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NO.772 MAY 2021
YOGHURT IN MIDDLE EASTERN COOKERY • MEZCAL EDUCATION • JOY'S SARAH BALDWIN
CONTENTS // May
Contents MAY 2021
26
Regulars 6 // IN FOCUS A look into seafood fraud. 10 // NEWS The latest openings, books, products and more. 12 // PRODUCE Mangosteen is the queen of fruit for good reason. 14 // BEST PRACTICE Forecasting is the key to boosting sales. 18 // DRINKS Mezcal education and certification in Australia.
4 | Hospitality
36
26 // PROFILE Sarah Baldwin is running the show at Joy restaurant. 54 // BEHIND THE SCENES Glorietta’s Alaskan king crab spaghetti. 56 // EQUIPMENT Master precision with a dough scraper. 58 // 5 MINUTES WITH … Tamaleria’s Rosa Cienfuegos.
44
Features 30 // FOR THE LOVE OF BREAD Sonoma Bakery’s Andrew Connole on his global baking series. 36 // CULINARY INFLUENCES Mum’s the word for three chefs who pay tribute this Mother’s Day. 44 // YOGHURT Yoghurt is foundational in Middle Eastern cookery. 48 // POS SYSTEMS A guide to selecting the right POS system for your venue.
EDITOR’S NOTE // Hello
Social
Keep up with the Hospitality team
TOWER OF DELICIOUSNESS Harbourfront Seafood has launched a new menu and we can’t go past the seafood tower. @hospitalitymagazine
Taking a risk
SLURP CITY Jidori shio ramen at Sekka sees a broth made from a 16-month-old rooster. @annabellecloros
IT’S ALWAYS A gamble when a chef decides
Cienfuegos who has gone on to grow her
to leave the comfort of being an employee
tamale empire across Sydney.
and make the jump to owner-operator. Sarah
INDULGE YOURSELF The Star Sydney’s signature restaurants are offering premium menus throughout May including a supreme snack selection from Flying Fish. @hospitalitymagazine
I’m also pleased to announce the
Baldwin opened Joy in Brisbane just a few
Hospitality Leaders Summit will be returning
short years ago and completely took over
to Sydney on 9 August. As always, the day will
the restaurant in the midst of a pandemic.
be packed full of panel discussions, Q&As
Baldwin has worked in the industry since she
and presentations from some of hospitality’s
was in high school, and it's beyond clear Joy
most inspirational figures. Tickets are now
is a vessel for her creativity, passion and grit.
on sale and I encourage you to join us in the
I personally found it so inspiring to speak with
conversation at Doltone House Darling Island.
the chef, and I hope you find her story just as
I hope you enjoy this issue.
engaging as I did. This issue, we look at mezcal education in
Until next time,
Australia with two of the industry’s leading
Annabelle Cloros
figures; cover the application of yoghurt in
Editor
Middle Eastern cookery and speak with Rosa
Follow us @hospitalitymagazine #hospitalitymagazine PUBLISHER Paul Wootton pwootton@intermedia.com.au EDITOR Annabelle Cloros T: 02 8586 6226 acloros@intermedia.com.au JOURNALIST Kirsty Sier T: 02 8586 6194 ksier@intermedia.com.au
ADVERTISING NATIONAL Simon York T: 02 8586 6163 F: 02 9660 4419 syork@intermedia.com.au GROUP ART DIRECTOR – LIQUOR AND HOSPITALITY Kea Thorburn kthorburn@intermedia.com.au PRODUCTION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper jacqui@intermedia.com.au
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May 2021 | 5
IN FOCUS // Seafood fraud
Something fishy A new series of studies by The Guardian has exposed seafood fraud on a vast global scale. WORDS Kirsty Sier IT’S FAIRLY COMMON-SENSE market logic:
the global network of seafood fraud. As The
is most prevalent in restaurants, where
if you order Mediterranean swordfish, you
Guardian wrote, this complexity makes the
it occurs at a much higher rate than in
expect your order to contain Mediterranean
industry “highly vulnerable to mislabeling”.
supermarkets and fishmongers. Arguably,
swordfish. You don’t expect it to contain,
Regardless, the ramifications of this fraud
this may not be entirely the fault of the
for example, shark. Seafood fraud has been
are dire, spanning issues of sustainability
restaurants, considering they sit at the
in the media for years, but it has largely
to potential health risks for consumers. The
bottom of the supply chain and would cop
ebbed and flowed without generating any
vast majority of items found to be mislabeled
the effects of fraud perpetrated elsewhere
significant waves of change. However, a
were less expensive and less coveted
in the market. Nonetheless, the statistics are
new study by UK-based newspaper company
varieties of seafood than they claimed to be.
disconcerting. The studies found that fish
The Guardian has put the issue firmly back in the spotlight.
The Guardian’s analysis was conducted
such as dusky grouper, butterfish, perch, sole
across more than 30 countries. Many of
and bluefin and yellowfin tuna have up to a
the individual studies were reliant upon
50 per cent chance of being mislabeled at
which were published in March this year,
relatively new DNA analysis techniques
many restaurants.
found that nearly 40 per cent of the 9,000
that allow a higher level of accuracy
seafood products tested were mislabeled.
than has previously been possible with
a spectrum. And while the analysis didn’t
The statistics left almost no country’s
species identification. In one comparison
conclusively state all mislabeling was done
seafood supply untouched, and found it
that focused on the sale of “snapper” by
deliberately, many cases involved substituting
affected the products on sale at restaurants,
fishmongers, restaurants and supermarkets
a low-cost fish for a higher priced one,
supermarkets and fishmongers alike.
in Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK
indicating much of the mislabeling is the
and Canada, researchers found mislabeling
result of fraud rather than carelessness.
in roughly 40 per cent of fish tested.
On the comparatively harmless end of the
The analysis of 44 studies, the results of
Due to the complex and intertwined nature of the world’s seafood supply chain, it is difficult to know where the blame lies in 6 | Hospitality
Worryingly, The Guardian found mislabeling
The seriousness of the fraud sits along
spectrum, some of the seafood products
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IN FOCUS // Seafood fraud tested were found to be a different species
Nonetheless, it is still cause for concern
of the same family. For instance, in Germany,
for restaurant operators and, by extension,
48 per cent of products purported to be king
customers. There are ways for chefs and
scallops were Japanese scallops.
restaurant owners to help avoid putting
Other instances of fraud posed issues to ocean health and sustainability, with
falsely advertised products on their menus. One way of doing this is to buy whole fish
substitutes found to be of vulnerable
instead of fillets. Whole fish are easier to
or endangered species. In one study
identify if you have a basic knowledge of what
conducted in 2018 across the UK, 70 per
you are working with. Also make sure to pay
cent of products claiming to be snapper
attention to the price of the product. If you
were a different fish, many of which were
are getting what you believe to be a bluefin
reef-dwelling species threatened by habitat
tuna for way below market price, for example,
degradation and overfishing.
chances are the deal is too good to be true.
Elsewhere, the mislabeling was more
If you order fillets, be wary of sellers that
blatent. According to The Guardian, prawn
advertise endangered species or use generic
balls sold in Singapore were “frequently”
names such as snapper and skate, which can
found to contain pork and not a trace of
account for up to 60 different species.
prawn. And in China, 58 per cent of fish
Finally, opt for products certified by the
products from commercial brands bought
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). MSC-
at local markets were misrepresented, with
certified products are identifiable via the blue
some of the substitutions coming from the
tick on the label. The aim of the international
deadly puffer fish family.
non-profit organisation is to set the standard
Seafood mislabeling has been an ongoing
for sustainability and traceability within the
issue. Back in 2016, a report by sustainability
seafood supply chain. Not only does the MSC
not-for-profit Oceana similarly found
chain of custody standard mean it can trace a
seafood fraud was a problem worldwide.
product back to a certified fishery or farm, it
And The Guardian article admits the studies
also carries out DNA testing on all its affiliated
conducted were partially biased towards
products, saving restaurants much of the hard
seafood varieties more prone to mislabeling.
work of identification. ■
8 | Hospitality
If you order fillets, be wary of sellers that advertise endangered species or use generic names such as snapper and skate, which can account for up to 60 different species.
NEWS // Entrée
Entrée
The latest openings, books, events and more. EDITED BY Annabelle Cloros
Bings is back
Zero-waste bar opens in Sydney Icebergs’ Maurice Terzini and Scout’s Matt Whiley have teamed up to launch Re, a progressive bar
Bings in Sydney’s Barangaroo has
based on a no-waste philosophy. The venue is
reopened its doors after remaining
located in the South Eveleigh precinct and has a
closed for more than a year. The bao
considered approach to waste from the interior to
bar from Lotus Dining Group has
the glassware and ingredients used to make the
relaunched with a revised menu from
drinks. The cocktail menu features drinks made with
Group Head Chef Steve Wu. Diners can
produce saved from local markets including a spritz
sample new additions such as salads
that incorporates peaches and plums destined for
and a range of Asian-inspired chicken
compost. Guests are in good hands with the bar
schnitzels including the OG, Seoul
team which includes Evan Stroeve (Bulletin Place),
flavour with gochujang and kimchi
Jake Downe (Scout London) and Ho Song (Cantina
as well as mustard mayo, bonito and
OK!) Icebergs’ Head Chef Alex Pritchard is behind
seaweed. lotusdininggroup.com Photography by Alana Dimou
the snacks menu, which takes the same sustainable approach as the rest of the venue. wearere.com.au
Reduce your kitchen footprint The Zero-Waste Chef Anne-Marie Bonneau Avery; $39.99 Sustainability warrior Anne-Marie Bonneau has penned her debut book which motivates people to reduce waste in the kitchen. The Zero-Waste Chef covers a range of tips as
The Boathouse Group expands to Rose Bay
well as 75 veg-centric recipes that make use of offcuts and produce that’s past its prime. Readers can turn a stale loaf into Mexican hot
The Boathouse Group has opened its first
chocolate bread pudding or wilted greens
location in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The
into pesto. penguin.com.au
group took over the former Regatta site last year and has slowly renovated the Rose Bay Marina space, unveiling a takeaway window, kiosk and now an upstairs Brownrigg has designed a seafood-leaning
Helios Distillery launches Ryukyu Bijin Awamori
menu that is split up into raw, entrée, pasta,
Acclaimed Japanese distillery Helios has released an
mains and desserts. Diners can kick off
Okinawan liquor into the local market. Comparable
their meal with fresh oysters and yellowfin
to sake, Ryukyu Bijin Awamori is made using natural
tuna with finger lime and move into lobster
spring water from the distillery’s site and emits a sweet
ravioli and dry-aged duck breast. The
aroma. It’s recommended as a cocktail base or to sip
restaurant is open daily for lunch and
on its own. The distillery has also launched a sparkling
dinner. theboathouserosebay.com.au
yuzu which is ready to drink. Available from Dan
restaurant. Group Executive Chef James
Murphy’s for $55 for 700ml. 10 | Hospitality
PRODUCE // Mangosteen
Mangosteen The ‘queen of tropical fruit’ is highly prized for a reason. WORDS Annabelle Cloros Origins Mangosteen is part of the Malpighiales family and is
Trees grow between 6-25m high
known by the scientific name Garcinia mangostana. The tropical evergreen tree is native to parts of South-East Asia including the Malaysian peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.
Usually grown as part of a mix of
Mangosteen was first introduced to Australia in the
tree crops
1940s, however initial growth efforts in New South Wales and Southern Queensland were unsuccessful. New
High in antioxidants,
cultivators were imported in the 70s to North Queensland,
calcium, phosphorus
which led to the first mangosteen win. Nowadays, most
and vitamins B and C
fruit is grown in Darwin and Far North Queensland. Two types of mangosteen have been identified: spherical and oblong. In Australia, seashore mangosteen, yellow mangosteen, Cambogia and madrano are grown alongside the more common purple mangosteen, however they are part of a niche market.
Growth and harvest Trees are slow growing and can take up to 10 years to bear
30 per cent of the fruit’s total weight is edible
fruit. Mangosteens are typically grown from seed and flourish in wet, tropical, humid climates. Rich, deep soil with solid water-holding capacity is a must, with trees also doing well on deep river loams. Peak season in Australia is between November and March. Fruit mostly grows outside the edge of the tree’s canopy and is ready for harvest once they have turned from green to purple. A mature tree produces between 400-900 pieces of fruit, which have a bright green stem when they’re ready for harvest.
Appearance and flavour profile Mangosteens are between 4-8cm in diameter and typically weigh 50-150g. They have a thick purple leathery skin with a green crown on top. Inside, the creamy white flesh is split into segments, with four to seven pieces found within. The flesh is comparable to citrus, with some
North Queensland has 98.6 per cent of Australia’s mangosteen plantings
segments containing an almond-shaped seed. The fruit has a sweet and tangy taste and has been likened to a mix of lychee, peach, strawberry and pineapple.
Culinary applications and storage
Small
The fruit can last up to four weeks at room temperature
amounts are
after it has been picked. It’s recommended they are not
exported
refrigerated as cold temperatures can damage them. Mangosteen is best enjoyed fresh. To eat, cut around
Yearly production is
the fruit with a knife and twist in opposite directions. They
highly variable due
are also commonly found canned, frozen, juiced or made into syrups and preserves. ■ 12 | Hospitality
to environmental difficulties
BEST PRACTICE // Forecasting
Looking ahead Better forecasting helps boost sales and improve control costs. WORDS Ken Burgin WITH SMART FUTURE watching,
on last month? Rephrase this as a
you can adjust staff and
number so everyone understands:
Use a good weather app and track regularly
purchasing to reflect expected
“We’re expecting 120 people
Yahoo and TV weather channels
business more accurately.
instead of the usual 90-100.”
will show up to seven days in
check what’s allowed under Fair Work rules.
staff for the weekend? How do
low food and wage costs because
Predict the effect of TV and sporting events
Develop an ordering standby system for the weekend
changes in temperature, snow
You want just enough stock on
they have exact numbers. With
If you know football means a
and rainfall affect numbers?
hand to be able to cover an
the growth of data gathering
hit in trade, organise an event
Many bakers adjust the cooking
unexpected rush. Emergency
and artificial intelligence, online
for ‘everyone else’, e.g. a wine
of hot items such as pies to the
runs to the supermarket are
ordering and rostering can do
dinner. What about Married at
temperature and have become
expensive — what alternatives
a much better job predicting
First Sight or The Bachelor —
quite exact with it as a money-
can you set up?
demand. Here are some ways to
positive for trade or not?
making exercise. What’s your
Caterers usually work with 100 per cent certainty — they can achieve
advance. Will you need extra
make improvements.
Keep daily logbooks and diaries
Watch for local events that will boost business
equivalent product?
Watch population changes in your area Census data can help, but it is
Record customer numbers,
accordingly for popular concerts
Develop flexible staff schedules and rostering systems
weather, special events, the
and local festivals. It can be a
Explain how changes are
reliable guide. It can also give you
pattern of customer visits, etc.
great time to open especially
decided so it’s not ‘unfair’
a guide to adverse events that
Logbooks are more informative
and catch the crowds. The local
when shifts are increased or
may be looming, e.g. a business
than a blank diary page. The
tourist information office and
decreased. If you are developing
relocating from an office block
immediate past is often a good
internet will have information —
a new workplace agreement,
may mean the loss of hundreds or
guide for the coming weeks or
subscribe to relevant newsletters.
take flexibility into account.
thousands of potential customers.
Adjust your opening times
months — use a printed diary or
only updated occasionally — local observation may be a more
Online rostering systems allow
Work out the ‘strike rate’ for product demand
you to put out urgent calls
Watch industry trends
for more people — make sure
Faster service, table ordering,
Make sure staff understand business numbers
If 100 people order food out of
everyone knows how it works.
healthy options, ingredients and
500 visitors to your club or bar,
You might even develop a staff
new flavours, legal regulations,
For example, how many more
you have a strike rate of 20 per
standby system. If someone is
the ageing population — these
customers to expect if the bar
cent. It will be a guide for when
on call, pay them an agreed
can all have a significant effect
will be 10 per cent busier than
you are expecting 200, 500 or
allowance to be available, and
on the type, preferences and
last week or 20 per cent down
2,000 visitors.
pay it if they are called in —
number of customers you see. ■
online system.
14 | Hospitality
ADVERTORIAL // Grana Padano
Wheels of fortune With 600 years of history, Grana Padano outdoes generic parmesan at every turn.
PASTA IS A staple dish in foodservice, and one
Unlike parmesan, the quality and consistency
The three vintages are:
of the most-loved meals around the world. In
of Grana Padano is strictly enforced by a
Grana Padano PDO: a softer and grainier
most cases, a crucial step in serving a pasta
regulatory body. Established in 1954, the
version aged between nine to 16 months
dish is the final grating of cheese over the top.
Consortium for the Protection of Grana
for a mild and milky flavour. It’s perfect as
Even if the quantity is small, the quality of the
Padano PDO cheese — or the Consorzio
a topping for meats and vegetables and is
finishing cheese can make all the difference to
Tutela Grana Padano — ensures each wheel
great as an appetiser or snack.
the flavour of the dish as a whole.
of Grana Padano cheese is made according
Grana Padano Over 16 Months: has a
to production specifications so it can be
grainier consistency and a stronger, tangy
fine to fine dining, most standard parmesan
awarded its PDO (Protected Designation
taste. It’s ideal for grating, cheeseboards,
doesn’t cut it. Parmesan, as a generic cheese
of Origin) status and fire-branded with the
meat and vegetable fillings and to make
product, is unregulated by any governing
Grana Padano mark.
crispy wafers.
For chefs looking to elevate dishes from just
Every maker of Grana Padano is required
Grana Padano Riserva: aged over 20
inconsistencies in quality. Generic grated
to strictly observe the guidelines laid out for
months and required to pass additional
parmesan products contain up to 10 per cent
the production of the cheese, which regulates
quality tests. The end result has a dark
fillers and preservatives and are often aged
everything from the cow’s diet to the milk
straw-yellow colour and a rich, full,
for just six to 12 months — not nearly long
supply area and the ageing process. After nine
persistent taste. Aside from being a
enough to establish a flavour profile robust
months of ageing, each wheel undergoes strict
special ingredient in a great variety of
enough for top restaurants.
testing for appearance, aroma and texture
dishes, Riserva also works well when served
before receiving its fire-branded certification.
as part of a luxurious cheeseboard with
body, meaning producers can get away with
Grana Padano, on the other hand, is a superior alternative. The original recipe is
The final product is a crumbly, delicate
thought to have been invented in 1135 by a
cheese with an intense flavour profile and a
group of Benedictine monks in Northern Italy,
granular structure that’s capable of elevating
who transformed surplus raw milk into a cheese
sweet and savoury dishes. Grana Padano is
finish a meal, create a meal or to enjoy as
with a distinctive and intense flavour profile.
differentiated into three separate vintages,
part of a cheese board, the high quality
the consistency of which can be relied upon
and consistency of the historic product is a
from wheel to wheel.
guaranteed way to satisfy customers. ■
For almost 1,000 years, the original recipe for Grana Padano has remained unchanged. 16 | Hospitality
nuts, fruit and chutneys and aged balsamic vinegar Whether you are using Grana Padano to
ITALIAN
EXCELLENCE
OF ORIGI N
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OTECTED PR
SIGNATIO
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DE
•
DRINKS // Mezcal
Community spirit Mezcal is one of the most culturally significant drinks in the world — and it’s finally having its moment. WORDS Kirsty Sier “PARA TODO MAL mezcal y para todo
The resulting hospitality group, Milpa
bien, tambien” (for everything bad,
Collective, now has five venues in Sydney
Mezcal, a smoky agave-based spirit
a casual Tulum-inspired taqueria, with
mezcal, and for everything good as well). traditionally made by Mexico’s indigenous peoples, is more than just a drink; it’s an ingrained part of cultural life, ritual and tradition in the country.
Often compared to its agave-based relative
tequila, the comparison is in some ways
fair and in others not at all. Of course, they are made using the same family of fruit. But not all agaves are the same, nor are
and another four in the works. Taqiza is
Sonora focusing on the regional cuisine of Mexico’s coastal north-west and La Palma offering a Caribbean cocktail bar inspired
partners Pablo Vargas and Liber Osorio. The two met six years ago working in a CBD kitchen and decided to go into business together two years later. 18 | Hospitality
understand the market a bit more and the Australian palate.”
Collective was supporting authenticity
a stewardship of mezcal in its purest and most traditional form.
“We started Milpa Collective as an idea
Pablo has been here for 11 years, and
ambassadors in Sydney are business
first home, not my second — I think we
to authentic Latin American cuisine and
and tequila — as well as their cultural and Two of mezcal’s most ardent
here for a long time — Australia is now my
One of the first things Vargas and Osorio
revolution Cuba. All share a dedication
to elevate Mexican food and drinks,” says
culinary significance — differ greatly.
But at the same time, because we’ve been
by the flavours and atmosphere of pre-
the methods of production. As a result, the flavour profiles and complexity of mezcal
flavours are and what it should taste like.
Osorio. “I’ve been in Australia for 10 years, he noticed Mexican cuisine in Australia is really Tex-Mex. Our interpretation is more authentic because we come from
Latin America. I’m from Chile and Pablo
is from Mexico, and our grandmas raised
us with food from there, so I think there’s a different understanding of what the
first agreed upon when starting Milpa
and small-batch producers across their
entire portfolio of food and drinks (even
the name Milpa comes from an indigenous method of agricultural production in
Meso-America, which precedes and rejects western bias towards monocultures). When it comes to mezcal, there is an
added level of importance considering
the enduring indigeneity of many of the harvest and production processes.
Although tequila and mezcal come from
the same family of fruit and the same
part of the world, much of the similarity
agave. While tequila is only made from
the widely available blue agave, or Agave tequilana, mezcal can come from any
variety of agave. The usage will depend
on the region of Mexico where it's made,
the traditions of the communities making it and the environmental factors that influence what is available.
“The types of agave used to make
mezcal vary a lot and some of them
are very hard to find,” explains Vargas.
“Tequila is mass-produced and uses agave that grows for a year and is used as fast
as possible, but the plants used for mezcal need to be found rather than cultivated;
the traditional producers go and find them. “The good thing about mezcal is that
it’s not mass-produced. There could be
bad years when there is a lot of rain and it will affect the flavour or the profile of the
agave, but the communities produce what they can; they don’t force it. They have a
lot of respect for nature and for the plants. Most of the production of mezcal is very
sustainable, so you won’t have bad years like with wine.”
“Certification for mezcal is a controversial matter. Some say it benefits the small producers, but others say it benefits the big companies that can afford to pay for all the permits.” – Pablo Vargas The respect exercised by producers is present throughout the entire mezcal production process. It’s common
knowledge an ageing process improves the flavour profile and deepens the complexity of a spirit. And while the spectrum of
ageing for tequila sits between a few years and not at all, it’s said mezcal is the only spirit with a built-in ageing process.
There are three different categories
into which mezcal is divided: ancestral, artisanal and industrial. It affects how
long an agave is allowed to mature for,
how long it is cooked and the length of
fermentation and distillation. The agave itself can be left to mature for decades,
May 2021 | 19
DRINKS // Mezcal
stops there. The first difference is the
DRINKS // Mezcal Pablo Vargas and Liber Osorio
“There are different regions in Oaxaca, but if you take agave
but the minimum time for the process alone is
The sheer scope of variables that can affect the
for three to four days (the source of its famously
most diverse drinks. Every bottle of mezcal is
seven years. The fruit is cooked underground smoky flavour profile), fermented for several
from the hills, it’s
days more and distilled until the master distiller
going to be more
“Some agaves can mature for 20 years, 50
mineral in flavour. If you go to the valleys, it’s sweeter because you have higher sugar content.” – Liber Osorio
pronounces it ready.
different to the next, even if they’re from the
same producer. Osorio compares it to natural wine, where “every batch is different”.
And much like natural wine, which is also a
years,” says Vargas. “It changes the flavour
fast-growing market in Australia, the uniqueness
from the soil and from the sun, and it will taste
challenge when it comes to knowing which
completely because it’s getting all the nutrients completely different to an agave that has only been on the ground for a year. The methods
change the flavour as well. The main difference
is a huge drawcard. But it can also prove a
mezcal to purchase. After all, sometimes you do want to know what you’re getting yourself into. There are a few tell-tale signs that can help
is the agave is cooked underground for mezcal,
professionals predict what they're going to
The tools used after for fermentation [are also
A huge amount of Mexico’s mezcal is made in
which gives it a very distinctive smoky flavour.
different]. Pretty much every mezcal and every production can have a different flavour. It’s not mass-produced; it’s very artisanal.”
It’s evident mezcal and tequila simply cannot
be compared; and a demanding market has
had a huge impact on the production process of tequila. “Blue agave needs sometimes seven or
eight years to reach maturity before you can cut it and make tequila,” says Osorio. “But because
taste from a particular bottle. One is terroir.
Oaxaca, a state in the southwest of the country. “There are different regions in Oaxaca, but if
you take agave from the hills, it’s going to be
more mineral in flavour,” says Osorio. “If you
go to the valleys, it’s sweeter because you have
higher sugar content. But if you take agave from Durango or Jalisco from the north, it will be drier because it’s from the desert.”
Mezcal’s smokiness is what many connoisseurs
there’s a lot of market pressure with tequila, they
love about the spirit, but it can also be a barrier
can make tequila with 55 per cent tequila and
factor to take into consideration is the time the
cut it by four years and mix it with sugar. You
45 per cent sugar, and that’s what you get with cheap tequila. It’s why everyone hates tequila; you shoot it and it’s disgusting, but that’s because it’s full of sugar.” 20 | Hospitality
end result of mezcal makes it one of the world’s
for those who are new to the drink. Another
agave spends cooking underground, which is the source of the smokiness.
Although there is a certification process in
place in Mexico, there are pros and cons to using
DRINKS // Mezcal certification as an indicator of a mezcal’s quality.
the reason mezcal is finally having its moment
— ensuring a particular agave is being used or
among Australian consumers for authenticity and
While it helps to regulate the production process confirming foreign sugars aren’t being added —
the cost of certification can also be prohibitive to producers and smaller indigenous communities.
An
mezcal can
underground
mature for
cooking
anywhere
process
between
generates
seven and 50
mezcal’s
years
smoky flavour
Oaxaca is
good mezcal
the heart
is detailed
of mezcal
information
production
printed on
in Mexico
the bottle
drink because the method of production is very
the permits. It’s good because there is quality
control, but obviously there are more business
people involved. I think the people involved are recognising mezcal doesn’t have to become like
tequila, which is suffering at the moment. There is a shortage of tequila because there is a plant
Vargas. “Before that, it was not considered a nice traditional. The way they make it comes through generations and generations, and the people who have been making this drink in the past
were mostly indigenous communities, which had been relegated — and still are very relegated — in Mexican society.
“When I was growing up, the biggest
shortage, so I think everybody needs to respect the
celebration we would have in school was the day
that produce it and the environment, because that’s
and we would celebrate that. The perception has
traditional methods, the indigenous communities
For Osorio and Vargas, the importance of
supporting small, family-run mezcal producers is multi-pronged. Not only does it feed money
back into traditional communities, it also keeps
sustainable mezcal-making practices alive, which
in turn ensures the endurance of all the things that make mezcal such a distinguished and enjoyable
drink — from the complexity of its flavour profile to the fact that every bottle is unique.
Luckily, all of these influences are also part of
22 | Hospitality
“In the last 20 years, mezcal has become
producers, but others say certification benefits
the only way it can be sustainable.”
A sign of a
awareness of what we are eating and drinking.
more of an appreciated drink in Mexico,” says
the big companies that can afford to pay for all
to make
sustainability, which corresponds to a heightened
“Certification for mezcal is a controversial
matter,” says Vargas. “Some say it benefits the small Agave used
in the sun. There is a growing appreciation
the Europeans came to Mexico and invaded it,
changed. There’s a sense of pride when, a long
time ago, there was not a sense of pride. With this knowledge and the new conversations around
that, there came an appreciation for things like
mezcal, and that’s when it started to hit a lot of
markets and when people started to drink it more and it started to receive more appreciation. It’s
when I also started to get a sense of what mezcal was compared to tequila. After being relegated
for so many years, it’s become a drink that is so
important, and it’s getting more important on an international level.” ■
hospleaders.com.au Hospitality Leaders Summit 2021 Partners
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The Hospitality Leaders Summit returns Monday 9 August 2021 • Doltone House Darling Island, Sydney
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PROFILE // Joy 26 | Hospitality
PROFILE // Joy
Sarah Baldwin The chef on maintaining the joy. WORDS Annabelle Cloros SARAH BALDWIN IS behind Brisbane’s
The chef decided to take a time out
most-lauded tiny restaurant. At just 10
from fine dining and moved to Northern
wouldn’t have it any other way. As she puts
chef and her partner at the time. Baldwin
seats, Joy is pocket-sized, but the chef
it: “There’s nothing that doesn’t go through my hands at Joy.”
Hospitality talks to Baldwin about going
from a dishie to a chef, finding her calling by the sea and creating an experience at
her restaurant Joy that gives as much to the customers as it does to the people running
New South Wales with Tim Scott, a fellow commenced an education degree and
began working in an all-female kitchen
on the side. It was here, by the sea, where things really fell into place. “Working in a stress-free café was a nice reminder
that cooking doesn’t have to destroy you
the show (hint, it’s a two-person show).
Sarah Baldwin got her start in hospitality in high school, working as a dishie at a
local Chinese restaurant. She moved into
front-of-house and barista roles soon after,
however a change of ownership at her café
workplace resulted in the team being let go. Baldwin decided to move into cheffing
after a friend told her about a job
opportunity. She became an apprentice at 20 years old — an age considered ‘ripe’
at the time. The budding chef spent three years learning the ropes before she shed
her green apprentice skin and moved into a more serious role.
A stint at the now-closed Urbane
“We don’t want to force anyone to eat our egos or our ideas. I have a restaurant so I have an outlet to feed people; food is my love language.” – Sarah Baldwin and completely take over your life,” says
Sydney wasn’t the place for me,” says
I found myself taking days off uni to work
Baldwin. “I always had the goal to go back to Brisbane, but working in Sydney or
Melbourne is part of what you do when
you’re a Brisbane chef. In Sydney, there was a lot of ambition and people who pushed
you to be better, which I loved, but it’s such a busy city and I found it so suffocating.”
and decided to build our own restaurant in Brisbane,” says Baldwin. “While Tim was
driving, I was booking appointments to see
commercial sites. The second site we looked at was the one we decided to build Joy in, and now I have Joy.”
Joy has been described as “meaningful”, “highly engaging” and “personal”, and Scott toyed with the idea of opening a
mid-size restaurant, but 10 was the magic number. “The space is 36sqm and we
knew 10 was something we could manage between ourselves if one person stepped away, like Tim has,” says Baldwin. “I
wanted to be in touch with every single part of the business.”
After opening its doors in 2019, Joy
operated with Scott and Baldwin working as both the chefs and the front-of-house
team, creating a multi-course set menu oftcompared to an omakase experience. The
restaurant quickly scooped up prestigious
accolades, receiving a Good Food rating of 16/20 and two hats in 2019.
When asked to describe what Joy’s
team. “I worked there for a couple of years, and the only reason I left was because
life-altering decisions. “We both quit our jobs
it’s easy to understand why. Baldwin and
Restaurant ensued before she decided to move to Sydney and join the Six Penny
and conversations abounded, which led to
Baldwin. “I studied primary education, but … being a teacher wasn’t quite it for me.
Working at the café was the first time in so long where it was just cooking because it
was yum and people enjoyed eating. It was a necessary reminder of why I cook.”
Scott and Baldwin later headed off on a
road trip around Tasmania. Plenty of food
offering is all about (images are purposely few and far between on the internet), Baldwin uses the word “holistic”; the restaurant is a space where food and
service exist on an equal playing field. “It’s always been food-focused and
an experience where we can give the
customer everything they need while
they’re in our space,” says the chef. “We don’t want to force anyone to eat our
egos or our ideas. I have a restaurant so I May 2021 | 27
PROFILE // Joy
“If a customer thanks me on the way out, it’s enough to know what I’m doing is worth it.” – Sarah Baldwin
have an outlet to feed people; food is my
asked if he thought I was the chef,” says
of house, altering Joy’s dynamic for the first
focused, hospitality-focused experience, I
throughout my whole career and the first
doing menu testing and it was really
love language. If it did stop being a foodwould probably close Joy.”
In 2020, Joy hibernated during the
pandemic for six months. Scott decided
to step away from the business in August,
but Baldwin knew she should keep going.
“Selling Joy wasn’t an option for me and I
wasn’t ready to let go,” she says. “I figured if it was going to close anyway, I should try harder and do it myself. There were definitely moments of self-doubt and if
I could do it without Tim, but I had the
benefit of the closure to take the time to make it my restaurant.”
The media attention from Scott’s exit also
didn’t help; with outlets insinuating the
‘chef’ of the restaurant had left. “We are both chefs, but because of the way we operated service, people assumed I wasn’t a chef,”
says Baldwin. “The articles said the chef had stepped away and now Sarah is running
Baldwin. “I’ve been surrounded by men time I worked with all women was in
Northern New South Wales. It took me a while to get used to interacting with
Baldwin doesn’t mention a particular cuisine
don’t think it’s our customers’ fault for not assuming I’m a chef. It’s just that if there was a man standing next to me in chef’s whites and I’m pouring wine, guests are going to assume the man is the chef.” During the time Scott and Baldwin
worked alongside each other, the faux pas was common, but he was quick to
intervene. “Tim and I were in charge of certain dishes, but often people would
direct all their compliments to him,” says
public. “There are still customers who
ask me who the chef is … someone leant over to their husband the other day and 28 | Hospitality
is one of Joy’s core points of difference.
or direction when discussing what the Joy
experience is all about. Instead, she breaks it down like this: “I think about things I
like to eat or have eaten and want to share
with other people, but maybe in a way they haven’t had before,” she says. “The main
goal for me is to have delicious food that
highlights what other people in the industry are doing. A menu at Joy is 10–12 courses with lots of little bites in between.”
The notion of cohesion is ever-present
Baldwin. “He was so good at saying it
throughout the menu, with each dish
constant support was really reassuring.”
think about balancing a single dish, it’s not
was me who made the dish; to have that
choice: to be the sole chef of Joy. “I had
floating around — especially in the dining
If you try to seek out Joy’s menu, you’re
weak. Being a chef is a male-led role; I
without worrying about being tough or
the media saying, ῾Sarah isn’t a chef’.” the industry, but stereotypes are still
which was really hard.”
in for a treasure hunt. Being menu-free
After moving ahead with her decision to
Women make up more than half of
important to write a menu that was mine,
women and finding my own personality
it. It was bad timing because I was having
moments of, ‘Can I do this?’ and then I had
time. “I spent six weeks before we reopened
keep Joy open, Baldwin made another
to think about if I wanted another chef
and mimic the roles Tim and I had or take
control of the cooking and have someone do front of house,” she says. Baldwin recruited Maddie Sim, who previously worked as a
bartender at Savile Row to take care of front
linking together to tell a story. “When I
typical to the way you’re taught to do it;
I think about balancing an entire menu,”
says Baldwin. “I do a lot of building around vegetables rather than proteins and every dish relies on the course before and the
one after to help. I forget we are a little bit strange by not telling anyone what they’re eating because we decided to take away
menus. When people see a menu, it gives
them an opportunity to think, ‘I don’t like
PROFILE // Joy
beef tartare, so I’m already nervous about the third course’. When they sit down, I explain to them I’ve prepared the food
overshadow the other beautiful things that are happening.”
Joy is Baldwin’s outlet and she’s
and they just need to work out what they
naturally protective of the space she’s
course (all the courses are dropped with
lets angry messages fall by the wayside,
want to drink. After the second or third
extensive explanations), they’re eating as if they’ve chosen the food. It takes a few dishes to gain that trust.”
A core perk that comes with Joy’s size is
that Baldwin can focus all her energy on
just two people; but it’s people who offer the biggest challenge. If you follow Joy on Instagram, you would have noticed Baldwin posting, reminding people of
the restaurant’s number of seats and to exercise a little kindness.
Unfortunately, manners, patience and
courtesy are lost on angry diners who have missed out. “People want more seats than we have,” says Baldwin. “We don’t have
someone who handles reservations; it’s just
worked so hard to create. The chef often but they do take their toll. “If I respond and said, ‘I’m so sorry if I upset you, let me see
where I can fit you in’, they would have to sit at the bench knowing they hurled all
that abuse at me and I would have to give
selfless service knowing they’ve caused me a lot of heartache,” says Baldwin. “I can’t let people take control of it just because
they’re angry. Hospitality is run by humans and we are doing this because we love to
create an experience for customers. It’s not a job we can do light-heartedly; we really care about hospitality as an industry and
we want to keep being able to share it. But it’s important people try and understand it a little bit.”
Maddie and I. Customers get frustrated
Bookings are the main pit, but the peak
and often direct that anger via email or
“The best moments are when you’ve
when they don’t get the booking they want Instagram in a really aggressive way. They
say: ‘Get a different booking system, yours doesn’t work; it’s not fair; you’re abusing
your customers’ — basically all variations
of, ‘I didn’t get what I want and I’m angry
about it’. It’s hard when you’re working so many hours trying to create a customer
experience and those few emails will often
“There are still customers who ask me who the chef is … someone leant over to their husband the other day and asked if he thought I was the chef.” – Sarah Baldwin
of running Joy is deceptively underrated. done a really good service, everything has gone smoothly and everyone has
left happy,” says Baldwin. “Those days are the greatest reminder of why Joy
exists. I don’t need a lot of huge-scale
achievements; if a customer thanks me on the way out, it’s enough to know what I’m doing is worth it.” ■
May 2021 | 29
FEATURE // Sonoma
30 | Hospitality
Sonoma Bakery Founder Andrew Connole speaks to Hospitality about his globe-trotting, bread-obsessed new television series. WORDS Kirsty Sier THE NAME SONOMA is a clue Andrew
and one in Canberra. Among their A-list
elsewhere. Before he was running one of
and Bar, Aria, Tetsuya’s and Quay.
Connole’s baking inspiration comes from
Australia’s most successful artisan bakeries,
According to Connole, one of the main
Connole spent time in Northern California,
reasons behind the unlikely success
with people who would later become
was the decision to switch from baking
laying the foundation for connections
influential figures in his career. But even
though Connole’s career is book-ended by international experiences, the beginnings of Sonoma Bakery are hyperlocal.
Roughly 20 years ago, Connole moved
back to Australia after his late father came up with a “ridiculous idea” to restore the
Busy Bee General Store in Bellata, a small village in north-central New South Wales. “My desire was to go to America and
stay there, to be quite honest, but once
this idea was born back in 1997, I guess
my destiny was to stay with my younger brother Christian and my dad,” says
of his small-town, family-run bakery
Italian wood-fired bread to naturally
fermented sourdough, back before it was common practice. “We were innovators, not imitators,” he says. Connole’s
international connections also played a
role in cementing Sonoma’s place amongst Australia’s notable bakeries. “Fortunately I
connected with Alan Scott, a former woodfired oven builder from California, and
he connected me with Chad Robertson,
who later went on to found Tartine, which is the North Star of sourdough bread,” Connole tells Hospitality.
“I went over there in 1998 and got
Connole. “They were baking bread in a
inspired and my destiny at Sonoma was
had no money, and it sounds like we were
bread to baking naturally fermented
24sqm bakery in a town of 100 people. We destined to fail.”
Although there are plenty of locations
throughout the course of Connole’s new television series For the Love of Bread
that prove quality products — and large reputations — can come from small-
scale bakeries, it was not his destiny with Sonoma. From its humble beginnings,
the company has since expanded to nine Andrew Connole and Chad Robertson
clientele have been Icebergs Dining Room
locations throughout New South Wales
changed from baking Italian wood-fired
sourdough bread. We’d baked in Bellata from September 1998 to May 2000.
Christian and I used to drive back and
forth — a 1,080km round trip journey
on a Thursday and a Friday — and we’d
bake 300 loaves. Then I moved to Sydney in May 2000 when we stopped baking in
Bellata. I got a job throwing luggage bags with Virgin, moved to Brighton Le-Sands
and we found our first site for Sonoma on
May 2021 | 31
FEATURE // Sonoma
For the Love of Bread
FEATURE // Sonoma
Wollongong Road in Arncliffe. We flew Alan Scott out and he built us a brick wood-fired oven in December 2000. It was the first
Alan Scott wood-fired oven that was built in Australia. We got our first customer in
March 2001, which was the Hilton at the airport. I guess the rest is history.”
In For the Love of Bread, Connole makes a clear return to his vision of himself as an international rather than a national
baker. The series, which is currently airing on SBS On Demand, sees him travel to a different country in each of the six
episodes — Greece, Malta, Germany,
France, England and Austria respectively — to interview the best bakers and visit
the best bakeries in each of those places.
Filmed before lockdown, the timing of
the release was a boon: just as people’s
urge to travel (even if voyeuristically) is at its peak, and after many have discovered a passion for at-home sourdough bread-
making as a pandemic salve. “I think that
with COVID-19, everybody has discovered
the beauty of baking sourdough bread and
calibre — and often near-royal historical
“The premise of this documentary isn’t to
introduced to.
trying to bake it at home,” says Connole. go to big industrial bakeries or bakeries
lineage — of the bakers viewers are When asked what differentiates
that are specific, it’s to go and find the very
Sonoma’s bread-making style from other
day at Sonoma is to make it the best it can
on the importance of friendships with his
best guys. My desire and goal every single possibly be, not just on a domestic scale, but on a global scale.
“I wanted to do a show that highlighted
the world’s very best bakers who had
perfected the craft of sourdough bread
specifically and to tell their story. I wanted to highlight the city that we were visiting,
and to combine the elements of travel and beautiful bread.”
At one point in the sixth episode, when Connole is visiting the Kruste & Krume Bröt Festival in Vienna, he assesses the vast and impressive group of bakers in attendance and asides to the camera:
“There’s a healthy rivalry between bakers, but when they come together, it’s like a brotherhood.”
Connole’s place within this international
baking brotherhood becomes clear over
the course of the television show, and this is part of what makes it so affable and
charming, even despite the intimidating 32 | Hospitality
bakers in Australia, Connole elaborates
over-water contemporaries. “In comparison to every other baker in Australia I think Sonoma started from such humble
beginnings that it’s not even comparable. We started from a place of absolute
adversity. But we were fortunate enough that our inspiration and our learnings
came from Northern California,” he says.
Sonoma started baking naturally
store had the
with Chad Robertson from Tartine, which
fermented
only Alan Scott
sourdough
wood-fired oven
“I was fortunate enough to spend time
makes one of the most revered naturally fermented sourdoughs in the world. I
spent time with him back in 1998 before
Sonoma’s first
before it was
in Australia
commonplace
at the time
he was even Tartine, and in the summer of 2000 my brother Christian went over and baked for Della Fattoria, which is a
bakery in Petaluma, and back then those
guys were supplying French Laundry when French Laundry was the best restaurant in the world. Our pedigree and our
inspiration weren't founded nor formed
from anything in Australia; we managed
to create relationships with guys that were
Borough Market
The three primary
in London, which
ingredients for
appears on
sourdough
For the Love of
are the same
Bread, is 2,000
all over
years old
the world
FEATURE // Sonoma
outside while remaining firm on the inside.
Even this, though, doesn’t require advanced technologies or heavy investment. Many of
the formidable bakeries featured on For the Love of Bread are multiple generations old,
and have forged reputations with the same brick or wood-fired ovens they used when they first started.
With such a limited palette of factors to
play with, Connole says that what makes an excellent baker stand out from the
pack are passion, attention to detail and
an unwillingness to compromise — three
notions that come up a lot throughout the course of the series.
Off the back of his experience making
For the Love of Bread, Connole says he
will take the learnings from the historical artisan bakers, who have protected
their small scale of production to ensure consistency and quality over many
generations and decades, and apply it to the large scale and relative youth of Sonoma.
“My desire is to refine and polish the
brand of Sonoma significantly; to simplify
the retail experience to make it better and
to make Sonoma as great as it can possibly be both domestically and internationally,” he says. “What we’ve done in the past 20
Andrew Connole and Alexandros Rizos at Rizos Bakery, Athens
“I want to try to keep the small quality and consistency
years is Sonoma 1.0, and my goal is to globally relevant and not locally relevant. That’s what gives us the difference. We’re
create Sonoma 2.0, which is a significantly better version of itself as it is right now. “We bake a significant amount of
Northern California-inspired, inspired by
bread, so the ethos for me is maintaining
bakery when you’re only
applied it to Sonoma in Australia.”
Obviously we had humble beginnings and
doing 100 or 200 loaves,
But it’s the rivalry component of the
that comes from being a small
but I want to be the guy who can nail that and master it to scale.” – Andrew Connole
the best, and we took what we learned and
rivalry–brotherhood dichotomy that
Connole has taken with him from his
experience with the television show and which he is determined to channel into creating what he calls “Sonoma 2.0”.
The components that you need to make
good bread — even good sourdough bread — are essentially the same all over the
world. The three foundational ingredients
made the focus daily on the quality and
consistency of our bread. And obviously the experience of this documentary is
going to visit these great bakers who are small-batch bakers essentially. I want to try to keep the small quality and
consistency that comes from being a small bakery when you’re only doing 100 or
200 loaves, but I want to be the guy who can nail that and master it to scale.
“It’s the same for everything in life I
— flour, water and salt — and a natural
suppose: if you’re highly motivated and
need to pay attention to atmosphere,
product and if your motivation is to do it
starter made from flour and water. You humidity and heat to maintain a high
water content in the dough. And you need an oven that can bake the bread at a high
enough temperature to get it crispy on the 34 | Hospitality
the significance of how we started.
you’re highly discontent, you can look at a to its very best possibility, then every day
you’ll relentlessly pursue the unattainable. And that’s what the mentality and the
mantra has always been at Sonoma.” ■
Chef’s Choice
www.markwellfoods.com.au
Tel: 1300 781 555
FEATURE // Culinary influences
Family ties Three chefs reflect on influential culinary figures, who they just happen to be related to. WORDS Annabelle Cloros TO CELEBRATE MOTHER’S Day,
Hospitality speaks to On Saengyojanr,
Cuong Nguyen and Dan Cooper about how important family figures have shaped their
culinary careers. Whether it’s working with family to honouring traditional recipes or understanding seasonality, lessons
learned at a young age have proven to be invaluable for these chefs.
Cuong Nguyen, Hello Auntie Cuong Nguyen grew up in Perth before
moving to Melbourne and later Sydney. The Hello Auntie founder and executive chef
started cooking when he was 12 years old, and says his parents worked hard to give
him a new future. His early culinary forays
were based off what he watched on TV and ate for school lunches, where baked bean
sandwiches and cream cheese and mustard relish abounded. “I was cooking western food at home,” he says. “I was watching
it on TV and it was what everyone ate at birthday parties. Maybe in hindsight it
was me trying to fit in. Now I know I was fighting my identity for a long time.” His mum, Thi Da ‘Lynda’ Tran,
immigrated to Australia from South
Vietnam and worked at Miss Maud in Perth where she made pavlovas and dressed cakes. She later opened a takeaway
store in Sydney’s Inner West, selling
regional Vietnamese stews and pho along with Chinese-influenced stir fries. Tran closed the store, but retirement wasn’t
on the cards for long. “Mum got bored of retirement and she wanted to open
a restaurant,” says Nguyen. “I told her
running a restaurant was very different, but she assured me she understood.” At the time, Nguyen had come off
the back of closing his own restaurant 36 | Hospitality
The Prince Hotel
FEATURE // Culinary influences
“My mum has easily been the biggest influence, and learning from her has been a humbling experience.” – Cuong Nguyen
and had lost interest in cooking. He was
the essence. It’s definitely made us closer
mum intervened. “I see now she was
is as a human and what she’s sacrificed to
mainly working catering jobs until his
manipulating me to get back into food,” he laughs. “I was depressed for a long
time and stopped cooking, so I think the
and made me realise how strong my mum give me the life I have now. She’s shaped my career and the person I’ve become.”
restaurant was always her plan.”
Dan Cooper, The Prince Hotel
The pair went on to open the first Hello
a little surprised by just how influential
Auntie restaurant in Marrickville five years ago, but Nguyen had a lot of learning and unlearning to do. You see, the chef spent
most of his career cooking European food. “Everything is the opposite technique-
wise in Vietnamese cuisine, even flavour profiles,” he says. “My mum has easily
been the biggest influence, and learning
from her has been a humbling experience. I thought it was easy to cook Asian food,
but it’s more difficult than western food.”
Tran is a huge part of the R&D process,
and Nguyen has made the call to start
shining a light on more traditional dishes
versus taking the contemporary route the restaurant first revolved around. “At the
Dan Cooper’s family were supportive but everyday tasks were on his future career
as a chef. But it’s not hard to understand why when he describes a childhood in
the Hunter Valley where his grandparents kept a kitchen garden or the family trips that saw him plucking oysters from the
water. “We spent a fair bit of time at my
grandparents’ house after school picking
carrots, beetroots and tomatoes,” he says. “They had some fruit trees as well that
we’d help ourselves to. I remember picking blood plums and my nan would slow-roast them in the oven and make a classic old-
school custard. I still think they’re the best blood plums I’ve ever eaten to this day.”
beginning, she wasn’t against the things I
Cooper went from observing his grandma
it,” he says. “She’s been trying to get me to
pickle and preserve vegetables. Witnessing
was doing, but she didn’t really understand do this for ages and we get to work more
closely together because I have to tap into her brain and see how things work. We
have similar thoughts about what we want to do with certain dishes and how to bring them into the 21st century while keeping 38 | Hospitality
to getting more involved, learning how to produce flourish and understanding
seasonality has been ingrained in the chef from the get-go, and has proven
to be a continual influence throughout his culinary career. “It’s about having
a connection and an understanding of
OF ORIGI
N
•
OTECTED PR
SIGNATIO
N
DE
•
FEATURE // Culinary influences what it takes to grow something and the rewards you get from growing your own
produce,” he says. “I think it played a role in my want to learn more about the food world. The further I dove into learning about it, the more I wanted to see and
understand different cultures and foods. It opened the door and was the pathway to gaining more knowledge.”
A connection with producers is
paramount for chefs, and is something
“I remember picking blood plums and my nan would slow-roast them in the oven and make a classic old-school custard. I still think they’re the best blood plums I’ve ever eaten to this day.” – Dan Cooper
Cooper has been privy to for much of his
and used the egg yolks as the natural thickening agent. It was blitzed back
together with cocoa butter and resulted in a silky-smooth mouth-feel. The juice
from the peaches turned into a pectin-thick syrup and basically sauced itself.”
On Saengyojanr, Ging Thai Ging Thai Chef de Cuisine On Saengyojanr has been working in food for the past 30 years, with her culinary education beginning at a young age. And it’s no
life. His grandpa knew an oyster farmer
wonder, with her mother, aunt and
near the family’s holiday house which saw
grandmother all owning their own
them hop on a boat to visit oyster leases.
restaurants across Thailand. Saengyojanr
“We’d come back with pots of oysters,”
grew up in Udon Thani and would cook
says Cooper. “Nan and Pop would shuck
alongside her mother on a daily basis.
them or put them on the fire and let them
“Food [has been] a big part of my life
open and Nan would say, ‘You could sell
for as long as I can remember,” she says.
that one Daniel’, and I’d hunt through the
“I was in the kitchen with [my mother]
bag for the biggest oysters and try to open
from as little as five years old … at 7am
them myself.”
we’d start making congee and curry and
But it’s the baked plums that have
we’d have a sit-down meal with the entire
remained front of mind for Cooper, who
family before any of us started our day.”
went on to create a dish inspired by his
A connection with the land has been
grandmother’s creation at The Prince
ever present for Saengyojanr, who recalls
swapped plums for purple peaches sourced
harvested daily. “In the morning we’d pick
Hotel, where he is head chef. Cooper
memories of a kitchen garden which was
from Seymour. “We baked them in the
the veggies for the meals we’d be eating
wood-fired oven until they were almost stewed,” he says. “We made an orange
blossom custard, which was overcooked 40 | Hospitality
that day,” she says. “[My family] taught The Prince Hotel
me how to let seasonal ingredients shine in cooking.”
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FEATURE // Culinary influences
Ging Thai
“My mum was so instrumental in empowering me to run my own kitchen … she was proud of me for becoming a chef and following in her footsteps.” – On Saengyojanr It wasn’t long before a 12-year-old
Saengyojanr took the skills she picked up at home and moved into a professional
environment, which just happened to be her aunt’s restaurant in Bangkok. The budding
chef would prepare herbs and continued her education on traditional Thai cuisine.
It’s no wonder Saengyojanr credits her family as the most influential figures on her career,
which saw her working at the Thai embassy in Bangladesh before she was scouted by Crown Melbourne in 1997. “My mum, aunty and
grandmother were three inspirational women in my life who really helped carve my career path as a chef,” she says. “My mum was so
instrumental in empowering me to run my
own kitchen, and while she’s no longer with us today, I still think of her often when I’m
cooking. She was proud of me for becoming a chef and following in her footsteps.”
The dishes Saengyojanr cooked with her
mother have continued to take pride of place
in her culinary repertoire, with the chef citing
nam ya pla as a standout dish. “It’s a fish curry with vegetables including cabbage, snake
beans and vermicelli noodles,” she says. “Mum cooked it for us as kids and then we started
making it together. It’s still one of my favourite dishes … and we have a fish curry on our menu just like it thanks to her.” ■ 42 | Hospitality
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FEATURE // Yoghurt Gerard's Bistro
Smooth operator From kishk to labneh, there are many applications to explore with yoghurt in Middle Eastern cuisines. WORDS Annabelle Cloros
YOGHURT COULD EASILY be described as
yoghurt and burghul, which sees the two
cookery. It’s at home in both savoury and
a number of days. The product is spread
a foundational ingredient in Middle Eastern sweet dishes, often appearing in drinks, as a vessel for sauces or in the form of products including labneh and kishk.
Paul Farag from Nour and Adam Wolfers
from Gerard’s Bistro talk to Hospitality about making products from scratch,
working with different milks and why
yoghurt is a staple that can bring a dish
Over at Gerard’s Bistro in Brisbane’s
mixed together before it’s fermented for
Fortitude Valley, Executive Chef Adam
out and left to dry in the sun before it’s
“Johnny’s [Moubarak, Gerard’s owner]
crushed into a powder. Farag overcame his childhood aversion to the product, and has since become a fan. “It has a
salted lemony flavour and it almost has a nuttiness from the caramelised sugars in the lactose,” he says.
Kishk is commonly used to make drinks
Wolfers has an ultra-convenient kishk source. mum makes it for us, she uses an old-school technique where she makes porridge out
of the wheat, folds it through the yoghurt,
spreads it out and dries it in the sun,” he says. “As it dehydrates, you get crystallisations of
yoghurt and powdered wheat. It has a super fermented flavour profile and I like to use it
together and create cohesion.
and is added to stews or soups, but Farag
Executive Chef Paul Farag used to hate
at his Surry Hills kitchen in Sydney and
cheesecake form where it’s combined with
features on a Mooloolaba yellowfin
kishk powder into yoghurt which creates
kishk as a kid. Commonly referred to as a mouneh (a Lebanese tradition of storing
and preserving food), kishk is made from 44 | Hospitality
decided to take things “a step further” caramelised it to make a sauce, which nayeh dish.
in savoury and sweet dishes.”
Kishk is currently found on the menu in
biscuits to make the base. “We also blend an interesting flavour,” says Wolfers.
Labneh has become one of the buzziest foodstuffs in recent years, which can potentially be attributed to Yotam
Ottolenghi’s global reach. Labneh is
interchangeably referred to as cheese or yoghurt, and is made in-house at Nour and Gerard’s.
Farag used to refer to labneh as “hung
yoghurt” before he started cooking Middle Eastern food, and has experimented with
buffalo, sheep and cow products. “The main difference in the milks is the whey,” he says. “The fat content is different; sheep’s milk is more acidic and loses a lot of whey, so
you end up with less than you would with cow’s milk which has a higher fat content.
Buffalo also has a high fat content, and it’s May 2021 | 45
FEATURE // Yoghurt
“I went delving at 4am and I found a 14th-century Egyptian cookbook and the Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens [written 1,000 years ago] and it’s all about how food was made, stored and preserved.” – Paul Farag
FEATURE // Yoghurt
“We inoculate our milk and then make yoghurt to make the labneh. We also use the whey from the hanging Gerard's Bistro
process in sauces and for fermenting.” – Adam Wolfers
more velvety on the palate. But it lacks strength
Barambah Organics is the supplier of choice
more oomph.”
for milk. “Cow is the main milk we use; I’ve
in flavour, so we season it up with zaatar to give it The chef works with Chtaura Dairy Products
in Sydney’s west, which manufactures
everything from yoghurt to shanklish cheese and ayran, a savoury cold yoghurt beverage Gerard’s
Kishk
use cow’s
is made
milk from
from
Barambah
yoghurt
Organics
and burghul
mixed with salt. Nour mostly uses cow and
through
classic Middle
80 litres
Eastern flavour
of yoghurt
pairing
per week
he says.
The team make the yoghurt for labneh,
we like to make it ourselves,” says Wolfers. “We
The cow product is hung overnight while sheep
“We cold smoke it while it’s solid and then it gets
whipped to smooth it all out,” says Farag. “We play around with it and we can press it into a firmer texture comparable to a crumbly feta.”
Labneh is present throughout Nour’s culinary
offering, with one particular dish coming from
the history books. “Cumin labneh is used on the sea urchin dish which is a combination I found
cow’s milk every week. “It’s labour-intensive, but inoculate our milk and then make yoghurt to
make the labneh. We also use the whey from the hanging process in sauces and for fermenting. We use the whey to make a beurre blanc that goes with our prawns.”
Gerard’s labneh is hung overnight in a cheese
cloth before it’s seasoned up with confit garlic
and salt to use on a lamb dish. One of Wolfers’
favourite ways to enjoy labneh is at the end of the night, slathered on some leftover flatbread. “With a bit of zaatar on top, it’s awesome,” he says.
in an old cookbook,” says Farag. “I went delving
Yoghurt’s role in Middle Eastern cuisines is
cookbook and the Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens
providing boundless opportunities for chefs.
at 4am and I found a 14th-century Egyptian
[written 1,000 years ago] and it’s all about how
food was made, stored and preserved. It’s one of those books that had a big influence.” 46 | Hospitality
larger volume and it works out best cost-wise,”
week’s supply for the restaurant.
After the straining process, the labneh is smoked. cumin is a
towards cow’s milk because we can do it in a
churning through 80 litres of un-homogenised
going through 80 litres of yoghurt to make a
least time-consuming, taking around three hours. Nour go
tried with camel, sheep and goat, but we lean
sheep yoghurt to make labneh, with the team
is hung for about three to four hours. Buffalo is the
Urchin and
for Wolfers, who prefers to use a local farm
ubiquitous, appearing in myriad forms and “They use it in basically everything,” says
Wolfers. “It’s probably one of the most important ingredients in the Middle East.” ■
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FEATURE // POS systems
Make your point When it comes to POS systems, there’s no one-type-fits-all solution for hospitality businesses.
WHEN SETTING UP a hospitality
business, you might think first about the overall concept — what type of food or drink offering you want to provide, the
branding and interior design you envisage communicating your concept and the staff members you want working for
you. Of course, there will be budgetary considerations, but when it comes to
technologies such as point-of-sale systems, you might be tempted to neglect doing your research.
POS technology has come a long way
since it was essentially limited to keying in
If your business offers online ordering in any form … ensure all the channels you are using can be integrated into your POS system.
an item number, selecting your customers' preferred payment method, making the
exchange and printing out receipts to tally your total sales.
A 2018 study by Finder revealed
Australians spent a total of $2.6 billion dollars on food and drink delivery
through apps such as Menulog, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Foodora accounting for 12
per cent of sales within the restaurant, café and takeaway foodservice industry. On top of the organic growth the online ordering market had already been experiencing,
COVID-19 only served to make it an even 48 | Hospitality
the hospitality industry, the options for
customisation within POS systems is endless,
and the better you are able to tailor your POS to your own unique set-up and offering, the
easier — and more accurate — you can make day-to-day operations.
With so many variables to keep in mind,
we’ve put together a checklist of services that modern POS systems can offer.
Payment types An easy place to start when choosing a
POS system for your business is to figure
out whether the payment types you accept are compatible with those the POS system
larger share of the total transaction pie.
Research by IBISWorld found the online
food ordering and delivery platforms
industry experienced growth of 81.1 per cent in Australia between 2015-2020, bringing it to a market size of $756
million. According to the analysis, it is
predicted to grow even more rapidly over the next five years.
It is just one example of how different
points of sale look in the foodservice industry compared to even half a decade ago. Within
can handle or whether there are certain fees associated with different payment
types. Many POS systems will charge a
fee for card transactions — whether this
comes through Visa, MasterCard, EFTPOS or Amex — but some may charge more
than others. When you are shopping for
POS systems, compare the rates they are
charging and keep your customer base in mind. It helps to know, for example, how
many sales come through major credit card brands and whether or not the percentage justifies passing the surcharge onto your
FEATURE // POS systems
customers. Ask about the finer details — some
POS software will not charge a flat rate for credit card transactions or might apply different rates month to month.
If a large percentage of your sales are from
card transactions, you’ll also want to make sure your POS system incorporates a contactless
payment option and that it can handle Apple Pay and Google Pay transactions.
Finally, if your business offers gift cards as
a form of payment, ensure these can be easily integrated into your POS system. Ideally,
redeeming them will be as easy as processing any other form of card payment where you can track them within end-of-day reports.
Payment protection With the rise in online payments comes an
increase in online scammers. Thankfully, there
are a range of protections in place in Australia — and your POS system should be on top of these. The central standard for credit card payments in Australia is governed by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS),
which sets out a number of requirements you need to comply with to ensure that customer card information is always secure.
As most (if not all) of the card payments
you accept will go through your POS system,
it is crucial the software company behind the
technology is compliant with current PCI DSS requirements. Up-to-date information on PCI
Any POS system worth its salt should be able to provide real-time information on customer orders.
DSS can be found on the business.gov.au website, but any POS software company you speak with should be able to tell you with transparency
what level of the standards they comply with.
Certain POS systems will also be able to offer
added measures of protection. For instance,
some POS systems come with integrated fraud protection and monitoring as well as options to add levels of security (such as two-step
verification) to ensure only certain employees can access stored payment data.
Multi-channel integration If your business offers online ordering in any form — via your own website, third-party
delivery platforms or a mixture of the two — ensure all the channels you are using can be integrated into your POS system.
An easy recipe for a nightmarish night of
service is if your Uber Eats orders are coming in
through a different platform than your Deliveroo 50 | Hospitality
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FEATURE // POS systems and website orders or if your front-of-house
For instance, if you regularly need to send
back-of-house (BOH) system.
allows you to do it. If tips form a regular
(FOH) POS system isn’t integrated with the
Any POS system worth its salt should be able
to provide real-time information on customer orders, with multi-channel integration that
neatly packages data from various platforms in one place. There should also be easy
integration between the software being used
on the floor and in the kitchen. It might require different hardware for FOH and BOH staff, depending on the information required to
invoices online, there is a POS system that part of your cash flow, choose a POS system that can not only track tips for individual employees, but pay them straight to your
employees’ bank accounts. There is even the possibility to track inventory through your
POS software, with some systems having the
capacity to send you email alerts once certain items run low.
receive and communicate.
Depending on the type of business, your must-
Sales and reporting
there are myriad tools modern POS systems
Almost as important as making sales is being able to accurately and easily track them at the end of the day. When shopping for a POS system, look closely at the reporting tools offered.
More than just closing out tabs and
creating sales reports, many POS systems offer comprehensive suites of sales tools. 52 | Hospitality
haves from a POS system will be different and
The online
Ensure
food
payment
ordering
systems comply
and delivery
with Australia’s
industry in
Payment
Australia was
Card Industry
worth $756
Data Security
million
Standards
in 2020
requirements
Modern POS
The more
can offer you. The only way to know which
systems can
customisable
integrate
your POS
market and compare the features that are
orders from
system is, the
currently available. At the end of the day, the
multiple
better it will
delivery
be able to
that is customisable and can work with your
platforms into
grow with your
one place
business
system suits your business best is to shop the
most important thing is to find a POS system unique operations. ■
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VIDEO // Behind the scenes
Glorietta’s Alaskan king crab pasta An in-depth look at Hospitality’s masterclass series.
GLORIETTA HEAD CHEF Alberto Facci focuses on premium ingredients treated simply, with hearty dishes lightened up with fresh and fermented elements. Pasta is made in-house daily, with the crab, pea and chilli a firm favourite for customers.
Ingredients 120g di Grano Duro spaghetti 60g Alaskan king crab meat 10g extra virgin olive oil 50g freshly blanched peas 1tbsp chilli garlic mix 5g butter Zest of half an orange Handful of chopped parsley Pinch of sea salt
Method 1. Pan-fry chilli and garlic with extra virgin olive oil. Add peas, butter, king crab and a pinch of salt. 2. C ook the spaghetti for 10 minutes in boiling salted water until al dente. 3. Drain and add spaghetti to the saucepan. Sauté for about 30 seconds before adding orange zest and chopped parsley. Scan the QR code to watch the full video brought to you by Cookers.
54 | Hospitality
EQUIPMENT // Pastry scraper
Pastry scraper Also known as a dough scraper, the versatile tool comes in a variety of shapes and materials.
Ruler on the edge helps cut even portions Blade typically made from nylon, metal, rubber or plastic Also known as a dough scraper or bench knife
Blunt-edged blade has multiple other uses such as smoothing icing or crushing garlic Full-length handle makes it easy to grip onto without slipping
Curved shape is ideal for scraping dough out of mixing bowls Rectangular shape makes it easy to lift, turn, cut and work dough on surfaces Stainless-steel blades are easy to clean and durable
56 | Hospitality
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5 MINUTES WITH ... // Rosa Cienfuegos Rosa Cienfuegos and her father Julio Cienfuegos
Rosa
Cienfuegos The ‘queen of tamales’ on labouring for love.
MY DAD HAS been working as a chef in
Dulwich Hill [Tamaleria] to begin my
excited to have all of us (my sister, brother
and are known for being hard to make.
Sydney since 1999. I think he got super and myself) here [from Mexico] to the
point where he decided to open a Latin-
American restaurant on Enmore Road. We
all worked with him and he taught us a lot of techniques and how things work in the hospitality scene here.
Sadly, he had to shut down his
restaurant in 2013. The lack of Mexican food pushed us to make the decision; it
dream. Tamales are a pre-Hispanic dish
wants to make them, as they might not be
takeaway food. In Mexico, it’s very common
all of them are handmade. Not everyone a profitable item considering the labour involved. I want to educate and teach
[the dining public about] some of our
most-loved dishes without thinking if it’s profitable or not.
Respect of tradition is important
that, rent, salaries and the expenses were
mixer. It’s also important to have the right
to change the reviews in a positive way —
not by trying to make a profit out of it, but by teaching and educating people about our gastronomy.
I stated to do small markets and
people loved the food. After a few years, I got the opportunity to rent a space in 58 | Hospitality
I’m leaving all the staff from Tamaleria
when we open Itacate & Mexican Deli in
when making tamales; you hand-mix
not easy to deal with. I was determined
to have them; we are very lucky.
It takes a long time to make them and
was very sad to get horrible reviews for not being ‘Mexican enough’. On top of
slowly learning. It’s very important for us
the dough instead of using a commercial ingredients and to use the proper corn
husk or banana leaf to wrap them, steam
them instead of baking and generously fill them using quality ingredients.
In the kitchen, my dad and I split the
Redfern. Itacate [Nahuatl language], means to have a takeaway container with leftover
food from a party, and everyone says, ‘Take your itacate!’ It’s just my dad and I moving to Redfern and we are getting more staff for the shop. Itacate has a different and
larger Mexican menu. There is also a retail
shop with Mexican ingredients, seating and hopefully a liquor licence. I think I need
to bring out more from Mexico and show
that we are not just tacos and burritos. The release of my cookbook Comida Mexicana convinced me to cook some of the dishes and put them on a menu.
I love the name I’ve been given in
work; tamales and masa items are my job,
Sydney. ‘Queen of tamales’ comes with
at Tamaleria also give us a hand and are
[have] it.
meats and condiments are his. The staff
a lot of responsibility and I love to ■
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