Hospitality Magazine July 2015

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No.716 July 2015

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Print Post Approved PP100007268

No.716 July 2015

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

foodservice

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accommodation

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beverage

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management

When worlds

COLLIDE Creativity is king in the world of Asian fusion

One man’s trash

Improve your bottom line by addressing food wastage

Catering for the crowds Dietary requirements don’t have to stifle your creativity

PLUS:

10 wines that won’t break the bank

Labour of love

Why truffles are worth every penny

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16 editor’s note

R

No.716 July 2015

Print Post Approved PP100007268

egardless of your opinion on the matter, smoking in outdoor dining areas is on the out. Earlier this month NSW’s ban was officially introduced, and there’s talk that Victoria - the only Australian state that is yet to embrace smokefree dining - may soon accept the inevitable.

I understand the concerns of those business owners fearful that the ban will leave a bad taste in patrons’ mouths, but if it’s really that important to you and your bottom line, you can still cater for smokers.

Just not in the same space as your diners.

NSW businesses that overlook the ban and continue to allow smokers to feed their habit in dining areas run the risk of being hit with a $5,500 fine. Surely that’s enough of a deterrant?

Perhaps not. Less than a week after the laws were introduced, I had a cheap and cheerful meal in one of Sydney’s western suburbs and was amazed at the number of people smoking at their table, just feet away from fellow diners (and well within the four metre buffer zone they’re supposed to be abiding by). Granted, diners might not be aware of the bans, but business owners have no excuse.

I really, genuinely hope that the bans don’t affect our already stretched foodservice operators. But there’s no point walking around with your head in the clouds (or should I say smoke?). Ignoring the new laws will do you no favours.

foodservice

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

hospitality | July 2015

accommodation

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beverage

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management

When worlds

PLUS:

10 wines that won’t break the bank

Creativity is king in the world of Asian fusion

20

12

One man’s trash

Improve your bottom line by addressing food wastage

Catering for the crowds Dietary requirements don’t have to stifle your creativity

Labour of love

Why truffles are worth every penny

Gingerboy’s sesame crusted swordfish tataki, avocado aioli, garlic chips and shisowasabi dressing.

cover

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contents FEATURES

12 When worlds collide

REGULARS

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Asian fusion at its best.

16 An accidental cheesemaker

8

We chat with Kris Lloyd.

20 Catering to the crowds

24 One man’s trash...

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

30 Rant Must we dine with our furry friends?

32 Workplace Part-time versus casual, be clear on the difference.

10 Wine Drops that won’t break the bank.

28 Industry Observer Recognising the real celebrities.

29 Ken Burgin

Reducing the cost of food waste.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Justine Dunn Ph: (02) 8484 0757 designer2@cirrusmedia.com.au

Openings Four new hospitality venues.

Dealing with special requests.

22 Labour of love

News online The latest industry news.

33 Shelf space New products to hit the market.

34 Diary

Taking photos to build business.

Industry events that could be worth a visit.

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

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COLLIDE

Truffles are worth every penny.

Editor: Danielle Bowling danielle.bowling@cirrusmedia.com.au

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23/06/2015 4:00 pm

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newsonline

Jobs in hospitality: a state by state comparison Comparison website, finder.com.au recently released its inaugural Careers in Australia Report, which highlights the strongest and weakest industries in Australia.

The analysis of 18 industries rvealed that arts and recreational services is the strongest to work in nationally, with the highest growth rate over the past two years (20.59 percent). This was followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (10.09 percent); and electricity, gas, water, waste services which increased by 9.35 percent since February 2013.

Meanwhile, mining is considered the weakest industry, recording a 17.34 percent drop in the past two years; followed by wholesale trade which dropped by 16.68 percent; and information, media and telecommunications which recorded a slight drop of one percent.

The accommodation and food services industry came in at fifth place, growing 7.5 percent, with the total number of employed people jumping from 783,613 in February 2013 to 842,394 in February 2015.

In regards to employment, the industry is strongest in Western Australia, which has a total of 39,900 employed as of February 2015. The state has the largest number of booming industries, with other leading sectors including financial and insurance services; health care and social assistance; and wholesale trade.

“Hospitality is the strongest in Western Australia, which saw a 43 percent increase in full time employees since 2013. This isn’t surprising as Western Australia services a large tourism population and mining towns,” said Michelle Hutchison, money expert at finder.com.au.

The accommodation and food services sector is also strong in Queensland, growing 21.5 percent from 64,533 to 78,405. The industry is the fourth

strongest in the state, following electricity, gas, water and waste services; arts and recreation services; and information, media and telecommunications.

The ACT also had strong growth, rising from 3,822 in 2013 to 4,509 – growth of 17.98 percent.

The worst performing state is NSW, with accommodation and food services retracting by 6.58 percent from 124,414 to 116,230.

“The report shows that the hospitality industry improved in all states apart from NSW, where the number of full time employed people dropped over the past two years,” said Hutchison.

Accommodation and food services is the state’s fifth worst performing, with wholesale trade in

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the unenviable top spot (-22.7 percent), followed by arts and recreation services (-16.68 percent), mining (-12.9 percent), and information, media and telecommunications (-10.8 percent).

NSW’s strongest industries include electricity, gas, water and waste (23.24 percent), construction (15.43 percent), and education and training (13.69 percent).

While not in the red, the accommodation and food service sector’s growth in Tasmania was quite modest, rising just 2.25 percent. The state’s best performing industries are rental, hiring and real estate services; agriculture, forestry and fishing; and arts and recreation services.

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BEEFING UP YOUR MENU

n oo s g n i m Co

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newopenings

Waterman’s Lobster Co.

Owner and operator of Love Tilly Devine, sommelier Matt Swieboda together with business partner Tristan Blair decided to open Waterman’s Lobster Co. as a throwback to childhood summers in WA that were spent catching and eating crayfish at Waterman’s Bay. Joining them is business partner and restaurant manager Nate Hatwell and bar manager Alex Carter. The venue offers what they call an authentic ‘no added nonsense’ take on the traditional New England lobster roll – either Connecticut or Maine style. The menu is broken down into three sections: entrees, rolls and sides. Alongside the traditional Connecticut and Maine style Atlantic lobster rolls are Australian variations featuring Balmain bugs, Spencer Gulf prawns and swimmer crab.

Waterman’s Lobster Co. will also offer East Coast American cocktails, Australian and American beer and a selection of wines on tap.

Owners: Matt Swieboda and Tristan Blair Bar manager: Alex Carter Where: 5/29 Orwell St, Potts Point, Sydney Open: Mon–Sat 12pm–10pm; Sun 12pm-6pm Web: www.watermanslobsterco.com

The Rice Den

Following a number of successful years trading in Sydney’s Chatswood, The Rice Den has relocated to St Leonards. The Rice Den’s menu features pickled olives, soft shell crab with mung bean noodle hotpot, steamed chicken wrapped in lotus leaf, Hong Kong style French toast with maple mascarpone, and handmade cheong fun (rice noodle roll). Cocktails with Cantonese flavours, Tsingtao served in bowls, and exclusive ‘The Rice Den’ lager, created at The Rocks Brewery, are highlights of the beverage list. The interior is inspired by old Canton with a modern twist featuring greenery, Asian pottery, bamboo steamers and a feature wall complete with Chinoiserie wallpaper over the concrete-look panels.

Owners: Nelson Cheng, Roy Chan, Edmund Li and Jin Choong Head chefs: Nelson Cheng and Roy Chan Where: 30-32 Chandos Street, St Leonards Open: Tues – Sun Web: www.thericeden.com.au

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The Unley

Following renovations and a rebrand, the former Boho Bar on Adelaide’s Unley Road, Parkside has been renamed The Unley and opened a rooftop bar. Architect Mark Folland was the brainchild of the renovations, creating a welcoming bright and airy interior, complemented by fireplaces, first floor balconies, and an open rooftop. An open kitchen facilitates the modern Australian menu which features ‘pop up plates’ for sharing, pub staples, and vegetarian and vegan offerings.

The wine list includes international selections as well as a solid line-up from the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale.

Craft beers, premium spirits and cocktails are also on offer.

Owners: The Saturno Group Head chef: Callum Stewart-Watt Where: 27 Unley Road, Parkside, Adelaide Open: Daily from 12pm Web: www.theunley.com.au

[Stoke] Bar + Kitchen

[Stoke] Bar + Kitchen has launched downstairs from Stokehouse City in Melbourne, representing the newest addition to the van Haandel Group’s portfolio. The food menu includes marinated white anchovies and peppers on toast; salt cod and speck croquettes on sweet corn puree; Blackmore’s breasola and salami plate; beef tartare, capers, celery and bonito; as well as more substantial meals such as the prawn and crab linguine and Ollie’s fish pie. The space is warm, intimate and moody, boasting black gloss sprayed ‘ombre’ walls. The parquet floor was stripped back to expose natural timber, and graphic borders at the wall and floor junctions highlight the parquet herringbone pattern.

Owner: Frank van Haandel Head chef: Sam Webb Where: 7 Alfred Place, Melbourne Open: 12pm – late Mon - Sat Web: www.stokehouse.com.au/ stoke-bar-kitchen

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beverageswine

10 break the bank

drops that won’t

The skill of a sommelier is not in finding wonderful, expensive wines to put on a list. That’s the easy part. The real skill is in finding modestly priced wines that offer plenty of bang for their buck. By Christine Salins.

T

his is where the knowledgeable sommelier can truly demonstrate talent. The key is to get to know the smaller producers who are doing interesting things but not charging stratospheric prices.

Seek out finely crafted wines that are worth every penny of their modest price tag. Find the hidden gems that offer a wow moment without the top-shelf price.

We’ve found some good value drops to help you on your way, all of them retailing for around $25 or less.

1. Hahndorf Hill Wines 2012 GRU Cassaly Fitzgerald, sommelier at Appellation at The Louise in the Barossa Valley, is proud to have this Adelaide Hills Grüner Veltliner on her list. The Austrian variety is particularly food-friendly and Austria’s Falstaff magazine rated this one as the best outside of Austria in an international tasting. Fitzgerald says guests are increasingly interested in emerging and alternative grape varieties.

“Guests seem to be looking for wines that will not only complement their dish selection but also capture their intrigue,” she says.

Amongst more than 600 wines on the Appellation list, Hahndorf Hill 2010 Blaufränkisch red is also a standout.

2. Lark Hill 2013 biodynamic Viognier Like Hahndorf Hill, Canberra District winery Lark Hill produces excellent Grüner Veltliner, but the real bargain of Lark Hill’s line-up could be its Viognier. With its floral aromas and hints of apricot and ginger, this is an attractive alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. Everything at Lark Hill is done biodynamically with great dedication to detail, making this one to seek out.

3. Briar Ridge 2014 Signature Karl Stockhausen Semillon This classic Hunter Semillon is on the list at Hunter Valley restaurant, Muse. Winemaker Gwyn Olsen was Gourmet Trav-

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“The key is to get to know the smaller producers who are doing interesting things but not charging stratospheric prices.”

eller Wine Young Winemaker of the Year in 2014, coincidentally in the same year Muse chef Troy Rhoades-Brown won the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence Young Restaurateur of the Year award. Olsen made this Semillon in conjunction with Hunter Valley Living Legend, Karl Stockhausen, who prefers a fuller, richer style of Semillon. Think lemon curd, lime and lemon sorbet notes.

4. 42 Degrees South 2011 Chardonnay Tasmania may be one of the country’s coolest wine regions but on restaurant wine lists it is hot, hot, hot. Philippe Conry, manager of Tokonoma, one of Sydney’s finest Japanese restaurants, recommends this keenly priced, elegant wine from the Coal River Valley. It tastes slightly nutty, has generous stone fruit characters and a deliciously long finish.

5. Devil’s Lair 2013 The Hidden Cave Chardonnay Western Australia’s Margaret River region also produces enviable Chardonnay. Yields were low in 2013 and this one over-delivers on all counts, with glorious perfume and spice, good depth and a vibrant palate. Winemaker Ben Miller is particularly pleased with it. “(It’s) really good at the price point,” he says.

6. Hanging Rock 2013 Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir The fruit for this seductive wine is essentially estate fruit that didn’t quite make it into Hanging Rock’s top tier Jim Jim Pinot, yet both wines were made in small open fermenters with much the same attention and precision. Its sweet berry flavours make this wine one to savour, and its limited production makes it desirable for the price.

7. Angullong Wines 2013 ‘Fossil Hill’ Sangiovese Australian diners are enjoying a love affair with this Italian variety. It accounts for 5.6 percent of red wine listings in

Australian restaurants, up from three percent in 2014, according to Wine Business Solutions. Angullong’s Ben Crossing says demand is being driven by consumers who expect more choice. Sommeliers are responding by “looking for varieties that offer interest to their wine lists … wines with good flavours and structure that better complement food.” This mediumbodied wine from Orange, NSW, was matured in French oak and is very smart.

8. D’Arenberg 2010 The Cenosilicaphobic Cat Sagrantino Cinsault What’s with the name, you might ask?

There was once a cat at D’Arenberg that had a taste for wine but was stymied by his concerned owners, leaving the cat with a severe case of cenosilicaphobia (fear of an empty glass). Seriously. About as serious as this dark, dense wine with dark cherry and chocolate flavours is. Tasted with the slow-roasted pork belly at d’Arry’s Verandah Restaurant, McLaren Vale, this is a terrific wine from a terrific vintage.

9. Rufus Stone 2013 Heathcote Shiraz Shiraz thrives in the mineral-rich soils of Heathcote, Victoria, producing intense colour, aromas and flavours yet a lovely elegance for such an affordable wine.

With flavours of cherries, spice and all things nice, this is a big, soft wine that richly rewards.

10. Tenute Girolamo 2012 La Voliera Negroamaro Imported from Puglia, Italy, this wine on the list at Chiswick at the Gallery, in the Art Gallery of NSW, is laced with cloves, spices, ripe berries and a hint of licorice.

It is quite soft and goes beautifully with Italian meat dishes such as the slowcooked lamb shoulder that Chiswick is renowned for. Matt Dunne, head sommelier for the MorSul group that runs both ARIA and Chiswick, travelled to Italy to seek out interesting small producers, and this was one he found. A beaut discovery.

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Register online using promo code HOSP finefoodaustralia.com.au/hosp

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AUSTRALIA

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asiancuisine

WHEN WORLDS

COLLIDE

Australian chefs are redefining the Asian cuisine by breaking cultural boundaries and serving dishes that really pack a punch. Danielle Bowling reports.

“I

think the rules have gone out the window. I think people are becoming more enthusiastic about trying new things and over the years, people’s palates have evolved.”

Leigh Power is head chef at Melbourne’s Gingerboy restaurant, which opened in October 2006 and serves a modern Australian adaptation of Asian hawker-style street food. The main influences are flavours from Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese cuisines, and while Power agrees that Asian fusion is growing in popularity, he says the style of cooking isn’t new.

“Fusion is the blending of different cuisines to create a balance of classic and new world dishes, and bringing that together into the one dining experience. But it’s been happening for decades, and throughout history.

The French influence on Vietnamese food; the Indian and Chinese and to

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some extent Portuguese influences on Malaysian food… Fusion has been around for a long time,” he says.

Adventurous appetites While the concept of fusion might not be new to chefs, it is new to some diners, who have traditionally favoured the safe yet often tired and predictable menus at their local Thai, Chinese or Indian hangout.

But with the proliferation of food media and a surge in the number of restaurants offering fusion-based menus, diners are more than happy to step outside their comfort zone and try something new.

At Sydney’s Sugarcane restaurant, owner Milan Strbac is surprised by just how experimental Australian diners have become.

“When I started seven years ago, people were a bit standoffish, but in the last three or four years, [fusion]

has become so common,” he says.

“And people’s knowledge of Asian food is a lot better; they’re not just coming in for pad thai. Before, it was always pad thai, pad thai, pad thai.

Now they’re getting a lot more experimental. They’re a lot more comfortable ordering things that are out of the ordinary. Sometimes I put on something that’s really Asian, like our sour orange curry or a fermented fish, which I love and which used to scare people off and they wouldn’t have the guts to order it, but now it’s surprising to see how many people order it.”

While Sugarcane’s menu is a collaboration of his favourite south-east Asian flavours, including Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian, Strbac says there’s a concurrent trend occurring in the industry at the moment, where operators are honing in on one particular region or province.

“You used to go to a Chinese restaurant and it would just be a Chinese restaurant. Now you’ve got your Schezuan cuisine, your Hianese cuisine, and all these restaurants doing provincial-style food. You’ve also got Easarn style, which is north east style near the Loatian border, and other restaurants doing southern flavours because it’s just so different. So they’re specialising in that style rather than doing the whole country’s cuisine.”

At Darlings Supper Club in Northbridge, Western Australia, the owners have made it very clear that authentic Asian food is not on offer. After all, its website boasts the tagline ‘Born from necessity, Darlings Supper Club serves up a steaming late night rock and roll Asian fusion for everyone to enjoy.’

“I think it’s pretty tough being white guys trying to pretend to do Asian food. That’s something we knew from the start but we knew

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asiancuisine

Gingerboy’s red duck leg curry with Thai basil and coconut cream

we liked the flavours and knew we couldn’t compete with the Asian cuisine here in Northbridge which has been really [established] for years and years,” says co-director Sam Astbury.

“There’s a huge student population here from Malaysia, Singapore and China so you can’t really compete with the places offering dead-set Asian cuisine. So we thought ‘Let’s not try to be something we’re not’, so we just do what we do best. We use all local produce, all Australian seafood, West Australian beef and pork. Everything is done to a high standard.”

Darlings Supper Club really pushes the boundaries when it comes to the fusion offering, with the chefs looking beyond Asia when seeking inspiration.

Examples of its international approach include the venue’s hugely popular kangaroo, fig and black pepper housemade dumplings, and its five spice falafel with pickled mushrooms, radish, sesame oil and asparagus.

But the dessert menu is where the real fun is had, and where the fusion concept is perhaps best represented.

One of Darlings’ most popular dessert items is its dessert dumpling, which Astbury describes as “like an Asian Snickers” – chocolate, peanuts and salted caramel in a wonton wrapper that’s fried and dusted with icing sugar. There’s also the coconut crème brûlée with pineapple gel and a palm sugar crumb.

Gingerboy’s Leigh Power agrees that desserts are a great vehicle for the fusion of flavours and cuisines.

“Our desserts are the closest things to major fusions, where we fuse modern Australian with Asian flavours, rather than having classics

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

Darlings’ dessert dumplings Image credit: Cheyne Tillier-Daly @Vivien’s Creative

Duck nasi goreng Image credit: Cheyne Tillier-Daly @Vivien’s Creative

like a sago pudding or steamed pumpkin custard,” he says.

Gingerboy’s sweet treats include a dark chocolate tofu cheesecake with orange sherbet sorbet; steamed banana pudding with coconut butterscotch and palm sugar icing; and passionfruit, watermelon, mandarin and black sticky rice ice cream.

Don’t push your luck As much as Australian diners are loving the fusion concept, and chefs are loving experimenting with it, you still need to offer a menu that has some familiarity to it, says Sugarcane’s Milan Strbac.

Half of the menu at Sugarcane changes regularly, allowing chefs and diners to try new things, while the other

half remains fairly constant, allowing regulars and those less adventurous to enjoy some of the Asian favourites.

“We’ve got our standard stuff like our rendang curry which is a big hit and is sort of Malaysian/Indonesian, and we’ve got a crispy chicken with plum sauce which is a take on a Chinese dish. And yes, the pad thai is always a hit. To be honest, I’ve tried to take it off and I couldn’t. It’s on there because everyone loves it; they know what it’s like and it’s a comfort thing.

“But our pad thai is a classic and traditional one … I don’t like to stroke my own ego but our pad thai is one of the best in Sydney. There are places in Chinatown that put tomato paste in it, sometimes MSG, sometimes they

Kanga Shui Mei from Darlings Supper Club Image credit: Cheyne Tillier-Daly @Vivien’s Creative

boil the noodles rather than steaming them. We fry the noodles, use heaps of tofu, fry off the onion beforehand and season with fish sauce and tamrind the way you’re meant to. A lot of places buy the seasoning ready to go, pre-mixed in a jar and they just

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Salmon and green mango salad at Sugarcane Image credit: Dave Wheeler

JFC CARRY A BIG RANGE OF JAPANESE FOOD INCLUDING GLUTEN FREE ITEMS GLUTEN G UTEN FREE SOY SAUCE Serving r Sug Suggestion ugg

GLUTEN GLUT GL UTEN UT EN FFREE REE RE E TERIYAKI SAUCE Serving r ing ng Suggestion uggest o

T Tuna Sashimi Teriyaki Chicken

G TEN FREE YU GLUTEN YUZU MISO ((SOY BEAN PASTE PASTE) DRESSING Serving r ing Suggestion Sugg ugg io

GLUTEN FREE SRIRACHA SAUCE Serving r S Su Suggestion o

Yuzu Miso Dressing Y D Salad

Gyoza with Sriracha Dipping Dip Sauce

GLUTEN N FREE JAPANESE STYLE MA AYONNAISE MAYONNAISE Sugarcane’s roti with curry sauce Image credit: Dave Wheeler

add it in, but we add our salt, sourness and sugar to order. Every pad thai is seasoned to order.”

At Gingerboy, Power believes that no matter how far you want to run with the fusion concept, chefs need to hold on to the four fundamental pillars of Asian food: hot, sour, salty and sweet. “[In that regard] you have to stay as traditional as possible,” he says. “So I think you have to have that balance all through the menu. You have to have that salt, sour, hot, sweet combo first and then, say, you can ramp up with the chillies.

“So we’ve got a crying tiger dressing on a pepper beef salad, so it’s already got the pepper from the beef but in the crying tiger traditional Thai dressing there’s fresh and dried chillies with fish sauce and lime juice, and the history behind

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it is that it’s meant to be hot enough to make a tiger cry.”

Astbury agrees that diners often crave familiar foods and flavours, and so he ties his fusion menu together with the inclusion of fresh herbs, salads and chillies. These, he says, are classic textural and flavoursome elements of the Asian food offering that people love.

“As long as you give [the cuisines] enough of a respectful nod, and not take the Mickey too much, it’s all good.

So we used to do a normal char kway teow which is like a rice noodle lunch that’s quite famous in Malaysia, and if you try to do an authentic one you’ll get slammed, but if you try to mix it up and create your own take on it, they’ll be OK with it,” he says.

“And our biggest selling dish is a nasi goreng, which is strange being so close to Bali, but we do a roast duck nasi goreng which is a little bit different. Roast duck is another one, if you put it in anything people will love it.

“At the end of the day, we try not to be judged as an Asian restaurant. We try to think of ourselves as white guys who like Asian flavours.”

So while there can be a fine line between experimenting with traditional cuisines and culinary blasphemy, it seems the key to creating a winning Asian fusion offering is taking the bright colours, fresh produce and unique flavours that we all know and love, and having some fun with them.

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dairyprofile

The accidental

CHEESEMAKER

Australia’s first lady of artisan cheese, Kris Lloyd made the unlikely transition from marketing to cheesemaking and has now cemented herself as one of the industry’s most renowned producers, writes Aoife Boothroyd.

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eneral manager and head cheesemaker of Adelaide Hills’ Woodside Cheese Wrights, Kris Lloyd never set out to build a career in artisan cheese. A marketer by trade, Lloyd put a business case forward to her employer, Coriole Vineyards, to extend their cellar door’s product offering by creating a valueadded experience for visitors in the form of a food platter. Lloyd suggested that the platter include local fare with the hero product being artisan cheese that was produced on-site – a suggestion that was whole-heartedly welcomed.

Initial plans to build a cheese factory on the estate were scrapped for logistical reasons, but as luck would have it, an established cheese factory – Woodside Cheese Wrights – came up for sale and Lloyd led the charge to purchase the site; the only problem was that no one employed by the vineyard at the time actually knew how to make cheese.

“There was absolutely no way that I ever thought I would become a cheesemaker,” says Lloyd.

“In our discussions in purchasing Woodside, we understood that we were going to get the existing cheesemakers that were there, so it was never my intention, ever, to come in and make cheese. My intention was to run that business as the general manager. But one day there were several people away sick and I was basically told, not asked, that I needed to make cheese and that’s basically where it started – and I was completely taken by it. I just fell in love with it straight away so that’s sort of how I became a fortunate, but accidental cheesemaker.”

Lloyd’s newfound love of cheesemaking led her to push boundaries in the world of artisan cheese. Now renowned for her inventive approach to cheesemaking, Lloyd supplies restaurants right across Australia and is currently contracted to make a bespoke cheese for James Kidman, executive chef at Café Sydney.

Woodside’s Persian feta

Kris Lloyd

The art of innovation One of Lloyd’s most popular offerings, Monet, was originally panned by critics for being an “impractical” product that would never make it off the ground. The Monet is a fresh chèvre that has been matured for around nine days, then decorated with seasonal micro herbs and flowers.

Because of the way that the cheese is presented, it has to be housed in a container that holds a fair bit of air, ensuring the integrity of the flowers and herbs, the main catch being that the additional air in the container compromises the cheese’s shelf life.

“For me it was just always about wanting to have a point of difference. I just felt that there was no point in just being an ordinary cheesemaker; I wanted to be an extraordinary cheesemaker. I wanted to be a cheesemaker that was offering different things and thinking outside the square and the Monet was really the linchpin to the whole innovative, entrepreneurial kind of approach that I put together for the business.

“It was received poorly to start with because

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Woodside’s McLaren cow milk cheese

of the shelf life, but I just persisted and I just kept sending samples out to people and saying ‘look what you are missing out on’, and then people started to get it, which was fantastic. I think the biggest amount that we made was a couple of thousand for Leeuwin Estate to put in their picnic hampers for a concert that they held on the property. It was an enormous undertaking for us to do that right in our peak season but it was one of those things where I just think that I’m so glad that I went with my gut feeling.”

Some like it raw Another innovative product that has put Lloyd on Australia’s culinary map is her raw buffalo milk cheese. Being the only producer in Australia of raw buffalo milk cheese, (and one of only four producers in the country licensed to make raw cheese for commercial sale) Lloyd says that it can

be exceptionally challenging to keep up with demand – especially due to the regulatory hurdles that come with making a batch of cheese from unpasteurised milk.

Lloyd says that Woodside was approved to make raw milk cheese in March last year after a two year application process where the factory had to demonstrate that it complied with the food safety criteria laid out by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). Part of the food safety standards stipulated by FSANZ state that each and every batch of raw milk cheese must be appropriately tested and the results sent to the relevant dairy authority for approval before it can be released.

“It’s a bit of a dilemma in some ways because if we make a really big batch, we have to wait for 120 days to fully understand whether the cheese is ok.

You can test upfront but at the end of the day you still need to test the cheese before you release it. If we make a massive batch – which could be up to 100 wheels of cheese – and there’s something wrong with it, we actually have to throw that cheese away.

So the whole waiting period is really quite a difficult thing. You know we can’t make it quick enough because of the demand, but then of course we generally make smaller batches just to minimise risk.”

Despite the risky nature of the product, Lloyd says that the relatively recent changes in regulation

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When it comes to the trusted taste and premium quality of New Zealand cheese, you can’t get better than Mainland. The Mainland Shredded range is available in Mozzarella, Egmont and Tasty varieties – they’re perfect for pizzas, parmas, lasagnes, bakes, gratins and cheese sauces.

When it’s made with Mainland, you know it’s made with the best.

Prove it to yourself, try Mainland Shredded today.

For more information and recipe ideas visit www.fonterrafoodservices.com.au

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dairyprofile

Woodside Cheese Wrights’ popular Monet cheese

to allow approved cheesemakers to produce raw milk cheese has provided the Australian industry with an opportunity to compete on an international stage.

“I think it’s just a great opportunity for us to also be able to play on an even playing field with our European counterparts; we can now compete

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in that market. There are some people that don’t actually take Australian cheesemaking seriously because we haven’t been able to produce raw milk cheese. I think that’s probably going a bit far, and I think that we can make beautiful, flavoursome pasteurised milk cheeses, but there is just

something really special about the flavour of raw milk cheese.

“As a cheesemaker I’m absolutely thrilled to be able have the choice to make raw milk cheese, and for consumers, it’s choice for them as well. I mean it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. There’s probably going to be a lot of people out there who couldn’t care less if they ever ate raw milk cheese.

But I guess for me, I am passionate about it because there is a real ethical thing about raw milk. I haven’t messed with the milk. I’ve basically taken it from the animal and been able to make the cheese from the milk’s most natural form.”

Lloyd says that there is a growing proportion of the general community who are interested in raw milk cheese, but the majority of interest for her product has come from the foodservice sector.

“We supply right across Australia, and you know sometimes I just go straight to the chefs that I think get it. I don’t want to sell my raw milk cheese to people that don’t get it. I think there’s this lovely story attached to raw milk cheese and we can keep this nice story going with the right people – to me that’s really important, to share this hard work with someone that appreciates it.”

Hospitality was invited to visit Woodside Cheese Wrights as part of Brand South Australia’s Epicurean Way tour in association with Tasting Australia.

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Blake’s Feast’s crayfish club sandwich

cateringtrends

CATERING TO

DIETARY REQUIREMENTS They may not be every chefs’ idea of a culinary challenge, but offering inventive meals that cater to dietary requirements could provide your business with a valuable competitive advantage, writes Aoife Boothroyd.

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atering to the ever growing list of dietary requirements, food intolerances and allergies is part and parcel of being a chef these days. Gone are the days of simply catering to the occasional vegetarian – today chefs almost need a dietetics degree in order to navigate their way around FODMAPs, lactose-free, fructose-free, gluten-free and the like.

It would be silly for chefs to treat food intolerances with anything other than the utmost seriousness, but that doesn’t mean they enjoy it, especially if they are running corporate catering businesses that serve hundreds, if not thousands, of people at a time.

“Probably between five and 10 percent of clients require adjustments to menus,” says Andrew Blake, founder of Melbourne-based catering company, Blake’s Feast.

“With a function of 20 people we’d generally have around three of four requests, but when we do weddings of say 150, there would probably be at least 10 to 15 dietaries. If it’s a function with older people, there are a few requests, but for functions with younger people, there are a lot. I don’t know if it’s because they are more in tune with their bodies, or whether they are fads, but I don’t discriminate.”

Going the extra mile Blake says that he takes dietary requests very seriously and as such, makes a genuine effort to create unique alternative dishes that complement the meals

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served to attendees without dietary requirements.

“We do a lot of high-end weddings and people are paying $100 to $150 per head for each guest,” he says. “They deserve something better than just vegetable soup, for example. They deserve something that’s a bit better than that so we try to match up the dietaries with whatever the main menu is. We try to make the equivalent vegetarian, or gluten-free meal and I think the guests always get taken by surprise when they see what they get. They appreciate that we’ve gone to a bit of trouble rather than creating a dish as an afterthought.”

To offset the additional effort that is required to cater for the various dietaries, Blake says he usually hires an additional staff member to ensure that the service is streamlined and that all parties receive their meals at the same time.

“Of course we charge by the hour for our staff so it’s just an extra staff member that we wouldn’t normally have, dependant of course on the level of dietaries for the job. Sometimes it’s higher, sometimes it’s lower, so we just treat them on a case by case basis.

“Sit down menus are relatively easy as far as gluten-free goes, but with canapés for four hour cocktail parties with 14 or 15 different items, that can be challenging. What I actually try to do is not make the whole menu gluten-free, instead I’ll just make gluten-free variations of dishes. The waiters sort of take mental notes of who needs what and sort of seek out those individuals during the night and give

them their special food items.”

Blake says that there aren’t any allergens that he steers away from altogether, nor is there any allergen/dietary request that he won’t cater for. Kosher products can be brought in from a certified Kosher supplier if required.

“At the end of the day they are paying and we are happy to give them what they want,” says Blake.

“We can’t tell them that they can’t have hot English mustard, or their steak well done – they are paying and they can have whatever they like. It just means that if there are a lot of different dietaries, we need to add that extra staff member to cope with the requests rather than the one-size fits all approach.”

Working smarter Bob Rawlins, executive chef and director of Perth’s Innovations Catering says that around 50 percent of his clients require some form of adjustment to menus.

“Sometimes it requires quite a lot of research and effort to find food that accommodates these sorts of requests and then turn out a menu that the client is happy with, so there’s a lot of admin work involved as well. In the area that we are in, you’ve got to do what you can to be competitive.”

After vegetarians, Rawlins says that the most common dietary request his company gets is for gluten-free meals, and since starting the business over 10 years ago, the last three years has represented the largest increase in requests.

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cateringtrends

Beaumonde Catering’s tuna with compressed cucumber, crispy tofu and spicy pickle

Goat’s curd and semi-dried cherry tomato tartlet with purple basil by Blake’s Feast

Roast rack of lamb, eggplant, anchovy and buffalo mozzarella ‘moussaka’

“We started in 2004. In the last few years there has been a massive shift. It’s very rare that we do a function where there isn’t a dietary request, so it’s something I suppose we’ve been aware of for a while.”

Rawlins says he dedicates a part of the kitchen to preparing meals that respond to dietary requirements, adding that the key to minimising the risk of any potential cross-contamination is to “work smarter”.

“Storage is a big thing. We store everything appropriately. As soon as our supplies come out of the packaging, they go into containers with screw top lids, so it’s very hard for flour to get mixed with a nut or something like that, for example. I’ve been into kitchens where they just cut open a bag and left it on the shelf.

“With dietaries, what we do is we try and make it up in bulk so we can draw down on it when we need to,” says Rawlins. “We had a low GI function recently where the client wanted low GI foods, so muesli stones and banana and oat bars and things like that. Those sorts of things we try and make up quite a lot of and freeze them, then pull them out when we need them. So I guess it’s just about working smarter.”

Giving them what they want Like Rawlins, executive chef at Perth’s Beaumonde Catering, Lincoln Hoole, says that following vegetarian meals, gluten-free dishes are the most com-

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monly requested. In his experience, Hoole says that dietary requirements have become far more common in the last 10 years.

“I’ve been doing off-site catering on the east coast and here for about 16 years now, and in the beginning, I didn’t think about anything allergen wise – you just didn’t need to,” he says. “But in the last 10 years there has been this wholefood movement towards things like paleo, dairy-free, gluten-free and it’s not necessarily about allergies anymore, often it’s a life choice but you can’t really ask the client if they are allergic to gluten, you’ve just got to say, ‘yes no problem, we’ll cater to that for you.’ It’s part of life now.

“We say in the kitchen that it’s like a disease.

It’s not out of control, but there are just so many dietary requirements and idiosyncrasies. It’s no longer just about flavour profiles, textures and appearance. Realistically if you want your menu to be successful for the masses, it’s more or less about the dietary requirements. People will pick a menu up based on that.”

Hoole says that during his time at Beaumonde he hasn’t come across a dietary requirement that he hasn’t been able to accommodate. Some requirements may mean outsourcing particular food items or completely omitting specific ingredients from production. As an additional precaution, Hoole says that he doesn’t use peanut oil at all in the kitchen, and if a client specifies that they have

Beaumonde’s formed chicken boudin with pistachio and pancetta

Slow braised beef, fragrant rice and shitake by Beaumonde Catering

a peanut allergy, he ensures that there are none anywhere in the production line.

“When it comes to religious requests, we have an alternate caterer that supplies us. If something has to be Kosher, we have a supplier of Kosher products. Apart from that, everything else we can cover here. We’ve done functions where everything has been made from raw vegetables. Once someone just wanted potato products, and others have required all the products to be certified organic... So it’s all about client services for us as well.”

In terms of minimising the risks of crosscontamination, Hoole says that education and “working clean” are the two key factors that need to be implemented in the kitchen.

“The first thing for us is making sure that our staff are educated. You need professional staff that understand that allergens are a serious matter and regardless of whether it’s a life choice or anaphylaxis, our job is to give the customer exactly what they want.

“The second step is cleanliness and sanitation.

In the kitchen, it’s all about prepping and packing products separately and about keeping those traditional cleanliness ethics in the kitchen. Once we make a gluten-free item – that job for the day is done. We clean down the surfaces, change all the equipment over, get new towels, sanitise the bench, then move to the next job.”

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straighttothesource

A labour of love With the industry still in its infancy, there are plenty of unknowns when it comes to growing truffles in Australia. Those making a living from it need a good dose of faith and even more patience, writes Danielle Bowling.

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hefs are well aware of the hefty price-tag that comes with sourcing truffles, and while some may be under the illusion that those producers earning up to $3 a gram for their wares spend most of their time counting cash, they couldn’t be further from the truth.

Straight to the Source, which organises both industry and consumer tours to some of the country’s most highly regarded food producers, recently allowed Hospitality to tag along with a handful of Sydney’s leading chefs and restaurateurs on a truffle hunt in the Southern Highlands of NSW. We visited Tarago Truffles, where we met owners Denzil and Anne Sturgiss, and Dalene Devonshire, truffle dog trainer and marketing and sales manager at Olsson’s Salt, which uses Tarago Truffles in its truffle salt product.

At the time of our visit, the truffle season was just starting to ramp up, about a month before its peak in July, but we were lucky enough to un-

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cover a few little nuggets of gold – and along with them came a good dose of reality. It didn’t take long for us to realise just why truffles are so expensive, and why they’re deemed so precious by everyone in the food supply chain – from growers to diners.

“People just think of the $3,000/kg figure, and they think there’s this high margin in it but there’s really not when you take it all into consideration. It’s pretty tough,” says Devonshire, who hunts for truffles on the Tarago property with her dog, Lily.

The first trees in Australia were planted in Mole Creek, Tasmania in 1993, and in 1999 the first truffle was produced. So not only is the industry here very new compared to that of our European counterparts, there’s still so much that producers don’t know about this precious fungi and how to best cultivate it.

The Sturgiss’ entered the truffle game in late 2002, and Denzil is forever undergoing experiments and trials in order to maximise yields. He’s got sections of his property with trees

that have been lightly pruned, heavily pruned, some with extensive grass coverage and others without.

“Every tree has a number and every time we take a truffle we write the number on the bag of the truffle and it’s recorded at the truffle shed and eventually, I’ll put it on the computer too. And so I’ll be able to tell that that area produced truffles but that area didn’t, and why,” Denzil, 70, says.

“As far as I can work out, no one really knows what suits what area when it comes to the maintenance of the trees … What happens one year may not happen every other year.”

“And that’s what we’ve seen on other properties,” adds Devonshire.

“Where [one year] the hazelnut trees were producing [truffles], the oaks weren’t. So don’t put your eggs in one basket; I think that’s the key. What Denzil’s doing with the trials of different maintenances is just about having control. You don’t ever do anything the same over the whole block.”

Patience is an absolute necessity for anyone looking to enter the growing

game. After planting the trees, it takes around five or six years for them to start producing, and yields after that are anyone’s guess – some producers will be lucky and have decent results from the get-go, while others will have to wait upwards of a decade before they see any real progress.

Devonshire is all too familiar with the hard slog of those first few years.

“This is my eleventh year of harvesting, so you can imagine 11 years ago when most sites here were very new and there were little trees. The dog would only stop at a few trees over the whole block, so you’re basically underneath the trees because the truffle is so tiny and the roots are so tiny. [Sometimes we were] chopping through roots just to get to truffles because at that point there weren’t many truffles around.”

New truffles initiate in the ground during spring, do most of their growing over summer, take on their own weight in water during autumn and then lay dormant in the soil until there’s enough cool air around to ripen them.

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straighttothesource

Dalene Devonshire with her truffle dog, Lily

Denzil Sturgiss

The length of this ripening process is another unknown. “At the moment you could see a truffle right in front of you because it’s early in the season and they’re quite shallow,” Devonshire says. “There’s very little or no aroma now, so I’ll just cover them up … and sometimes the following week I’ll come back and it’ll be like ‘oh my God that aroma is incredible’ and you take it out, or it might sit there until the end of the season. It’s there but it might not mature for another couple of months.

“We don’t really like to take things that aren’t ready. It’s for the industry’s sake. There have been people harvesting from mid-May and a lot of them have been [producing] immature truffles, so you’re doing the industry an injustice if you’re putting a product out there that doesn’t have perfume.

You need the perfume,” she says.

For such a refined product, the process of cultivating truffles is dirty work. At least once a day Dalene and Denzil will pace up and down rows of trees on the property, waiting for

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their dogs’ tell-tale scratch at the earth’s surface. At this time of year, when the truffles haven’t fully ripened and their aromas are relatively faint, this can be a tedious and time consuming process for both the dogs and their owners. The weak smell of the truffles makes it hard for Lily and her canine colleagues to pin-point their exact location. So there you’ll see Dalene and Denzil – continuously getting up and down from all fours, with their noses in soil that can be frozen an inch or so deep, before more often than not deciding to cover the truffle back up, allowing the ripening process to continue.

Spirits are of course higher at the season’s peak, about this time of the year, when the duo can be out for hours at a time, bringing in up to 10 kilograms of truffle on a perfect day.

At the end of the season, in late August/early September, the priority shifts to preparing for next year.

“The French have a saying that you leave one for the tree, and towards the

end of the season we’ll start to do that – we’ll just leave them. And you’ll get rotten truffles; it’s inevitable. We’ve had to make a decision on how we manage that, so we take the rotten ones out because … you can have a truffle that’s perfectly fine next to a rotten one and if you don’t take that rotten one out it will rot the next one.

So we take the rotten ones out and to-

wards the end of the season we’ll just try to leave some others in the ground.

“We don’t really know whether it helps or not. In France they don’t really start harvesting their trufferies until after 10 years, and their theory is that you don’t want to pillage from such young trees. I think there’s a bit in that. You don’t want to take it all,” says Devonshire.

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kitchencosts

10 hour shawarma spiced lamb, braised white beans, pickled radish.

Image credit: Sophie Chamberlin

One man’s

TRASH… The conversation surrounding food waste is largely a moral and environmental one. But we need to remember that there’s also a significant financial impact for businesses that are careless with their produce. Danielle Bowling reports.

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hefs are the ultimate multitaskers. All within one shift they prepare and cook God knows how many dishes, order and manage inventory, keep their surroundings clean and, for those at the helm, write rosters, think about tomorrow’s specials, and of course do the obligatory tweet, post, like and share on social media.

But with food waste in the headlines more and more thesedays, chefs are also required to do their bit not just for the environment’s sake, but for that of their bottom line too.

A reality of the job Travis Harvey is chef at OzHarvest’s harvested pop-up cafe in Sydney’s Pyrmont, where food waste and the versatility of produce is in the spotlight. Expected to run until the end of July, harvested’s meals are made from rescued ingredients, showing both diners and chefs that one man’s trash is another’s treasure.

“It should be the chefs’ focus to respect the products that they’re working with,” Harvey says.

However he admits that external factors can impact on a chef’s ability to use produce to its full potential. “If chefs are working for people who are owners of cafes or restaurants but don’t have a strong food culture themselves,

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

they’re probably being pressured to really keep those margins down low.

[It’s also hard if] they’re writing menus that are to be used throughout the year rather than seasonally.

“We’re very lucky here at harvested because people accept whatever we send out to feed them, but not every restaurant is in the same position, where they can use every single part of everything and turn it into a different dish. It’s a difficult task, but that is the task of a well trained and I think a thoughtful chef.”

With extensive experience working at all levels of the industry both here and abroad, Harvey has noticed that food wastage is most prevalent in mid-range diners.

“In the lower range of restaurants there tends to be a lot less wastage because their margins are so small, and at the very high end there’s very little once again,” he says. “I was working in a two hatted place in Canberra a few years ago where they were doing things like making chicken stock with 20 kilograms of chicken wings, bringing them to the boil and discarding them straight away – they were only extracting the collagen – or they’d make potato chips and because they wanted them all to be perfectly uniform they’d throw away some 40 or 50 perfect of the potato.”

Source: OzHarvest

Travis Harvey

But in an industry where profits tend to be modest (to say the least) and closures are all too common, chefs and restaurateurs can’t afford to turn a blind eye to wastage.

“Wastage managed well can really add quite a few percent to the bottom line at the end of the day.

There is incentive there to go that extra mile, and it quite often does cost extra money to manage this stuff properly – in terms of wages – but my experience is that managing it thoughtfully and efficiently can add a few thousand dollars at least throughout the year.”

Your approach to food waste, Harvey says, is actually an indication not just of your social and environmental conscience, but of just how invested you are in your business’ success.

“I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the broken windows theory, but if all the windows are broken in a neighbourhood it tends to become a place that is crime-ridden, and I always think of food waste as being like that.

There’s something to be said for places that don’t manage their stock very efficiently, because over-all it tends to indicate a culture of not caring about things that are really important.”

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kitchencosts

A rising cost Jarrod Blamey describes his business as “like a home loan broker, but in the waste industry”. Sixty percent of SMT Waste Brokers’ clients are in the hospitality sector, and while Blamey says the industry is getting better at managing its food waste, he feels many operators are unaware of its impact on their bottom line.

“I think a lot of restaurants are getting ripped off by the waste companies,” he told Hospitality. “Every year the NSW government introduces a rate increase on the 1st of July which will range from 12 to 18 percent. Other states have different increases … Every year the waste companies increase their rates, but not just that once; it increases in January as well, by another 10 percent. And when you’re running a restaurant and your waste is going out, the last thing you’re thinking is ‘I’d better check the invoice.’ A lot of them don’t, and they just keep copping these rate increases, which could be 30 percent each year.”

Blamey said the industry needs to understand the true costs of wastage removal, with many operators

under the impression that recycling is expensive.

“Getting rid of general waste is 150 percent more expensive than cardboard and plastics, but most people think that to have a recycling bin costs you a lot of money, so they put their cardboard and plastic in their general waste bin.

“They say ‘No I don’t want a recycling bin. I don’t want to pay extra.’

And I say ‘Well hold on, you can get one tub which would be picked up once every two weeks and it would cost $6. If you put a cardboard box in the general waste bin it takes up so much space and you’re paying a lot of money for all that cardboard to be taken away’ … If they’ve got a general waste bin and they’re thinking that they’re saving money by not having recycling, well they’re costing themselves money,” he says.

And the costs will keep going up.

Blamey says waste companies are starting to shift to a pay per weight rather than a pay per bin model, meaning business operators will be charged according to how much waste they’re generating.

“Let’s say a pretty big restaurant

Maria Bortolotto

that does schnitzels and roast dinners and things like that, they might have a 660 litre bin which they pay $25 a pick-up for, but they’re actually putting about 300 kilograms of food in there. When the waste company has to dump those 300 kilograms at $300 a tonne, it’s costing the company $100-and-something – so they’re actually losing money.”

Blamey expects the new pricing structure to be introduced over the next couple of years, and says operators would do well from making waste management a priority, and now.

“The more they put in landfill, the more it’s going to cost them. So they’re really going to have to look at recycling. Some of the restaurants I work with have got such heavy

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kitchencosts

Commonly discarded ingredients can make great pasta fillings

bins that if we were to charge them by weight, the price would go up from $25 to probably about $90 a bin.”

A cultural shift Food wastage is a product of consumerism, says Maria Bortolotto, owner of Cecconi’s Italian restaurant in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane.

“When I was growing up, the Italians never wasted anything. We’ve become a wasteful society, really,” she says.

“What we’ve got to change is the culture throughout established businesses.

It’s about being smart with how you use your produce … We were taught never to waste anything that you can eat.”

Bortolotto says the industry needs a ‘root to leaf’ approach to fresh produce, similar to the ‘nose to tail’ concept that chefs are embracing, but instead applied to fruits and vegetables.

She says beetroot tops, fennel fronds, potato skins and pumpkin seeds are amongst the most underutilised ingredients in today’s commercial kitchens.

“If you’re creative you can create many things … Take beetroot for example. The beetroot comes in beautifully bulbed, but what can you do with the top? You could eat it in salads – we tend to cook them like a swiss chard and eat it like that – in a pasta, as a fried vegetable,” she says.

“We’ve made pesto from carrot tops, we fill pastas with a lot of different ingredients. There are lots of little things you can do without wasting your food.”

In January 2013, Cecconi’s was the first fine diner in Melbourne to have the Closed Loop system installed. The machine transforms food waste into a concentrated compost that can then be used to revitalise and nourish soils.

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Bortolotto says you can put anything except meat bones in the machine, adding that since installing it, her restaurant has saved serious money on rubbish pick-ups.

“You don’t actually get rid of your rubbish, but for us, it has reduced our pick-ups by about half … It was the best thing we ever did because all of a sudden the back of house was also super clean.

Any time of the day people can walk through our place and it’s really tidy.”

The compost generated by the Closed Loop system is then taken to Bortolotto’s farm in Lorne. “It [the compost] is actually a valuable commodity. I’m thinking that there’s going to be a lot of it eventually, and if you haven’t got a farm, what do you do with it? My belief is that this product could become something that can repair our soils.”

Another, perhaps more unexpected advantage of having the system installed is that it has connected Bortolotto with other likeminded professionals, whether they be staff or suppliers, and motivated her to roll-out other sustainable initiatives throughout the business.

“You start to find that certain people want to work with you. We had our olive oil delivered in tins and we said we didn’t want to use tins anymore. We wanted them to shift to cardboard and a bladder, which is all recyclable, and they’ve done it, which is fantastic. If people are bringing food in polyurethane boxes we say ‘we don’t want them, so if you’re going to deliver in that then you have to pick them up’, and they do. It’s their waste,” she says.

“At the end of the day it really comes down to just being clever with how you handle your food. It’s easy to throw things out, isn’t it?”

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industryobserver

Recognising the real celebrities A couple of recent industry events have been welcome reminders of just how good our industry is at mentoring tomorrow’s leaders, writes Industry Observer.

I

t’s easy to look at the news and see little but doom and gloom. A world with religious angst, climate change believers and deniers, wealth inequality and high unemployment, ineffective governments all over the globe…

How about we focus for a moment on a couple of positive things that are happening closer to home?

I had the great pleasure of attending a fundraising dinner for the Women of WACS (World Association of Chefs Societies) recently. Here is a program which promotes improved professional standards, gender equality, health and wellbeing throughout the Pacific Rim. It is a fantastic initiative that has seen, for the first time, the Apprentice of the Year, and the Chef of the Year awards going to talented women in Samoa. You probably have to be a woman in a truly patriarchal society to realise the impact of this win, but take my word that it is a massive step forward.

Not only is the WACS group in the Pacific Rim arranging competitions and raising the standard and measurement of the region’s chefs, but they are then using this platform to deliver food and cooking education in the school system and community.

It’s a great program that should be rewarded for its idea, effort and success. The dinner was ably supported by several of the best chefs in Melbourne – who just happened to be women – and was able to raise over $12,000 to further support the WACS programs. We should also check out the restaurants and businesses of those people who gave their time, energy and skill to such an event – and support them as well. Here’s looking at you Cassandra Austin, Christy Tania, Nicky Reimer, Kirsten Tibballs, Clare Armstrong and Yen Yee. While I was loitering among the cheffy elite in Melbourne, I visited the Foodservice Australia tradeshow and again saw how many of the chefs from both WACS and the ACF (Australian Culinary Federation) were involved in the competitions on offer.

Ever wondered how so many chefs are good under the everyday pressure of dinner time at the pass?

It’s not accidental, they have often taken part in

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n risty Tania and Wome Om Nom head chef Ch stin in WACS’ Cassandra Au

these competitions through their schooling, apprenticeship and for some years afterwards.

Next time this tradeshow (or the Fine Food tradeshow) is in your town, take the time to go and watch these people compete. It’s like MasterChef, but with actual chefs and they are often competing with their restaurant or establishment name on the board – so the pressure is on to perform.

And the standards are great. Unlike the current competition model of ‘everyone is a winner, thanks for participating, here’s your ribbon’ that we see in schools today, this is a winner-takes-the-prize kind of comp.

The rewards can also be terrific – John Lanzafame won the Best of the Best Pizza Competition in 2005, then the World Pizza Champion title, then was chosen to represent Australia at the Culinary Olympics – have knife, will travel. However, we also need to remember to give thanks to the organisers of these competitions that foster and nurture our talented chefs. Perhaps we could see a little more of this sort of thing for front of house teams, sure the sommeliers get to strut their stuff on the world’s stage, but quality waiters appear to be a bit of a dying art. They need a competition of their own.

Cassandra Aust

in

SSo we’ve ’ i d a raised glass to the competition chefs (and rightly so), but I think that it would be remiss of me to not raise again the value of the organisations that drive these programs. Other industries (with the exception of the coffee industry which does a huge amount in this regard) have much that they could learn about educating, mentoring and elevating those within their industry. Not only do they value the young and inexperienced and look for ways to teach them more, they respect and utilise the old, wise heads that have walked the walk for many years.

And they do it with a degree of reverence, wearing chefs’ coats adorned with sponsors’ logos, their name and often their employer’s and, rather than exhibit jealousy at the quality of the competitors, there is a real sense of pride in the output and innovation from the resulting exhibition of skill.

We only have to turn on the telly to see some chefs stroking their own ego in a pursuit of perceived excellence; here we see joy. I like the difference and would love to see more of the ‘celeb’ chefs at these judging and mentoring tables rather than getting their heads on TV. So join your associations, whatever they may be and contribute. It’s clearly rewarding.

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managementcomment

Get snap happy While professional photography certainly has its place, any restaurant owner with a smartphone and an enticing menu can share their story to the masses with the click of a button, reports Ken Burgin.

W

ould you spend money without checking the goods first? It happens occasionally, but most people want to ‘see’ what they’re buying – it’s the same when it comes to choosing a restaurant.

Now that everyone has a smartphone, it’s the perfect marketing tool – use your photos and those of the customers. Professional photographers still have the edge with high quality images, but there’s a lot that you and the staff can achieve – a picture tells a thousand words after all.

Pump up the decoration and interior design in your business with bright, vibrant photos – large prints, up to A0 size

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(a very large poster) can be mounted on the wall. Close-ups of food, people enjoying themselves, decoration and lighting all work well. Go in very close and shoot one canapé rather than a tray-full – it looks much more appetising. Photos of the chefs’ hands stirring or chopping.

Right up close for a single strawberry or pink, juicy lamb.

These ‘original works of art’ cost little and look great. Have them printed on canvas or on transparent plastic and mounted on a light-box – now you have good lighting for dull areas, combined with some subtle promotion. At Brisbane’s popular Mondo Organic, I’ve seen large backlit photos of their trips to Italy mounted on the wall – very au-

thentic. If you have a large window or wall space outside, enlarge food or produce shots onto coloured film and cover the whole area – suddenly your brand is alive.

Staff photos can look great, but set them up as ‘happy Ken Burgin crowds’ – waving to the audience or sprawled on chairs like a litter of puppies. Two or three people together is often more interesting than a big crowd – the message is friendly, we love our job.

Where to put these staff pictures?

On your website, on Instagram, on Facebook or as rotating slides on a plasma screen. Download a Photo Release Form (Google it) and get signed permission from staff so you’re covered for the future. Go close when you take pictures – so many are boring because they’re taken too far away. Use ‘slow flash’ if you’re photographing a person in the daylight – it illuminates their face if there’s a lot of light in the background.

At Sydney’s well-known Mona Vale Hotel, they post hundreds of photos from Ruckus Thursday on their Facebook page each week, available for fans to tag, comment and tell their friends.

The punters are spreading the word for the business owners. Flickr.com is another great place to share photos in albums – owned by Yahoo, it’s seen by millions of people every day.

Do you have a great publicity image of your chef or owner looking professional, ready for media interest? When you are taking staff pics do this at the same time. It’s good to be prepared with a portrait that you like, rather than have to organise it on the run.

Want to take evocative photos of your restaurant interior? Avoid using flash in a large space at night – it will never fill the space. Instead do a time exposure – prop the camera so it’s stable or use a tripod. This is when smartphone cameras can’t really compete with the real thing – digital cameras have some serious advantages.

Post-production of your photos is important – brighten them up, crop out the rubbish bin on the side, and use some of the ‘ambience’ effects available on apps like Snapseed on a phone, or Picasa for Mac and PC. Take 20 shots and only share the best three or four – that way everyone thinks you’re a photo genius!

“Now that everyone has a smartphone, it’s the perfect marketing tool – use your photos and those of the customers.”

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managementcomment

Hair today, gone tomorrow?

Food safety regulations are more stringent than ever, but cats and dogs are being welcomed into our cafes and restaurants with open arms.

Tony Berry asks, have operators gone barking mad?

F

irst, a position statement.

Dogs, cats, horses and numerous other of God’s creatures can make likeable, loyal and even loveable companions. Many a young maid would rather cuddle a moggie than tussle with a tom of the human kind. Legions of them can also be seen toting a canine ball of white fluff in preference to coping with some moody alpha male.

A dog, as we have long been cautioned, is not just for Christmas. It is advice that applies to all manner of pets. Responsible pet ownership has become a slogan and at times seems to be more stringently enforced than parental duty of care to one’s own offspring.

But kindness and companionship have their limits. There is a time and place for cosying up to your hirsute four-legged pals. And a place where food is being prepared, served and consumed is definitely not one of them.

So, as a respected close acquaintance recently griped, what’s with all these cat cafes? Indeed. She could well have added a similar rhetorical whine about the spread of eating houses welcoming dogs to their tables. pear our Or, heaven help us, t rendier Tony Berry about pig, rabbit, owl eat streets and goat (all true) and any will feature other food outlet designed outlets such as to mingle humans and animals Hamster Heaven, alongside public consumption of food the Ferret’s Feast, the Snake and drink. in the Glass (or the Slither Inn), the The rampant pace at which such Sheep Dip (hummus or guacamole?), places are being foisted upon us sug- the Gastro Goat and, of course, the gests that by the time these words ap- crowded and highly aggressive Rat

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Race, where customers are expected to stop at nothing to get to the bar.

The irony is that the bureaucrats who rightly impose and enforce stringent regulations on food hygiene, preparation and service are the very same people who permit the presence of pets in close proximity to the table.

Clearly they are suffering chronic dyslexia with their right hand acting in total opposition to their left. One

set of rules says the utmost care must be taken to avoid all contact with livestock of any sort in and around areas of food preparation. Yet the same rules seem not to apply to the service and consumption of food.

While some staff must frequently wash their hands and cover them in protective gloves, others are free to stroke and fondle customers’ pets while carrying out their food-serving duties.

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managementcomment

Crowdfunded cat cafe to open this month Despite some diners’ food safety concerns, there is a growing appetite for foodservice businesses that welcome our furry friends. After agreeing to meet rigorous health and safety requirements, Australia’s first cat cafe, Cat Café Melbourne, opened mid-last year, and will be followed

by Sydney’s first space-themed cat café, due to open on 24 July after exceeding its crowdfunding goal of $35,000.

Catmosphere obtained a premises at 66 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, and has been undergoing renovations ahead of the late July opening.

The venue’s co-founder, Thomas Derricott of Sydney-based marketing start-up, The Ducky Mafia, says the café will be managed by former Books Kinokuniya café manager Yun Xia Segal, who will bring over a decade of hospitality experience to Catmosphere.

The café has also teamed up with stray cat charity group, Inner City Strays, to recruit cats that are in need of a new home.

“Join us for a coffee, a meal, or maybe a nice cool drink for the purrfect escape from the daily grind and a chance to play with our furry friends as they enjoy gravity and observe us humans in our natural habitats,” the Catmosphere website reads.

The first Catmosphere Space Cat Cafe was founded in July 2014 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, by Austrian citizen Bernhard Mueller. In November 2014, Mueller partnered with The Ducky Mafia to introduce Catmosphere to Australia.

Sydney will be the second location in the world to host a Catmosphere, with more franchises expected to open in other countries in the future.

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

Despite all the strenuous efforts made to diminish food contamination and its potentially dangerous after-effects, the threat of food poisoning is never far away. Many cases are known to go unreported and the incidents of food outlets being shut down or heavily fined remain far too frequent. Yet it is seemingly OK to mix food and fur.

The rationale behind this plethora of animal themed cafes is quite bizarre. Some claim to help uni students to relax at exam time, aid in curing mental health or compensate for bans by landlords on pet ownership.

One quotes a Miami University study that says pet owners have greater self-esteem, are more physically fit, more extroverted, less lonely and less fearful. Bang goes the image of the timid little old lady closeted in her bedsit with half a dozen moggies or a yapping mutt that barks at the slightest noise.

Since the first cat café opened in Taiwan in 1998 the trend has spread like the hairs on a Persian’s fluffy coat. Many are booked out weeks in advance. Some seem to offer more

for pets than for humans with menus of cupcakes, herbal tea and biscuits plus fashion shows and fancy dress parades.

The premise of many cat cafes is to sell 90-minute slots for customers to ‘sit and relax’ with a cat. One wonders what the cats think of this; experience has shown these haughty creatures have a mind of their own and are just as likely to scratch and scowl as permit any sustained human presence.

Already we have seen the closure of one cat café, in Singapore, because of animal welfare issues and the deaths of several cats.

However, the real concern should be focussed not on the welfare of these cafes’ residents but on the health and hygiene ramifications for humans whenever the two come together in close proximity to food.

Admittedly, we have a choice: to pet or not to pet. But the trend is not one to be encouraged.

‘Waiter, there’s a hair in my soup.’

‘It’s all part of the service, sir.

Would you like an extra helping? Persian or shih tsu?’

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workplaceissues

PART-TIME OR CASUAL? Be clear on the difference

While it might seem obvious to you, your staff need to be well aware of the contractual terms of their employment, writes Restaurant & Catering Australia.

T

he hospitality industry is renowned for high levels of part-time and casual work and has considerable diversity in the jobs it provides. Broadly speaking, this industry has the capacity to operate 365 days a year and in some cases 24 hours a day. Operations are dictated by seasonal peaks and equal lows. Due to these reasons, part-time hours for staff should vary from season to season.

The Hospitality Industry (General) Award says ‘Part-time staff have to have a written regular pattern of work (hours and days) and employment patterns (hours) can only be changed if agreed to in writing by both parties’.

Therefore, without the agreement between both parties, fixed part-time hours cannot be varied unilaterally. This in itself can cause inflexibility because the Award also states that an employee that does not meet the definition of a part-time employee will be paid as a casual employee.

This matter is particularly evident in the case of Hall v City Country Hotel Management Pty Ltd & Ors [2014] FCCA 2317 heard before the Federal Circuit Court recently, where a simple pay dispute turned into the employee being awarded damages for distress, hurt and humiliation.

The employee, Mr Hall was employed by the Whitehorse Hotel first as a casual ‘glassie’ where he collected glasses, cleaned tables and then worked as a casual bar tender. Hall worked days and hours that frequently differed from week to week. According to Hall’s pay-

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slip he wasn’t being paid casual loading in line with the Award.

When Hall was first alerted to this, he brought it up verbally with his senior manager, but nothing was followed up.

Hall then put his complaint in writing to the payroll officer. After the email was sent, his manager informed him through payroll that he was a part-time employee. Further to this discussion Hall emailed the payroll officer stating he was not a part-time employee on the basis of there being no written agreement pertaining to number of hours, days, shifts etc. The payroll officer replied and stated she “would not be dictated to by any staff member” and she would “communicate with employees as she saw fit”.

A week later Hall was made aware that he had been taken off the roster and followed up with his manger. His manager replied “the roster is controlled by the amount of business and casual employees don’t have set hours”. After numerous attempts by Hall to seek clarification, no further action was taken by the company.

“A simple pay dispute turned into the employee being awarded damages for distress, hurt and humiliation.”

This resulted in two claims by Hall: a claim for unpaid wages and a claim for adverse action.

It was found that he had suffered the following losses: 1. Unpaid wages – due to not being paid the casual loading 2. Loss of wages – calculated from the time he was removed from the roster 3. Superannuation – as a result of loss in wages 4. Distress, hurt and humiliation – the employer acted in what was deemed to be a rude, misleading and threatening manner.

This case highlights how Modern Award provisions can be inflexible and how the incorrect application of specific Award provisions can result in significant underpayment issues. This case also demonstrates how important it is for employers to deal with complaints in a professional manner and to foster this philosophy throughout their business.

This article was written by the Workplace Relations Team at Restaurant & Catering Australia. Contact them on 1300 722 878.

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shelfspace

2

1

3 5

6

4 1. Tooheys’ new beer The launch of the Tooheys Darling Pale Ale coincides with a refreshed new look to the entire Tooheys range.

Created in response to the rise in popularity of pale ale, it has been crafted with a non-challenging flavour to make it accessible to new pale ale drinkers. Tooheys Darling Pale Ale delivers a fruity hop aroma and mild bitterness brought on by a unique blend of three hop varieties. Malted barley and wheat combine to provide balance and a delicate malt backbone. www.tooheys.com.au

2. The Original release Glenfiddich has released an exclusive recreation of its original 1963 Straight Malt – the first ever single malt. The release is a limited addition to the distiller’s collection of whiskies, with just 6,400 bottles released in Australia. Glenfiddich’s ‘malt master’ Brian Kinsman identically reproduced the whisky’s taste by nosing and tasting an original 1963

hospitalitymagazine.com.au

sample and following the original recipe from one of Glenfiddich’s 1960s ledgers. www.glenfiddich.com

3. Smartphone charging lamps Flicked is a new lighting concept for the hospitality industry which allows diners to charge their smartphone at their table via an integrated USB port. A wireless system allows restaurant staff to operate up to 200 lamps from a phone or tablet.

The lamps are made from handblown glass and Spanish stone, and comprise a rechargeable battery that lasts a full dinner service. The lamps have touch controls, can change colours and the battery pack comes with a three year warranty. www.flicked.com.au

4. Choc beverage powder Beverage powder range, The Art of Blend, has released its newest flavour, Decadent Milk Chocolate.

The beverage powder base can be mixed with a blender and granita machine and served hot or over ice.

Preparation suggestions include blending it with milk and ice and topping it with cream and chocolate sprinkles for a frappe; or you can add berries, replace the chocolate sprinkles with chocolate sauce and create a black forest frappe.

The new blend joins The Art of Blend’s current flavours: Spiced Chai, Creative Yoghurt Smoothie, Finest Belgian Chocolate, Exquisite White Chocolate, Premium Mocha Latte, Velvet Dairy Frappe Base and Original Iced Coffee. www.blendbeverages.com.au

5. Sharing dishes with style Responding to diners’ appetite for tapas and share plates, French cookware specialist Staub has released a collection of mini cast iron cocottes.

The cocottes, measuring 10cm in diameter, retain heat, transferring it slowly and distributing it evenly.

They can be used on all stovetops, including induction, and in the oven, and due to their styling, they can be taken direct to the table. Staub cocottes, available in Cherry Red, Basil Green, Graphite, Marin Blue and Black, feature a natural non-stick interior and self-basting lid, and the dimpled interior surface on the lids returns all the moisture to the food. www.dksh.com.au

6. POS made easy TouchBistro iPad Mobile POS system now integrates with Tyro EFTPOS to provide an easy to set-up and use electronic payment solution.

Bringing together TouchBistro and the Tyro EFTPOS terminal over broadband or WiFi networks accelerates payment processing time and eliminates double entry. Wait staff use the TouchBistro iPad app to take customer orders at the table, in line, or at the bar, and transmit them to food and beverage preparers. http://tyro.com

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eventscalendar

hospitalitydiary JULY 9 July - 9 August, Brisbane Good Food Month 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. 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

AUGUST 30, Sydney Italian Wine + Food Festival The festival, held at Sydney’s Town Hall, is about celebrating Italy’s food and wine culture. Alongside 300 of Italy’s finest wines, 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 will be hosting cooking demonstrations, and food talks will be hosted by chefs from the Council of Italian Restaurants in Australia. www.sydneyitalianwinefood.com.au

SEPTEMBER 3 -5, The Coffee Experience Held in Sydney’s Moore Park, the Coffee Experience is a coffee trade show featuring members of the coffee industry as well as coffee franchises. Specialty Coffee Association of America accredited teachers will provide training to participating companies, and the show will also include a series of business development sessions. http://thecoffeeexperience.com.au

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20 - 23, Fine Food Australia Hosted at The Sydney Showground, Fine Food Australia will include the Australian Culinary Challenge where chefs compete in a live kitchen; and Bake Skills, where apprentice bakers compete across 26 different categories. Other highlights include the Les Toques Blanches Live demonstrations and the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition. www.finefoodaustralia.com.au

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