Hospitality Magazine June 2015

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No.715 June 2015

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

foodservice

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accommodation

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beverage

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management

PLUS:

A guide to pairing wine with chocolate

The

GODMOTHERS Leading ladies of Australia’s top Italian diners

Motivation creation How to implement & manage staff incentives

The rise of gin

A new appreciation for an old favourite

Get in the cloud

Stress less & achieve more with cloud computing

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10 editor’s note

I

No.715 June 2015

Print Post Approved PP100007268

was in the States when the infamous Four Corners episode exposing exploitation and slave labour in Australia’s fresh food supply chain was aired. Of course I saw the aftermath on social media, but it wasn’t until just the other day that I actually sat down and watched it.

Unsurprisingly, I was disgusted. Sadly, I wasn’t surprised. For years we’ve heard about the supermarket chains’ at best questionable treatment of suppliers; we just didn’t realise the extent of it.

We’ve published many an opinion piece asking consumers and chefs to think about where they source their food and which companies they support.

Surely, there’s no better time than now for the chefs – and we all know who they are – that partner with the brands exposed

by Four Corners to walk away from their endorsements. They can’t need the money; not badly enough to justify singing the praises of companies that either directly or indirectly (through labour supply companies) take advantage of vulnerable workers.

Putting aside the fact that, by and large, chefs themselves don’t shop at these chains, making their endorsements somewhat hypocritical, what message is the industry conveying to the public – its customers – if our most prominent figures are themselves turning a blind eye to the supermarkets’ abhorrent behaviour?

It’s not like there’s a shortage of more worthy brands out there to support.

foodservice

PUBLISHER Martin Sinclair martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au MANAGING EDITOR Danielle Bowling Ph: (02) 8484 0667 danielle.bowling@cirrusmedia.com.au JOURNALIST Aoife Boothroyd Ph: (02) 8484 0907 aoife.boothroyd@cirrusmedia.com.au

accommodation

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beverage

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management

PLUS:

20

The

GODMOTHERS

cover

Leading ladies of Australia’s top Italian diners

Motivation creation How to implement & manage staff incentives

24

The rise of gin

A new appreciation for an old favourite

Get in the cloud

Stress less & achieve more with cloud computing

Manfredi Enterprises’ Julie Manfredi Hughes.

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contents FEATURES

10 The Godmothers Three ladies leading Australia’s Italian food offering.

16 Get your head in the cloud The benefits of cloud computing.

20 Pack it up, pack it in Operators take advantage of the gourmet take-away sector.

Innovative bars breathe new life into an old favourite.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Justine Dunn Ph: (02) 8484 0757 designer2@cirrusmedia.com.au ADVERTISING NATIONAL Rhonnie Merry Ph: (02) 8484 0642 Fax: (02) 8484 0915 rhonnie.merry@cirrusmedia.com.au PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Mary Copland Ph: (02) 8484 0737 mary.copland@cirrusmedia.com.au

REGULARS

4

News

30 Industry Observer

The latest industry news.

6

Openings

Why wine is a tough sell.

31 Ready for the EOFY?

Four new hospitality venues.

8

Match made in heaven

Six pointers to help you out.

32 Workplace

Matching chocolate with wine.

28 (Anti) social media

Think twice before making cuts.

33 Shelf space

It’s not all fun and games.

29 Ken Burgin

New products to hit the market.

34 Diary

Managing staff incentives.

Industry events to take note of.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Ph: 1300 360 126 ONE YEAR: $132.00 incl GST TWO YEARS: $220.00 incl GST

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hospitalitymagazine.com.au

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A guide to pairing wine with chocolate

24 The renaissance of gin Editor: Danielle Bowling danielle.bowling@cirrusmedia.com.au

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

PRINTED BY: Bluestar Print 83 Derby Street, Silverwater NSW 2128 P: 02 9748 3411 MATERIAL The publisher does not accept responsibility for any editorial or advertising material forwarded or held in storage nor will material be automatically returned. Whole or part of this publication cannot be reproduced without prior written approval from Hospitality’s management.

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newsonline

Budget relief for SMEs “Allowing businesses to immediately deduct professional costs and streamlined business registration will assist small hospitality businesses at the time when their resources are stretched very thin,” Hart said.

The government also announced additional funding of $36.7 million for Tourism Australia, to support marketing activities abroad that will boost Australia’s tourism and hospitality industries.

Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) welcomed the increase in Tourism Australia’s 2015-16 budget to $137.3 million (compared with $129.75 million in 2014-15), which will include a small staffing increase and a continuation of the roll-out of the ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ campaign across all major markets, along with new funding for the Restaurant Australia marketing campaign.

“The benefits of a strong Australian tourism presence have already been seen in the sustained growth in inbound over the past few years with over 760,000 Chinese visitor arrivals in 2013-14 spending around $6.5 billion or $8,600 per visitor, and that has had a direct benefit for accommodation, food and retail sectors,” said Carol Giuseppi, acting CEO of TAA.

SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF

Small businesses are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the latest Budget, with tax cuts and asset write-off provisions announced.

Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO, John Hart, said the Budget will help to reduce costs for foodservice operators, with Treasurer Joe Hockey announcing a reduction in the company tax rate of 28.5 percent for businesses with a turnover of less than $2 million, and an annual five percent tax discount of up to $1,000 for unincorporated businesses.

“Approximately 93.1 percent of all restaurants, cafés and catering businesses in Australia are small businesses,” Hart said. “The average turnover of these operations is $1 million. Tax relief in a tough economic climate is welcomed by the sector.”

Hart added that the ability to write-off assets up to $20,000 means businesses can invest in new equipment that will help them to deliver a better culinary experience for their diners.

Under the Budget’s Jobs and Small Business package, businesses will be able to immediately deduct professional costs associated with starting a business; business registrations will be streamlined; and restrictions on crowd-sourced equity funding will be removed.

Out & about 1 May USA food tour with the MLA

Follow us: 4

hospitality | June 2015

Industry events the Hospitality team attended this month...

6 May Hentley Farm with Lachlan Colwill

Hospitality Magazine

11 May Masterclass filming @ Joto

@Hospitalityed

20 May Schild Estate Pramie Launch

hospitalitymag

21 May The Powder Keg with Wasamedia

25 May PorkStar’s 10th anniversary dinner

Hospitality Magazine

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newopenings

Thievery

Located on Sydney’s Glebe Point Road, Thievery is a bar and restaurant inspired by the street vendors of the Middle East, with Jordan Muhamed, (exRockpool and Chin Chin) leading the kitchen and Julian Cincotta (ex-Nomad, Rockpool) consulting on the menu. Dishes include Malek Samke Hara kebab of snapper, almonds and chilli; kingfish nayyeh with cracked wheat and aleppo pepper; and Lebanese fried chicken with ink toum. Desserts on offer include pomegranate roast figs with sweet labne; ‘the lady finger’; and an ice cream kebab with booza chocolate, rose floss and chocolate pearls. On the venue’s second level, the bar offers an exotic cocktail list highlighting flavours such as orange blossom, baklava, candied dates and spiced apricots, as well as a range of Middle Eastern beers and five Araks (a clear, colourless, unsweetened anise-flavoured distilled alcoholic drink).

Owners: Mo Moubayed, Jeremy Yang, Manoli Politis and Paul Flynn Head chef: Jordan Muhamed Where: 91 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, NSW Hours: Tues to Fri, 6 – 11pm; Sat, 11am – 3pm and 6pm – 12am Web: www.thethievery.com.au

Huxtaburger Hawthorn

Huxtaburger has opened its fourth site in Melbourne, this time in Hawthorn. The new venue has frontage to Glenferrie Road and is part of the upcoming $5.5 million eight screen Lido Cinemas, set to open this month. Huxtaburger Hawthorn features all the old favourites such as the Clair burger that includes southern fried chicken, slaw and jalapeno mayo; the famous Huxtaburger which comprises a beef patty, mustard, mayo, tomato sauce, tomato, cheese, lettuce and pickles; and Sondra which consists of tofu and a sesame soy mayo. Hot chips and a selection of beers are also available. Other venues in the Huxtaburger portfolio include Collingwood, CDB and Prahran.

Owners: Jeff Wong, Dante Ruaine and Daniel Wilson Where: 681 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, VIC Hours: Sun – Thurs, 11am – 10pm; Fri –Sat 11am – 11pm Web: www.huxtaburger.com.au

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Italian & Sons – Bacaro

Italian & Sons – Bacaro is an intimate, 50-seat wine bar tucked at the back of Italian & Sons, on Lonsdale Street in Braddon. A bevelled Italian marble bar is the centrepiece of the venue, along with a custom-made, timber fireplace in the centre of the room. The bar menu showcases authentic Italian fare which comprises share plates as well as two main meal courses including house-made pasta and wood-fired pizza, changing daily. The menu includes imported regional Italian formaggi such as a Lombardia blu di capra goats cheese and Sardegna fiore sardo dop sheep milk cheese as well as a selection of house-made cured meats. The wine list reflects the regionally inspired menu and features local house pours from Mount Majura.

Owner: The Trimboli Group Head chef: Mark Ciavarella Where: 7 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, ACT Hours: Lunch 12 – 3pm, Tues – Fri; dinner 6 – 10pm, Mon – Sat Web: www.italianandsons.com.au

Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Fremantle Joining its older siblings in Subiaco and Armadale to take The Lapa Group’s restaurant tally up to three, Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Fremantle will have a similar offering to the other venues with the addition of ‘Lapa Rush’, which represents a ‘fast way to taste the menu’ inclusive of sandwiches, salads, barbecued meats and sweet Brazilian delicacies. The new venue is located within the old NAB bank of Fremantle and the interior has been designed by architect Paul Burnham, who was the brainchild behind the design of fellow Perth venues, Little Creatures and Clancy Dunsborough.

Owners: Lapa Group Head chef: Amar Srivastava Where: 96 High Street, Fremantle, WA Hours: Lunch from 12pm, Fri – Sun; dinner 5pm – late, Mon – Sun. Web: www.lapa.net.au

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beverageswine

A match made in

HEAVEN

Move over cheese. Let’s pair our wine with chocolate. Some say it can’t be done, but it’s actually easier than you might think. Christine Salins reports.

A

s part of Pepper Tree’s involvement in Hunter Valley Wine & Food Month in June, the winery is conducting “Sweet Decadence” wine and chocolate tastings.

Scott Comyns, chief winemaker at Pepper Tree Wines takes guests on a structured tasting of Pepper Tree wines, including a semillon, chardonnay and two shiraz wines, paired with chocolate with cacao contents ranging from 40 percent to 70 percent.

Pepper Tree marketing and direct sales manager, Tristan Jones, encourages guests to proceed slowly, appreciating every nuance.

“Sniff then taste the wine. Coat your palate with it. Break the chocolate up and place a piece of it in your mouth. Let it melt on the palate and while it’s still there, take another sip of the wine,” says Jones.

Remarkably, the chocolate and wine come together in a harmonious marriage of flavours and textures. Rather than working against each other, they bring out the best in each other, the tannins in the chocolate priming the palate for the tannins in the wine, allowing other flavours in the wine to shine.

“We’re trying to showcase synergies between different self-indulgences,” says Jones, who is also chief coffee roaster for Pepper Tree, which has been roasting coffee at its Hunter Valley cellar door for the past two years.

The idea for the wine and chocolate tasting came about after Pepper Tree began selling Brix chocolates, which are specifically made to complement wine.

Brix chocolates were created by an Ohio doctor, Nick Proia, who on gettogethers with wine-loving friends lamented that he couldn’t find a chocolate that paired well with wine. He and his friends would usually bring cheese to enjoy with their favourite red but it

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Some great pairings…

• •

• •

Pepper Tree ‘Alluvius’ semillon + milk chocolate, 40 percent cacao Pepper Tree Limited Release Hunter Valley chardonnay + smooth dark chocolate, 54 percent cacao Pepper Tree ‘Tallavera’ shiraz + medium dark chocolate, 60 percent cacao Pepper Tree ‘Coquun’ shiraz + extra dark chocolate, 70 percent cacao

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beverageswine

Chocolate and wine pairing: here’s the 101 • • • • • • •

White chocolate: Late harvest wines or “stickies”, moscato, fruity chardonnay, slightly sweet riesling or rosé.

Milk chocolate: Riesling, gewrztraminer, pinot noir, merlot, some sweeter styles of sparkling wine.

Dark chocolate: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chianti, pedro ximénez, port.

Bittersweet chocolate: shiraz, malbec, zinfandel, Bordeaux-style blends, port.

Chocolate with sea salt: gewrztraminer, late harvest wines.

Chocolate with mint: moscato, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, shiraz.

Chocolate cake: shiraz, madeira, port, pedro ximénez.

seemed foolish to the good doctor to be eating fat-laden cheeses after dinner.

He tried numerous chocolates but found they were either too much like candy or so bitter and complex they dominated the wine. After much trial and error, he took a single origin Ghanaian chocolate, known for its red fruit tones, and crafted four blends that enhance the nuances in wine.

As with a wine tasting that progresses from light-bodied to full-bodied, chocolate should be tasted from light to dark.

By starting with the more understated nuances and ending on drier, bittersweet notes, it’s easier to appreciate subtle tastes and all the different nuances.

Comyns kicks off the Pepper Tree tasting with the winery’s flagship white, 2014 ‘Alluvius’ Semillon – a crisp and flinty, youthful yet powerful wine with great finesse. The acid drives through the fattiness of the Brix Milk Chocolate (40 percent cacao).

The 2014 Limited Release Hunter Valley chardonnay, from an exceptional vintage, is superb with rich stonefruit characters, subtle oak and a long finish.

It’s a fuller-bodied white that takes us up a step to the Brix Smooth Dark Chocolate (54 percent cacao).

The Pepper Tree 2013 ‘Tallavera’ shi-

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

raz is a limited release medium-bodied Hunter wine with delicate tannins and a lovely vibrancy that isn’t overwhelmed by the Brix Medium Dark Chocolate (60 percent cacao).

Finally, the winery’s flagship red, 2013 ‘Coquun’ shiraz, is much more intense, with powerful notes of black fruits, berries and spices. It calls for the most robust Brix Extra Dark Chocolate (70 percent cacao).

Just as with wine, chocolate comes with a complexity of flavours and textures, and there are a few key points to keep in mind when trying to pair the two.

Aim for a wine that is as sweet or sweeter than the chocolate or chocolatethemed dessert. Merlot or shiraz can work but only if it’s as sweet as the chocolate. Otherwise, the wine will taste bitter.

Try for similar styles and weight: elegant chocolates with lighter-bodied wines, more intense chocolates with fuller-bodied wines. A silky, medium-bodied pinot noir can work with milk chocolate.

Fortifieds are fabulous with dark chocolate (and, indeed, with most chocolate).

Consider a sparkling wine or Champagne. The bubbles and bright acidity contrast perfectly with the creaminess of milk chocolate.

And finally, always buy quality chocolate. Second best is never going to work!

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italiancuisine

The Godmothers These women are not your traditional nonnas. They’ve combined their love for the Italian culture with a good dose of entrepreneurial spirit and have thriving businesses to show for it. Danielle Bowling reports.

Antipasto at Rosa’s Image credit: Richard Cornish

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italiancuisine

“A

s a single woman you always question your abilities and whether or not you can do it, but I bit the bullet and went ‘Yep, this is me. I can do it.’”

Carmel’s polpette panino Image credit: Kaily Koutsogiannis

Carmel Ruggeri, Carmel’s Carmel Ruggeri is a champion of the Italian cuisine in Australia. She made a name for herself as owner of La Casa in Sydney’s Russell Lea, which she poured her blood, sweat and tears into for four years before receiving an offer she couldn’t refuse and selling in 2013.

Her cult-like following has held her in good stead, with her new project in Wareemba, Carmel’s, an instant hit.

“I called it Carmel’s because basically it was me going ‘Hey, I can do this.’ And it’s been great. It has been really well received, and a lot of my customers [from La Casa] have come back,” she says.

In an industry where business operators are at the mercy of trends and fickle customers, Ruggeri says Italian, or at least her interpretation of it, is a fairly safe investment.

“For example food trucks.

They’re hot. I’ve got friends sitting on crates in a carpark eating burgers and paying $20 for a burger, a drink and chips.

But they always come back to us for that homestyle food. You can’t beat Mum’s cooking, and that’s what I think people are looking for: food that reminds them of their childhood and that makes them feel good,” she says.

“It’s the simplicity of it. It’s traditional and so simple, and that’s what people want. As soon as you start complicating it, the food just changes. A lot of people try with that fancy shmancy stuff – molecular gastronomy – but it’s funny how people keep coming back to simplicity; the traditional old favourites like lasagne and eggplant parmigiana are two of our biggest sellers.

“And people go nuts for our meatballs.

On our lunchtime menu we do a meatball melt, a meatball panino and spaghetti meatballs. And it’s all from that old-style Italian kitchen where there wasn’t a lot of money so you’d bind all the ingredients together – your breadcrumbs, your cheese, garlic and meat. So you’d extend the meat by binding all the other ingredients to it, whereas now we’re doing it like that just because it tastes awesome, and people absolutely love them.”

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

Carmel Ruggeri

“Part of the reason that people come here is because they want to hear us screaming across the floor in Italian.”

But great food that honours its heritage is only half the equation. Italian restaurants in particular must offer great service, Ruggeri says, because lively interaction and friendly banter are as inherent to the culture as the food is.

It’s for this reason that Ruggeri feels Italian restaurants do best when run by those with an Italian heritage.

“Part of the reason that people come here is because they want to hear us screaming across the floor in Italian.

They want to enjoy the whole experience. I have a lot of waitresses and waiters that are Italian and we have a lot of customers that come in who are going to Italy; they talk about Sicily; they’re learning Italian at school. They’re forever asking me to speak to them in Italian, and we do that all the time. I think you have to [be Italian] to understand the essence of Italian food.”

At Italian restaurants, more than in other cuisines, diners expect and look forward to feeling like they’re part of the family, and Ruggeri insists that there’s only one way for operators to ensure the service in their establishment is up to scratch: be there – all the time.

“I have to be. And I think it’s like that with any restaurant … If it’s your money and you’re running a small busi-

ness, you have to be there and you’ve got to show up. Honestly, my staff are wonderful, but ultimately it’s me, it’s Carmel’s, and people want to see me at the front door. I have to answer to my customers and I think I’m responsible for making sure they have a good time.

If I’m not there then I don’t really know what’s going on. We’re open day and night and I hate not being here. I feel guilty when I’m not here.”

Rosa Mitchell, Rosa’s Canteen and Rosa’s Kitchen Another woman with her name on the door is Rosa Mitchell, one of Melbourne’s true masters of Italian food.

Now the largest shareholder of the company that operates Rosa’s Kitchen on Punch Lane, and the recently opened Rosa’s Canteen at the other end of the city, on Bourke Street, Mitchell – despite living and breathing Italian food all her life – had a late start in the industry.

“I haven’t been in the industry all that long: twelve years. So I’m actually a late starter, a late bloomer,” she says.

One of the founding members of Slow Food Victoria, Sicilian-born Mitchell left her hairdressing career to work with Brigitte Hafner at Gertrude Street Enoteca. After two years, she then moved on to work with Con Christopoulos at Journal Canteen.

“He’d heard about me and he’d al-

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italiancuisine

Cannoli from Rosa’s Kitchen

Stefano Manfredi with Julie Manfredi Hughes

Ravioli filled with gorgonzola and radicchio, walnut cream from Balla

ways wanted to open a restaurant that served homestyle food; where an older woman would cook either Italian or Greek-style food that was no fuss. Just a couple of dishes.

A few people recommended me and he approached me, so I had four wonderful years there,” Mitchell says.

She then bit the bullet and decided it was time to operate her own business. And despite not being a trained chef and being relatively new to the industry, she was absolutely confident that she would succeed.

“I really didn’t have any fears going into it. My husband did, but I didn’t.

“I had no fear of cooking for a group of people … I’ve been cooking since I was about seven or eight,” she says. “You learn as you go, and each restaurant has gotten bigger as I’ve become more well known.”

Just like Ruggeri, Mitchell believes operators needs to be handson if they want to make a name for themselves in the Italian cuisine.

“It’s essential. I always say that when people come into my restaurant I want them to feel like they’re eating in my home. So they’re sitting and you’re having a chat and offering coffee at the

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hospitality | June 2015

Rosa Mitchell. Image credit: Richard Cornish

end of the meal, just like in an Italian home.

“I love meeting people, and I get a lot of compliments from staff about how people love meeting the owner of the business. There are a lot of restaurants out there that have names, but don’t have a person that goes with the name. I actually do exist, and people come in and say ‘Is that really Rosa?

Does she exist?’”

Rosa’s Kitchen, which has been operating for three years, offers a traditional Sicilian menu, whereas Rosa’s Canteen offers a broader mix of Italian food. Both are steadfastly traditional, with Mitchell refusing to deviate from classic recipes.

“We try to stay as true to the Italian cuisine as we can. I often have chefs wanting to change things slight-

ly, but once you tell them ‘No this is how I want it’, it’s not a problem.

There are a lot of Italian restaurants out there, but not a lot of them are doing authentic, simple Italian. You know, spaghetti bolognese doesn’t exist in Italy. And the lasagne that we eat in Australia is nothing like what it should be,” she says. “You can go into a restaurant and have pasta with chicken and avocado, which doesn’t exist in Italy either.

“Spaghetti carbonara: there’s one of the most bastardised dishes in the country. Carbonara is just egg, cheese and black pepper. It doesn’t have cream in it. I can’t tell you how many times we mucked up the carbonara when we were doing it, because you warm the eggs, you don’t cook them, and there’s this fine line between cooking and not cooking. So quite a few times we had scrambled eggs in-

stead of carbonara.”

A true traditionalist, Mitchell doesn’t believe in being different just for the sake of it. But that doesn’t mean her menus are predictable. As passionate as she is about iconic Sicilian and Italian dishes, she’s even more committed to respecting the seasons.

“Being seasonal is my number one priority. And so we’ve recently finished our tomatoes, so I won’t use another fresh tomato until the next season – so December, probably. I don’t use fennel out of season; I don’t use baby fennel. Fresh fennel has come in so I might have it on three or four dishes, because that’s what’s in season at the moment.

“Most people that come and eat at either of my restaurants love it for the fact that everything always tastes fresh, and it’s because it’s in season and it tastes of what it should taste like.”

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italiancuisine

Balla at Sydney’s The Star

Roasted quail roll with radicchio, figs and balsamic at Balla

Julie Manfredi Hughes, Manfredi Enterprises “I’m not Italian. I was born in Manly.

I went to school at Manly Girls High,” says Julie Manfredi Hughes, general manager of Manfredi Enterprises, which operates three venues: Balla, a modern Italian restaurant at Sydney’s The Star; Pizzaperta, which is almost right below it; and Man-

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fredi at Bells, located within the Bells at Killcare boutique hotel on Sydney’s central coast.

“But I think I adopted [the culture] from a very early age. I first went to Italy when I was 19 and I fell in love with it: the art, the fashion, the architecture, the food – the whole intoxication of being in Italy.

Italy has always been a fascination

of mine, and has always inspired me.

“I also married into the Manfredi family, so I always had that cultural perspective,” Manfredi Hughes says.

Her role in the industry is different to that of Ruggeri and Mitchell; she isn’t a chef and isn’t always visible on the restaurant floor, but that doesn’t mean she’s not intricately involved in the workings of her businesses or their representation of Italian food.

“Stefano [Manfredi Hughes’ exhusband and business partner] is a chef, so he approaches the business from a cook’s point of view, but he also comes at it from a restaurateur’s point of view. And so do I … So my focus is broader and it’s always been about the bigger picture; a strategy focus. So how do we succeed in business? How do we keep the doors open? I’m a jack of all trades.”

Manfredi Hughes says Australia is enjoying what could be described as an influx of young, eager Italian chefs, all keen to put their own spin on the cuisine. But this is nothing new, she insists. Stefano was part of the big European migration that Australia welcomed in the 60s, and two decades later, when Australia’s appetite for European cuisines was on the rise, he and his fellow cooks made it their mission to share their culture

with the hungry, curious locals.

“Manfredi [Enterprises] was definitely an innovator because what happened in the kitchen and in our restaurant at the time was that Italian food, which had previously been known in Australia as that international, Americanised, tourist food, was looked at from a different perspective. It changed people’s ideas about what Italian food was, because there was a new regional perspective, and a very authentic perspective,” she says.

Manfredi Hughes doesn’t agree that Italian recipes need to remain untouched in order to truly represent the cuisine. She says dishes and flavours should be experimented with in order to create and foster the next generation of innovators.

“If you get a current innovator, like Massimo Bottura, he’s looking at things from a different perspective.

He’s inspired by art and by music, so the cuisine starts to become very playful and starts to break boundaries and play with the concept of ‘what is a cuisine?’ That happens in every generation. Each generation has its champion.”

Having been in the industry for so long, Manfredi Hughes feels that the Italian cuisine in Australia has reach a state of maturity, with operators having weathered the storms of previous years and learnt how to not only cook well, but manage a business well too.

“There’s a wonderful generation of people working across a number of venues, like Alessandro Pavoni and Giovanni Pilu, who are very confident and have their own viewpoint, and are working with young Italians in the kitchen who are very adept at what they’re doing. All of us have become better at business. We know how to run these venues now. We’ve lived through changes in the economy. Things have impacted on our businesses and we’ve had to adapt; it might have meant walking away from venues, creating new venues, looking at different business models, but we’ve stayed in the game,” she says.

And the future of the cuisine is looking bright too.

“I would imagine that from this generation, new innovators and new personalities with their own viewpoints will emerge.

“I think it’ll only become more exciting.”

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GET YOUR

HEAD

IN THE CLOUD

If you want to save time, reduce paperwork and boost efficiency, now’s the time to embrace cloud technology, writes Nicolette Maury.

Y

ou’ve probably been hearing for some time that technology is the answer to all your problems. That is certainly true, at least for the administrative side of your business.

Cloud technology has delivered on its promise of affordable, efficient IT infrastructure – for all. You no longer have to be a huge enterprise to access sophisticated technologies that help streamline operations so you can get on with growing your business.

Thanks to the cloud, small businesses in the hospitality industry now have access to specialised business software where you can turn functionality on and off, add storage as required and only pay for what you use on a monthly or annual subscription.

Fear of software or hardware failures has been overcome because data can now reside in the cloud, meaning you can access it anytime on any internetconnected device, no matter where you are, and benefit from automatic software updates.

More than this, it is the addition of mobility – smartphones and tablets – to this picture that is really helping smaller hospitality enterprises thrive.

Mobile business owners are differentiating themselves in the marketplace by

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having sales and customer information at their fingertips, preparing quotes and proposals in the field, tracking and logging expenses, and managing projects on the move, whether they’re at a venue, home or between appointments.

Cloud accounting – a linchpin for success The cloud and its ability to connect people and platforms is critical to small business success.

Time savings are generated through cloud accounting solutions where you only have to enter information once and it flows through an integrated structure, reducing your administrative burden significantly.

Direct inputs from bank statements make expense reconciliations a breeze, while payroll, super and other rate updates automatically adjust via the cloud technology.

All of this means you as a business owner have an accurate financial state of play at your fingertips. You can track who owes money, where stock is and so on with secure access to your accounting data on any device, at any time.

Cloud accounting software is also allowing hospitality businesses to work effectively on-the-go. For example, if you operate a catering company and

you frequently work out of the office, job details, estimates and invoices can be quickly and accurately captured and sent to customers via a mobile device.

The fast, personal response makes a real impact on customers and it means core business tasks don’t have to be replicated or done back in the office, saving time and improving cash flow.

Admin becomes a thing “Are you of the past reducing your In the next five years, ‘administration’ as we know it will be gone. chances of There will be no more laborious, repetitive, error prone data entry or risksuccess by not laden hindsight. Owners of even the getting on board smallest businesses will be able to use automated, real time information with the latest the from their software for powerful financial management insights. technological If you’re not bogged down by admindevelopments?” istrative work, you can remain focused on your business and on making sure you’ve got happy staff and customers.

Helping businesses thrive in the cloud Intuit’s QuickBooks Online was designed to be simple and intuitive to use. And because it’s a cloud solution, the company can continuously innovate and make changes to support customer success.

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The New Dimension in POS Systems ity v i ct u d ro P ed v ro p Im

Cos t Sa ving RedCat’s SmartSuite Polygon POS systems deliver genuine real time management capabilities. In fact, it’s one of the very few POS products in the world that can deliver real time profit and loss reporting without integration to a third party application.

SmartSuite Polygon is loaded with new functionality that will enable you to improve efficiency, reduce costs, manage resources, control your inventory and ultimately improve profitability.

SmartSuite Polygon also provides users with all the benefits of a cloud solution, including reduced costs of IT infrastructure with no local servers, WAN’s or VPN’s and complete scalability to manage fluctuating requirements. In addition, users will benefit from increased flexibility of work practices and collaboration, enhanced security and backup processes.

Find out how SmartSuite Polygon will benefit your business.

1300 4 REDCAT

www.redcat.com.au

Red uce dW ast age

e g a an M

es c r u so e R

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pointofsale

FIVE REASONS TO EMBRACE THE CLOUD 1. Continuous innovation

5. Anywhere-access

Cloud deployment of workforce management solutions keeps organisations at the forefront of best practices with access to easy-to-understand, incremental updates. The latest functional and security improvements are automatically available in the cloud, free of charge and without the challenges typical of on-premise installations.

A cloud-based solution lets users log-in from any webenabled device without being limited by browser or the need to install plug-ins and applications. This boosts workplace flexibility and productivity by letting employees access data remotely and at any time.

4. Expansion on demand

2. Worry-free administration Cloud-deployed solutions run in highlysecure, constantly monitored networks of data centres to ensure a smooth user experience and guaranteed up-time.

Without having to worry about the backend, organisations have more time to focus on their core business.

3. Predictable costs Software as a Service (SaaS) fees are more predictable and protect the business from unexpected costs that can jeopardise budgets. Cloud deployment also means there is no need to purchase new hardware systems or have additional internal resources to manage software updates.

A scalable, enterprise-grade host environment gives businesses the flexibility to grow and adapt to change over time. Cloud-deployed solutions are often highly configurable and let organisations easily add new employees and locations when needed. Preparing for the unexpected by having the option to expand on demand is far better than redesigning your business from scratch, or worse, stunting your own growth.

Credit: A WorkForce Software Company (WFS Australia)

For years large enterprises have been able to analyse their company data to make better business decisions, but these tools have been out of the price range of small businesses. With cloud based bookkeeping and accounting software, hospitality entrepreneurs can get that sort of foresight at the press of a button, spotting trends in growth numbers, predicting cash flow, identifying top customers and more.

Once your accounts are in the cloud, you can also work with an accountant and/or bookkeeper on a ‘same data, same time’ basis. This means the bottlenecks and risks of sending the ‘shoe box’ to your accountant once a year are removed.

Working as a team with your accountant, you’ll able to make smarter, faster decisions, identify and leverage new business opportunities – and even discover answers to questions that haven’t been posed yet.

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As cloud technology develops and the connections between different small business software offerings strengthen, the power of the small business/accountant partnership will deliver better outcomes.

as time and expense tracking, customer relations and billing. These allow you to draw data from your accounting solution, such as a customer list for an email campaign, or accept updates like time entries or payments.

Software developers are focusing on their area of expertise and extending the power of their offerings with integration to other mobile, web-based apps, such

of QuickBooks Online, a cloud accounting solution, with 1.7 million users across the globe. For more, visit www.quickbooks.com.au

“In the next five years, Linkages, integration, Cloud delivers success ‘administration’ partnerships – the new Are you reducing your chances of success by not getting on board with the latest business ecosystem as we know it The future is in the creation of pro- technological developments? It’s worth ducts and services that work together taking 30 minutes or so to trial one or will be gone. perfectly to address the entire workflow two of the latest online accounting soThere will be no for small businesses. With the average lutions. I’m confident you’ll find it life business owner using up to 18 changing as you’ll end up having more more laborious, small apps to run their business every day, it is time to spend on the things you love. repetitive, error essential to have seamless links between this array of software to streamline bus- Nicolette Maury is managing direcprone data entry” iness operations. tor at Intuit Australia, developer

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Takeaway snack options at Yardmill

foodtogo

PACK IT UP, PACK IT IN

In a society that’s largely driven by convenience, quality take-away food options are more popular than ever, writes Aoife Boothroyd.

W

hile it’s true that more and more consumers these days are taking the time to learn about what they’re putting in their mouths, many argue that they’re too time-poor to create quality food for themselves.

Although healthy food-to-go concepts aren’t new to the foodservice industry, what is new is the broad variety of high quality, creative offerings available for people looking for something a little more exciting than a salad.

Ex-lawyer Tracey Sisson’s decision to open Toorak’s Yardmill was a result of her own appetite for healthy, take-away food options in and around Melbourne’s CBD. “When I was living in South Yarra, I’d sort of look at what was available.

There was no deli; if you wanted to go to the market there was just nowhere to go. So I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to hop off the tram, get your dinner, and pick up some nice deli items.’

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Then I got dissatisfied with my legal career, and thought ‘Well I’m not ready to retire, so what would I like to do?’”

Taking inspiration from her culinary muse, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sisson moved from the court to the kitchen, opening Yardmill, a deli cafe that has a strong focus on quality produce, provenance and a holistic approach to nutrition.

“Transparency is our biggest philosophy because we make everything in our kitchen from scratch,” she says. “We also buy from local producers and local farmers so we can tell our customers exactly what our products have in them and where they came from. Obviously we don’t make our teas, honey or olive oils, but everything else is made on-site and sourced locally, so I’d say that we are unique in that regard. If [a customer] has a food intolerance, we have no question or qualms about

telling them exactly where the product’s from, and what’s in it.”

Dishes made from ethically produced meat, sustainable seafood, local vegetables and dairy are always changing on Yardsmill’s seasonal menu. The shop features two sizeable display cabinets that house an array of meals to-go including breakfast bowls, salads, soups, quiches and pastas. There are also hearty main meals such as lamb moussaka; lemon, garlic and rosemary chicken; and rainbow trout with horseradish and lemon – all available for diners on-the-move.

When asked if the business’ locavore philosophy resonates with its customers, Sisson says that it depends on the individual.

“Some people come in looking for a French cheese and I say ‘No I don’t have that but I have a beautiful mouldy cheese from Red Hill.’ It’s just really important for me to support local businesses.”

Supporting the seasons Former executive chef at Neil Perry’s Rockpool in Sydney, Mike McEnearney decided to trade fine dining for a more simple, approachable food offering in the form of Kitchen by Mike.

Located in Sydney’s Alexandria, Kitchen by Mike is a canteen that creates fresh, seasonal and simple meals that champion the quality of their ingredients. The menu is seasonal and changes daily – keeping both the chefs and consumers on their toes.

“When I go to the markets, I don’t go with a shopping list. I buy what’s best, then we [the team] decide what we are going to cook based on what I’ve bought. Most people write themselves a menu first, work out what recipes they need to create, then they go with a shopping list and buy what they need to buy, but we work in reverse.

We let the seasons tell us what to do.

“What we really focus on is cook-

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Lunch boxes from Smith & Deli

Sandwiches from Yardmill

foodtogo

Kitchen by Mike

Wraps at Kitchen by Mike

ing seasonally and [offering food that’s] as fresh as possible, while doing as little as possible to the produce so people can enjoy the integrity of what they are eating rather than eating something that’s been pureed, deep fried and then turned into a jelly, if you know what I mean. I want people to enjoy something for what it is.”

Kitchen by Mike’s menu items include Kurobutta ham with mash and cumberland sauce; wood-roasted herb chicken with carrots and salsa verde; blood orange, fennel, olive and pine nut salad; and mackerel with asparagus and herb butter.

Creating daily menus that not only have to be tasty and fresh, but are also transportable for those on-the-go can present quite the challenge, McEnearney says, and each of Kitchen By Mike’s take-away containers boasts a sticker reading “Please eat straight away or refrigerate.”

“When you dress a salad or a dish, it

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

Take-away options at Yardmill

“As soon as they walk off the premises with their bit of take-away food, they need to be responsible for it.

It’s no longer my food.”

gets moist and every minute that it sits there it changes its composure, it changes its texture, its taste, and appearance, so [keeping the product fresh] is a really hard one.

“What most people do if the salad or food isn’t to be consumed straight away, is pack the dressing or sauce separately so the person can dress it when they are about to eat it. At Kitchen by Mike we don’t do that. We want people to eat it as it is, which is why we put a sticker on the cover.

“People really need to understand that as soon as they walk off the premises with their bit of take-away food, they need to be responsible for it. It’s no longer my food. You know, if they go shopping after they have bought some lunch and it’s in a shopping bag and then they get home and leave it on the bench and decide to eat it about five hours later, it’s really quite dangerous. We just need people to realise that. As soon as you walk out, the food you’ve bought becomes your responsibility.”

Cosmopolitan convenience Last year, renowned Melbourne-based French chef, Jacques Reymond, partnered with food manufacturer Simplot to develop dish’d, a business that offers quality frozen meals from all corners of the world. To get around the issue of spoilage, everything at dish’d, including the desserts, are frozen. Everything from appetisers, fish, seafood, meat and desserts can be purchased either via the business’ shop in Prahran, or online.

“A lot of the products come from different parts of the world,” says Reymond. “Some come from France and Italy and we are also developing some meat-based dishes here in Australia.”

Examples of meals include mussels a la mariniere; Thai vegetable green curry; casatella and mascarpone ravioli; and seafood bouillabaisse, however Reymond says that it is the desserts including tarts, profiteroles and cheesecakes that have proven to be the most popular.

“The response has been tremendous

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Kitchen by Mike images by Alana Dimou

Slow roasted meats at Kitchen by Mike

Salads at Kitchen by Mike

Mo Wyse and Shannon Martinez from Smith & Deli

and that’s due to the high quality of our products,” he says. “The store is just next to the Prahran Markets, so it’s quite large and at the moment we have a range of about 300 different products.

We don’t have anything fresh; everything is frozen which is great for dinner parties because customers can get appetisers, mains and desserts all at once.

People are realising that you can have really healthy, great quality food for a good price and they don’t have to make any effort at all.”

Convenience is key From the moment Mo Wyse and partner, chef Shannon Martinez opened their popular Latin-themed vegan restaurant Smith & Daughters in Melbourne’s Fitzroy last year, they had a huge demand for take-away, so the decision to open sister store – Smith & Deli – was a no-brainer.

“Being time-poor ourselves, we are all about convenience, so it was one of those perfect marriages of creat-

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“Convenience is key and there’s just nothing like it. Especially for vegans, or people in the neighbourhood that want something healthy on-the-go.”

ing a restaurant that we would want to eat at with Smith & Daughters, and then the next step of creating a deli/ convenience shop that we would want to be serviced by. So [it allows you to have] different, really delicious, filling and hearty food options that you could either put no effort into by eating straight from the container, or you can pick up all the basics to create a really nice meal at home.

“We are kind of catering to ourselves in a way, but at the same time we have heard from all of our neighbours and patrons that there is just nothing else like it, where you can go and have everything at your fingertips. Convenience is key and there’s just nothing like it. Especially for vegans, or people in the neighbourhood that just want something healthy on-the-go.”

Taking inspiration from her American-Jewish roots, Wyse says that Smith & Deli is a New York-style deli offering everything from matzo ball soup; sandwiches; vegan smoked salmon bagels; and salads, to babka and other traditional Jewish treats. It also offers hearty Italian pastas and casserole dishes.

“It’s grandma food,” says Wyse. “It’s really comforting food that your grandmother or your mother would make for you. We have food from all differ-

ent types of cuisines, like lasagnes and pizzas and curries… it’s just whatever is fresh and whatever is inspiring Shannon on the day.”

“At Smith & Daughters, Shannon is constantly creating new dishes but she can’t introduce some new things that don’t suit its Latin focus, so the deli is just really exciting because she has all these recipes that she’s just been sitting on and that she can now introduce to the world.”

With convenience being one of the business’ unique selling points, Smith & Deli’s signature to-go offering is its lunch boxes.

“We wanted the lunch boxes to be the highlight piece that really brings home the whole convenience thing, because our hours are 8am until 7pm. You can literally grab your breakfast, grab your lunch box and then swing past on your way home and grab either some components to make a meal, or a full readymade lasagne, pizza or whatever it is that you want to bring home for dinner.

“The lunch boxes are particularly fun because they have a little of everything.

They have a little salad, a little pastry, a piece of fruit, a nice sandwich and a drink.

It’ll have a little of everything in it just like when your mum used to make you lunch.

It’s got a nice little handle too.”

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

HS0813_000_MSA

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spirittrends

The renaissance

OF GIN

A focus on craft distillers and a renewed appreciation for the spirit’s unique flavour has seen gin shed its dusty image and step into the limelight, writes Aoife Boothroyd.

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spirittrends

“A

lcohol is so much like fashion, it’s cyclical. I find it quite funny when people say, ‘Gin’s the new thing.’

Gin has been around since the 15th-16th century.”

Mixologist Grant Collins, owner of Sydney gin den, The Powder Keg, says there are a number of factors that have contributed to the resurgence of gin and its current prominence in the Australian bar scene. The increasing number of small batch gins emerging on both the local and international stage has helped to showcase the versatility of the spirit, enabling it to shed its ‘stuffy image’. That, coupled with a sense of pride from the growing number of quality Australian gins, has helped push the category to the forefront.

“Gin is hip, and the response from the Australian industry has just been incredible,” says Collins.

“At The Powder Keg of course we want to support everything Australian, but we also want to make sure that we don’t get too slanted, so we put an emphasis on international gins as well because that’s where it originated – Jenever in Holland and then London Dry in London.”

Although the category has experienced significant growth in recent times, Collins acknowledges that gin is still not everyone’s cup of tea, so when he opened The Powder Keg, he set out to give punters an experience – not just a drink.

In addition to the highly creative cocktail list that includes an array of innovative molecular mixology techniques, Collins gives guests the opportunity to customise their drink to their individual taste.

“Since Hendricks came on-board with cucumber, and Tanqueray 10 with pink grapefruit, people just started sticking cucumber and grapefruit in everything. So we said ‘Ok, let’s not have a standard garnish; you can pick your own garnish, you can pick your own gin and instead of having one tonic, we’ll give you eight different ones to choose from. Ice is also a very important factor. We offer people four different kinds of ice including block ice, chipped ice, triple frozen ice and crushed ice, so we’ve really tried to turn the traditional G&T with ice and a slice on its head and educate people.

“When we opened we deliberately didn’t have Tanqueray 10 and we didn’t have Hendricks – nothing against those brands – but we just knew that people would go straight to them. We’re all about trying to give people a different experience.”

Some of the most popular offerings include the venue’s signature cocktail, The Powder Keg, that consists of London dry gin, lavender bitters, grapefruit bitters and fever tree tonic; and The Gun Powder Plot which is a throwback to Guy Fawkes and the 5th of November, consisting of gunpowder teaspiked gin, fernet branca, gunpowder syrup, dandelion and burdock bitters and fresh citrus served in a smoking cloche with gunpowder twigs. A drink called Progressive Flight, however, takes the definition of a gin experience to the next level.

“The Progressive Flight consists of four different interpretations of a gin and tonic. We’ve got a

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

The Powder Keg

The Howling Owl

vapourised gin and tonic which you smoke, an edible gin and tonic which you eat, a deconstructed gin and tonic which you drink, and then you finish off with a palate cleansing gin and tonic sorbet.”

A taste for something new Marcus Motteram, owner of Adelaide’s Hains & Co believes that the marketing efforts of some of the larger gin distilleries has a lot to do with the widespread popularity of gin, together with bartenders experimenting with the spirit at international cocktail competitions.

“Companies like Hendricks ... They got a lot of bartenders behind their brand by encouraging them to create all these wonderful and interesting ways to serve their drinks at cocktail competitions,” says Motteram. “They really got people to embrace the fun side of gin.”

While some guests that approach the bar at Hains & Co order the usual suspects, Motteram

Hains & Co

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spirittrends

Australia’s gin talent As well as catching up with some of the country’s most celebrated bars, we thought it was only appropriate to chat to a few distillers driving Australia’s booming craft gin scene.

Cameron McKenzie, Four Pillars “I think it’s been driven by these more contemporary styles that are coming out where juniper isn’t the overarching dominant character that you see in London Dry Gin. There’s a modern gin movement that’s using juniper as a canvas, and then coming up with some really interesting characters over the top of it… With Four Pillars, we took our inspiration from those more contemporary styles.

“In Australia I think it stands to reason that we can make really interesting contemporary gin because we’ve got some of the most unique botanicals in the world. All the different myrtles, bush tomatoes, finger limes, mountain pepper, lemon scented gum – all those sorts of wacky and weird things allow us to make very unique, contemporary gin.”

Rowland Short, McLaren Vale Distilling Company (Settler’s Gin) “Everything goes in cycles, just likes wines, but I think gin has the opportunity to stay in favour for a long time because one of the things that you can do to gin is that you can stylistically make it however you want. As long as it’s got juniper in it, it’s gin.

“We’re a South Australian gin, so it seemed only reasonable that we should have unique South Australian botanicals in it. So we’ve got lemon myrtle and native pepperberries from the Adelaide Hills, Muntrie berries which are native to the Coorong, and Coorong saltbush, along with all the normal suspects: juniper, cardamom and caraway.”

Jeremy Spencer, West Winds Gin “We’ve seen the rise of rum, we’ve seen tequila come back, and I think it’s just gin’s turn. It’s such a versatile and amazing spirit – commonsense has finally prevailed.

“I think if you make you gin somewhere, then you should be using as many local botanicals as possible. And when I say local, I mean seriously local.

Don’t bring it in from Tasmania, don’t bring it in from Queensland, use what’s local to you.

“We use West Australian wattle seed, cinnamon myrtle and lemon myrtle and in our Cutglass, we use bush tomato.”

says most people are open to suggestions and generally aren’t deterred by the price, which enables the bar to source the more unique gins that come at a higher price point.

“Our first pour gin is West Winds Sabre from Margaret River, which is a fantastic gin and works great in a G&T, but also as a base for our cocktails.

When people come in, we sort of ask what gin they would like and some people do call for Hendricks – which is the most called for gin – but we get people onto a lot of other gins as well. People are really open to drinking different types of gins and they are not concerned about the price.

“People will ask what’s great to have in a gin and tonic and we’ll suggest this, that and the other

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depending on their taste. We have five different tonic waters so we’ll say ‘This one works really well with this gin for these reasons’ and they are receptive to it. They don’t ask how much it is; they say ok, and they get the bill and they pay it. It’s great.

“Obviously they have faith in the bartenders and the knowledge they possess, so they feel quite comfortable with some of the suggestions we make.

And if they don’t like what we make for them, we’ll make them something else.”

As well as having a wide selection of local and international gins on hand, Hains & Co is also big on garnishes and presentation.

“We have suggested garnishes and we do different things with them. We have everything from

G&T on draft at The Powder Keg

Four Pillars martini at Stillery

candied macadamia nuts to little rose buds and dehydrated fruits, as well as the more common fresh lime, rosemary and thyme. People can choose and change but I guess it just adds a little something special. It’s great for us on the floor too. We get around and you can see what gin someone is drinking based on the garnish. When people have gin and tonic, you want to make it look special. Something that Udaberri (a fellow Adelaide bar) did was to serve it in wine glasses, and we use stemless glasses and it just looks nice. If you’re spending $13-$14 on a gin and tonic, you want it to look special.”

Championing local talent Mick Krieg, owner of Adelaide café and bar, The Howling Owl, decided to place a large emphasis on the gins on his drinks list after a trip he made to Kangaroo Island, where he stumbled across Jon Lark’s distillery, Kangaroo Island Spirits.

“I’ve always loved Gin Palace in Melbourne and gin in general, and I sort of noticed that Adelaide didn’t have anything like that when we were starting the café,” he says. “Around that time we were driving around Kangaroo Island and stumbled across Jon’s gin distillery… We had no idea when we started that we were on the cusp of a new, emerging trend. It’s just really taken over.”

Krieg opened The Howling Owl just over two years ago, and since then a number of specialty gin bars and cocktail bars have opened around the city. Krieg says that he’s surprised the spirit didn’t become more popular sooner.

“I suppose there has always been this fallacy

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spirittrends

Hains & Co

that gin is a depressant and that it was a bit of an old lady’s drink. But now people have really started to get into it, and they’ve sort of realised that there really are a lot of complexities in the flavour.

I mean, you drink a million different vodkas and there is such a subtle difference between them, and sure scotch has a lot of variety, but that’s all due to the kind of oak they’ve been aged in and a bit to do with their origins.

“But the differences between gins is just so distinct because of the botanicals. You can have several different gins made by the same company and they will all be completely different. Gin just lends itself to making so many different drinks.”

All of the cocktails at The Howling Owl are ginbased, which Krieg admits can at times be a little off-putting for the unseasoned gin drinker. However with a little encouragement, Krieg says that

99 percent of the time he’s able to successfully convince non-gin drinkers to take the plunge into the world of juniper.

“They don’t actually realise that gin has a million different flavours,” he says. “And usually when people say they don’t like gin, it actually means that they don’t like tonic.”

In addition to a wide selection of tonics from a host of different origins, Krieg also offers soda, ginger beer and a variety of juices together with and array of different garnishes to mix things up for non-tonic drinkers.

“With each of our gins we suggest a particular fruit and herb that helps complement the flavour, and that makes a big difference to the drink as well.

Gin is not only enhanced by the particular tonic or mixer that is suited to it, but also by adding other, different flavours. And it doesn’t have to be a different fruit; sometimes a particular vegetable like capsicum or chilli can go well with the gin.”

The Howling Owl’s Wild Kangaroo Island cocktail, served with tonic and strawberries, is the bar’s signature offering, Krieg says.

“It’s just a really refreshing drink. Some cocktails are certainly more popular than others at certain times of year. Coming into winter we do a Hot Toddy which is a bit like a warm apple pie with gin.”

Shaken, stirred or thrown, if Australia’s craft distillers and cocktail bars are anything to go by, gin won’t be going out of fashion any time soon.

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managementcomment

THE WRATH OF (ANTI) SOCIAL MEDIA It seems a social media presence is a necessary evil for modern day foodservice operations.

But don’t go into this depraved digital world with your eyes closed, warns Tony Berry.

I

t has already become a cliché to say so, but it nonetheless needs repeating as it seems the message is still not being heard. Simply put, so-called ‘social’ media is far too often anything but. To add further emphasis, this much-lauded modern phenomenon is anti-social in the extreme. It is abused as much as it used.

The poison pen letter of yesteryear has become the vicious tweet and Facebook post of today – and 10 times more scurrilous, hurtful and downright demeaning. Where once an aggrieved customer might fume awhile and take time to compose a reasoned letter of complaint, today’s unhappy punters let their itchy fingers punch out expletive-laden derision and illformed insults before they’ve hardly left the premises.

The hand-written (even typed) complaint of the past was a private communication that offered a chance for reasonable discussion between the two parties involved. The instant aggression of today’s whingers, however, is not only there for all the world to see in perpetuity, but is also an unspoken invitation for everyone and their dog (usually of the pitbull variety) to add their spoonful of vitriol.

Foodservice operators are continually being urged to “embrace” technology in all its forms, especially Twitter, Facebook and blogs. This is akin to having a maidservant tell Cleopatra to jump into bed with an asp.

There is no doubt the anti-social media can be a force for good, albeit in much the same way a bull elephant is a mighty timber-tugging asset – until it turns rogue.

As other commentators have urged, these web-based forums have considerable potential in terms of putting one’s business “out there”.

But those who do the urging tend not to be on the receiving end of the

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Tony Berry

posts and tweets that ensue. They are not the ones who have to deal with the smart alecs, bitter critics, defamers, false claimants, abusers and trolls to whom everyone with a web-based presence is deemed fair game.

Take, for example, the case of a hotelier of recent acquaintance whose Facebook page had been used by a disgruntled customer to voice a critical attack on her pub’s food and service. The customer clearly had a point; it had been one of those nights – when things could definitely have been much better. What establishment does not have them? But it was a one-off and not a fair reflection of a normally acceptable level of food and service.

And, here’s the rub, the “awful” night had occurred a considerable time before the complaint was posted and before the hotel came under a new management that had decided it needed to broadcast its bright new

look by uploading a totally fresh Facebook presence.

Subsequent posts by the hotel’s new owners have tried to answer and downplay their critic’s swingeing attack and highlight its recent makeover and fresh menus, but to little avail. It remains complete with its messages of “never again” and “one to avoid” and will do so until pushed down the list, hopefully by more reasoned and complimentary comments.

So much for having a “presence” that so many now deem essential for survival. No scope is provided for reasonable discussion of a complaint when the “poster” is merely a name and an avatar. To offer a free drink, even a free meal, by way of compensation is little more than an open invitation to all and sundry to post further unwelcome comments.

The win-win situation is really lose-lose.

Much of the pressure to have a

multi-pronged anti-social media presence comes from the younger generation(s) who have grown up knowing no other world. The thinking has developed whereby a business (even a person) without links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and the like simply doesn’t exist.

Sadly, credibility and standing have become measured in terms of ‘Likes’ – a totally meaningless yardstick if considered logically, yet one that outweighs all other means of gauging the worth of a business or a person.

In an age when (heaven help us) “blogger” has become a full-time job description, there is no denying the importance of internet visibility for all in foodservice. But it needs far more stringent controls than many businesses appear to exercise.

Sites and pages need to be strictly administered and checked daily. Information has to be updated with similar regularity. Willy-nilly posting is to be denied.

It is time-consuming and demands skills not yet taught to foodservice practitioners, although perhaps they should be. It certainly needs a dedicated staff member and for this to be costed into the operation’s overheads.

Do otherwise and you will soon experience the bite of the asp and the trampling of rampant jumbos.

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managementcomment

Motivation

creation Energise your staff members by offering incentives.

If implemented well, the rewards will far outweigh the expense. By Ken Burgin.

✔ Positives: Reward and action are tied together – the more they sell, the more staff and business owners make. ✘ But: Bonus budget is unknown – you are unable to specifically know the cost ahead of time. Bonus items may be sold ahead of all other items, with some pressure tactics used if not watched carefully.

2. Score & win

I

mplementing an incentive program needs care – there’s no point in rewarding staff for ‘just doing their job’, and a scheme that’s too mean will be ignored, and not drive the results desired.

A successful program should be easy for participants to understand – they know exactly how to win. Bonuses are paid promptly – ideally once a week, or once a month. Beyond that, they will lose motivational power as the reward is lost in the distance – this is a ‘week to week’ industry.

The program should be easy to administer and results can be worked out using POS data, or alternatively, staff can fill in their own claim form (which should be randomly checked). Understand that ‘gaming the system’ happens in every sales incentive scheme, so introduce it gradually and test that the results really do drive better sales, cost reduction or performance. Withdrawing a popular scheme that you can’t afford will negatively affect staff morale.

1. Simple incentive Earn a specific value for each unit or dollar sold e.g. 50c bonus for every dessert special sold, or $2 for every bottle of special wine. These can be very effective.

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

Staff are given a target, either a dollar amount, percentage increase or number of items to sell. For example, sell more than 10 specials and get a $20 bonus. Or if your customers spend on average more than $50 per head you will get a bonus of $20. You can also offer higher rewards for bigger results e.g. $25 for the first 10 bottles sold, and $50 for the next 10 sold. ✔ Positives: Provides a specific number target for staff to focus on, and it’s easy to understand. ✘ But: Little or no motivation to go beyond the target once it has been met – it’s good to change the bonus item regularly.

3. Group competition For example, the shift that sells the most number of side salads will share a $50 bonus. Or kitchen staff will share a $200 bonus if they meet food cost targets this month. ✔ Positives: Controls cost of the program – maximum cost known in advance. It’s also good for a workplace where there is a strong shared spirit and teamwork. ✘ But: Award earning potential depends on the performance of others – the less skilled or motivated can affect rewards for the whole team.

tion with schemes 1, 2 or 3. ✘ But: Additional cost and organisation for awards, and some may work better than others.

5. Manager incentive with minimum qualifier Goals are set on previous performance, and may be any of the above four methods. Depending on the business climate, targets may be set at 80 to 110 percent of previous performance goals. For example, a manager earns a $100 bonus if wages are kept below $8,000 per month. Or kitchen staff earn a team dinner if the six month costing targets are met. ✔ Positives: Some budget control by only awarding bonuses for incremental sales. Awards are well understood in advance, and the cost of bonuses comes from extra revenue earned or saved. ✘ But: Success depends on proper goal setting, and goals may not really stretch performance. Bonuses become an expected part of pay rather than a true reward for good work.

Everyone likes the idea of incentives, but operators often find them difficult to implement and measure the value of. In my restaurant and cafe experience they can work extremely well. So go on, it’s time to experiment.

4. Fast finish activities A bonus is earned for performance in a single shift, day or week, and doesn’t occur regularly. For example, a $100 bonus if the team sells 20 seafood platters tonight. On Saturday a movie and dinner voucher goes to the person who sells the most desserts. ✔ Positives: Adds extra excitement into the incentive program, and can add a spark to other longerrunning programs. This could be run in conjunc-

Ken Burgin

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industryobserver

POUR FORM:

why wine is a tough sell The industry’s move away from BYO dining is about more than just the licensing and labour costs, writes our Industry Observer.

I

remember a time when you would grab a bottle from the fridge and head out to a restaurant for dinner. Seems simple and I’m not recollecting something from the dim dark past; even 20 years ago it was commonplace. A couple of companies even specialised in making little chilled carriers to get your bottle there safely – they even had one for a cask bladder… ahh the joy of youth.

Part of the reason was that so many restaurants were BYO and that acquiring a liquor licence was both difficult and expensive. Not to mention all the ongoing expenses of managing a cellar (a couple I have managed have been extremely pricey) and providing the service for a price (corkage or screw-cappage nowadays), that no matter how much you charged, people whinged about it.

An article in The Age recently wondered on the ‘life’ left in the BYO concept and to a certain extent I agree, but not with its reasoning which focused a lot on the staff cost, a little on the cost of a licence, and not so much on anything else. There are a number of key factors that have driven the BYO trend out of favour and much of it has to do with the booze retailers’ changing nature and the power that they hold over any number of aspects of the trade.

Consider that, in Melbourne as an example, there was one Dan Murphy’s store in Chapel St, Prahran – I used to go there as it was great, grungy, and unique; with the best selection of wine I’d ever seen. Paradoxically, there is a JB Hi-Fi there now, with the sparkling new Dan’s over the road. Then Woolworths bought Dan Murphy’s and linked up with the ALH Hotel group and now look how many former pubs (including one of my old locals) and drive-in bottle

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shops have been turned into fully fledged Dan Murphy’s stores.

How does this impacts us? The dining public are busy people, many working full-time and rushing to get from one appointment to the next – including fitting in dinner. Stopping off at Dan’s (or your local equivalent) to grab a bottle on the way through is not a speedy business and it’s easier just to get the wine at the restaurant.

However, there is more to it than just the ease of buying. The wine industry has woken up to the changed circumstances and now, in the main (with the notable exception of many

in France), switched packaging to six bottle cases – thereby halving the investment needed by establishments to support their wine list. Brilliant, let’s build us a cellar. The wine industry has always been great with training and support for floor staff willing to learn, and that hasn’t changed – what has changed is that the ‘label buying’ by some of the bigger players has diluted some of the passion for the brands and therefore the message, which confuses some folk. Having the one wholesaler build you a list is not always a great idea either….

What is interesting is how the

retailing and home environment is having an impact on restaurants in a similar way to the TV cooking shows and cookbooks. We now have some excellent shows on TV with travelling sommeliers and celebrities extolling the virtues of all things vinous.

Never has there been such easy access to decent cellaring options in the home with cabinets and wine fridges sold everywhere from eBay to Costco to specialist whitegoods stores, and yet we buy our wine in the restaurant. Never before have we had such a wide variety of beautiful glassware in the home with Riedel, Schott, Luigi Bormioli and Krosnos’ being sold by the pallet load to this newly educated wine consuming public.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that no matter what you, the restaurant operator, charge for your precious, well cellared, beautifully poured, already paid for, hard earned wine; the public will generally find it too much. They have one of those bottles at home, that they purchased from a major retailer (one at a time) and it cost one-third of what you greedy bastards in the restaurant world are charging. Never mind the floor staff who were paid to come in early to have a tasting session or the cost of the tray of glasses your new dishwasher just dropped, or the actual cost of all the wines that aren’t racing out the door (despite the rep assuring us that they would be advertised soon…).

Never mind the interest or any of the million other business overheads.

It’s a hard life in the restaurant game.

You work when everyone else is having fun, feel unappreciated by some of the customers and your glimpses of genius are often unrewarded, but most of you wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re a bit special like that. Cheers.

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taxtime

Are you ready FOR THE EOFY? With the end of the financial year upon us, it pays to be organised.

D

avid Henderson, CEO of accountancy group ROCG Asia Pacific says that 30 June can often catch SMEs by surprise, with cash flow management one of the biggest problems.

Henderson says SMEs are in a position to readily adapt to the changing environment in which they operate, however those that fail to adapt can pay heavily. “Managing cash flow is critical to the success of any business and a bit of planning might be all that is needed to free up liquid assets and ensure ongoing profitability,� he said.

Here are some pointers to help you get the most out of the EOFY. 1. Embrace change What works one year might not work the next: fickle clients, different suppliers and staff, changes in operational procedures and capital asset shifts can all have a big impact on cash flow.

Resolve to not only embrace change every fi-

nancial year, but to adjust accounting and management practices to accommodate this change.

2. Leverage low interest rates Cash reserves are not getting the return they were even just a few years ago but low interest rates can be made to work in an SME’s favour. Consider if it is worth investing in capital equipment and paying off debts while keeping lines of credit open. Resolve to leverage low interest rates but budget now for higher rates over the next few years.

3. Cash upfront and in advance It is possible to save up to 10 percent by shopping around and being willing to make an advance payment for services and utilities. Paying for the following year in advance can see a saving of three to six percent. Such savings can be much higher than current interest returns on cash deposits.

4. Direct debit not direct debt Set up direct debit accounts when discounts for this payment method are offered. Direct debit can

lead to savings of around four percent on fixed costs, but this will be more than wiped out if there are insufficient funds and the supplier and bank impose heavy penalties.

5. Choose the best GST option Compulsory collection of the goods and services tax can artificially inflate cash assets by 10 percent.

Refunding that to the ATO as a one-off payment can blow a big hole in any business’ budget. To help maximise cash flow, choose a GST payment option carefully. A small business with an annual turnover of less than $2 million or with a GST turnover of less than $2 million can pay GST by monthly instalments or quarterly. So choose wisely.

6. Depreciation, deductions and donations To make the most of a favourable depreciation deal, buy in July. Grab all cheaper, directly deductible bargains right up until midnight on 30 June. A deduction is a deduction based on its purchase date, not whether or not it was used.

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workplaceissues

THINK TWICE

before making cuts If you’re going to change or reduce the hours worked by your staff members, make sure you do it by the book, otherwise you could face costly and cumbersome legal proceedings, writes Restaurant & Catering Australia.

V

arying the hours of work for a permanent employee can be fraught with danger for employers. In some circumstances, changes can be done with the mutual consent of both parties. This is in most circumstances not a problem.

However where an employee does not agree with a variation, a whole range of issues can arise. Sometimes these issues manifest as applications to the Fair Work Commission to deal with an unfair dismissal.

A matter heard before the Federal Circuit Court earlier this year found that a

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company, Tiy Loy & Co, a Mahjong Club in Sydney, took unlawful adverse action against an employee when it moved a fulltime employee to a part-time arrangement after the employee claimed workers’ compensation for an injury sustained in the course of his employment.

After tearing his medial ligament, the employee (Mr Cai) spent a period of time away from the workplace recovering, after which, citing financial need, he sought to return to work, albeit on lighter duties. After being appropriately referred to a medical practitioner, a range of limitations were placed on his

“Varying the hours of work for a permanent employee can be fraught with danger for employers.”

employment, such as physical limitations and the requirement to take a five minute rest break every hour.

Shortly after returning to work on these lighter duties, the directors of Tiy Loy & Co held a meeting, where among other things, labour costs were discussed. As a direct result of this meeting and other similar conversations, the employee received a letter stating “Our company is in a difficult financial position. We will not hire any long term positions anymore… your job will be held until 1 July 2012. After 1 July 2012, [we] will hire three day part-time [employees] instead.”

By way of context, it is important to note that prior to the injury, this employee had been working a six day, 90 hour working week and had been doing so for nearly seven years of his employment, which itself had been continuous for a total of 18 years. For a period of time, the employee worked under the newly enforced arrangement, before later resigning.

This considered, Federal Circuit Court Judge Manousaridis determined that the change in hours and working arrangements imposed by the company amounted to a dismissal.

Judge Manousaridis stated in his decision “I have found that Tiy Loy decided to alter Mr Cai’s position because it believed it would save costs. I have also found, however, that Tiy Loy did not prove that it made that decision for a reason that did not include as a real and substantial factor Mr Cai’s having an entitlement to a benefit under the WorkCover Act.” Judge Manousaridis found that the employer had breached s342 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and will consider further penalties and remedies following further hearings with the parties.

This article was written by the workplace relations team at Restaurant & Catering Australia. Contact them on 1300 722 878.

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shelfspace

1

2

3

5

4 1. Eggs done easy Sunny Queen Australia has launched a new range of ready-toserve egg products, Sunny Queen Meal Solutions. The range includes gourmet omelettes, scrambled egg mixes, egg bakes and poached eggs.

All products can be prepared in a microwave, grill, combi or conventional oven and are free of gluten, artificial colours, flavours and are HACCP certified. They are all made from fresh farm eggs, and then either pasteurised or fully cooked before being snap frozen. The products are suitable for cafes, health and aged care services, food service companies and those catering for large groups. www.sunnyqueenmealsolutions. com.au

2. Nothing to dread here Little Creatures has released Return of the Dread – its first ever seasonal release in the form of a Domestic Extra Stout, available on tap and

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

6

in pack. With six specialty roasted malts coupled with Little Creatures’ classic pale malt and a good dose of Fuggles hops, Return of the Dread is a dark, black, smooth stout, balanced with a pronounced bitterness. It features aromas of chocolate, vanilla and liquorice, with a sweet and slightly bitter taste that’s very long in length. The palate is velvety with a medium-to-full body. Return of the Dread will be available for the next three months. www.littlecreatures.com.au

3. A new take on neutral Noritake has released its winter palette tableware range. And while greys, whites and earthy shades are synonymous with neutral, this range puts black right alongside them. Each piece of the BoB collection carries the ‘dune’ patterning and is also available in white. A suitable accompaniment to the range comes from IVV, an artisanal Italian brand, offering a collection of hand-made drinking

vessels called Lounge Bar, in dusk, amber and green. www.noritake.com.au

4. Show us your buns Hakka has released its Lotus Leaf Buns. The Taiwanese-style buns work with a host of fillings including sticky braised pork belly, panko crumbed prawns and sweet teriyaki chicken. The buns are ideal for caterers, function centres, cafes, pubs and restaurants and are made from a high quality dough formula consisting of wheat flour, water, sugar, shortening and yeast. They are low in saturated fat, have no added MSG, no trans-fat or cholesterol and can be prepared by either steaming or in a microwave. The buns come frozen in packs of 10. www.hakka.com.au

5. Heinz is getting saucy Heinz Foodservice is launching the new SqueezMe! single serve sauce

range which has double the amount of sauce offered by other sachets on the market. The range has a unique package design that’s easy to use and control, ensuring less mess and more sauce from every squeeze.

SqueezMe! portions are suitable for take-away shops, bakeries, stadiums and convenience stores and come in three varieties: Tomato Ketchup, Barbecue Sauce and Tartare Sauce. www.heinzfoodservice.com.au

6. Setting with style Libbey Foodservice has released the new Syracuse China Atherton collection. A textured ring embossment adorns the rim of the Atherton collection, drawing the eye to the centre of the plate. The coupe shape of Atherton expands the size of the plating surface without increasing the overall size of the plate. The 30-piece Atherton collection comprises large plates, trays and bowls, intricate mugs, cups and teapots. https://foodservice.libbey.com

hospitality | June 2015

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eventscalendar

hospitalitydiary JUNE 1 - 30, Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month 2015’s Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month is set to be bigger than ever. The event represents a food and wine extravaganza where festival-goers can dine with leading Hunter Valley winemakers and chefs and take part in an array of interactive classes to finetune their culinary skills. Some of this year’s Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month program highlights include The annual Whispering Brook Olive Long Table Luncheon, featuring a Mediterranean-inspired menu prepared by Andrew Wright; the Salt & Pepe Roadshow a masterclass at the Margan winery featuring Alex Olsson, Pepe Saya and Andrew Margan; and the Epic Experience at Hungerford Hill, which will include a premium seated tasting of limited release and museum wines matched to specially created bites, prepared

by Muse Restaurant. www.winecountry.com.au/events

JULY 9 July - 9 August, Brisbane Good Food Month The Brisbane Times Good Food Month will be returning in 2015 to showcase the city’s food and wine offering. This year’s restaurant program features new categories and will run throughout the month with both regional and metropolitan venues participating. The Night Noodle Markets will take place at South Bank and will run from 23 July to 9 August, with yum cha available on weekends. In addition to the markets, top chefs from Australia and around the world have created special menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner available at various venues across the city. brisbane.goodfoodmonth.com 6 - 26, Rocks Aroma Festival Now in its 18th year, the festival attracts both coffee loving industry members and consumers, with over 90,000 visitors expected to attend this year. Workshops curated by the Australian Speciality Coffee Association will commence on 9 July and run Thursday through to Sunday offering insider tips on coffee cupping, latte art and coffee appreciation. The Aroma Cup will return for a third year with cafés competing throughout the month to win the people’s choice award as well as an industry award for the best coffee experience of the festival. www.therocks.com/whats-on

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hospitality | June 2015

AUGUST 30, Sydney Italian Wine + Food Festival The festival, held at Sydney’s Town Hall, is all about celebrating Italy’s food and wine culture. Alongside 300 of Italy’s finest wines (and a selection of Australian wines made from Italian grapes), there’ll be the chance to shop for salumi, cheese, pastries, gelato, bread, olive oil and more at the food market. The teams from Sydney’s top Italian restaurants (Pilu at Freshwater, Ormeggio, Balla, A Tavola, LuMi, Aperitivo, Ajo, Russo & Russo) will be hosting cooking demonstrations, and food talks will be hosted by chefs from the Council of Italian Restaurants in Australia (aka CIRA). Tickets are from $25. www.sydneyitalianwinefood.com.au

SEPTEMBER 3 -5, The Coffee Experience The Coffee Experience is a dedicated coffee trade show featuring members of the coffee industry as well as coffee franchises.

Specialty Coffee Association of America accredited teachers will provide training and education to participating companies, and the show will also include a series of business development sessions. Held at the Royal Hall of Industries in Sydney’s Moore Park, the show will also host the ASCA Regional Coffee Championships, where ACT and NSW baristas will compete to represent the region at the national event. http://thecoffeeexperience.com.au

20 - 23, Fine Food Australia Fine Food will be returning to Sydney with a new home – Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. Highlights include the Australian Culinary Challenge where chefs compete in a live kitchen, and Bake Skills, where apprentice bakers compete across 26 different categories including specialty and artisan breads. Other highlights include the Les Toques Blanches Live demonstrations, the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition and the Talking Food Stage. www.finefoodaustralia.com.au

NOVEMBER 16 - 17, Drinks Industry Show The Drinks Industry Show will be held at the Crystal Palace, Luna Park, Sydney, connecting producers and distributors of alcoholic beverages with buyers from bars, clubs, restaurants, hotels, liquor stores and catering companies. It will feature an interactive exhibition, taste testing, educational seminars, mixology demonstrations, networking functions and the 2015 Australian Bartenders Guild Classic & Flair National Cocktail Championship. The Drinks Industry Show will be co-located with another trade show, Inspire EX, which targets the business and special events industry. www.drinksindustryshow.com.au

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

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