No.673 June 2011
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
foodservice
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accommodation
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beverage
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management
SHANGHAI CHEF
What's Aussie expat David Laris up to next?
ASIAN INSPIRATION Chefs get creative with Asian flavours
Nose to tail lamb Making the most of the great Aussie meat
Hi tech advantage Business boost of POS technology
Print Post Approved PP349181/00109
Parental leave Birth of new regulations ahead
SHOW TIME See our special preview of FSA Expo 2011
EDITOR Rosemary Ryan Ph: (02) 9422 2880 rosemary.ryan@reedbusiness.com.au JOURNALIST
Editor’s Note
Danielle Bowling Ph: (02) 9422 2667 danielle.bowling@reedbusiness.com.au CONTRIBUTORS Christine Salins Ken Burgin Tony Berry ADVERTISING NATIONAL Rhonnie Merry Ph: (02) 9422 2481 Fax: (02) 9422 2863 rhonnie.merry@reedbusiness.com.au MARKETING Kevin Kasih Ph: (02) 9422 2642 kevin.kasih@reedbusiness.com.au GRAPHIC DESIGNER
glasses of that delicious red. Anyway I love these guys but would I just accept it if one day they turned coffee nazi on me and said, “No way Jose are we going to let you have skim milk in your coffee!”? No sir, I would turn tail and take my coffee dollars elsewhere. Why am I telling you this? Well it’s following a story that ran in the Sydney Morning Herald headlined “Diddums...you’ll get your coffee how we like it”. It highlighted the case of a barista who had “left the in-
MOST OF us these days have our coffee guys — the barista at your local cafe that provides you with your morning dose of joy in a cup, the black gold that you look forward to from the moment your feet hit the floor after your alarm goes off. My coffee boys are there for me rain, hail and shine, on the shockingly early mornings when I need to be at the office to meet deadlines, to those emergencies following a late night where you may or may not have consumed one too many
ner-west latte set reeling” by his refusal to add sugar while he’s making coffee. Yves Shepherd, owner of Catherine & Piper, had erected a sign announcing “DIY sugar”. He said the move was aimed at speeding up the coffee service. Fair enough I reckon. I kind of agreed with that. But then I don’t take sugar in my coffee. The story went on to tell of various cafes and baristas with a range of policies from Leichhardt’s Bar Italia with its “No soy, no skim” stand, to Kafenio Cafe in Cronulla that declares: “No skim or babycinos...don’t even ask”. And it quoted another cafe owner Mikey Jordan who said that if customers didn’t like their stance on how coffee should be drunk
then they could go elsewhere. “It’s our product and if they don’t want it they can go down the road,” Mikey declared. While I think it’s really admirable that these guys feel so strongly about their product and wonder at how successful their businesses must be that they can refuse customers, I know I would be horrified if my own cafe started implementing such draconian rules when it came to my coffee. Are they getting a bit up themselves and carried away with the whole coffee devotion thing? Love to know what you think!
Rosemary Ryan
Ronnie Lawrence Ph: (02) 9422 2741 PRODUCTION CO-ORDIN NATOR Laura Panameno Ph: (02) 9422 8772 laura.panameno@reedbusiness.com.au PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Troy Stevens Ph: (02) 9422 8748 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
contents 6 News
14 Hospitality chef
Eggs back in the spotlight. Mexican restaurants - the latest wave?
Aussie chef David Laris’s Shanghai business success.
Michelle Graves Ph: (02) 9422 2391 SUBSCRIPTIONS Ph: 1300 360 126
8 Mystery diner
20 Imbibe
Our undercover diner farewells a Port Fairy triumph.
Mudgee winemakers building respect.
10 Secret ingredients
Make Facebook work for your business.
39 Burgin
ONE YEAR: $132.00 incl GST TWO YEARS: $220.00 incl GST
Q&A with Rhett Willis from Jellyfish restaurant. REED BUSINESS INFORMATION PTY LTD SYDNEY HEAD OFFICE Tower 2, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW 2067 Australia Ph: (02) 9422 2999 Fax: (02) 9422 2863
Features 23 Asian flavours Four top chefs reveal their passion for Asian flavours.
28 Nose to tail lamb How to keep lamb on your menu and still offer value.
27 Working smarter 41 Shelfspace
13 Workplace
We round up some of the latest new products for foodservice.
The ins and outs of parental leave.
What’s coming up in the exciting and ever changing world of point of sale technology.
No.673 June 2011
ON THE COVER:
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
foodservice
I
accommodation
I
beverage
I
management
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
SHANGHAI CHEF
What's Aussie expat David Laris up to next?
Average Net Distribution Period ending Sept 10 13,701
ASIAN INSPIRATION Chefs get creative with Asian flavours
Nose to tail lamb
Making the most of the great Aussie meat
4
hospitality | june 2011
Hi tech advantage Business boost of POS technology
Print Post Approved PP349181/00109
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.
Parental leave Birth of new regulations ahead
On the cover is ex-pat Australian chef David Laris who for the past eight years has been busy building an empire in Shanghai. Hospitality editor Rosemary Ryan caught up with Laris on a visit to the vibrant city where change is a part of the landscape, especially in the dynamic world of food and beverage. The chef who grew up in Sydney’s Newtown and did his apprenticeship at a Sydney French restaurant, has been one of a
bunch of Australians and other western chefs who have embraced the city and grabbed the great business opportunities on offer there. With an amazing portfolio of foodservice and other hospitality ventures, Laris shows no signs of slowing down his pace with many more projects in the pipeline including his first Shanghainese cuisine restaurant that will serve authentic Chinese food but presented in a stylish and chic way.
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
High
news
Trends
Mexican the next wave? The dynamic hospitality group Merivale is the latest to put its toe into the growing category of Mexican restaurants in Australia. Danielle Bowling took a look at the new wave of operators. AUSTRALIA is experiencing a Mexican revolution, with new taco and burrito-inspired eateries popping up across the country. And the minced meat and sour cream that Australians had always associated with the cuisine have been replaced with fresh, top quality ingredients. Chef Dan Hong's latest restaurant venture, El Loco, which is part of the giant Merivale group, opened as a pop-up restaurant in mid-May, and, according to Hong was greeted with an extremely positive response from diners. “It's been really busy,” Hong told Hospitality shortly after the opening. “It's been great. Lots of people have been trying the food and there's a really good vibe. It's pumping.” El Loco — located in Surry Hills' Excelsior Hotel — will open as a fully fledged restaurant with a much more extensive menu in August or September this year, but for now Hong is offering the Mexican favourite — tacos — as well as a menu of hot dogs and sandwiches. “We're doing chicken, beef,
HOSPITALITYMAGAZINE.COM.AU
MOST READ STORIES Nine ways to increase your coffee sales
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Anticipated restaurants from Calombaris, Brahimi open doors
Food safety watchdog defends eggs strategy following salmonella warnings
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Pizza Capers comes out on top as preferred pizza option
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Margot Janse leads the charge of international chefs to Tasmania
Source: hospitalitymagazine.com.au 23-27 May 2011
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hospitality | june 2011
Guzman Y Gomez is leading the rise in popularity of Mexican.
prawn, pork and tofu, but pork is the main star because we're doing it Al Pastor ...where we put the pork on the spit just like you do with a doner kebab machine. I think we're the first people in Australia doing it,” Hong said. Hong and Merivale boss Justin Hemmes visited Los Angeles and Mexico City as part of their research for the restaurant with Hong getting particular inspiration from LA's food trucks and Mexican street food. The menu at El Loco is Hong's personal take on Mexican, with Asian influences and a lot of fresh herbs — something which Hong
hopes will help to dispel the myth that Mexican is unhealthy food. “It's really fresh,” he said. “All the salsas we use are from raw ingredients. All of the food at El Loco is not cooked previously, it's all cooked to order. A lot of the Mexican places around Sydney like to braise their meat but we cook all our meat from raw on the flat top to get that really nice, grilled, caramelised flavour of the meat.” One of the leaders of the new wave of Mexican eateries, Guzman y Gomez now has seven stores in New South Wales, and one franchised operation in Queensland and
is planning up to ten additional store openings before the year's end. Guzman y Gomez founder Steve Marks agrees that Australians need to be educated about what real Mexican food entails after he was shocked with the quality of the cuisine when he first arrived from the United States. “The Mexican food that was being offered in Australia was horrendous,” he said. “But Australians really wanted to like it, so I used to go to Mexican restaurants with my now wife who’s Australian to try to show her real Mexican food and I couldn't believe what they were interpreting here as Mexican food. So I said 'You know what? We've got to put an end to this’.” “I think I overestimated the knowledge that Australians have about Mexican food. The Mexican food that they're used to is refried beans, tonnes of sour cream, tonnes of cheese, and that's not Mexican food. Everything is fresh at Guzman y Gomez. Our chicken's grilled fresh, our steak's grilled fresh, we make guacamole two to three times a day.” “I think we've raised the level of what Mexican food is in Australia.”
Australian chef named to head up Glasgow Commonwealth Games catering operations AUSTRALIAN chefs are continuing to grow their reputation as leaders when it comes to catering for one of the daddies of all events — the Commonwealth Games. Home grown chef Craig Lear has been announced as head of catering, cleaning and waste (CCW) at the 2014 Games to be held in Glasgow. The numbers associated with events like the games are mind boggling — as part of the job Lear will have responsibility for the provision of 20,000 meals a day at the athlete’s village alone. Lear brings with him extensive
experience working with Commonwealth and Olympic Games Organising Committees in strategic planning, project management and delivery of catering, cleaning and waste services. He was most recently employed as director of food and beverage, snow management and cleaning waste by Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. In that role Lear administered more than 107 different contracts over 40 venues, villages, and transportation. It equated to more than two million meals based on a 24 hour period over 60 days. He’s also managed the CCW operations at the Melbourne 2006
Commonwealth Games, the Manchester 2006 Commonwealth Games and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Football tournament and the Paralympic sailing events. Originally from Shepparton, Lear has 24 years catering experience within global sporting event organising committees as well as locally at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Victorian Arts Centre, and the Brisbane Cricket Ground. The Glasgow 2014 chief executive John Scott said he was delighted that Glasgow was “attracting world experts”. hospitalitymagazine.com.au
news
Food Safety
Eggs in hot water over salmonella The issue of eggs and their link to salmonella poisoining is in the spotlight again. THE NEW SOUTH Wales Food Safety Authority has defended its approach to egg food safety following a media report warning of an increase in the incidences of salmonella outbreaks linked to eggs. A report in metro newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald said the number of egg-related salmonella outbreaks in Australia between 2001 and 2008 had risen from 96 to 753. It said the rate fell to 358 in 2009 but that eggs are still responsible for more than a third of all food-borne outbreaks linked to the pathogen. It said restaurants were responsible for 40 per cent of poisonings. NSW Food Authority chief executive officer Alan Coutts said that while the article raised some important points regarding food safety it failed to make mention of the comprehensive “throughchain” approach to egg food safety employed by the NSW Food Authority. He said there were a series of initiatives that had been launched to address the egg safety issue from paddock to plate. “Eggs are a raw product and just like all fresh perishable food
they need careful handling to ensure they are safe. Food that is not properly handled, including eggs, can make people ill,” Coutts said. Coutts said iniatives in the area of egg safety included the introduction of Food Safety Supervisors, new regulations focussed on the production end of the industry, and also a recent foodservice survey conducted by Sydney City
Council (SCC) in conjunction with the NSW Food Safety Authority. As part of the survey the NSW Food Authority sampled 107 raw egg dressings available for sale from 46 foodservice premises in the Sydney Council area. Eightyseven per cent of samples gathered during the survey were classified as good or acceptable.
How do you compare? Here’s some of the findings of the recent Sydney City Council foodservice survey: • 10 per cent of sauces were stored at ambient temperatures. • 71 per cent of samples had a temperature greater than 5C. • 74 per cent of products sampled were not date coded and 41 per cent of products did not have a known shelf life policy at the time of inspection. • The majority of premises who separated eggs did so by hand; four used gloved hands and 24 used bare hands. Six premises separated eggs using the shells. In general hand washing after handling eggs was not considered as important as washing hands after handling raw chicken or meat. • 23 per cent of premises had cracked or dirty eggs in storage. • Only 52 per cent of the food businesses stored whole eggs under 5C.
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Hospitality is on Facebook! Yes we have made the step and are now on Facebook. 'Like' our page to be kept up to date with all the latest news and views in the foodservice, beverage, accommodation and management industries. We'd love to hear what you think of the magazine and our website, so please comment away. We look forward to hearing your comments and keeping you in the hospitality loop via our new Facebook page.
Our Margaret is top culinary influence The much loved and admired Margaret Fulton now has another accolade to add to her long list — Australia’s most influential culinary icon. The matriarch of Australian cooking has been voted the most influential celebrity chef on Aussie cooking habits in an online survey conducted by the organiser of the Good Food and Wine Show event with respondents from around Australia. Coming second was Curtis Stone while the MasterChef television series was voted the most influential on Australian cooking habits followed by Jamie Oliver, Donna Hay and Maggie Beer.
Head to Sydney for cheapest take away coffee, Melbourne to dine in
Chef challenge to raise knowledge of tea gastronomy CHEFS around Australia are being challenged to come up with Australia's finest high tea as part of a new competition that aims to put the focus on the product that's key to the increasingly popular dining event. Leading tea company Dilmah is challenging chefs in a new competition that is part of a mission to lift the quality of the high tea experience including the key component — tea gastronomy. Dilmah has launched what is its largest professional competition focusing on the core ingredient around which the occasion is named - The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge 2011. Up for grabs is a prize trip to Sri Lanka for six days including visits to the Dilmah tea plantations. Dilmah founder Merrill J Fernando said the competition which will be held in Hilton hotels around the country is aimed at increasing the industry's knowledge about making tea and perfectly matching it with food. Five regional competitions will be held during the course of the competition. To enter, each professional culinary team of two from any recognised hotel, restaurant or hotel school, must use a selection of Dilmah teas produce original recipes and pairings. Get more details at www.realhightea.dilmahtea.com
in brief
Who will be named best in high tea?
Sydney continues to offer the most affordable take away coffee, while Melbourne is the one to beat for dinein drinks, according to the latest results of the March Quarter Gilkatho Cappuccino Price Index are in. Despite rises in the price of coffee beans, Gilkatho managing director Wayne Fowler said many coffee providers are keeping their prices unchanged or close to it. "Back in January we predicted that the 77 percent rise in coffee futures in 2010 would outstrip any gains made by the Aussie dollar,” said Fowler. “As such, we expected that many cafe operators would be forced to pass these higher wholesale prices on to their retail customers. These pressures are starting to impact on consumer prices but it seems many operators are choosing to absorb these increasing costs - for now," he said.
hospitality | june 2011
7
mysterydiner
Merrijig Inn 1 Campbell Street, Port Fairy, Victoria Our diner’s joy of dining at this regional Victorian two hat gem of a restaurant in the tourist mecca of Port Fairy has been tinged with sadness at the news that the current operators are calling kitchen closed.
mysterydiner AS AN example of how fantastic rural food can be, the Merrijig Inn should be held in state for perpetuity. Sadly though, that is not how business works in a real world and, while I had no idea at the time of dining, by the time you read this it will have a new name and owner. Not that I expect the standard of food to drop, but the direction and style will surely change. Such is life. A weekend trip to Port Fairy to sample the delights of Ryan Sessions’s kitchen seemed like a great idea at the time and despite some inclement weather, we head on down. The Merrijig Inn is an historic building in a town that once was the second largest port in the country. It is very old world in some ways and yet produced some of the most modern, spectacular food I have tasted. The attention to detail was immaculate and the delivery and plating were brilliant. Food on the menu is not listed as dishes in a traditional manner; rather, the ingredients are listed and you are essentially left to wait and see what arrives. Naturally, should you wish clarification, the waiters are more than willing to explore the dish for you. Despite the complete lack of pretension in the naming of the menu items, I have rarely eaten such brilliantly presented and delicate food and, at $85 per head for three courses, it provided excellent value for money. We are offered demitasse cups of parsnip soup as an appetiser and it was delightful. Dusted with a little ras el hanout for added flavour depth, this soup was a clear pointer to the food to follow. A choice of rolls, freshly baked in-house, appears — Rye and Caraway, Potato or White. All tried. All lovely. We head for a Bindi Composition Pinot ($85) from the well-rounded and extensive list. It proves to be a terrific wine that fits into the scope of very different entrées and mains. My beloved had ordered a dish called “Crayfish, Roe, Sand, Samphire, Sea Foam” and it arrives looking just like a wave hitting the shore. The “sand” is comprised of quinoa, breadcrumbs, prawn crackers and lemon zest and, with the salty foam, covers the lobster pieces and wild gathered seaside succulent; samphire. The flavours were described as the best tasting fish 8
hospitality | june 2011
and the serve was very generous. The pork was described as “Western Plains Suckling Pig, Fennel, Plum, Cucumber, Chervil”. The skin of this pork was almost translucently thin and cracked at light pressure from the knife. One side of the plate held this square of porcine loveliness, atop creamy fennel puree, while the other side had a long, thick drizzle of concentrated plum with fine shaved fennel, pieces of plum and cucumber with a dusting of chervil. As with the pheasant, it was an outstanding dish with a balance of flavours and textures that took my whole mouth The last supper: Suckling pig at Merrijig Inn.
‘This was one of my favourite dining experiences for many years; the food was inspirational in quality, design, application and delivery.’ and chips ever, and while it might be underselling the complexity of the dish a touch, it certainly summed up the sentiment. We are by the sea after all. I had the day’s special entrée of poached marron with shaved smoked eel. Arriving in a shallow bowl with a curve of fresh marron at the front and shaved greenery behind, the smoked eel had been frozen and then run through a fine microplane in order to finish with a version of eel ‘snow’. It dissolved in the mouth and provided real depth to the dish. Great start. Mains simply go up another notch with the Pheasant special of the day for the bride and Suckling pig for me. The pheasant comes two ways — breast that has been cooked ever so slowly sous vide and the thigh encased in a brik pastry roll. Tricky things usually are game birds, but this is an absolute triumph. The breast meat was so tender and succulent and complemented by the selection of mushrooms (including the unusual looking ‘coral’) and some mushroom puree. The brik pastry cigar was perfectly bronzed and crisp
on a journey. The economy of words continues with dessert and I am pleased that flowers, nectar, petals had an accompanying bracket that described the restaurants’ signature dish. So I chose it while my beloved headed for the chocolate, orange, pistachio. It is hard to describe the beauty of the dessert before me. Saffron and honey cake, elderflower jelly in a disc and a quenelle of violet ice cream sit next to a painted swirl of lavender cream. These central elements are decorated with a collection of bits and pieces made from candy violets and roses, honeycomb, lolly pink rose meringue and the aforementioned flowers and petals. How manly I felt with this pretty offering ahead of me, but I cared not a bit because it was amazing. The other desserts were similarly brilliant in design and what sounded simple in choc, orange and pistachio was clearly anything but. A rectangle of the richest chocolate torte came with super smooth pistachio ice cream and orange had been turned into jelly, cream and dust. This was one of my favourite dining experiences for many years; the food was inspirational in quality, design, application and delivery. Service was terrific and gave that lovely feeling of being waited on without being fawned over. I look forward with interest to the Session’s next culinary adventure and also to the next phase in the life of this very old establishment. I am sure that the new owners will quickly place their creative stamp on what is a great restaurant in a super town for food lovers. hospitalitymagazine.com.au
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secretingredients Rhett Willis - Jellyfish This young Brisbane chef is back at the helm of acclaimed Jellyfish restaurant after he and the team were temporarily washed out of the site by the floods earlier this year. He took a few minutes out of the busy schedule of reopening to speak to Hospitality. Can you give us a brief history of your career so far? I started cooking at 13 years old in my parents’restaurant, and have been head chef at restaurants in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne ever since. I’ve been head chef at Jellyfish since October 2008. You and the team have recently reopened Jellyfish restaurant after being inundated by the Brisbane floods this year. How’s the new Jellyfish going? Jellyfish is back on track. It happened almost too quickly at the start but now we’re trading as normal. What’s the most popular dish on your menu at the moment? We’re running a Mooloolaba Yellowfin tuna sashimi special at the moment with fresh Tasmanian wasabi, selling almost four kilograms per service. Apart from your own, what’s your favourite restaurant? At the moment Quan Thahn in the West End. What’s would be your pick of the menu there? Combination beef pho soup, tripe, tendon, everything, It’s awesome. What’s been your most memorable food experience? I don’t know about most memorable, but I was eating pristine Coffin Bay oysters at the lease in South Australia on the last chefs Port Lincoln trip.
Micro herbs. What’s the most indispensable piece of equipment in your kitchen? My vitamix. What do you think will be the next big foodservice trend? Share styled dining. What do you see as the biggest challenges for foodservice in Australia at the moment? Shortage of professional front of house staff.
We know you’ve just refurbed but if you were handed an extra $2m how would you like to spend it on the business? A staff party because they have earned it. What do you think is the key to keeping staff motivated? Simple things like shouting them a beer after work and saying thank you for a job well done, and regular pay reviews. What’s your dream hospitality gig?
The one I’m in. Vent your spleen. What annoys you about this business? Not a lot at the moment but the lack of great front of house staff, and spiralling prices for quality produce due largely to freight and fuel costs would be a couple. What would be on the menu at your last supper? Fugu sashimi. If you weren’t a chef you’d be…? …broke!
Rhett Willis’ Wasabi Leaves One serve 100g cooked blue swimmer crab, diced 1 Kaffir lime leaf, diced tspn fresh red chilli, diced 5ml lime juice 1 tspn wasabi mayonnaise Seasoning 50g shaved fresh coconut 3 wasabi leaves Mix the coconut, lime leaves, lime juice, chilli and crab in a small bowl. Add seasoning to taste. Place in the middle of the wasabi leaves, arrange on a long plate with fresh lime.
What’s your favourite ingredient at the moment? Noosa grown pimientos de padron. What do you think is the most over-rated ingredient being used on menus at the moment? 10
hospitality | june 2011
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workplace
New paid parental leave scheme The birth of the new paid parental leave is imminent but are you prepared? Here’s an outline from Restaurant and Catering Australia’s workplace relations team to help you navigate the new laws. THE NEW Paid Parental Leave kicks off next month but do you know what it is? The Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 introduces a scheme that provides a maximum of 18 weeks, government funded, Parental Leave Pay, paid at the National Minimum Wage (which is currently $569.90 a week before tax until 30 June). Paid Parental Leave can be taken any time within the first year after birth or adoption. It can also be transferred to the other parent. Since January 2011 Paid Parental Leave has been in a phasing in period for children born or adopted in the first six months of this year. However, the employer hasn’t been obligated to pay Parental Leave directly to eligible employees. But from July 1, employers are required to pay the employees directly at the standard pay cycle. Centrelink will provide the Paid Parental Leave
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
funds to the employer and then the employer must provide Parental Leave Pay to employees. Employers do not have to provide Parental Leave Pay until they have received the funds from Centrelink.
Which employees are eligible for the Paid Parental Leave scheme? From July 1, employers must provide Parental Leave Pay to an eligible employee who has a child born or adopted from July 1. To be eligible the employee needs to be an Australian resident, based in Australia, on leave or not working from the time they become the child’s primary carer, and not a high income earner (that is earning more than $150,000 in the financial year prior to the birth or adoption). To be eligible the employee is expected to receive eight weeks or more of Parental Leave Pay. The employee must also meet the
Paid Parental Leave scheme work test. This means the employee must have worked for at least ten of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child, and worked for at least 330 hours in that ten month period — just over one day a week — with no more than an eight week gap between two consecutive working days. There are some exceptions to the work test if the employee cannot meet it due to pregnancy complications and/or premature birth. Employees do not need to be working full-time to be eligible for Parental Leave Pay. They may meet the work test even if they are a parttime, casual or seasonal worker, are a contractor or self-employed, work in a family business, have multiple employers, or have recently changed jobs. To be eligible for the Paid Parental Leave scheme, the employee must be the primary carer of a newborn or re-
cently adopted child. There are some circumstances in which the birth mother can receive Parental Leave Pay for up to 18 weeks after the birth even if they are not the primary carer of the child. If an employee returns to work they are no longer entitled to the Paid Parental Leave scheme. An employee is however entitled to ‘keep in touch’ with work, which must be a voluntary decision between the employee and employer.
What is the relationship with the Paid Parental Leave scheme and existing parental leave entitlements? The Paid Parental Leave scheme does not provide eligible employees with a new entitlement to leave. The existing minimum entitlement to 12 months unpaid parental leave for continued on page 42
hospitality | june 2011
13
David Laris at Yucca Mexican restaurant.
hospitalitychef
Shanghai
CHEF The dynamic, entrepreneurial David Laris is one of a group of Australian chefs taking Shanghai by storm. With many successful ventures in his wake, and his latest new brand launch 12 Chairs under his belt, his ideas for more keep coming. Rosemary Ryan spoke to him on a recent visit to the city.
ive minutes into sitting down to chat with Australian ex-pat chef David Laris you’re left in no doubt that this is a chef and entrepreneur that operates at high speed. Over a coffee at the latest incarnation of his The Fat Olive restaurant concept in Shanghai — his home for the past eight years — his ideas for building his hospitality business in China come thick and fast. It’s a passionate approach which has seen Laris become one of the Western chefs credited with shaping the ever evolving food and beverage landscape in Shanghai. “To see where it’s come from in those eight years is amazing,” says the chef who was born and raised in the inner west of Sydney. “When I first got here there was nothing, the industry didn’t really exist. There were a bunch of hotels doing hotel style restaurants — there was no cocktail bar culture per se, and there were no free standing restaurateurs doing anything. “Apart from [Australian] Michelle Garnaut and a few other western places that was really it — Michelle had been open in Shanghai for a couple of years.” Laris landed in Shanghai after three and a half years working with high profile designer and restaurateur Terence Conran in London as executive chef of Conran’s Mecca restaurant. His recruitment by Conran followed several years working in Macau and Hong Kong with the Mandarin Hotel Group. Earlier in Australia he had been part of the team working under chef Gary Skelton at the trailblazing Sydney restaurant The Edge. Laris’s lure to Shanghai was an offer to be part of the ambitious new Three on the Bund project, working as one of the executive committee with responsibility for developing several restaurant and bar concepts, one of which included his eponymously named fine diner Laris.
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Laris says he quickly realised the fast changing city was the perfect place for him to be able to put his creative mind to work. “I’ve said I was born to be in a place like this,” says Laris. “Because you are pioneering all the time — I arrived at the right time when it was a kind of pre wave. “I had been in London for three and a half years and I loved it — London is super creative and awesome but for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit it’s really not an easy place. “People like putting you in your place there whereas in a market like China it doesn’t have those layers at all — there’s one layer and that’s defined by how much ambition and drive and success you want and that’s all you’re judged on. And this is an industry that’s changing and we’re a part of seeing that happening, which isn’t something you get to do very often, to be in a place where you are seeing everything around you
‘This is an industry that’s changing and we’re a part of seeing that happening which isn’t something you get to do very often.’
unfold and being part of it and helping shape it.”In Shanghai Laris has worked with various partners and as a consultant to create and develop numerous food and beverage concepts encompassing fine dining, mid tier dining, cafes and bars, all characterised by strong design elements and distinct personalities, quality fresh contemporary food and top service. They’ve included the Opposite House and East Hotels for the Swire Group (with several more ventures in the planning stage), Downstairs for Urbn Hotels, and the now four-strong The Fat Olive restaurants with their menus of contemporary Greek food inspired by Laris’s Greek heritage, the Yucca Lounge, with its focus on Mexican flavours, The Purple Onion with its Meditteranean menu, and The Funky Chicken quick service eat in and takeaway restaurant which specialises in rotisserie chicken with a range of sauces and sides.
David’s picks Favourite restaurant? I have so many in so many different cities for different reason, moods and occasions, some of them are local dives that do just great food. But if I was forced to pick one out, one that will always pop to the top of my mind when I am asked this question is Tetsuya’s, for the food, the service and for the fact that it has been so consistent over the years, for the simple design of the space that allows the food and occasion to shine.
amazing restaurants or one of my mum's other great dishes but this one stands out. Favourite food book? I find myself always going back to Larousse Gastronomic, I get excited by Thomas Keller's books or, a few years back, Nobu or Charlie Trotter’s books, but since my early days as an apprentice I have always had a copy of Larousse close by and always refer back to it.
Your favourite meal? My mum’s home cooked yemista, a Greek dish of rice filled tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and eggplants, soaked in olive oil and pan juices, with Greek-style roasted potatoes, her home grown oregano with a massive slab of feta cheese. I could name a hundred other great meals I have had in
Favourite food shop? Another hard one but a good local market is always going to excite me. That aside any specialty gourmet shop is also something I will spend a lot of time in, Dean and Deluca, David Jones Food Hall, Harrod’s, Selfridges. If I can find any specialty store in the world I will spend a long time going through it.
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Laris sees both The Funky Chicken and The Fat Olive as highly marketable concepts. The first Funky Chicken, Yucca Lounge and the third The Fat Olive this year opened in a stylishly refurbished 1920s building that’s one of several in one of the newest precinct developments in Shanghai — Sinan Mansions in the fashionable French Concession area. “With The Funky Chicken we want to do as many of those as we can once we’ve proved the concept, all over the country,” Laris says. “We’ll probably carve it out and form a separate company and will just be The Funky Chicken.” “But The Fat Olive I believe also has strong legs — we have four now — the original, which has become a bit of a legend, it has a fantastic terrace, one in the Expo village, and we also have another about to launch at the airport.” The Fat Olive brand holds special meaning for Laris. “It’s Greek food but not tourist Greek food — it’s all real Greek flavours, the flavours I grew up with — I’m half Greek. But I wanted to show people that Greek food was not just pictures of the Acropolis and moussaka and bouzouki playing, that there are cool restaurants that do Greek flavours.” Another of Laris’s pet projects is his ultra fine dining concept 12 Chairs which sits
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The Fat Olive at Sinan Mansions.
er followed the closure of the chef’s original venture in Shanghai, his fine diner Laris. The intimate venue is available by reservation only, diners are served a degustation
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menu of eight or so courses, and also have access to one of the biggest and most exclusive wine lists in Shanghai which draws on the expansive collection of Laris’s two business partners in the venture. Laris says the launch of 12 Chairs was inspired by “a new approach to fine dining” that he feels is a trend happening around the world. “Gone are the days of behemoth fine dining establishments serving a larger number of customers within an expansive space,” he says. “Fine dining is now about the intimacy between the guest and the food, which extends to the chef as well. It’s about the overall experience the guest can have with the food and the pleasure that comes from indulging in a beautiful meal. “I think there’s a kind of cycle that happens with fine dining and it hit a point where you were having 150 seat fine dining restaurants but how do you pull that off? You know that not every guest is getting the ultimate experience — you know you are probably only making 90 per cent of people happy and that means ten per cent aren’t and that’s too high a number. It may not be that the food is bad but they are just not getting that special attention that they expect from a place like that. I think people want a fine dining experience that is more intimate, small. A waiter shouldn’t be running around rushing in a fine dining ex-
perience. But certainly with the 12 Chairs concept we’ve taken it to the extreme with that idea.” With the solid reception for 12 Chairs, Laris is now planning to expand the concept into a larger new Laris branded venture that still retains the intimate atmosphere and top levels of service. “I want to do a Laris bistro — which will have more of a casual French European influence but with an Australian lightness to it, a mid level restaurant,” he says. “And I want to do another Laris fine diner which will be a totally new concept in terms of design approach.”
On the menu at Laris’s The Fat Olive.
In the meantime, Laris is underway with work on his first Shanghainese cuisine restaurant also to be located in the French Concession area and due to open in September. “I have Chinese chefs who come from incredible backgrounds,” says Laris. “I’m not going to change their food but I’m going to work with them on styling their food. “The idea is a restaurant that serves authentic Chinese food but presented in a new cool, contemporary and chic way. They are awesome chefs but when it comes to plating it’s just bang on the plate.” Also in the pipeline is a steak restaurant which has raised its own specific Chinese challenges. “I want to have an ageing room but one of the things that can be tough in China is overcoming the issues of the code here,” he says. “People might look at China and think it is really loose in terms of the hygiene code but it is so damn strict. “There is stuff that we can do in Australia that we can’t do here, and ageing beef is one of the challenges because it hasn’t existed. “So we are kind of helping them rewrite the code book and the process is long . I’ve been involved in a couple of projects where we’ve had to rewrite the code to make it fit to allow us to operate. “And that’s how the industry is changing and we are part of seeing that happen — you start to get addicted to that.”
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Mudgee aims to blow its trumpet A new confidence is in the air at one of New South Wales’ top wine regions, writes Christine Salins. udgee winemaker David Lowe pulled out 40 per cent of his vines four years ago, but far from crying over it, it was a strategic move. “It's allowed us to focus on what we do well,” said Lowe, a fierce advocate not just for Mudgee but for the wine industry in general. Lowe is also president of the NSW Wine Industry Association and a vice presidents of the Winemakers' Federation of Australia. Like other regions facing an oversupply of grapes, Mudgee has undergone serious rationalisation in recent years. About one-third of its vines have been uprooted. Lowe said it had to be done to bring plantings back to sustainable levels. Although Mudgee doesn’t enjoy the high profile other regions do, Lowe believes its future is bright. The only thing it’s guilty of is not making enough noise, he said. Lowe has been at the forefront of a push to get more NSW wine onto wine lists, including Mudgee wines. That push has included its recent Pyrmont Uncorks Mudgee event where the region’s winemakers joined Pyrmont restaurateurs in a series of lunches and dinners. Lucy White, chief executive officer of Mudgee Region Tourism, said that just as Pyrmont had undergone a renaissance in dining, so too had Mudgee seen up and coming winemakers like Jacob Stein (Robert Stein), Michael Slater (Thistle Hill), Josh Clementson (Skimstone), Julia Conchie (Di Lusso) and Robert Black (Bunnamagoo) offer new varietals and fresh interpretations of well-known varieties. White said one of the areas Mudgee was carving out a niche in was the production of organic wines. The region has five organic wineries and others are in the process of achieving certification. Botobolar, established in 1971, is Australia's oldest certified organic vineyard while Thistle Hill has been organic since it was established in 1976. Lowe himself is a leading advocate of organic winemaking, with his Mudgee vineyard certified organic in 2004. The fruit from that goes into his
M
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Cheese and wine from Mudgee.
premium Lowe Wines brand, including Shiraz, Merlot and Zinfandel. He also produces the Tinja range, including a Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris made from Orange and Mudgee fruit. In September, Lowe merged with Louee Wines, which has vineyards in Rylstone and Nullo Mountain, both still in the Mudgee GI but producing very different cool-climate styles thanks to their high altitude and plentiful rainfall. At 1100 metres, Nullo Mountain is one of Australia's highest vineyards. Lowe has been making their wines for the last ten years and says it is an "amazing vineyard" with a climate akin to Germany. Current releases include the 2010 Louee Riesling, 2010 Louee Pinot Grigio and the 2010 Louee Late Picked Riesling. Thistle Hill winemaker Michael Slater believes Mudgee can make whites as good as anywhere in the world. Although Mudgee has traditionally staked its reputation on big bold reds, he believes the region enjoys the best of both worlds. “We can get that delicacy in our whites that you can't get in a warmer climate, and we can get that concentration in our reds that you can't get in a cooler climate,” he said. Even before it won a gold medal
at last year’s Mudgee Wine Show, Thistle Hill’s 2010 Preservative Free Shiraz was walking out the door. Picked early for its fragrant, fruity characters, “it's a great food wine because the food really fills it out,” Slater said. Slater said Thistle Hill was practising organic viticulture mainly for the wine quality. “The fact that it is better for the planet is a bonus,” he said. “Softness and approachability is really important to me as a winemaker and when you're growing fruit organically you get that softness, everything's in balance.” Slater also makes wine for Moothi Estate, which takes its name from the Aboriginal name for the region, Moothi or “nest in the hills”. The 2010 Moothi Estate Rose pairs well with light meat dishes, Asian food and desserts. The Moothi Estate Chardonnay is matured in French oak and is rich and toasty, while Moothi Rocks is a lively blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot, ideal for casual dining. Bringing an air of confidence to the region are newcomers such as Skimstone, producing Italian varietals such as Sangivoese and Barbera, and Bunnamagoo, run by the Paspaley pearling family. Charnwood Estate is a small play-
er kicking big goals with its Shiraz and Merlot. Its 2009 Charlie's Row Merlot, won against some higher profile wineries in the Winewise Championship earlier this year. Robert Oatley Vineyards has become a major player in the region since buying the historic Montrose winery in 2006. Its Wild Oats brand is among the country’s top-selling wines. Last year it introduced the premium Robert Oatley range and the fresh, approachable James Oatley Tic Tok range. At last year’s Mudgee Wine Show, the limelight was firmly on Robert Stein, which took out six trophies and was named most successful exhibitor. Its 2008 Riesling was named most outstanding white of show and its 2009 Shiraz Viognier champion of the show. A remarkable nine of the show’s 21 gold medals were awarded to wines made at the Robert Stein Winery. Third generation winemaker Jacob Stein has worked in Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia, bringing an international perspective to the region’s winemaking. Although Stein’s proud of Mudgee Shiraz and Cabernet, he loves Riesling and is drawing on his knowledge of German winemaking to produce some interesting styles. Last year the company produced a Half Dry Riesling with just 18 grams of residual sugar. A 2010 Reserve Riesling — drier and tighter in style — will be released this year. Logan Wines produces some excellent aromatic whites under its Weemala label. Logan has been instrumental in not just bringing the bush to the city but also bringing the city to the bush. This month, Longrain chef Martin Boetz will take time out from his restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne to cater for a dinner at Logan’s eye-catching cellar door. Logan and his wife Hannah have been trying to woo Boetz to Mudgee for a few years, convinced that the hot, sweet, salty and sour flavours of his modern Asian dishes will pair beautifully with their Weemala Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer, and their Logan Pinot Noir and Shiraz. hospitalitymagazine.com.au
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Asian inspiration There's no shortage of brilliant Asian restaurants in Australia. But while we'll always love our good old spring rolls and pad thai, a handful of talented chefs continue to push the boundaries of Asian cuisine bringing the great flavours and techniques to their menus in innovative ways. Danielle Bowling spoke to four of them.
DAN HONG MS G'S SYDNEY Describe the cuisine at Ms G's It's a combination of mine and my head chef Jowett Yu's upbringing, so he's Taiwanese and I'm Vietnamese and because Asian food is our favourite food, Ms G's is our take on Asian flavours, but using the fine dining techniques that we've learned in European kitchens, and combining the two. We're also combining the flavours of what we like to eat outside of work, which may include junk food. What is it you love most about cooking Asian cuisine? Asian cuisine has so much more depth of flavour than European cooking. Especially when it comes to the condiments and getting that umami, that fifth taste into food, and also adding lots of sugar to savoury dishes to create the balance that you have when you eat Asian food. Getting the most flavour out of a dish. What's your favourite Asian ingredient? I love Maggi seasoning. It's the Vaaietnamese version of soy sauce. Vietnamese don't really use soy sauce, they use Maggi
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seasoning. It really gives a meaty flavour to dishes and you can use it with anything — mostly meats, but you can put it in stir fried vegetables or you can put it on your rice with a fried egg and chilli and that's a great breakfast. That's a peasant dish but it tastes great. What's your pick of the menu at Ms G's? The Stoner's Delight, which is my take on the type of dessert you'd have if you were smoking weed and got really high and really hungry. It's got the Mars Bar slice, which has rice bubbles through it, doughnut-flavoured ice cream, marshmallows and peanut and pretzel praline. It’s more influenced by the American food culture, which is also a big influence at Ms G's. What advice would you give to other chefs working with Asian cuisine? I would say just make sure that you taste your food all the time and get the right balance when you're cooking Asian food because a lot of it can tend to be really sweet or really sour. You're already one step there if you're choosing to cook Asian food over European food anyway, because it's heaps tastier. hospitality | june 2011
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MARTIN BOETZ LONGRAIN, MELBOURNE, SYDNEY Describe the cuisine at Longrain I follow traditional Thai recipes and I use the best of Australian ingredients, and then I just put my twist on them. It's not fusion, I'm just using Australian fish as opposed to Thai fish. A lot of the ingredients that are used in Thai cookery are actually now grown in Australia because Thai food is now really popular in our country so there are a lot of people growing the products that we need to make traditional recipes. What do you love most about cooking Asian cuisine? I love the complex flavours and the herbs and the balance of flavours that you get from all the different ingredients that you use. The recipes are quite complex so putting the ingredients together to come out with something that tastes fantastic is really important and I've never really tasted anything like that in western cookery. What's your favourite Asian ingredient? I love all of the herbs. I love Thai basil, holy basil, lemongrass. I love the freshness of those ingredients.
Ms G's Fried Chicken 2x5g spatchcock Seasoning mix 1/2 kg plain flour 250g corn flour 1tbsn garlic powder 2tbsn onion powder Marinade 100ml xiao xing 2tspn sugar 2tspn salt 1 clove of garlic, grated 5cm piece of ginger, grated For dipping 300g Japanese mayonnaise 100g kimchi puree Vegetable oil for frying First butterfly the spatchcock (or ask your butcher to do this for you) and cut each one into eight pieces separating the wings, breasts, thighs and drumsticks. Combine all marinade ingredients and place spatchcock in the marinade for at least two hours but preferably, overnight. Combine all the ingredients in the seasoning mix and when you are ready to fry, remove the spatchcock from the marinade, drain liquid and coat liberally in the
seasoning mix. Heat vegetable oil to 175C and fry spatchcock for five minutes. Serve with kimchi mayonnaise for dipping.
What's your pick of the menu at Longrain? My favourite at the moment is a crisp pork belly and braised octopus salad. What advice would you give to other chefs working with Asian cuisine? Just to stay true to authentic recipes and try to use fresh ingredients because they are out there. Even if you're using tinned or jarred products from Thailand, if you're not making your own curry pastes, I think it's really important to still add the fresh ingredients to give it the most authentic flavour that you can.
REGAN PORTEOUS TOKO, SYDNEY Describe the cuisine at Toko It's modern Japanese. It's not formal. It's almost the opposite of traditional Japanese, which is very very delicate and light in flavours. What we're trying to do here is make a first impression. It's authentic Japanese — all Japanese ingredients and technique, local produce and we're just trying to deliver it with a bit of a twist, trying to push new boundaries. What do you love most about cooking Asian cuisine? Just the different flavours and textures that you can get out of different ingredients. It's 24
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Longrain's steamed duck winter melon and shiitake mushroom soup Serves 6 See picture on page 23. 4 duck Maryland, trimmed of excess fat 250g small winter melon peeled and cut into spoon and fork size pieces 12 shiitake mushrooms soaked and stems removed 60g pieces of peeled garlic 30g pieces of coriander roots cleaned 60g piece of ginger peeled 5g white peppercorns, grounded 100ml duck fat 60g rock candy pounded 150ml oyster sauce 100ml Chinese cooking wine 100ml yellow bean soy 1 Thai preserved lime 1.5L chicken stock Garnish 50g Asian celery, finely shredded 60g ginger julienne 30g garlic chives cut into 3cm lengths
Pound garlic, coriander root, ginger and ground white peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until well combined and a paste consistency. Place duck fat in a heavy based pot and add paste. Fry until crisp and nutty. Deglaze pot with Chinese cooking wine. Add pounded rock candy, oyster sauce, yellow bean soy and cover with chicken stock. Bring to boil and skim. Bring steamer to the boil. In a bowl that fits into the steamer, place raw duck that’s been cut through the joint into two pieces. Add melon, preserved lime and mushrooms. Pour over strained hot stock almost to the top. Cover with silicon paper and foil. Place bowl into the boiling steamer and cover with the lid. Steam for 75 minutes checking the steamer for water level during cooking time. Take bowl out of steamer and check the duck is cooked — the meat should fall easily off the bone and the winter melon should be almost translucent. Check seasoning adding more soy if necessary at this point you can let the soup cool and reserve for late use. Place the cold soup in a heavy based pot. Gently simmer for ten minutes until the soup is hot. Add garnish into the soup and simmer for a further five minutes. Portion into individual bowls and serve.
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really healthy, which is very important. It's lightweight eating. You can use your three basic balances: the sour, salty and sweet. You don't have to use a lot of ingredients. It's a balancing act to put them together to bring out the best in the dish or to compliment seafood or lamb or beef or a simple salad. What ingredients are you playing with at the moment? At the moment we're playing with some pears, we're doing some soufflés, like pureed pear and green tea soufflé. And I'm really into scampi. We're getting some in from New Zealand importers and we've got a scampi nigiri on the menu with some foie gras and we're serving that with truffle oil and that's flying out the door. I also got my hands on some pickled wasabi root, it's called kizami wasabi and it's very spicy but it's like a pickle. What's your pick of the menu at Toko? I'd probably say the scampi nigiri, the BBQ scallops with sweet pickled apple and jalapeno garlic or the Moreton Bay bug tempura with chilli ponzu and yuzu koshou mayonnaise, which is also very, very popular. What advice would you give to other chefs
Toko's grilled scallop, jalapeno apple amazu 3 fresh scallops (per person) Jalapeno sauce 60g Jalapeno chillies 5g ginger 5g garlic 30g spring onions 5g coriander 100ml rice vinegar 100ml mirin 100ml pomace olive oil Apple amazu Peel apples then quarter and slice thinly on a mandolin. Salt in water for 30 minutes until apple holds a bend. Mix the juice and the sushi su together and store in the fridge. Add rinsed salted apples to amazu and use as required.
Apple amazu 5 Granny Smith apples 250ml apple juice 250ml sushi su Tenkasu and shiso to garnish Jalapeno sauce Place all ingredients in bar mix, except coriander, spring onions and oil. Pulse until fine, then add greens, blend and finish with oil. Season.
To serve Oil and season the scallops over a high temperature on robata, cook to medium. Plate and spoon Jalapeno sauce over the scallops. Squeeze the pickled apple on top with a dash of garlic mayo. Garnish with tenkasu, shiso and coriander.
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Zenbar's crisp whole poussin with wild rice, tatsoi and grapefruit salad and a pomegranate glaze TE UPDA
International Festival of Pork — Everyone’s a winner Now that the inaugural International Festival of Pork has well and truly wrapped up, we can re ect on the rewards of all the porcine praise that happened over April — and not just for those lucky few that won some great PorkFest prizes. For starters, there were the diners who were able take their tastebuds on a world tour of avour through the myriad of pork delights that were cooked up by chefs across the country. Some of Australia’s nest establishments embraced the creative spirit of PorkFest and enjoyed the returns that came with showcasing one of the world’s most popular proteins. The Australian Leisure and Hospitality group supported the initiative wholeheartedly by introducing PorkFest in more than 200 hundred of their hotels, adding yet another incentive for the dining public to get in and try their quality food offerings. More than 1200 butchers Australia wide got on board to promote PorkFest as well as supermarkets. On the spot cash prizes for front of house staff that recommended the PorkFest dish to secret diners were also a great vehicle for businesses to encourage their employees to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about — not just pork but all the dishes they sell. But I did mention that there were prizes. Congratulations to Andrew Barnes, executive chef of Friends Restaurant in Perth, who won a return trip for two for a meet, greet and dine at legendary pork enthusiast Fergus Henderson’s St John restaurant. Andrew Barnes has hailed from two Michelin star La Gavroche, Michel and Albert Roux’s London stalwart and has had experience at Grosvenor House Hotel’s 90 Park Lane restaurant. Congratulations also to Shannon Saint, catering manager of East Leagues Club in Brisbane, for taking out the PorkFest club chef prize of a trip to Hamilton Island.
Mitch Edwards Foodservice Marketing Manager Australian Pork Limited porkstar@australianpork.com.au 0434 491 708 www.porkstar.com.au
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Master stock 2L chicken stock 6 cm ginger 8 cloves garlic 1/2 cup thick sweet soy 1/2 cup shao hsing wine 1 cup oyster sauce 3 star anise 1 cup light soy 10 peppercorns 1 stick cassia bark Fry off garlic, ginger, peppercorns until golden. Deglaze with cooking wine, add remainder of ingredients. Bring to the boil. Skim off any scum. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and discard solids. 1 poussin (no 5 size) 1 cup wild rice 2 cups cold water Pinch salt 10g butter 1 pink grapefruitt Tatsoi, small handful Vietnamese mint, small handful Coriander, small handful 5g shallot 1 cup corn flour 2 cups self raising flour 2 egg whites Poach poussin in the master stock. Remove and cool. Cut in and remove rib cage. Place all
plier. You need to understand exactly when your fish is coming in and get to know how to handle your fish it properly.
JOSHUA RICHARDSON ZENBAR, BRISBANE Describe the cuisine at Zenbar Zenbar offers what we call Asian fusion. Some of it's true to Asian and other dishes touch on it for Western tastes. We also have a mains area that is just your steak and chicken, so there's something for everyone. The way I was shown it, fusion means a combination of East meets West. It's Asian food that has been tailored to Western tastes. What do you love most about cooking Asian cuisine? I got interested in it when I went to Malaysia on holiday. I got into all the street food there. I love the simplicity of it, but it's also got such complex flavours. It's quick, it's fast, but from such simple ingredients you get everything you need: hot, sour, salty, sweet, all in one dish.
ingredients in saucepan and bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Segment pink grapefruit. Pick mint and coriander leaves. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Dress with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix two flours together. Coat poussin with egg white then coat with flour. Deep fry in oil at 180C until crisp (about two to four minutes). Remove and drain on paper. Place rice on plate in ring mould. Place poussin halves at other end slightly atop of each other. Place salad on top of rice For pomegranate glaze reduce 200ml master stock by half and add 5ml pomegranate molasses. Place glaze in jug to serve.
What's your pick of the menu at Zenbar? I like the Singapore noodle, which is a small rice vermicelli noodle with a curry powder, spice mix, prawns, chicken and buk choy. I like a really spicy sort of dish. The noodle dishes that we have here have been on the menu for ages. We tried taking a few off and the customers just weren't happy. What advice would you give to other chefs working with Asian cuisine? Just be open to everything. Trial and error is a big one. Something might not work once but you have to keep trying again and again. We go back to the drawing board and try it again and mix a few ingredients around and sometimes you pull it off and sometimes you don't. What ingredients are you playing around with at the moment? We're putting spatchcock on the menu. It'll be poached/fried spatchcock so we'll poach it off first in a master stock which is some chicken stock, some soy, lemongrass, ginger, chilli, and then we bone it out and do a whole fried chicken. hospitalitymagazine.com.au
Introducing new Heinz Condiments & Satay Sauce range for Foodservice Prepared from the finest quality ingredients Durable Durable polypropylene containers – eliminates glass breakage hazard Square shape allows easy spreading from the jar Quick and easy storage - resealable jar Consistent Consistent flavour, texture and appearance
Great accompaniments for any catering purpose. For more information please call our Customer Support Team on 1800 037 058.
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Going nose to tail with lamb Diners love a serve of Aussie lamb but how can you keep it on your menu at a price your customers are prepared to pay? With some clever ways with secondary cuts, that’s how. By Rosemary Ryan.
Olive Alla Marchigiana Makes 80 olives 80 large green olives, pitted 1 cup flour 2 eggs 1 cup dried bread crumbs Olive oil for deep frying Filling 2 tbspn olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 350g lamb mince 1/2 cup beef stock 2 eggs 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 tspn grated nutmeg Heat two tablespoons of oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender. Add lamb and sauté, breaking with fork until it starts to colour. Add the stock and
cook until most of it is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to food processor and pulse until evenly ground. Add eggs, cheese, nutmeg and process until a smooth paste forms. Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a small plain tip and fill the pitted olives. At this stage, before crumbing, the olives will keep for two days refrigerated. Spread flour in one bowl, beat eggs into another and bread crumbs into the last one. Dip olives first in flour, then in eggs, and finally in bread crumbs. Working in batches, carefully drop olives into oil heated to 350C and fry for about four minutes, until golden. Using a slotted spoon remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm with an aioli.
Courtesy: Meat & Livestock Australia
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alk to any chef and they’ll tell you lamb is one of the easiest sells on a menu. Diners love it. But in these times of high prices for the great Australian meat how can you keep your customers happy by both including lamb on the menu and keeping the price of the dish affordable to meet their demands for value? The answer is by making better use of some of the brilliant secondary cuts of lamb — things like the forequarter, the rump and the belly, and also lamb mince. Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) trade projects officer Claire Tindale says one of the virtues of lamb is that the meat lends itself to a “myriad” of flavours from cuisines from around the world from which recipes can be sourced for these tasty cuts that will deliver big on flavour and diner satisfaction. “So many cuisines use lamb” she says. “Morocco, Syria, Iran, Greece, France, Italy, Spain, even Japan has been using more lamb.
‘Price increases are making it timely for chefs to try these alternate cuts of lamb to differentiate themselves and keep plate costs down.’
The Koreans are using ribs with a red bean paste that includes chilli and honey, for lovely sticky ribs that are great as a bar snack or a tapas plate.” MLA has recently launched a foodservice targeted campaign aimed at highlighting the benefits of using these “other” cuts of lamb and inspiring chefs to experiment with them. “Although our research shows consumers are still ordering lamb at foodservice outlets, price increases are making it timely for chefs to try these alternate cuts of lamb to differentiate their menus and keep plate costs down,” Tindale says. Lamb in all its variety is definitely a favourite with Melbourne chef Shane Delia who runs Maha and also the recently opened St Katherine’s restaurant. “Lamb is definitely my favourite meat to use and between Maha and St Katherine’s we are moving anywhere between 600 and 1200 kilograms a week and that’s being light
Lamb Kustilji From Shane Delia— Maha, Melbourne “My grandmother used to cook braised lamb ribs with tomatoes and spices. I loved the dish! The way the lamb would just fall of the bone and mix with the crisp spices and sweetness of the onions would make me hungry with just the smell from the pan. The dish I have created pays homage to my grandmother’s simple and soulful cooking. Even though the dish isn’t the same the passion behind it is and my lamb still evokes the same emotions when I eat it.” Shane Delia Serves 4 The ribs 4 x 4 point lamb ribs 1L honey 200ml soy sauce 1 stick cinnamon 3 tbspn coriander seeds 3 tbspn cumin seeds 2 tbspn Turkish chilli flakes 2 star anise 3 cloves 500g chickpea flour for dusting The Schwann pepper mix 5 tbspn coriander seeds 2 tbspn fennel seeds 100g pine nuts 100g flaked almonds 1 tbspn Schwann pepper 200g palm sugar shaved 2 tbspn Turkish chilli flakes 3 tbspn cumin seeds Roast off all spices in a pan and pond in a motor and pestle. Bring honey to the boil and caramelise. Add soy and bring back to the boil. Add spices and all to cool to handling temperature. Coat the ribs in honey mix. Place ribs in vacuumed sealed bags and seal. Place in a bath of water and submerge. Place in a 100C oven for ten hours. Remove from water and chill in fridge. Cut ribs into individual pieces. Dust in chickpea flour and deep fry until golden brown. Sprinkle with Schwann pepper mix, serve with lemon and yoghurt. For the Schwann pepper mix, roast all spices. Pound in mortar and pestle and mix together.
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Cuts to consider Lamb mince The humblest cut of all cuts lamb mince is a particularly versatile and low cost ingredient because of its ability to be stretched by other ingredients and still keep its identity. How about using it as a mini hamburger with added Latino flavours in the form of a chipotle mayonnaise, or mixed with onions and rice herbs and spices as a filling for cabbage or vine leaves. The forequarter The forequarter — which breaks down into the neck, the shoulder, ribs and the shoulder rack – lends itself to slow cooking, perfect for dishes in cooler months. The braised meat can be served as is, or shredded and used in dumplings, salads, or even hearty sandwiches. It can also be shaped and coated in breadcrumbs. Think duo with a combination of cuts on a plate — a single lamb cutlet, accompanied by something made from the neck or the shoulder. The rump Already popular in the foodservice industry, this cut has star qualities that suit any contemporary menu. Of all of the cuts in the leg, this one has enough tenderness to perform when cooked medium rare to medium. Full of flavour and great texture, the lamb rump is at its best when pan fried quickly before finishing in an oven. Carve and serve as the centre of plate, or in a duo of lamb alongside a slow cooked lamb dish like roast lamb rump. Lamb belly Lamb flap, often known as lamb belly, is a rich, unctuous cut often forgotten but worthy of much hype. Consisting of layers of full flavoured meat and rich lamb fat, this cut suits bold flavour combinations and multiple executions; think cured, smoked, braised, roasted, confit, layered, crisp, or shredded. Lamb belly contains a portion of rib bones which can be cut into individual ribs for a fantastic addition to your bar, shared plates or canapé menu. Pan-fry to caramelise, and then roast to render down the fat. For a crispy finish, fry quickly in a hot pan. Or boil ribs in a broth and finish in an oven basting with a sauce. Or go French with lamb belly daube — the perfect comfort food.
Courtesy: Meat & Livestock Australia
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on,” Delia says. “It’s our biggest mover and really lends itself to the style of cuisine that we do in both venues. “At Maha the 12 hour roast lamb shoulder has become a trademark as well as great dishes like the Lamb Kustilji, which we did one year at Taste of Melbourne and since then has become our most requested dish.” Delia said the style of food on the menu at St Katherine’s is giving him a great opportunity to show the full potential of secondary lamb cuts. “We have a great pizza oven downstairs where we are able to slow roast with wood and then upstairs we are doing things slowly rotating on our the rotisserie,” Delia says. “We have a custom-made, two metre long, Turkish grill and on one side we have a spit. So we are marinating secondary cuts like lamb flap and shoulder, making a beautiful marinade up where it can sit for two or three days and then skewering it up and slow cooking it up — it’s simplicity at its best. “We also use slow braised ribs for the Kustilji at Maha and also at St Katherine’s —we cook them there in Coca Cola. “Lamb neck is also a great cut. We do some beautiful tagines and a sous
vide lamb neck with orange blossom honey and saffron served with a bit of almond skordalia — you can really refine the flavour or lamb using a secondary cut.” Combining the use of a secondary cut of lamb with a prime cut is an effective strategy, says chef Warren Turnbull who operates Sydney fine diner Assiette and the more casual District Dining. “At Assiette what we tend do is use a secondary cut of lamb with a prime cut just to offset the cost because if you were putting a whole lamb rack on it’s going to cost an absolute fortune, “ Turnbull says. “Whereas if you have a couple of cutlets with a beautiful piece of lamb shoulder or leg or whatever then it offsets the price.” Turnbull says diners are loving slow cooked dishes when they eat out because they don’t have time to cook them at home. “People don’t have a lot of time and they find it inconvenient to cook things like slow braises,” he says. “And a lot more people are eating out now — they may not be spending as much when they go out but they are going out more. There are a lot more good restaurants in that mid range now where people can get good value food.” Turnbull says that while lamb shoul-
Time to put goat on your menu? AS LAMB prices skyrocket more chefs are getting creative and seeking out other proteins for their menu with many looking with renewed interest at the use of goat meat. With more, higher quality specialised goat producers coming on line and providing a better tasting premium product chefs in the know say goat can offer a valuable addition to the menu both as an alternative to lamb but also as a brilliant meat in its own right. Long time goat meat devotee chef Matt Wilkinson, ex Circa and now operating Pope Joan in Melbourne, says produce like that of Victorian producer Seven Hills Tallarook means top quality meat is now available that would give lamb a run for its money in the taste stakes. “It’s a fabulous product,” says Wilkinson. “I used it a lot at Circa and for special dinners that I do now. The shoulders and the leg and the loins are absolutely stunning.” While the bulk of goat meat that has been available in Australia has been from feral mixed breed goats, Seven Hills Tallarook is breeding South African Boer goats. Owners Megan and Taylan are aiming to breed the best goat’s meat in Australia. “We’ve even had butchers tell us it’s so close to lamb it’s ridiculous,” says Megan Atar. Wikinson says that while some goat can be gamey, the Seven Hills Tallarook product is more subtle. “You can taste the grassy herbaceousness — it has a nicer flavour and the texture of the meat is really mouth watering.”
der is his favourite he also uses the leg and rump a lot. “With the rump we leave the cap on so we keep the fat and then just render it down really slowly and roll in a ras el hanout mix,” he says. “Or you can roast it off for eight or nine minutes and then rest for at least half an
hour and then back in the oven just to flash it before we serve it and it’s almost like it’s been cooked sous vide. It’s all about resting it. We’ve got the lamb rump on at the moment with caponata and crispy polenta that’s got lots of olives through it — and a mint gravy.”
McCain News
McCain launches foodservice’s first sweet potato fries with “Win an iPad’ operator and consumer promotion McCAIN Foodservice is celebrating the launch of its new Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries with a fantastic promotion giving Australian and New Zealand foodservice professionals and their customers the chance to win an iPad.
product available to the foodservice Australian market. Available in case configurations of 4x2.5kg, new McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries are cholesterol free, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and feature an appealing orange colour for attractive presentation and easy identification.
There are 10 iPads (valued at over AUD$700 each) to be won - five for foodservice operators and five for consumers. Foodservice establishments selling the new McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries will be provided with POS material to publicise the promotion.
Their distinctive flavour and look makes them ideal for serving as a takeaway treat, snack, side-serve or main meal component with or without dipping sauce. As part of the McCAIN premium, A Grade Fries range, McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries can be sold at a higher retail pricepoint which incorporates a strong profit margin for foodservice operators. Like all McCAIN A Grade Fries, they can help increase the profitability of your menu by enabling you to offer greater variety.
Consumers can enter with every purchase of McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries between 4 July and 5 August by filling out the entry form provided. Five consumers will be chosen to receive an iPad - and the foodservice operator or owner of the establishment where they bought the fries will also win an iPad of their own.
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"This promotion will not only boost consumer demand for the new McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries in foodservice outlets, but generate real excitement," says McCAIN Foods Marketing Director Nicki Anderson.
participate too - with five iPads to be won!"
"And in recognition of the vital role foodservice professionals play in selling and promoting our fries to consumers, we're pleased to be able to give establishment owners or operators the chance to
Strong consumer demand for McCAIN Sweet Potato Superfires in retail supermarkets provided the impetus for the introduction of McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries - the first premium, A Grade sweet potato fry
hospitality | june 2011
So complement your existing fries offering with new McCAIN Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries today and give yourself and your customers the chance to win in the McCAIN Foodservice "Sweet iPad" competition!
For more information on McCAIN Fries contact your McCAIN Sales representative: National Sales Office Tel (03) 8561 4600 or visit www.mccain.com.au
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
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Drive profits and create savings for your business by discovering new and innovative foodservice and hospitality products at Fine Food Australia, the largest food industry event in the country. Featuring over 1,000 exhibitors, this is your opportunity to meet face-to-face with thousands of industry specialists and take advantage of special trade deals.
For FREE entry, register online before 30 August 2011 at www.finefoodaustralia.com.au and enter priority code: HOSP $30 admission applies at the door for visitors that don’t pre-register online.
5 – 8 SEPTEMBER 2011 SYDNEY CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE www.finefoodaustralia.com.au
FR2588_HOSP
Crockery and cutlery to impress First impressions count and with diners much of that comes down to the crockery and the cutlery you use on your tables. Here we present some of the latest ideas and new products for updating your tables.
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While stark white has been de rigeur for many years on Australian restaurant tables some operators are splashing out and having fun with colour. At the sun drenched Bayside Lounge restaurant at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre executive chef Uwe Uwe Habermehl’s food is being served up
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on striking yellow rimmed plates from the Rosenthal Thomas range. "We wanted the lounge to have a point of difference from the rest of the centre,” said SCEC food and beverage director Simon Lomas. “We also were looking for colours to match and compliment the décor of the lounge. We looked to inject some
colour so the guys could have flexibility to match the plates to compliment the food quality we were putting in front of guests.” Distinguishable by its bold handles, the Oberon cutlery range is a handsome collection that will add class
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hospitalitymagazine.com.au
White Bistro Maximum Complementing Fine Food Available from VIC: Chef’s Hat, Denor Hospitality; NSW: The Hospitality Depot; WA: Auxico; SA: Hospitality Catering Hardware.
cutlery&crockery
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Maxwell and Williams’ latest release, the White Bistro Page range, offers an assortment of platters and serving plates with a twist. This addition to the extensive White Bistro collection features a curled edge on flat serving ware, creating an interesting and modern highlight on these staple serving items. Available across nine items, the Page collection is aluminium reinforced to withstand the wear and tear within the hospitality and catering environment. White Bistro Page offers a perfect accent to the Maxwell and Williams White Bistro and White Bistro Maximum collections. View the range at maxwellandwilliamshospitality.com.au
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7 and style to any table setting. The curvaceous handles allow for elegant placement within the plate during meal time and makes it popular with high end dining restaurants Contact: Tomkin New from boutique porcelain products company Painted Perception is this range of tea cups and saucers featuring ancient botanical images. Made of fine porcelain in traditional antique style shapes and hand-painted by Australian artist Penny Smith, they feature botanical images selected from the Austrian National Library Collection, dating from the 16th century. The combination of the traditional shape, beautiful antique images and fine porcelain has produced a unique product sure to enhance the experience of the drinker. Contact: Painted Perception
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The Princess collection from Tablekraft is elegant and refined enough for fine dining restaurants but also understated enough to also make it suitable for more casual situations. It features slim and sleek shaping that gives it a timeless style. Contact: Tomkin
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Bauscher has expanded the selection of porcelain in its Enjoy range with the addition of further pieces for the coffee, snack and dinner segments of the hospitality industry. The hallmark of the collection is its soft, curved design and simple elegance. As well as good looks
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the collection impresses with its practical functionality to meet the special demands of the coffee and snack segment. Contact: Spyral The Tablekraft Gable collection brings an elegant and modern variation on the simplicity of the traditional “Hanoverian” pattern. The collection is perfectly balanced in weight to make it a delight for your customers to hold and dine with. Contact: Tomkin
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The JAB Design Australia Melamine Oriental range is lightweight and perfect for serving Asian cuisine or adding a funky twist to tables. The extensive range includes dinnerware and servingware made from premium grade melamine that features the lustrous look of porcelain, with additional scratch resistance and increased durability. The products can withstand temperatures up to 110C, and are dishwasher safe. Contact: Tomkin
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hospitalitymagazine.com.au
POS is much more than just a cash register.
Working smarter The latest new point of sale systems are offering a world of new opportunities for hospitality businesses to operate and connect with customers more efficiently and effectively. By Rosemary Ryan. n the competitive environment hospitality businesses operate in today, point of sales systems have become an increasingly valuable tool. No longer just the touch screen cash register on the front desk, the latest in technology in POS systems is at the heart of the management of successful foodservice operations. From helping to implement loyalty systems that allow restaurants to build stronger relationships with customers via the gamut of social media available, and offering order and pay at table services to speed diners’ experience, to collecting and crunching business data into highly valuable reports, POS systems are making life easier in the high pressure hospitality business. These days there are integrated POS systems to link all parts of a hospitality busi-
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ness, hand held devices to streamline ordering and bill paying and a range of marketing software system to help fuel inject customer and business networks and add enormous efficiencies. The benefits to a business in terms of streamlining operations and giving access to information can be vast and with new technology coming through the opportunities will continue to increase. “The sort of information that becomes available to you can be directly translated into boosting sales and taking your business to the next level,” says Burt Admiraal, chief executive officer of leading point of sale systems supplier to the hospitality industry H&L Australia. “Things like being able to clearly see your busiest time slots, when you’ve done your highest numbers of covers, and the
‘I think revolutionary technology like that is at the forefront of business and we just want to be ahead of the market.’
ability to see how productive your staff are in respect to how many covers they are tracking,” he says. “Operators are missing the opportunities to grow their business if they aren’t using these sorts of integrated systems. What a lot of operators tend to do is immerse themselves into the day to day running of a business and because, in a lot of cases they are owner operators, they are working the horrific hours and not looking at how to manage the business smarter, they just work harder.” Admiraal says one of the most exciting new developments ahead in POS technology includes new order and pay at table systems. While waiter hand held devices and more recently iPads have been used to replace menus and allow diners to place their orders themselves, the next phase will hospitality | june 2011
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focus on allowing diners to securely and quickly finalise their bill at the table. It’s a trend that will be driven by the phasing in of the “chip and PIN” only systems for all card payments that will come into full force in 2013 with the use of signatures becoming a thing of the past, says Admiraal who’s recently been touring the country showing off the latest new technology in this area, a revolutionary new system that allows diners to pay their bill without them, or their credit card, leaving the table. “It’s an integrated pay at table system with features that make it ideal for restaurant applications,” he says. “There are mobile EFTPOS terminals now but they are 3G whereas these are Wi-Fi so they run through the internet and are much faster. “What the waiter does is key the table number into his hand held EFTPOS terminal and it does the inquiry at POS and then brings the balance up at that table. It then allows diners to finalise their account with their chip and PIN card. One of the really great features is in the case of a table that wants to split its bill. One person pays theirs then the system brings up the new balance and the next person can pay and so on. It continually manages the balance.” “What we are seeing in the UK and North America where this move has already happened is that people are increasingly reluctant to lose sight of their card — this allows them to hold onto their card and drive the procedure.” The new system is already being trialled by one of Australia’s largest hospitality groups, the Bavarian Hospitality Group (BHG). BHG’s manager, POS and inventory systems, Adam Skinner, says the system was being put through its paces during service at the group’s York Street Bavarian Bier Café restaurant. “I think revolutionary technology like that is at the forefront of business and we just want to be ahead of the market when the 2013 deadline for chip and PIN comes in,” Skinner says. He says the system has the potential to significantly speed up the payment process, as well as giving customers the peace of mind of never having to let their credit card out of their sight. “Basically it's a wireless unit that's integrated with our POS terminals so what happens is the wireless terminal will communicate 36
hospitality | june 2011
back to the POS and it will collect the table balance,” he says. “The idea is that waiters will have these devices with them at all times and anyone can ask them at any time to pay the bill there at the table without having to take the card away.” Skinner says diners have been responding positively to the new technology. “At first they are a little bit taken aback and then they think wow I haven’t seen anything like this before,” he says. “It’s still pretty revolutionary technology but as time moves on I think they will accept it very quickly... It’s really big for corporates. Obviously if you are a corporate customer you don’t want to see your card go walkabout — you want to keep the card with you at all times. So it will put everyone’s mind at ease.” Skinner says BHG is also about to further increase the integration of its POS system with plans to add automatic daily takings information to the data that can be sourced at the press of a button. “Managers can pull them straight away as opposed to having to wait for accounts to get all those reports together. We want to be able to give managers the tools to run the business not having to continually ask head office for reports etc.” The shift to integrated systems has been one of the greatest boons for businesses when it comes to POS, says Brent Chandler of foodservice internet solutions company Zwift. “Integration is the big thing of 2011 that’s only going to grow,” he says. “The way I see it hospitality has been a little bit slow to catch on to technology whereas for the last five to ten years every other industry has grown in leaps and bounds in terms of the amount of technology that is used every day and in the way that it integrates with every area of the business.” Chandler, whose company specialises in providing integrated websites and online ordering services to restaurants, says new technology can boggle some restaurant operators who then miss out on the opportunities of being online. “From a consumers point of view they want convenience, efficiency, quality, and consistency and are increasingly demanding those things,” he says. “They’re now accustomed to convenient internet-based ordering and being able to get information about a restaurant before they get there.” hospitalitymagazine.com.au
Now you can run the whole venue from your bar. No matter where you are – the bar, lounge, bistro, or restaurant, H&L Australia’s integrated total business management software package will help you get everything under control minute by minute, from any POS unit in your venue. Everything from stock management, staff rostering and labour costs, surveillance camera security and free text paging is at your fingertips. So if you’re worried about labour costs going through the roof, stock going out the door, or profit going out the window, now you can monitor and manage everything with the power of total business management from any point of sale. For more information call 1800 670 200 or visit w w w. p o w e r o f p o s . c o m Sy d ney • Mel b o ur n e • B r is ba n e • C a ir n s • H o bart • A de l a i de • P e rt h • D a rwi n • A u c kl a n d • Va n c ou ve r H&L25073/H
management
Want to be the local mayor? Get working with Facebook Bringing Foodservice Together 7KH ),$ ZLOO WUDYHO WR +REDUW 7DVPDQLD IRU WKH QH[W )RRGVHUYLFH )RUXP WR EH KHOG RQ :HGQHVGD\ -XQH DW WKH +HQU\ -RQHV $UW +RWHO 7KLV HYHQW LV RSHQ IRU PHPEHUV DQG LQGXVWU\ JXHVWV $W WKLV OXQFK HYHQW ([HF &KHI 2OLYHU 0HOOHUV IURP 5KXEDUE &DWHULQJ DQG %HOOHULYH 2YDO ZLOO EH RQH RI WKH VSHDNHUV :RUNLQJ ZLWK WKH OLNHV RI +HVWRQ %OXPHQWKDO DW WKH )DW 'XFN LQ (QJODQG DQG VRXV FKHI DW /RUG¡V KRPH RI ZRUOG FULFNHW DQG WKH œ$VKHV¡ WKLV KLJK SURÀOH 7DVPDQLDQ FKHI KDV FRPH KRPH WR VWDUW WKH QH[W SKDVH RI KLV FDUHHU -DFN 9DQ 7DWHQKRYH IURP (QWHUSULVH &RQQHFW ZLOO DGYLVH KRZ EXVLQHVVHV FDQ HQJDJH ZLWK VRPH IHGHUDOO\ IXQGHG SURJUDPV WR PDNH WKH EXVLQHVV PRUH VXVWDLQDEOH SURÀWDEOH DQG SURYLGH FRQWLQXRXV LPSURYHPHQW LQ WKHLU LQWHUQDO V\VWHPV
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)RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ Carol Rothschild 0414 367 888 www.foodserviceindustry.asn.au
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hospitality | june 2011
Using Facebook to promote your local area, not just your restaurant or cafe, will reap rewards for your business, says Ken Burgin.
‘As you demonstrate how to use social media to promote the neighbourhood, they’ll start to understand and join in.’ CHANCES are you use Facebook to keep up with friends, so why bring your business into it? With nine million Aussies using Facebook — almost half of them every day — there are now some major, and free marketing opportunities. Be there or be very much left out. It’s simple to start a Facebook page, sharing information and connecting with fans who 'like' your page. Once someone becomes a fan, they will randomly receive your business Page updates on their own Facebook news feed. You can also add Photo Albums and use Facebook Events to promote dinners, entertainment and functions, and don’t panic about privacy, this is quite separate to a personal Facebook profile. Your privacy can be tightly protected. But let’s go further than just promoting your own business — it's also important to feature the local area. Smart operators know that promoting their location is an important way to build long-term trade, especially if you're not in a big city — for example highlighting local rural towns, tourist areas and scenic locations to help attract visitors. The local tourist organisation will do this in an official capacity, but their job is usually to promote an entire region rather than your special neighbourhood. You can become the local 'online mayor' and use social media to reach a very large audience. It’s easy to do this. Login to Facebook, then go to an exist-
ing Facebook Business Page (not your own) and at the bottom of the left-hand column you will see a link: 'Create a Page’. Choose the option for a ‘Local Business or Place’. Then choose a title and a category, and click through the options to set up the Page — it only takes a few minutes. For example if you live in beautiful Craggy Plains, set up a new Page called ‘Visit Craggy Plains’. All Facebook Pages now have a row of five photos across the top, so be ready to add five photos to the photo album to be used there, and have an interesting picture in vertical format ready to use as the main image — maybe a photo of Craggy Plains at sunset, or in the morning mist.
Content is king There are plenty of ways to add interesting content. Start with photos of the area — make this a high priority, as they are easy for people to contribute and make the Page look lively. Nominate Photo of the Month if you want to add something competitive. There are sure to be YouTube videos of local features: add one by pasting the URL of the video as a Facebook update, and it will show up automatically on the Page and be ready to play. Promote local community groups and ask them to add events and news, and as Page owner you can also add them to the Events tab. Ask tourists and former residents to share experiences and memories — this has been very well done on the Facebook Page for Esperance in hospitalitymagazine.com.au
management
Western Australia. There are more and more communities with vibrant pages — also check those for Dunedin in New Zealand and Young in NSW (look for ‘Visit Young’). Find a Page by using the Facebook Search Bar at the top of any page. Add links to useful maps and directory, and be brave: share news about your competitors. If the Page is only about your business, you won't get much buy-in from others — a rising tide floats all the boats higher. Ask other local businesses to become fans of the Page so they can post their news and special offers.
Stay current Keeping the page up-to-date is important, and while you’re the official ‘owner’, it’s great to find some ‘local champions’ who can contribute and monitor activity. As owner you can nominate one or two others as administrators to share the responsibility. Set up guidelines on suitable content, and aim for fresh updates at least twice a week. There should also be a friendly response to all positive comments, and spammers or unsuitable posts removed quickly (and these will be quite rare).
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Social media is not going away any time soon.
Facebook is not the only game in town. Set up a special Twitter account for the area and feed content to it and to Facebook from a ‘mayoral blog’, where you post photos, longer news items and information
updates. It’s easy to automate the process using a blogging system like Wordpress, Posterous or Tumblr — once content is added in one place, it can be pushed through to update all the other social media
services. Start by posting a photo and a short explanation as you get into the swing of blogging — it’s not hard. Location-based social media is also growing rapidly. Services such as Foursquare and Gowalla are popular with people who like to checkin on their phone when they eat or drink at a venue. Facebook’s Places feature also competes in this space – 40 per cent of Facebook activity is done on mobile phones, and happy diners can check-in and tell Facebook friends about their busy social life. Clever operators put a reminder on the menu or signs, urging people to share their enjoyment on these services. Chances are most of your business neighbours have only heard of Facebook friends. As you demonstrate how to use social media to promote the neighbourhood, they will start to understand and join in. The more they participate, the better for everyone. Ken Burgin is a leading hospitality industry consultant. To find out more visit profitablehospitality.com or call 1800 001 353.
hospitality | june 2011
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management
doctorhospitality
No more masked man You’ve known him for many years as E.S.Scoffer. But the time
Our pub now has more than 40 staff. Do we need a human resources manager? Staff are probably your largest expense so having someone focused on their administration will pay big dividends, whatever the title. They can manage recruitment, terminations, online rostering, OH&S requirements and efficient payroll. When these tasks are spread too widely, costs rise and mistakes happen, for example things like unsuitable staff kept on beyond their trial period. They can also manage training, traineeships and performance reviews. The market for quality staff is competitive, and your professional approach will start to attract better applicants and help move on the underperformers. Our day trade has collapsed after several large employers left the area but our nights are still strong. Is it wise to change from opening all day to just evenings? Possibly, but lunches are part of your promotion for dinner, even if it just means having the phone answered correctly. There’s also a lot of preparation for the evening that takes place during the day — this still needs to be done. Cutting out lunches won’t halve your fixed costs (like rent and insurance), just cut some of your variable costs (food and wages). Do a careful analysis of how much you will really save and take another look at the lunchtime offering – is it fast enough and value-priced? Is there another style of day-time service that would attract those that come in the evening? We now offer free WiFi as you suggested and have people sitting for hours on one coffee. How do we fix this Doctor H? Is it free without conditions or free with a minimum spend? There’s no ‘one-size’ solution here. Maybe you’ve always been attracting freeloaders! Just kidding. Some lunch venues turn it off between 12–2pm, and some give a password for each hourly purchase. Is this really an allday problem, or just in peak periods? You’ve taken your business ahead of the competition — now it’s time to refine the offer and keep your digital advantage. Why are customers complaining on Eatability and not contacting me directly. I would fix their problem if they’d just talk to me. It’s the Australian way — don’t complain, but tell all your friends and never go back. And now there’s a new avenue for complaining that even shy people like — online. How easy is it really for people to contact you privately? A smart operator has all the channels — a feedback form on the website, a well-publicised direct number (a second mobile phone) and an easy-to-find Facebook page. You can also reply to Eatability posts. Claim your listing as the business owner and respond to all comments, good and bad. In the old days people wrote letters and made polite phone calls. Make sure you now offer new ways to complain for a new online world.
Got a question for the good doctor? Send it to him via the editor at rosemary.ryan@reedbusiness.com.au
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hospitality | june 2011
has come to reveal the true identity of our columnist. KNOCK, knock. Who’s there? Eddie. Eddie who? Eddie Tor. Oh dear, not my dreaded setter of deadlines. This journal’s She Who Must Be Obeyed. What do you want? I want you to come out. Reveal yourself. Enough of this hiding behind a distortion of some old French chef’s name. It’s so embarrassing when I’m out there among industry people having to pretend I don’t know who you are. Come out and face your critics, you curmudgeonly old codger. And so it went on. So, here I am, unmasked, confirming my identity for several who guessed it correctly many years ago and no doubt annoying those now discovering who their combatant has been in the many debates that make foodservice such a lively and vibrant industry. But as I stand naked before you (figuratively speaking), it dawns that many who read these monthly mumblings were being sustained by nothing more than mother’s milk when this column first appeared. Others had yet to see the light of day. For more than thirty years E.S. Scoffer has been allowed — by a succession of editors — to voice his opinions, criticisms and, even, praise across the broad spectrum of foodservice and hospitality. The name was his own punning variation on Escoffier, devised to provide anonymity when he was also the editor of this journal back in the late 1970s. Ah, those were the heady days of lunches that extended into dinners, of an endless influx of overseas chefs hosting exotic feasts, of nouvelle cuisine and cuisine minceur, of rumbustious food critic dinners, of expense account dining, of riotous evenings at the Dog’s Bar and the First Aussie Fish Cafe, of “Lofty” and his wine lunches (one with Chateau D’yquem for every course), of a brash young Hewie and a trail of youthful innovators. Your columnist was both participant and observer then and in the decades that followed. He has served as food writer and critic, as a kitchen-hand, chef and restaurateur. He has studied and judged, earned his certificates from cooking schools and colleges (thank you Alla Wolf Tasker for those early inspirational classes in your Hawthorn home) and experienced the industry from both sides of the bain marie. Throughout it all, the enthusiasm felt when I first stepped into the Hospitality chair those many years ago has never waned. Rather it has grown. I can’t get enough of it – and, neither, it seems, can the public or those who serve them. Way back then, when cookbooks were mostly the domain of the exalted foreign Michelin men and Australian television was slowly progressing from the antics of Graham “Galloping Gourmet” Kerr and the boozy presentations of Keith Floyd, it was impossible to imagine the plethora of cooking shows flooding our screens today. We are now awash with food — books, magazines, films, festivals and, of course, so-called reality shows that are about as far away from what goes on beyond the swing doors as it is possible to get. But who cares if they’re not the real deal? These endless shows are at least getting the message out there about food and foodservice in all their guises. And never was it more important than now, when a meal in a box is taking over from a proper sit-down dinner, when cooking means setting the time on the microwave and when each generation understands less about food and its preparation. The word “passion” has been devalued by the way it is thrown around like confetti on many of these food shows. On the other hand, unless we have people of passion the entire culinary craft is headed for extinction. Passion includes being critical, demanding and not accepting second best. Which is where grumpy old men like E.S.Scoffer come in. They actually care. They can’t abide sloppy service, sub-standard fare, lackadaisical staff, dubious hygiene, bruising ambience, impersonal management — and all the other many evils that too frequently bedevil our industry at all its many levels. Thus we rail against the imperfections, the shortcomings and the excesses; against stifling bureaucracy and devious spin doctors, and will continue to do so. All that’s changed is that E.S. Scoffer has doffed his toque and stood aside for...Tony Berry. Tony Berry, a former editor of Hospitality, has been a travel editor and restaurant reviewer, a chef and restaurateur. A national and state age-group title holder for the marathon and halfmarathon, he is the world’s fourth fastest half-marathoner for all time in his current age group. hospitalitymagazine.com.au
whatsnew
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1 Sweet news for fries. McCain Foodservice has launched its new Sweet Potato 10mm Straight Cut Fries. With the sweet potato’s unique texture and flavour the product is expected to be as popular with foodservice diners as it has been with consumers in its retail launch. The product is the first premium, A Grade sweet potato fry product available to the foodservice Australian market and is cholesterol free, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Their distinctive flavour and look make them ideal for serving as a takeaway treat, snack, side-serve or part of a main meal with or without dipping sauce. And to celebrate the launch McCains is running a special foodservice promotion with six Ipads to be won. More at mccain.com.au 2 Green packaging. Detpak’s Rebbit packaging range is 100 per cent compostable in commercial composting facilities due to the bio-film lining. The range of retail bags are made in three convenient sizes, with window and tin-tie options available. They’re suitable for products such as coffee, tea, biscuits, chocolates and nuts, and can be heat sealed with a simple bar heat sealer, then re-sealed at home with the tin-tie to ensure the contents stay fresh. As well as the “Vine” stock print, the bags can also be custom printed for superior presentation of your brand. More at detpak.com. 3 Premium muffins with house-made look. GWF Foodservice — the foodservice division of George Weston Foods — has unveiled three new
hospitalitymagazine.com.au
varieties in its Ministry of Muffins range, the deliciously decadent Double Chocolate, Blueberry, and Banana and Oat. The Ministry of Muffins range is made with premium ingredients and features an in-house baked look. They're available in two different sizes: Regular — 100 grams each at 72 muffins per carton or individually wrapped with 36 muffins to a carton, and Mini — 25 grams each at 96 muffins per carton. Once baked, they're snapfrozen to lock in the freshness and to ensure consistent quality. Find out more at georgewestonfoods.com.au 4 Chicken meat with safety assured. You can always have roasted chicken meat on hand with the Inghams new Roasted Chicken Meat, an individually quick frozen product that comes ready roasted in resealable zipfresh bags for maximum hygiene, safety and ease of storage. It means there’s no need to roast raw chicken, no need to slice or dice prior to use, and no storage hassles. Available in three convenient cuts – sliced, short sliced and diced — it can be stored in the freezer and used when needed. The fact that the meat has been individually quick frozen means it will freeflow from the bag, so there’s no wastage. Ingham Roasted Chicken Meat is prepared according to strict hygiene regulations, including a "hold and release" program and is a healthy, safe alternative to raw chicken meat which will cut down your workload and safety concerns by eliminating the need to cook or reheat chicken. For more information head to inghams.com.au/foodservice
5 Tea with style. The new Tea Stick from Gefu is sure to please tea drinkers and maybe even convert coffee lovers. Germany-based Gefu, renowned for introducing style and craftsmanship to everyday kitchen items, has developed the sleek shaft of perforated stainless steel that holds enough loose leaf tea for a single cup. Its sculptural design not only looks good but also allows room for the tea leaves to expand and release their flavourful oils. But it’s not just a pretty face, also making the filling and emptying of tea leaves easier. The Tea Stick has been designed with a slanted opening at the top which acts as a scoop to collect tea leaves direct from the packet or tea caddy. Just fill the stick halfway and place in a cup or glass of hot water. To clean unclip the base and empty the tea leaves before washing. For more go to vgmimports or call 1800 650 601. 6 Classic cookware from Lacor. Now availale in Australia is the Lacor Chef Classic range of commercial grade 18/10 stainless steel cookware. Manufactured in Spain since 1949 for professional use, Lacor combines innovation and tradition to create top quality 5-star cookware. The range includes stockpots, saucepots, casseroles, frypans and sauteuse pans in all relevant commercial sizes from the one litre sauteuse pan to the 141 litre stockpots and are suitable for use on all cooking stove systems, including induction. Lacor boasts an unmatched lifetime guarantee on the cookware and the effectiveness of their sandwich base. More at stanlee.com.au or email info@lacor.com.au to request information.
hospitality | june 2011
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what’s on
hospitalitydiary JUNE
international food, drink and equipment for the retail, foodservice and hospitality industries. See: finefoodaustralia.com.au
19-21 FSA Expo: Foodservice Australia and Bakery Australia; Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The annual event for the foodservice industry this year heads to Melbourne. See the latest in foodservice and bakery equipment, ingredients, products and technology. See foodserviceaustralia.com.au
11-14 Sydney BarShow Week; Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park, Sydney. The premier event for the business of bars with exhibitors, seminars, demonstrations and awards to recognise the best in the business. See barshow.com.au
JULY 21-24 Hotel + Hospitality Furnishings; Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Part of the annual Furnitex, this show features the latest in furniture designs, fabrics and finishes from local and international manufacturers. See furnitex.com.au
SEPTEMBER 5-8 Fine Food Australia 2011; Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Fine Food
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long-term employees, in the National Employment Standards (NES) under the Fair Work Act 2009, is unchanged. The NES provides access to up to 24 months unpaid leave in relation to the birth of a child or the placement for adoption of a child under
Assiette chef Soren Lascelles competes at FSA Expo 2010.
Australia is the country's largest gathering of
16. Each member of an employee couple may each take up to 12 months leave and 12 months of continuous service is the requirement for this — long term casuals included. An employee who has taken 12 months of unpaid parental leave may request an extension for a further period of up to 12 months. The available extension period will be reduced
12-16 Australian HACCP Conference; RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland. The Australian HACCP Conference is the premier discussion forum for food industry professionals involved in food safety. This year’s conference cover topics including building a food safety culture in the workplace, emerging food safety hazards, managing food safety disasters and food safety and consumer concerns. See haccptown.com.au
by any parental leave or special maternity leave taken by the employee’s partner. A request for extension may only be refused on reasonable business grounds. Leave cannot be taken concurrently; other than a period of up to three weeks around the time of birth or adoption. Other parental leave entitlements
legislated in the NES include unpaid special maternity leave, transfer to safe job and the return to work guarantee. This article was written by the Workplace Relations Team at Restaurant & Catering Australia. For more information contact the team on 1300 722 878
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hospitality | june 2011
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