— I s s u e # 0 8 : T h e S e m i p e r m a n e n t s —

M E A T & L I V E S T O C K A U S T R A L I A

T H E C H E F ’ S J O U R N A L O F A U S T R A L I A N B E E F , L A M B & G O A T

T H E C H E F ’ S J O U R N A L O F A U S T R A L I A N B E E F , L A M B & G O A T

R A R E M E D I U M # 0 8LEVEL 1 — 40 MOUNT STREET — NORTH SYDNEY — NSW 2060

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C H E F / G U N - FO R- H I R E (Melbourne — VIC)

Michael Fox

I L LU S T R ATO R

Clay Hicksonclayhickson.com

G U E S T W R I T E R S

Melissa LeongPasi PetanenMike Bennie

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C O P Y R I G H T

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without the prior written consent of MLA. ©2014 E L E M E N TA L C H L O R I N E F R E E P U L P S, S O U R C E D W I T H R E S P O N S I B L E F O R E S T R Y P R A C T IC E S.

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C O N T E N T S

M A S T E R C L A S S

Lamb Ribs

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F E A T U R E T W O

Semipermanent State of Mind

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O N E C U T W O N D E R S

Lamb Ribs

3 4 B I T E S I Z E D

Semipermanent Words of Wisdom

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S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

The Semipermanent

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F E A T U R E T H R E E

Semipermanent Wine Lists — Choose Your Chameleon

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F E A T U R E O N E

Mt Riddock Station

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O N T H E M E N U

Get it While it's Hot!

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E D I T O R ' S N O T E

We’re all familiar with the concept of a ‘pop-up’ restaurant/bar/café. It’s a (now) years-old trend that took our view of what it meant to have a venue and shook it up. It taught us to appreciate something the instant it appeared, because who knows how long it’d be there for?

Continuing in the vein of appreciating the latest and greatest dining experiences, we’re seeing the rise of a new restaurant business model: the Semipermanent. Longer than a pop-up event, but with a finite lifespan, savvy restaurateurs and chefs are taking advantage of creative, often short-lived spaces to offer up an idea.

These smart operators also realise there’s a buck or two to be made from the concept, long as you keep your overheads low and your creative juices jacked up to 10. You can have more than one new idea every ten years, so why not create shorter term restaurant projects that allow you to move onwards and upwards to something else sooner rather than later?

This issue meets some of Australia’s innovators in the Semipermanent space, as well as looking internationally at some of the culinaryindustry’s greatest trailblazers, who are leading the pack on a global scale. Mike Bennie talks us through chameleonic wine varietals that make the most of limited storage space and ever-evolving menus, and one of the restaurant industry’s silent (but deadly) chef Pasi Petanen shares with us his own experience of going rogue and setting up his own Semipermanent dream.

So stop and take the time to take it all in (it might not be here tomorrow),

Rare Medium

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Mt Riddock Station’s expansive patch of property spreads 2,633sqkm, 200km north east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The multi generational family business may seem far flung to most Australians, but in fact, Mt Riddock Station’s Poll Herefords are perfectly poised to span both domestic and international markets. Here we talk to Steven Cadzow about his pretty unique property.

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7 RM Mt Riddock is relatively remote so far as cattle farms in Australia go. Who’s out here working the business?

SC Well, we’re family run, which helps! The farm has recently under-gone succession planning, which means the farm has now come from the care of my parents to the immediate family. I now run the farm with my wife Rebecca and our three girls. We work alongside our bore man, head stockman, 3 station hands, a teacher, handyman, cook and a truck driver, as well as my parents Dick and Ann who still provide vital support in running this operation. It really is a little community out here!

RM What cattle do you run out here and why did you choose them?

SC We choose to only breed Poll Herefords. Before us, our family spent 40 years working specifically on Poll Hereford genetics and managed to cultivate a herd of cattle that can sustain the harsh environment we have out here as well as produce a premium beef product. As a result, we’ve inherited an excellent program and a healthy, hardy stock that continues to prove itself, year after year and we work hard to ensure this tradition continues.

RM Sustaining productive pastures in an environment that doesn’t see a lot of rain must take quite a bit of work…

SC Since our family has run the property, we’ve put a lot of time and resources into maximising the productivity of the land as well as our livestock. We take great care to rotate our pastures to allow the grasses to recover and reseed, which means we continue to see fresh pastures. We’ve also built ponding banks that are designed to capture and make the most of the little rain that we do see up here. We have put a fair bit of work into introducing a remote telemetry system as well as solar bores, which help us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel and our carbon output. The system allows us to remotely check watering points and tank levels without having to drive out to check troughs, while solar bore pumps also help us to reduce the amount of diesel we use.

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7RM How would you say these technological changes have impacted your business?

SC In short, peace of mind. This land means we quite frequently have hard times but because of the way we’ve chosen to approach managing the land, we still have plenty of feed for our cattle in the driest parts of the year and the land continues to be productive. This provides us with the assurance that we are doing the best we can to take care of our land as well as our business.

RM Being so geographically isolated, does this pose any challenges for you in terms of having your meat MSA graded?

SC Our property is 2100 kilometres from the nearest abattoir, so transport is the biggest obstacle. We overcame this by creating an end-to-end transport plan that detailed the amount of travel time, how cattle are transported and precise timing of when they arrive at the abattoir to ensure the smoothest transportation and processing. This makes sure that cattle are taken care of every step of the way and arrive as stress free as possible.

RM Running a property in such a remote and some might say, harsh environment, clearly has its challenges. What keeps you going?

SC Albert Schweitzer once said “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you’ll be successful”. This quote firmly sums up our family. We LOVE what we are doing; we love the lifestyle that it gives us as well as the quality of life. We love being progressive farmers who are focused on being environmentally sustainable and we love being able to produce some of the highest quality beef in Australia. That to us, is success.

RM You’ve chosen to have your beef MSA (Meat Standards Australia) graded. Why?

SC MSA is a practical tool for both the customer and the farmer. The customer knows that they are buying a superior product and for this, as the producer, we see better and more consistent prices for our cattle.

Lamb Ribs

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Lamb Ribs are prepared from the Breast of lamb.

Separate from the Breast by marking the rib length with a knife and finishing with a handsaw or bandsaw.

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(*) Handbook of Australian Meat

Square up the rib and remove the edge by cutting through the cartilage end and trimming up the Flap meat.

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To cut individual Riblets, slice between each Rib bone.

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(i). Fairfax Good Food : March 2014

(ii). Fine Dining Lovers : April 2014

(iii). Grub Street : March 2014

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Pasi Petanen of Café Paci talks about the decision to go semipermanent after spending nearly two years looking for the right restaurant site and having it fall through. We shares the benefits and draw-backs of the business model and advise to anyone wanting to give it a go.

e opened Café Paci in July of 2013, which was

nearly 14 months to the day since I left the position as head chef at Sydney’s critically acclaimed Marque Restaurant. When I left, I immediately started looking for permanent potential venues and quickly became disheartened as I watched each site fall through. It was then that a real estate agent offered to show me an existing restaurant space... a tequila bar named Café Pacifico. The offer was a twelve month lease because the building was undergoing planning to be demolished. It seemed unconventional as a first restaurant site, but at this point, we figured it was worth taking a look at. On the day we went to see the space, we met the owner who was trying to sell off the furnishings and fittings. I told him that if he sold them, it’d be nearly impossible to find a tenant who would take such a short lease because financially, it’d be prohibitive to set up a viable restaurant from scratch. He offered it all to us.

hat day, we essentially bought a whole restaurant

– tables, chairs, ovens, stoves, all for a grand total of $20k. A fully furnished, fully func-tional restaurant with reasonable rent... it was almost too good to be true. The fact that we hardly had to change the signage (Café Pacifico to Café Paci), was just icing on the cake. Three weeks later, we quietly opened our doors.

ow that some time has passed, I can reflect on

the idea of a semipermanent restaurant model and surmise that it works for us because it’s a very freeing experience. If you told me a few years ago that my first restaurant’s menu would feature a take on the Vietnamese classic soup, pho, and that on the menu, it would be titled ‘photato’, I would have thought you were crazy. Currently we are offering a beef tartare dish inspired by Italy, called ‘That’s Amore’ (see page 24). Customers told us it tasted to them of pizza, so we started serving it in a pizza box. The impermanence of a short term venue gives us the freedom to experiment with ideas and inject a bit of humour into the recipes and presentation, which is a new and different approach to the creative process for me. The temporary nature of Café Paci also plays with people’s expectations: they are more relaxed, and the atmosphere and price point reflect that, even though the food is still ostensibly progressive and modern.

e aren’t here to achieve 3 hats and in fact, we were

pleasantly surprised that we were even reviewed at all – this project is not about critical acclaim. The kitchen at Café Paci is a bit like camping: aside from a few things we’ll take with us when we go, any investment we make into the kitchen here will be lost when the building is torn down. This

really forces us to work with what we have. One of our ovens doesn’t really get particularly hot, so we use it to warm our plates. That only leaves two functioning ovens, but between me and my chefs, we’re flexible enough with the menu to make it work. Who would have thought we could churn out 90 covers a night using the leftover infrastructure of a run down taqueria?

he other psychological advantage of running a

semipermanent restaurant is the fact that our staff know that there’s an end point in sight. It’s highly motivational. It’s like a goal everyone wants to see achieved, and there are options for what they will do after – they’re not stuck in a place where they may eventually get bored.

hat I’ve also learnt is that you don’t need as much

money as you think to open a restaurant. We made Café Paci happen on a very conservative budget. We don’t have investors and borrowed nothing from the bank. Less financial pressure to make a huge profit is a gift. My advice to first time restaurateurs is that this kind of model is a great training ground to learn about yourself and what it takes to make things work well. The risks are lower because the inputs are lower (how much better is it to make a $90k mistake vs a $900k one?), and that lower risk means you can be more experimental with your ideas and concepts. Think of it as a test drive for something bigger or more permanent in the future. Of course we still rely on the patronage of our valued customers (and especial- ly repeat ones) to keep our doors open, but there really is no such thing as a risk-free experiment, is there?

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Eucalyptajín Ribaco

Get It While It’s Hot!

Beef Bone Ramen

‘That's Amore’ Angus Rump with Italian Flavours

> Created in conjunction with The Happy Motel @ Lola’s Pergola, Adelaide Festival · February/March 2015

Eucalyptajín Ribaco

Duncan WelgemoedExecutive (Spinach) Chef The Happy Motel _ Adelaide, SA

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Eucalyptajín Ribaco

Eucalyptus Smoked Beef Short Rib, Blue Corn Taco with White Kimchi.

1 Salt the Short Ribs and set aside, covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove the ribs and wipe most of the salt off. Pour a good slug of olive oil onto the ribs and rub it in. Pour a generous amount of Tajín onto the ribs and rub in thoroughly. Allow the beef to absorb the seasoning for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator, covered.

2 On the day, set up and heat the coals of your BBQ for indirect cooking (most of the coals should have turned to ash, otherwise the grill will be too hot). The grill should be around 110°C. Place the meat on the grill, bone side down. Add the smoking chips and close the grill. Cook for 5 - 6 hours, until the meat is soft and gelatinous. Remove from heat and when cool enough, remove the meat from the bones and shred. Set aside.

Bovine

1 side beef Short Rib, fat and silverskin trimmed, cut into pairs75g salt200ml olive oilTajín fruit seasoning*1 handful redwood smoking chips, soaked1 handful eucalyptus smoking chips, soaked

** Tajín is a Mexican brand that produces a popular chilli citrus seasoning. This, along with Chiltepin, a Mexican chilli oil, is available from most Latin or gourmet providores and online.

Duncan Welgemoed • Executive (Spinach) Chef The Happy Motel _ Adelaide, SA

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> Combine radish, carrot, pine nuts, chives, chestnuts, and red bell pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Blend pear, garlic, onion and ginger in a food processor until creamy. Place the blended seasoning mix into a cotton pouch, or wrap it a couple times in muslin, and place it into the bowl of brine. Press it down with a spoon so the flavours seep into the brine. Stir the pouch in the brine for 15 - 20 minutes and then remove it.

> Arrange glass jars or earthern-ware pots for fermenting. Spread the mixed vegetables between each leaf of the cabbage. Fold the stuffed cabbage quarters over and place them in the containers. Pour the brine over the vegetables, ensuring everything is submerged.

> Place the lids on the containers loosely so that the gasses can escape (and not explode) and sit the container at room temperature until it starts fermenting, which should be between 1 to 3 days depending on how warm your room is. A warmer room will ferment faster. Just keep an eye on the kimchi and taste it now and then: when the brine turns sour, it's fermenting. Move it to the fridge if you don't want it too sour, which will slow down the fermentation process. After a week, the kimchi is ready, but can be kept longer.

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> Cut the cabbage in half, then cut a slit through the core 2 inches above the stem, so the leaves are loosened but still attached. Rinse the halves under running water, or soak them in a basin for a few seconds until all the leaves are wet. Put the halves in a large basin and sprinkle 1/3 cup of salt evenly between the leaves. Let them sit for 1 - 2 hours, turning them over every 20 minutes. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water a few times to remove any dirt or salt. Split each half under the running water, to divide the cabbage into quarters. Cut out the remainder of the core. Drain and set aside.

> Make the brine by mixing 4 cups of water and 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of salt in a bowl. Stir it well until the salt is thoroughly dissolved.

1 large white cabbage1/3 cup salt1 tbsp plus 2 tsp salt500g daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks100g carrot, cut into matchsticks200g garlic chives cut into 2.5cm pieces2 fresh chestnuts, peeled and cut into thin strips2 tbsp pine nuts1/2 red bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips1 med nashi pear, peeled and cored4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced1 white onion, peeled and sliced1 thumb sized piece ginger, peeled and grated

White Kimchi

S E R V E I T U P

20 blue corn tortillas, toasted in a frying pan until slightly golden and warmed throughChiltepin chilli oil**1 bunch shallots, finely slicedtoasted crickets3 limes, quartered1 bunch young coriander, thoroughly washed, finely chopped (including stems)

Warm the shredded Short Rib in the oven. Place an amount of the warmed meat into the middle of the taco and place some of the kimchi on top. Finish with a drizzle of chilli oil, a sprinkle of green onions, toasted crickets, a squeeze of lime juice and finally, a sprinkling of coriander.

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‘That's Amore’ Angus Rump with Italian Flavours

Pasi PetanenExecutive Chef Café Paci _ Sydney, NSW

> One of the Australia restaurant industry’s silent assassins, Pasi Petanen opened Café Paci in September 2013, in the now defunct Café Pacifico site, destined to be torn down in January 2015.

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1 In large pot on a medium heat, warm the olive oil and cook the onions until soft. Be sure not to brown them, you are aiming for translucency. Add the garlic, chilli and smoked paprika and cook for a further 5 minutes.

2 Lastly add the tomatoes along with a good pinch of salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper and cook slowly, stirring often until all of the moisture has evaporated and the oils starts to split. Pass the sauce through a fine drum sieve, adjust the seasoning. Spread on to a smoking tray and cold smoke for 20 minutes. Store in airtight container until needed.

‘That's Amore’ Angus Rump with Italian Flavours

1 kg ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters1 brown onion, peeled and sliced5 cloves garlic, chopped1/2 long red chilli, sliced1 tsp smoked paprika300ml olive oilsea saltsugarblack pepperwood chips for smoking

Smoked Tomato Sauce

600g Angus Rump, trimmed of any fat and sinew80g Parmigiano Reggiano1 bunch oreganosaltblack pepper

Pasi Petanen • Executive Chef Café Paci _ Sydney, NSW

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Remove all fat and sinew from the Rump and hand chop into fine dice. For every 100g chopped beef season it with one tablespoon of the smoked tomato sauce, one teaspoon of drained confit garlic and a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place on plate and let it warm up for 5 minutes before serving. Just before serving, sprinkle toasted crumbs on top, dust with tomato powder, sprinkle with onion powder, microplaned Parmesan and freshly washed and cut oregano leaves. Finish with a drop or two of the balsamic purée on the plate.

S E R V E I T U P

> Chop the garlic into a fine dice and blanch them 3 times, refreshing each time in cold water. Dry on kitchen paper then place the garlic into a small pot. Cover with olive oil and keep it in a warm place (on top of oven) for 6 hours. Store in airtight container, in the oil until needed.

100g cloves garlic, peeled100ml olive oil

Confit Garlic

1kg ripe tomatoes

> Cut tomatoes into quarters and blend until smooth. Spread the pulp onto trays lined with baking paper and dry in a warm oven (60°C) overnight. When completely dry, grind to powder and store in airtight container.

Tomato Powder

> Peel and slice onions, place in a pot with 100ml water and bring to the boil. When water comes to a boil, cover with a lid and cook slowly until the onions are tender. Remove the onions from the water and drain them to remove excess liquid. Spread onto trays lined with baking paper and dry in a warm oven (60°C) overnight. When dry, grind to powder and store in airtight container.

1kg brown onions

Onion Powder

300ml aged balsamic vinegar3g gellan gum

Balsamic Purée> In a pot, bring the aged balsamic and the gellan gum to the boil and then allow it to set in an ice bath. Once set, blend into a smooth purée and store in a squeeze bottle.

> Blend the stale bread into crumbs. In a pan, melt the butter with the bay leaf and garlic clove, then add the bread crumbs and keep cooking until golden brown and all the butter has clarified. Hang in a fine strainer and then place it on some kitchen paper to dry.

200g rye bread, stale 100g unsalted butter1 bay leaf1 clove garlic, peeled

Rye Toast

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Beef Bone Ramen

Nick SmithExecutive Chef Rising Sun Workshop _ Sydney, NSW

> The culinary creative force behind Rising Sun Workshop, Sydney’s communal workshop space for motorcycle and ramen enthusiasts. It's a place that provides the space, tools and knowledge to do whatever you can think of to your machine and satisfy your own internal runnings with soul satisfying ramen.Currently living a life in Newtown, soon to find a permanent home. Maybe.

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Nick Smith • Executive Chef Rising Sun Workshop _ Sydney, NSW

Beef Bone Ramen

S E R V E S 10 0 ravenous noodle zombies

20 x 8-15cm pieces konbu56L water20 cups dried shiitake, washed18kg whole boiler chickens, with heads and feet, washed thoroughly22kg meaty beef bones 10kg beef Brisket4.5kg smoky pork hocks10 bunches green shallots10 brown onions, peeled and halved20 big carrots, peeled and chopped

Ramen Broth

25 chicken backs, roughly chopped2.5L sake2.5L mirin5L usukuchi (light soy)black pepper salt

Taré

> Heat oven to 230°C. Place the chicken pieces on roasting trays, sprinkle with salt and roast for an hour. They should be brown, but not burnt. Remove the tray with the bones from the oven and deglaze it in a pot over the stove with the sake. Add in the mirin and usukuchi and bring the liquid to barely simmering for an hour. Strain the liquid and add pepper to taste. The taré is what seasons the broth, so it should be strongly seasoned. Keeps in fridge for 4 days.

1 Rinse the konbu add to pot along with the shiitakes, and cover with the water. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat down low and steep the konbu and dried shiitakes for ten minutes. Remove konbu and mushrooms (reserve mushrooms for pickled garnish). Bring to boil then back off to simmer for thirty minutes. Preheat an oven to 220°C. Add the chicken, pork hocks, shallots, onions and carrots. Top the pot with water to cover the chickens and bring the temperature up to a gentle simmer. Continuously skim any scum that rises to the surface. Continue to top up the water if it reduces too much. Keep simmering and skimming for one hour.

2 Place the beef bones on trays, season with a little salt and roast them in the oven for one hour, flipping them over at the 30 minutes mark. Once the chicken has been simmering for 1 hour, remove them and discard (or use for something else, we're done here). In a new pot, place the Brisket, cover it with water. Bring the water to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, continuously skimming any scum that rises to the surface. Remove the Brisket pieces and add them into the konbu/shiitake/chicken broth. Simmer the Brisket in the broth for 3 hours, until the Brisket is super tender. Remove the Brisket and shred it, using a little broth to moisten if necessary. Set aside.

3 Remove the roasted bones from the oven and place them into the broth. Top with a little more water and gently simmer the bones for 5 - 6 hours, replenishing water for the first 4 hours. Remove the broth from the heat, remove the solids and strain the broth through a muslin cloth-lined strainer. Discard the solids. They've done their work. Season the broth with taré.

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green shallots, finely sliced • toasted nori, torn into pieces

Warm the Brisket and the marrow in the oven. Pour 500ml hot broth into a bowl. Add the noodles to the broth, lifting with chopsticks and folding over. Place a nest of Brisket off centre and garnish with pickled shrooms, menma, egg, sliced shallot, tuck a piece of toasted nori down the side. Finally place the marrow across the bowl.

S E R V E I T U P

6 bunches collard greens, centre stem removed, coarsely chopped, 6 rashes belly bacon, finely chopped100ml soy sauce100ml sherry vinegar1 cup brown sugar2 cups ramen broth

Collard Greens> In heavy based frying pan on a medium heat, fry the bacon until the fat starts to render out. Add the collard greens and turn up the heat slightly. Fry until wilted and then equal amounts of soy, vinegar and brown sugar. Add the broth and simmer until tender.

1 kg bamboo shoots, sliced200ml grapeseed oil 75ml sesame oil100ml usukuchi (light soy)1 cup jalapeño chillies, chopped

> Rinse the shoots thoroughly. In a pot, combine the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Menma

50 marrow bones, cut lengthwise1 packet panko bread crumbsShinchimi togarashii (Japanese 7 spice seasoning)1 bunches shallot, finely sliced4 sheets toasted nori, finely slicedsalt flakes

> Soak the bones in several changes of cold water for at least 6 hours. Place the marrow bones, marrow side up on baking trays. Combine panko crumbs and shichimi togarashi and season. Pile this mixture onto the marrow bones. Scatter some shallots on top. Roast the bones at 230°C for 10 minutes until the marrows are soft, but not melting. Remove and garnish with more shallot, nori and salt flakes.

Marrow Bones

12 cups spent mushrooms from the broth 3 cups white sugar3 cups usukuchi (light soy)3 cups sherry vinegar6 thumb sized knobs ginger, peeled

Pickled Shrooms> Trim the stems from the mushrooms and combine everything in a heavy based pot, plus 6 cups of water. Simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Allow the mushrooms to cool in the liquid.

50 free range organic eggs > at room temp.500ml sake500ml mirin2L soy sauce300g white sugar400g garlic, peeled and rough chopped750g ginger, rough chopped10L water

Half Cooked Eggs> In a large, heavy based pot, simmer the sake and mirin for 2 - 3 minutes to cook off some of the alcohol. Reduce the heat down to low and add the soy, sugar, garlic and ginger. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add 10L of water and set aside. In another large pot filled with water, bring the water to the boil. Prick a tiny hole with a pin in the bottom of each egg. Once the water is boiling, gently slide the eggs into the pot. Stir the eggs gently for the first two minutes. After 6 minutes, carefully drain the eggs and place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once the eggs are cool, peel them and place them in containers. Fill each container with the soy mixture and allow to soak overnight, or up to 3 days.

Noodles

150g ramen (alkaline) noodles _ per portion

> Boil each portion of noodles in rapidly boiling water for 90 seconds.

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In the world of limited storage, pint-sized restaurants and the ubiquitous pop-up venues of vogue, presenting an encyclopaedic wine tome that lays wreaths at the feet of wine gods, is nigh on impossible. Instead, canny wine people need to hone and sharpen shorter lists; an art in itself.

Best short lists are snappy, to the point, exotic and tend to work with a chameleonic array of grape varieties, blends or wine styles that can traverse a breadth of proteins. There’s a raft of theories on the science of food and wine matching, but best truths lie with ‘drink what you like, with whatever you choose to eat’ and ‘use the wine to ‘cut’ the dish’, the latter meaning that fresh acidity and vitality of wine helps work as a foil for your eating.

However, there are some tried and tested performers — the all-star grapes, varieties and styles that seem to be able to mingle with all the guests at the bustling cocktail party of meats on a restaurant menu.

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Ok, so pinot noir can come in a variety of guises, like Central Otago, New Zealand, with its typically fuller flavour and more powerful representation, or lighter, fragrant styles from the south of Tasmania, but as a general rule, pinot noir goes with a lot of red meats.

Pinot noir that is supple, with firm but fine tannins, and has a heady perfume, goes particularly well with lighter flavour, less- cooked or raw (think carpaccio, as an example) meat dishes. Then again, youthful pinot noir also knows its way around slow-cooked things and braises, with brisk acidity and lower alcohol, mean-ing the wine can ‘cut’ through the richness and refresh the palate.

PI NOT NOI R

No, not wines from the region of Orange in New South Wales, nor wines made from oranges, this style of wine is white wine made like red wine, where the skins of the white grapes are left in contact with the juice for longer periods to extract pigment (hence the orange name, although wines made this way can range from light gold to amber and through to purple) and to obtain some more texture or tannin profile.

The best examples of these wines are not just refreshing, but full-bodied enough to stack up against a variety of meat dishes, or even simply cooked fuller-flavoured proteins. The region of Friuli in Italy from where these wines are best-known, often pairs up their orange wines with locally sourced wild boar, from cured meats to stews. Acidity and tannin in these wines mean that red meat with higher fat content find a friend too.

OR A NGE W I N E S

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P ink with pink. Neat summation for a wine style and how a meat might be served. Rosé, when made intentionally (and not, as some, as a by-product of red winemaking) is exhilarating, refreshing and dangerously drinkable. More importantly, the style works superbly with lightly-cooked meats, cold cuts and a slew of spices/heat.

Rosé is often ignobly credited as being a boring, silly, simple wine style, when best examples are actually some of the most versatile wines known to mankind, while working as a wicked palate cleanser during a dining experience. Some great examples come from the south of France, particularly the Bandol region, but the best rule is to seek out serious winemakers who pick grapes specifically for their rosés, and make more articulate wines.

RO SÉ

In the olden days of food and wine matching, people would lose their minds if you suggested pairing a chardonnay, let alone any white wine, with red meats. Thankfully, that dusty old textbook kind of learning can be thrown out the window. There are a variety of styles of chardonnay that work just fine with red meat, particularly cuts from stronger flavoured beasts.

Chardonnay with some oxidative handling or oxidisation through the winemaking process, like some of the wines from Jura, go particularly well — indeed, the smoked Morteau sausages of the Jura region work a treat with such wines. Likewise, powerful chardonnay with less oak handling, can match well with goat or even lamb, where some of the sweetness of fruit and fullness of texture, cooperate with these proteins.

C H A R D ON NAY

You’ve probably stumbled into the odd ‘GSM’ blend, where winemakers taking inspiration from the red wines of the Rhone Valley in France mesh together grenache, shiraz and mourvedre grapes into a cohesive, fleshy, savoury red wine. If not, grab a bottle, throw a heap of different animals onto a BBQ, and watch the food-and-wine-matching sing.

Something about layering different grape varieties into each other seems to lend an earlier complexity — in these wines, shiraz gives body and flesh to texture, grenache the pretty perfume it is known for, and mourvedre some savouriness or earthiness. The end result is a really versatile red wine that often offers more satis-faction across a broader spectrum than a single variety wine. Don’t be scared of blends.

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(*) Handbook of Australian Meat

#4921(*)

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Falls Creek

Chef Mark Labrooy

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1 rack Lamb Ribs ( 1.5kg )

1 head corn, husked and kernels cut from the cob1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced1 red cabbage, shredded100ml mayonnaise1 handful flat parsley leaves, coarsely chopped1 handful coriander leaves, coarsely chopped 1 tsp red chilli, finely chopped1 lemonsaltpepper

Combine the shredded cabbage, onion, corn kernels, parsley, coriander and chilli in a mixing bowl. Stir through enough mayonnaise to coat the ingredients, squeeze a wedge of lemon and season to taste with salt and pepper.

R E D O N I O N S L A W

100ml hoisin sauce50ml honey1 clove garlic1 large red chilli, seeds removed2 tbsp soy1 tsp paprika1 tbsp vegetable oil1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted

Smash the garlic, chilli and seeds using a pestle and mortar. Place the pulverised ingredients in a mixing bowl along with the paprika. Fold through the hoisin, honey, soy and oil and mix thoroughly to combine. Marinate the ribs in this paste for at least

6 hours in the refrigerator.

M A R I N A D E

Chef and co- owner : Mark

Labrooy at Three Blue Ducks,

currently manning the fort in the

snowy mountains of Falls Creek, The Astra Bar.

» Pre heat the oven at 190°C. » Remove the ribs from refrigerator and after 15 minutes, place on rack inside a roasting tray, season with salt and roast for 25 – 30 minutes. » Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 5 minutes.

» Season with a little salt and lemon juice and serve with the slaw.

T O S E R V E 1 lemon salt

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Lamb Ribs with Corn and Red Onion Slaw

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Pretzel Crusted Lamb Ribs

T O S E R V E

5 cups yellow mustard 2 cup olive oil1 handful black peppercorns, toasted and coarsely ground2 Spanish onions, peeled, halved and charred on a flat top grill5 ribs celery, cut into 10cm lengths4 young carrots, washed and cut in half lengthwise20 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 1/4 bunch thyme1/4 bunch basil

Pre heat an oven to 120°C. In a bowl, combine the yellow mustard, olive oil and mix thoroughly. On the stovetop in an oven-friendly braising dish on a medium heat, sauté the vegetables in olive oil for 2 - 3 minutes. Coat the ribs in the mustard/ oil paste and

place the ribs on top of the vegetables. Pour the beef stock into the dish and cover with foil. Braise in the oven for 3 - 4 hours until tender. Remove the dish from the oven and allow the ribs to cool in the liquid. Once cool, remove the ribs and cut into individual ribs. Set aside until service. Strain the braising

liquor, reduce it by half, season with salt and set aside to cool.

20 Roma tomatoes 4 med Spanish onions, peeled10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 5 cups molasses2 cups tomato paste 2 cups honey1 cup Dijon mustard 3 cups yellow mustard2 cups cider vinegar 3 cups Sambal Oelek2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground4 tbsp cayenne peppers, roasted and chopped3 tbsp black pepper, toasted and ground1 handful apple wood chips for smoking

Heat a coal BBQ until the embers start to die down. Halve two of the Spanish onions and place them on the BBQ. Add the wood chips and close the lid and allow them to smoke for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside. Preheat an oven to 200°C and roast the

tomatoes until the skins have turned brown and have split. Finely slice the remaining two Spanish onions and in a heavy based pot on a medium heat, sauté the onions, garlic smoked and smoked onions in a little olive oil. Add the tomato paste, stir fry briefly and then add the roasted tomatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the Sambal Oelek. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has become rich and viscous. Add the Sambal Oelek, taste and adjust the seasoning.

3 packets unsalted pretzels 1 cup parsley, leaves picked and chopped 2 cups coriander, leaves picked and chopped1/2 tsp black peppercorns, toasted and ground coarsely sea salt flakes

Smash the pretzels by pulsing in a processor until a crunchy texture is achieved. In a preheated oven on 180°C, lightly toast the pretzel crumbs until golden (10 -15 minutes). Remove and cool slightly before adding the

chopped herbs. Season to taste.

» On a stovetop, place the ribs in a braising dish and pour over the warm BBQ sauce. » Bring the heat up and simmer the ribs in the sauce until

warmed through. » Remove the ribs from the BBQ sauce and toss briefly in the pretzel crust to coat. » Serve with cold beer.

P R E T Z E L C R U S T

5 sets Lamb Ribs 3L beef stock

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» Pre heat the oven to 170°C and remove the ribs from the refrigerator for 20 minutes. » Place the ribs in a baking tray. » Ensure the ribs are coated in a generous amount of the curry oil marinade and cover the tray with foil.

» Cook the ribs for 3 – 4 hours in total. » After the first hour, give the ribs their first coating of BBQ sauce and continue to baste at regular intervals. » The ribs are done when they are tender, but still holding onto the bone. » Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 –15 minutes. » Give the ribs one last coating

of BBQ sauce, and get in there.

Chef : Benjamin Cooper at Kong. Open daily for lunch and dinner from early

May, Kong is located in a customised shipping container in Melbourne’s CBD.

VIC

Melbourne

T O S E R V E

1L tinned tomatoes, crushed and juice10 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped1/4 cup tomato paste1/2 cup rice vinegar1/4 cup Dijon mustard1 tbsp granulated garlic1/2 cup brown sugar1/4 – 1/2 cup pomegranate molassessea saltblack pepper

In a large heavy based pot, combine all ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, adjust acid

and sugar balance to taste.

T O M A T O &

M O L A S S E S B B Q S A U C E

Lamb Ribs with Tomato and Molasses BBQ Sauce

1.4kg Lamb Ribs, with flap

C U R R Y O I L M A R I N A D E

1/2 cup olive oil2 tbsp garlic, crushed3 tbsp curry powder4 tsp soy sauce1 handful fresh curry leaves1 tbsp pink peppercorns

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the marinade. Spread it evenly on both sides of the ribs, cover and allow to marinate refrigerated, overnight.

Chef Benjamin Cooper

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You are only going to be around for a short time so make every second counts. Be solid and clear in your concept, be able to explain it in just one sentence like "We roast whole animals and serve booze from barrels." And once you get started, don’t change course. You don’t have enough time!

C h e f JARED INGERSOLL } Ba r rel & B e a st, NSW

C h e f NICK SMITH

Temporary restaurant concepts are tough and not to be entered into lightly. They are a means to an end with no quarter given, so if you're considering popping you'll want to pop it hard.

} R i s i ng Sun Work shop, NSW

Don't spend money! Only buy what you need not what you want. Being resourceful with what you have makes the experience not only creatively challenging, but more financially viable.

C h e f PASI PETANEN } C a f é Pac i, NSW

Throw caution to the wind, take risks. With this kind of model, you can create something quirky and fun. It's a great way to experiment with food, booze and design.

C h e f DUNCAN WELGEMOED } T he Happy Motel, SA

Go into it with an open mind, be super resourceful and most importantly surround yourself with good people. All who are willing to go that extra mile to make things happen. You will face the pit falls, curve balls and all the dramas that happen when opening somewhere new, but without large amounts of time to iron out the creases. It can also be highly rewarding, so just be as prepared as you can and enjoy the ride!

C h e f DARREN ROBERTSON } T h e T a b l e S e s s i o n s , N S W

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Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is a service company that invests in marketing and research and development on behalf of its 49,000 beef, lamb and goat producer members. Our role within foodservice is to bridge the gap between farm and kitchen by providing chefs with information and inspiration on red meat.

1 8 0 0 5 5 0 0 1 8 F o r y o u r S u b s c r i p t i o n raremedium@mla .com.au