9 minute read
F&B: WINTER MENUS
Spice it up with creative cold-weather creations
As the temperature drops, clubs are looking to swap summer salads for hearty comforts inspired by old classics created from farm fresh, seasonally available produce.
-By Aimee Chanthadavong
THERE’S NO DENYING that the food options at clubs have come a long way. While there is always room for club classics – steak, schnitzel, and Sunday roast – what keeps patrons returning again and again is the variety of new and exciting dishes. And now, with the peak summer trading period over, it’s time for clubs and their food and beverage teams to turn their attention to seasonal opportunities through evolving and interesting menus that drive interest, sales, and repeat visitation ahead of the cooler months.
“Evolving menus that change regularly create new and exciting reasons for customers to return and spend,” according to Future Food director Allan Forsdick.
“While there will always be a place for menu staples and favourites, these should be spiced with a good helping of new menu items and variations. The aim is to provide a balance of proven success and interest-generating dishes specific to your target audience.”
He added that announcing seasonal menu changes is a fantastic marketing opportunity.
“It creates a sense of anticipation among patrons and gives them a reason to return to try new offerings,” said Forsdick.
“Developing a point of difference should be at the forefront of any business strategy. What can be more appealing and effective than promoting the club’s surrounding areas by championing the local region in which it operates, further strengthening the connection between club, customer, and country.”
From paddock to plate
At West HQ in Sydney’s southwest, the food and beverage offerings are made up of various restaurants – including CHU Restaurant by China Doll, the New Town Thai, and outlets of Eat Street Central such as Pizzaperta Manfredi by Stefano Manfredi, Steak & Oyster Co. by Sean Connolly, and Harriet’s Chicken. With this in mind, West HQ group executive chef Gursu Mertel said the upcoming winter menus at the precinct will be dictated by what produce he can get his hands on but doesn’t doubt there’ll be “warming, comforting, and familiar dishes”.
“I work closely with our suppliers and partners, such as FoodBuy, who provide us with great support to source great produce,” he said.
“I catch up with our suppliers on a daily basis to talk about day-to-day production and what’s coming next, which helps me when we develop our seasonal menus, such as winter, as well as ensure we are providing the best quality produce to our customers.”
For Emerson Rodriguez – who recently opened his new restaurant Emerson’s on the Lake after winning the Royal Motor Yacht Club Toronto’s food and beverage operator contract – it’s his ethos to create menus based on what produce is readily available from the likes of the Sydney Fish Market, his local seafood monger Shane’s Seafood, and farmers from the Hunter Valley.
“The menu changes weekly, so it’s hard to menu plan when you’re trying to source ingredients on a weekly basis,” he said.
Forsdick said with cost pressures continuously increasing, there’s never been a better time for clubs to be designing menus around what’s seasonally available.
“Australia’s diverse agricultural regions benefit from distinct climates which allow producers and farmers to produce a wide variety of ingredient options throughout the year. This abundance provides a positive ripple down the supply chain and can often result in advantageous buying conditions at the supplier level,” he said.
“There has never been a more challenging time in restaurants to turn a profit; buying seasonally available produce will aid in maintaining sustainable financial controls on each menu item and ensure menu item availability throughout the year.”
Producing menus based on seasonally available produce is also an opportunity for chefs to flex their creativity in the kitchen
“Developing seasonal menus not only provides customers with a level of variety in climate-appropriate choices and value for money, but the new menu also launches often create a level of excitement internally and allow chefs to develop new dishes which speak to provenance and seasonality,” Forsdick said.
What’s old is new again
While Geebung RSL executive chef Brent Carroll appreciates trends, he is finding that “rustic” classic favourites are making a comeback – and it’s not only impressing the older demographic but younger ones too.
“We’ll be doing lamb shanks, bangers and mash, English pork and fennel sausages, rustic pot pies such as an Angus beef and Guinness pie and shepherd’s pie,” he said.
“It’s surprising how even the younger demographic is reacting to it because it takes them back to their younger years when mum and dad used to cook a lot more at home. Now, people are going out, but their desire is still to have some meals they were brought up on.”
Carroll shared that lamb fry and bacon will be another addition to the club’s winter menu.
“That doesn’t suit everyone, but It’s value for money,” he said, continuing to highlight how price points are another key consideration when he’s developing menus, especially in a period where cost-of-living pressures for customers continue to soar.
“It’s amazing we get away with charging the right and competitive price here,” he said.
“You get good value for money; we’re not charging like our oppositions, even though we could, but we’re lucky enough to have the whole business here to support each other’s business. The bistro and The Cove are working well with the function revenue.”
He emphasised that working with suppliers including PFD Foods, Cotton Tree Meats, Kilcoy Quality Meats, and Gold Coast Bakery, and sourcing fruit and vegetables daily from the Brisbane Markets allows him to buy in bulk and purchase certain products on specials that can be passed onto diners.
Buying seasonally available produce will aid in maintaining sustainable financial controls on each menu item.
Rodriguez agreed that traditional and more classical dishes are having a moment, especially when they’re done right using fresh ingredients. Some of these more comfort-style dishes that he refers to include ossobuco with risotto Milanese, potted prawns, and seafood chowder.
“We’re just going to go for simple, tasty dishes,” he said. “For me, where I find people go wrong – and I’ve been to plenty of restaurants – is you always eat with your eyes first and while there are dishes that are plated really nicely, very artistically, you get disappointed when the flavours don’t go together,” he said.
“I’d rather eat a plate of food where I don’t care what it looks like, but as long as flavours are there, and everything goes together.”
Similar winter dishes are also expected to make an appearance at West HQ. Martel said the precinct builds its menu and seasonal dishes based on what sells, industry trends, more importantly working with its branded food partners including the team from China Doll, Sean Connolly, and Stefano Manfredi.
“Recently during these warm days, the seafood chowder has been a best seller. For this winter, while we will have some new dishes, it is back to the comforts and favourites: a warming chicken pot pie from Harriet’s Chicken or comforting braised beef Yorkshire pudding from Steak & Oyster Co,” he said.
Sharing is caring
At West HQ, family-style sharing has also become increasingly popular, with Mertel believing this will continue into the colder months.
“This is to be expected in our New Town Thai restaurant and CHU by China Doll restaurant as well as Pizzaperta Manfredi, but we are also seeing this emerging at Harriet’s Chicken,” he said.
Carroll agreed that shared plates will be a mainstay of the menu at Geebung RSL’s new eatery and bar, The Cove, which opened in January. He pointed out there’s a ploughman’s lunch that’s become widely popular, and how it just highlights again that members and guests are seeking out classic favourites.
“The ploughman’s lunch goes way back to the ‘50s and ‘60s when a ploughman used to have some cheese and a bit of bread for lunch. But I’ve evolved that to include some fresh wood-smoked leg ham from Cotton Tree, salami, pickled gherkins, onion rings, freshly baked bread rolls, and cheese, of course,” he said.
“It’s a big hearty lunch that’s a meal for one or to share.”
Keeping a fine balance
While seasonal menus are great, clubs often find themselves trying to strike a balance between adding new dishes and keeping old ones.
Lylle Balzer-Blackstock from Australian Pork believes this winter season will be a chance for chefs to put a spin on old favourites.
“What we are seeing going into winter is these well-known pork dishes are being modernised to create menu favourites with patrons,” he said.
“Chefs are taking pork classics like the roast offered up as porchetta and pork belly and are applying them to on-trend categories like sandwiches, burgers, and pasta dishes with a seasonal tweak.”
Highlighting that some of Geebung RSL’s most popular dishes at The Cove are seafood basket, beef ragu with fettuccine, and grilled New Zealand sea-perch with lemon butter, Carroll said he plans to keep those but will “put a different twist” on them come winter.
Forsdick concluded that while food trends are important, it’s key to not get too caught up in them either.
“It’s important to retain your own identity, know who you are, and what you are famous for,” he said.
“Allow your kitchen teams to foster creativity from within the guiderails of your concept and brand identity ensuring that the restaurant or food venue is true to its own concept.”
He also advised it’s important for kitchens to stay agile, particularly in the current economic environment.
“The cost-of-living crisis is mounting its pressures on households and continues to provide challenging and unpredictable conditions for hospitality operators; agility and adapting to change should be a key consideration within each ongoing menu programme.
