing core market and make them feel comfortable because that’s the bread and butter.

“When we analysed what was here, we found that people come to The Oaks because there is a feeling of, not a traditional Australian pub, but a pub that they can relate to. Every project is different but with this one it was very important that we could provide them the expectation of the classic pub, without making it feel like we hadn’t done anything – a polished version of the original.”

Decor is only one part of the whole business concept however,

The Oaks Hotels redesigned Bar & Grill.

Inset: Paul Kelly.

32 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

adds Kelly.

“Design is only 25 per cent of it; the rest of it is music, acoustics, the lighting, the staff, the food offering,” he says. “You can’t change the market and not change the rest of it.”

While pared back, semi-industrial and eclectic décor remains one of the key design trends currently, especially for small bars, Kelly says it is a look that springs out of necessity for most businesses rather than intention.

“Bars are monstrously expensive, as are toilets and kitchens, so the rest of the fit out is usually existing because they don’t have enough money to do anything else,” says Kelly. “They can’t afford to put acoustics in, and don’t necessarily want them, so they leave it. People like it because it’s anti-design.

“The problem is that when shopping centres start to do eclectic, industrial

design, or whatever the current trend is, it’s dead.”

While Kelly says that his design is largely about trying to get an emotional response out of people, it’s also “a concept of the use and function of the space”.

“When you walk into one of our spaces, you logically know where to go,” he says. “And there’s also a sense of excitement because there’s a journey; we design our spaces as a series of experiences.

“We also set up our spaces with the idea of serving a certain group of customers from a certain point, so there are lots of waiter stations, lots of back up supply, and lots of stuff that people don’t see that makes the delivery of the product work smoothly. If we can make it so a restaurant turns over 1.7 times as opposed to 1.5 times, then the client can make a lot more money out if it.” OH

See slideshow in the Open House iPad app.

The Oaks, Neutral Bay

Black by Ezard, The Star

Sokyo, The Star

The Bourban, Potts Point

“The idea with the restaurant is that it has its own butcher shop, with the meat on display. You walk into the butcher shop, pick out your steak and then sit down for a meal. It’s interactive and fun. We also have the wine on display. You walk into a shoe shop and you want to see shoes; if you walk into a pub you want to see alcohol.”

The pitch was that this is an authentic, on-show, no smoke and mirrors, real deal steak concept. You can see every single square metre of the kitchen; you can see the butcher; you can see the meat hanging in the room there. It’s all about the fascination people have with watching food being cooked.”

“With Sokyo we decided to give it a bit of a different spin. The chef there, Chase Kojima, was a head chef at Nobu at 28, and is a young cool guy, so the interior was very much about Tokyo and very much about Sydney, hence the name Sokyu. That was a fun project, but very fast. We turned that around in about 7-8 months.”

“My designs have to feel like they’ve always been there, that you’ve possibly just forgotten that it used to be like that. Even with a new venue like The Bourbon, which is nothing like the original, people say, ‘I like how you’ve kept something there’. We didn’t keep anything; we completely excavated the entire site.”

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 33

cooking the Books

Catch of the day A former chef and magazine food editor, Rodney Dunn is the owner of renowned cooking school The Agrarian Kitchen in Tasmania. Here he shares one of his favourite summer recipes.

Grilled mackerel with barley, eggplant and garlic yoghurt Serves 4

Mackerel would have to be one of the most underrated fish in Australia. Ironically, most of the catch is ground into food for farmed fish, which end up with nowhere near the incredible flavour and texture of mackerel. Grilled slowly over coals, it offers a wonderful eating experience: the natural oils in the fish mean it stays juicy and succulent,

and the flesh absorbs the smokiness from the grill.

200g (1 cup) pearl barley Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 Japanese eggplants (aubergines), halved lengthways 3 roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthways olive oil,

for brushing 2 whole mackerel (about 700g in total) large handful flat-leaf parsley leaves handful mint leaves Garlic yoghurt 140g (½ cup) plain yoghurt 2 teaspoons tahini 2 cloves garlic, finely grated 50ml extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil over high heat. Add barley, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain barley and spread over a tray or large plate to cool.

For garlic yoghurt, combine yoghurt, tahini and garlic in a bowl, then whisk in olive oil in a thin, steady stream. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat a chargrill pan or barbecue grill plate over high heat. Brush eggplant and tomato with olive oil and season with salt. Place vegetables cut-side down on grill and cook for 3-4 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until tender.

Remove and set aside on a plate covered with foil.

Brush fish with olive oil and season with salt.

Make sure grill is very hot – this will prevent fish from sticking – then place fish carefully on grill and leave untouched for 4-5 minutes. Turn and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until fish is just cooked through but remains juicy.

To serve, scatter barley over a plate, season with salt and pepper, then arrange grilled eggplant and tomato on top. Lay fish on plate, drizzle with garlic yoghurt and scatter with herbs. ● Recipe from The Agrarian Kitchen by Rodney Dunn (Lantern, $59.99). Photography by Luke Burgess. OH 34 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

What’s on shelf this month?

Stefano Manfredi Italian Food by Stefano Manfredi (Murdoch Books, $59.99) Turkish Meze by Sevtap Yuce (Hardie Grant, $39.95) Tapas-style shared plates have been one of the most enduring foodservice trends in recent years, however with the publication of this book it’s time for Turkish meze to shine. As author and chef Sevtap Yuce explains there are no rules with meze; it’s personal, seasonal, flexible and meant to be shared. Be inspired by dishes such as garlic chilli bugs, artichokes braised in olive oil with peas, and “split belly” (stuffed eggplant with lamb or beef).

Colour of Maroc by Rob & Sophia Palmer (Murdoch Books, $59.99) Part travelogue, part recipe book, this visually stunning volume is a celebration of Morocco, its vibrant, richly textured culture, its people, and of course, its food.

With every Moroccan dish telling the story of its origins, from rich Berber tagines to Arabic-influenced b’stilla (seafood pie), this book is thousands of years in the making and yet completely fresh, thanks to the enthusiasm of the authors for their subject matter.

Thirty years after opening the iconic Restaurant Manfredi, Stefano Manfredi remains one of the most influential chefs in Australia, famous for his authentic Italian cuisine. In this comprehensive volume Manfredi takes the reader on a culinary tour across all 20 regions of Italy, showcasing the dishes they’re most famous for, such as rabbit “Ischia-style” from Campania and panfried sweetbreads with beans, capers and sage from Lazio. Wine lovers will also be interested in the rundown of Italian wine varieties, many of which are only now starting to become known in Australia.

Get it while it’s hot!

Open House is now available as an iPad app, offering even more ways to enjoy industry news, views and feature stories on the key issues and trends affecting the hospitality industry.

This exciting free app is packed with bonus extras including recipes, behindthe-scenes videos and interactive features.

Updated monthly, the Open House iPad app is available to download free at the iTunes app store or www.openhousemagazine.net.

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 35

Products

sweetness, Lipton has introduced Lipton Ice Tea Sparkling. Containing less sugar than a regular soft drink, the sweet taste comes mostly from Stevia, a natural sweetener extracted from Stevia leaves.

For those wanting to steer clear of sugar all together, Lipton also offers a Zero Sugar version of the Ice Tea Sparkling. Ice Tea Sparkling is available in 440mL cans or 330mL six packs. ● www.lipton.com.au

Wet or dry clean

Christmas roast F

or a simple solution for events and business functions during the busy Christmas period, Ingham offers a variety of poultry products to suit every catering need.

Mix it up Tandaco Coating and Stuffing mixes are a simple way to consistently enhance the taste of raw meat, poultry or seafood ingredients. At an economical cost per serve, the time saving, mess-free mixes ensure coated meats present and taste the same each and every time. There’s

The multi-functional vacuums are highly mobile and come with an automatic filter cleaning system. They are also able to distinguish between types of messes, and to continuously operate regardless of cleaning indoors or outdoors, dry, damp or liquid.

The range includes universal vacuum cleaners, vacuum cleaners for large quantities of fine dust, and safety vacuum cleaners for healthendangering and explosive dusts, with a wide range of accessories to suit any situation. ● www.karcher.com.au

Chefs can put their own personal touch on an Inghams raw Turkey Buffé or take advantage of the fully cooked, ready-to-serve Turkey Buffé which both come in various sizes, plain or flavour basted. The raw turkey is available fresh or frozen, whole or deboned; and the ready-toserve turkey is available in both smoked and oven roasted varieties.

Inghams also offers raw and pre-cooked Turkey Breast Roasts made from premium marinated turkey breast meat (1kg and 2kg weights) as well as Carvery Roast and Turkey Thigh Roast, Oven Roasted Turkey Breast Supreme (1.8kg – 2.2kg), Oven Roasted Half Breast, a Double Breast and Inghams Healthy Select Turkey Breast (1.7 – 2kg). ● www.inghams.com.au

Ideal for any foodservice environment, Kärcher offers a highly durable wet and dry vacuum. The versatile Kärcher wet and dry vacuum range is suitable for picking up wet dirt and liquids as well as fine and hazardous dust.

no variation between coating batches and easy application ensures chefs can create and present dishes to their liking.

The Tandaco mixes come in 3kg tubs of Southern Fried Chicken Coating Mix, Fish Coating Mix and Salt & Pepper Coating Mix. ● www.cerebos.com.au

Sparkling fresh For a refreshing beverage choice this summer without heavy fizz or

36 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

Citrus sensation

From ‘the sauce’

The Good Grub Hub has introduced Yuzu Confit specifically for chefs.

Edlyn have released its new range of tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and egg mayonnaise products in convenient 5 litre pouches.

A tasty addition for sweet and savoury dishes, the yuzu confit is vacuum packed and flash pasteurised for optimum freshness. Yuzu combines floral notes of tangerine with grapefruit, cumquat, orange and lime all in the one citrusy flavour.

To make confit, the yuzu peel is macerated gently in sugar and then cooked for a long time at a low temperature to retain freshness and fragrance. It is then cut into 4 to 5cm long strips.

With no additives, colour or preservatives, the yuzu confit is available in 1kg bags and can be stored for one year. ● www.thegoodgrubhub.com.au

A simple and hygenic way to store sauces they result in substantially less waste than traditional sauce packaging.

In addition Edlyn has released a condiment dispenser to house the product for easy sauce service. With a quick and convenient one pump action, the dispenser ensures a consistent delivery of sauce without the mess of standard sauce bottles. ● www.edlyn.com.au

Less mess For busy buffets and cafeterias, the Tork Xpressnap provides a neat and easy solution for unwanted mess for foodservice professionals.

Xpressnap dispensers and napkins are guaranteed to reduce napkin usage by 25 per cent, with additional benefits including reduced clutter and clean up time. The large capacity and lower consumption rate saves restaurant and buffet managers from topping up napkin supplies multiple times a day. ● www.tork.com.au

Clear the air

Take it away Made from sugarcane pulp, BioPak have introduced more environmentally friendly options to package take-away meals.

BioCane is a functional takeaway food packaging solution that are microwave safe and oven proof up to 220°C and feature clip-lock, leak resistant lids.

The benefit of sugarcane pulp containers is that they are made from a by-product of the sugar refining industry and they are compostable, which means organic waste doesn't have to go to landfill.

The ANNT Candle Company provides a new natural solution for special events, caterers, and event and function planners, with its 100% All Natural Non Toxic candles.

The candles are made from 100% natural palm wax with cotton wicks. With a 35-50 per cent longer burning time than regular paraffin candles, the all natural candles are ideal for creating a toxin-free ambience in bars, night clubs, hotels and restaurants. ● www.anntcandlecompany.com OH

Sizes include 280ml, 480ml, 630ml, 750ml and 1000ml available in white and unbleached natural. ● www.biopak.com.au

www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, November 2013 37

CULINARY CLIPPINGS

Winners are grinners T

he Australian Culinary Federation (ACF) has always and will always support all chefs, cooks, apprentices and trainees working in Australia, and nothing is more evident of that than the recent Chef of the Year and Apprentice of the Year events, hosted by the Canberra Institute of Technology.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Peter Wright Australian Culinary Federation (ACF)

In true chefs’ fashion the battle came down to the wire. I am very happy to announce that a very young Chris Malone, from Frasers in Perth, won the 2013 Apprentice of the Year title, while Daniel Peters, from the Jam Factory in Townsville, now holds the title of Chef of the Year. The journey to get into the final group included numerous small competitors, state finals and pre-selection criteria. All in all a staggering 4000 Australian apprentices, from 70 colleges,

institutes, registered training organisations, and TAFES have been involved in the 2013 event. But for me the overwhelming dedication and support from chefs, mentors and competitors’ families makes the hard work by many ACF members all worth the effort. So a big thank you to everyone involved including our national sponsors Fonterra, Bidvest, Rare Medium, Robot Coupe, Nestlé, Krio Krush, Moffat and Victorinox.

The gala dinner, organised by state president Neil Abrahams, was held at The Royal Canberra Golf Club and a fantastic night was had! The highlight was the great speech by red faced Malone who had a smile from ear to ear, as he thanked his mother, his chef, Chris Taylor, and the ACF. In other news our website was

hacked and out of action for a few weeks in October, but all has been rectified with new firewalls and security protocols added to the site security thanks to web manager Paul Moore, who was interrupted whilst on a Mediterranean cruise.

So if you had trouble logging on to renew or activate your membership please try again.

Good luck to our junior team competing in Korea this month and our national team competing in the Culinary Cup in Dubai.

Peter Wright National President Australian Culinary Federation peter@austinwright.com.au www.austculinary.com.au

Young chefs and apprentices claim their place in the spotlight TarraWarra apprentice chef Natacha DeBarba was named Australia’s 2nd year Apprentice of the Year by the Australian Culinary Federation, beating more than 4000 entrants from TAFE institutes across Australia to the national title.

DeBarba represented Victoria in the ACF’s prestigious national culinary competition for apprentice chefs, held in Canberra.

The 25-year-old Lilydale resident wowed the judges with a two-

course meal consisting of a trio of rainbow trout: trout escabeche, trout roasted in vine leaves with feta and preserved lemon and hot smoked trout with piquillo peppers for entrée and a main of lamb fillet, roasted in prosciutto with a hazelnut and potato galette and a pea puree “A lot of the things I’ve learned, and winning the competition, are all thanks to [TarraWarra’s head chef] Robin [Sutcliffe],” said DeBarba.

“He’s been very supportive and given

up so much of his time to help me.”

Chris Malone, from Western Australia, won 3rd Year Apprentice of the year, Sam Smith, from Victoria, was named the 1st Year Apprentice of the Year and Queensland student Ryan Grant took out Culinary Student of the Year.

Chef of the Year Being named Chef of the Year was a “pretty good achievement” says Daniel Peters modestly, and “puts some perspective on where I am going with my career”.

Currently working at Townsville’s Jam Factory, Peters says that competing over the years has given him “pretty good networking” skills.

Chris Malone.

Sam Smith.

38 Open House, November 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

Natacha DeBarba.

“It’s just a good way to meet people, get your name out and go places,” he said.

“You see what other people can cook, get ideas, and you sort of advance your own skills. It’s like a cookbook, but instead of just seeing the recipes you actually see the dishes plated in front of you.”

As for the future, he will continue to enter as many competitions as he can as “it’s kind of second nature at the moment”.

“I’m also trying to encourage a lot of the young guys at work into competitions as well.”

Marymount College makes top three in ISSCC final Marymount College, in Queensland’s Burleigh Heads, pulled off a remarkable feat coming third and winning a gold medal at the recent International Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge (ISSCC) final, held in Japan. Japan

took top honours, with Taiwan coming in second.

school studies. Casselle said that being focused and giving 110 per cent was a key part of their success.

them to Japan.

The team, consisting of students Scott Casselle and Ryan Grant, were supported by teachers Jane Greffe and Rachel Evans in their three year culinary journey that took

Chicken two ways: mustard crumbed maryland with sage and onion farce; roulade with chicken and truffle mousse, carrot puree, pomme puree and red wine jus.

From left: Scott Casselle, Rachel Evans, Jane Greffe, Ryan Grant and James Barnes.

“Those two teachers have been through thick and thin with us,” said Casselle. “Without them, we wouldn’t have been here.”

Greffe, who worked with the two boys in the kitchen during class and after school, said that they “are a pleasure to watch when they compete”.

The boys are completing their Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and generally work for 35 hours per week, on top of their

Subscriptions: 1 yr $99; 2 yrs $174; 3 yrs $261 (incl. GST and surface mail).

ISSN 0312-5998

OPEN HOUSE FOODSERVICE is proud to be a diamond sponsor of the ACF.

“They are so relaxed and comfortable with each other that they make you think you too could accomplish this somewhat incredulous feat,” she added.

Chef James Barnes, from Queensland TAFE in Ashmore and Destination Food, also helped mentor the two students, encouraging them to consider Japanese culture when choosing the components of the dish.

Official organ for the Australian Culinary Federation; Association of Professional Chefs and Cooks of NSW; Professional Chefs and Cooks Association of Queensland Inc.; Academie Culinaire de France; College of Catering Studies and Hotel Administration, Ryde, NSW; Les Toques Blanches, NSW Branch; Australasian Guild of Professional Cooks Ltd.

“We’re both very hard workers and we’re both goal driven, and nothing will stop us until we win,” added Grant. OH

PUBLISHER Alexandra Yeomans MANAGING EDITOR Ylla Wright Journalist Sheridan Randall Sales & Marketing Manager Jo Robinson Account Manager Leah Jensen DESIGN/PRODUCTION Manager Bin Zhou Digital/Production assistant Xin Jin Editorial assistant Anna-Louise McDougall

For information on ACF, visit www.austculinary.com.au, or contact the ACF National Office via acfnationaloffice@austculinary.com.au or (03) 9816 9859.

HEAD OFFICE – Sydney Creative Head Media Pty Ltd Suite 202, 80-84 Chandos Street, St Leonards, 2065 Tel: (02) 9438 2300 Fax: (02) 9438 5962 Website: www.openhousemagazine.net Email: enquiries@creativehead.com.au ACN 147 436 280

© Copyright Contents of this magazine are subject to copyright and cannot be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the written permission of the publisher.

Refer to our website for our full Privacy Policy.

Published in Australia by Creative Head Media Pty Ltd · P.O. Box 189, St Leonards, NSW 1590 House Foodservice .

Opinions expressed bywww.openhousemagazine.net the contributors in this magazine are not the opinionOpen of Open House, November Letters to the editor are subject to editing.

2013 39

e w l NoilAb A v A

New ArtisAN white CiAbAttA DiNNer rolls

For more information or to place customer orders PH 1300 366 533 FAX 1300 854 021 or email foodservicegf@goodmanfielder.com.au