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April 2010

Astral’s Sean Connolly dishes up an Asian-inspired masterclass

Behind the scenes with restAurAteur Bill drAkopoulos

Top chefs dish up sTunning breakfasT recipesMoscAto: the perfect tipple

for the eArly Bird

when the stars align…

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foodService April 2010 3

April 2010

features8 Rage against the system It’s a new world and the role of chef as simply the leader of the pack of cooks

has changed forevermore. Tony Eldred delivers a blow to the system.

10 On the crest of a wave Restaurateur Bill Drakopoulos has created a dining empire with establishments

in prime locations on Sydney’s waterfront. This month Yasmin Newman dips her feet in the water with the 2009 RCNSW Restaurateur of the Year.

16 When the stars align This month Sean Connolly puts an Asian spin on a classic flavour combination.

20 Rock Oysters: Breakfast of champions As part of our focus on breakfast, John Susman dishes up a must-read guide on

the breakfast of champions - the humble rock oyster.

26 Dawn of a new day As consumers converge on the nations eateries for a kick start to the day, some of

Australia’s finest chefs dish up a bevy of breakfast recipes worth getting up for.

Plus34 Yolk of the golden egg This month Le Monde’s Chris Merrick shows us how to make one of the

classic French emulsion mother sauces, hollandaise, from scratch.

36 Moscato with your yoghurt and muesli? Jim McMahon profiles a tipple that could get the early birds chirping.

regulars8 management10 inside dining14 opinion16 masterclass20 seafood34 scratch36 quaff38 legal40 shopping cart48 backbites

news6 Industry continues to gain traction in 20107 Josephine Pignolet Award applications open7 Excellence in makin’ bacon

plus

April 2010

Astral’s Sean Connolly dishes up an Asian-inspired masterclass

Behind the scenes with restAurAteur Bill drAkopoulos

Top chefs dish up sTunning breakfasT recipesMoscAto: the perfect tipple

for the eArly Bird

when the stars align…

Cover: Bos taurus beef, miso cured, hollandaise, king mushrooms and jus gras by Sean Connolly, executive chef, Astral, Star City, Sydney.

contents

10 16

Contents 3 29/3/10 3:14:12 PM

from the editor

4 foodService April 2010

EDITOR Anthony Huckstep (02) 9213 8335 anthonyhuckstep@yaffa.com.au

COnTRIbuTORs Gawen Rudder Tony Eldred Jim McMahon John Susman Jonathan Kaplan Yasmin Newman

nATIOnAL ADVERTIsInG MAnAGER Adam Cosgrove (02) 9213 8241 mobile: 04501 564 655 adamcosgrove@yaffa.com.au

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GROuP ART DIRECTOR Ana Maria Heraud

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DEsIGnER Caroline Milne

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Call 1800 807 760subscriptions@yaffa.com.ausubsCRIPTIOn RATEs 1 year $88.00 2 year $158.40 3 year $211.20 1 year (overseas) nZ $105 AsIA $120 ROW $160

FOODsERVICE nEWs is published by Yaffa Publishing Group Pty Ltd ABN 54 002 699 354 17-21 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.Ph: (02) 9281 2333 Fax: (02) 9281 2750

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Star-spangled bureaucratic badgeRolls of red tape seal your lips, now you’re done in. . .

– Hetfield

I’ve endured the nauseating throes of rejection caused by food poisoning.

For successive days, anything to pass my lips simply boarded an express train on a one-way ride to oblivion.

The experience was almost as nauseating as the Lara Bingle media frenzy. Almost.

So I have to concede any initiative that improves the standard across the board is a good thing, because I wouldn’t wish food poisoning on my fiercest enemy.

When it comes to hygiene and correct food handling procedures in foodservice establishments it should be a clear case of black and white.

A restaurant either meets the requirements or they don’t, and they must alter their operations accordingly or face the appropriate penalties.

An initiative by Brisbane City Council, ‘Eat Safe Brisbane’, aims to rate restaurants with a five-point star system (five being the highest), on their level of hygiene and food handling procedures in accordance with the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standards.

Restaurants awarded 3 stars or more can hang a shiny star-spangled badge on their door for all to see.

I appreciate its sentiment but if one receives a 3/5 (a good performer) for hygiene, would you be advertising the fact? A good performer? Surely hygiene and food handling procedures are cut and dry. There’s no middle ground for little gold stars and awards.

Five stars indicates an operator that’s fully compliant with food safety standards and overall, a very high standard of food safety management practices.

Shouldn’t all operators be fully compliant?Star ratings gradually get worse and worse from

simply being ‘fully compliant’. Giving a venue two stars out of five is defined as ‘a poor level of compliance with more effort required’.

Could you maybe try a bit harder please? Maybe try washing the dishes?

What is one meant to make of this red tape runaround? Does it mean three out of five dishes are served sans cockroach?

It’s hardly like dishing out awards for excellence in

dining a la Chef Hats where the experience can be considered at a higher level than their counterparts.

It’s compliance with the Food Act and Food Safety Standards. Either the venue practices correct food handling procedures, or they don’t. Case dismissed.

Why reward someone for carrying out their legal obligation? Get off the red carpet and back to auditing.

OK, hang on pull the handbrake.Although rating the food safety out of five and

dishing up stickers AKA ‘Scores on doors’ might appear as a populist marketing ploy designed to grab a headline, it is a far better solution than the NSW Food Authority’s ‘Name and Shame’ initiative launched in ‘08. Criticism was leveled at it for publicly shaming restaurants whose breaches were minimal at best, such as a broken thermometer.

The i-phone application made things even worse. It shows a map of a suburb with shamed restaurants on it. Sure it acts as a great deterrent to those not willing to comply to the standards, but sadly consumers lazy. They’ll see a restaurant listed without investigating further and opt to dine somewhere else forevermore.

I’m not having a go at the various food authorities, my point is, after a few deep breaths, consumers don’t care about confusing skippy badges and whether a thermometer doesn’t work properly.

But full marks to Brisbane City Council for taking the initiative and looking to stamp out dodgy operators. If it means more businesses comply with the Food Act, then they’re on the money and my insane ramblings amount to simply that. . insanity.

Of course it needs to be administered across the board, so bringing in the multitude of councils under one modus operandi could prove a huge hurdle.

Uh, I’m feeling nauseous. ●

Anthony HuckstepEditor

From the Editor 4 29/3/10 3:15:11 PM

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news

6 foodService April 2010

Industry continues to gain traction in 2010Following a stellar end to 2009, the Australian foodservice sector has continued to gain traction to post positive trading figures during January 2010.

According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) turnover for January, in restaurants, cafes and caterers was $1,341.9 billion – a 3.6 per cent jump on last January. This is yet another increase on top of a 7.2 per cent overall increase in 2009 despite the global financial crisis.

One of the hottest weather conditions ever recorded for January in New South

Wales may have been a vehicle to get people out and about following news that the premier state has been a star performer for the last six months with record-on-record monthly results. Whilst January was not another record, it was 16.9 per cent up on 2009 at $427.6 million.

Peter Doyle, president of Restaurant & Catering Australia (RCA) and owner of Peter Doyle @ the Quay, said “the resilience of this industry never ceases to amaze me – the tougher things get the better we do.”

Astoundingly, the ABS cited the

restaurant, café and catering sectors as that with the greatest growth in January, in the context of all parts of the retail sector growing.

John Hart, CEO, RCA said the growth is a great thing and the industry owes a great deal to its loyal consumers that come back again and again, but warned high turnover doesn’t necessarily result in greater profits.

“It is, however, a double edged sword – profitability is not increasing with revenue and staff are, once again, becoming very difficult to find,” he said.

The CHEF Australian Championship competition is set to test competitors with a tougher than ever format aimed at letting the cream rise to the top under extreme pressure.

The 2010 Championship returns to Foodservice Australia (FSA EXPO) which runs from 21 to 23 June at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour.

The high-pressure competition will pit chef against chef, against judges and against the clock in a four-station kitchen in front of a live audience, determining which Australian chef is master of their art.

Each competing group of four chefs have just one hour to prepare and serve four different dishes utilising one main component.

On top of this, each competitor will be required to gather four complementary ingredients of their choice, directly from exhibitor stands.

“It’s not about practice, it’s pure raw talent -- a competition designed by chefs for chefs,” said competition designer, Black Hat chef Gary Farrell.

“The aim is to produce a series of dishes that reflect their skill set, their development and their identity as a chef,” Farrell said.

The CHEF Australian Championship will see more than 30 chefs compete over three days for the grand prize of $10,000.

More details on FAS go to www.foodserviceaustralia.com.au

Championship gets tough in search of excellence

VIC apprentice does state proudVictorian apprentice chef Kate Ager has taken top honours at The Fonterra Foodservices Proud to be a Chef master classes for 2010.

Thirty-one-year-old Ager, who works at Coldstream Brewery, stood out from the group of exceptional third and fourth year apprentices from Australia and New Zealand after taking part in two days of master classes hosted by celebrity chef Eric Teo, co-owner of Melbourne’s Maha Bar and Grill Shane Delia, expert pizza maker John Lanzafame, and popular food and wine identity Peter Howard.

Meanwhile Kah-wai Lo from Melbourne, Victoria was awarded silver and Adi James from Sydney, New South Wales was awarded bronze.

As part of the prize, Ager scored a two-week-long placement at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Singapore under the guidance of Eric Teo.

“I didn’t come into this expecting to win,”

said an excited Ager.“I just wanted to put everything I am into

each dish I prepared and get as much out of the experience as possible.

“This has been the most awesome experience and the master class with Eric Teo was my absolute highlight – I can’t believe I get to spend two weeks with him in Singapore,” she said.

Meanwhile Troy Hudgson, Fonterra Foodservices’ channel development manager, said Fonterra Foodservices Proud to be a Chef was all about finding up-and-coming chefs like Kate who would one day be the leaders of the food industry.

“Kate was an absolute standout, a leader who will represent apprentice chefs and our Australian food industry well when she travels to Singapore,” he said.

“Kate is a very passionate and humble young woman who displayed the focus, efficiency and attention to detail of a seasoned professional.”

Proud to be a Chef - Kate Ager.

News 6 29/3/10 3:17:25 PM

Category 1st 2nd 3rdOverall Schultes Meat Tavern Coota Valley Meats Skara Smallgoods - QLD - NSW - SAFull rasher Schultes Meat Tavern Coota Valley Meats Skara Smallgoods - QLD - NSW - SALow fat Willhome Farm Fresh Kanmantoo Bacon Lucas Quality Meats - VIC Company - SA Meats - NSW.

foodService April 2010 7

news

Josephine Pignolet Award applications openApplications are now being accepted for The Josephine Pignolet Best Young Chefs Award 2011, which will be awarded as part of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide 2011.

Established 20 years ago, the award acknowledges the talent of young chefs and aims to inspire them to greater heights.

Closing date for the submissions is Friday 7 May, and judging will take place on Monday 17 May. Applicants must be from NSW or ACT and be under 30 years old in 2009. They may be an apprentice, qualified chef or food professional but not hold a head chef’s or senior chef’s role.

Applicants must submit a one page document titled ‘My philosophy on food and cooking’ as well as the names and contacts of two professional chef referees or a chef and senior foodservice manager.

The winner must keep a detailed diary of their work experience and present appropriate photographs on their return from their travels overseas.

The award, which will be presented to the winner at The Good Food Guide Awards Night in early September 2010, consists of the following:

A return economy airfare to a destination where the winner may work and gain experience. The Josephine Pignolet Award committee will attempt to offer assistance in placing the winner in their preferred restaurant. A set of SHUN professional chefs’ knives, a magnum of Bollinger Special Cuvee, as well as cash donations from food and beverage suppliers and Sydney chefs estimated to be at least $15,000.

Applications must be posted, prior to 7 May, to PO BOX 406, Woollahra NSW 1350.

Entries are now open for The Age Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year 2011, which seeks to identify the future culinary leaders of Victoria’s restaurant industry, and includes prize money of $5000 which may be used towards educational travel and a ‘stage’ at an overseas restaurant.

The award is available to all young cooks currently employed in their profession in Victoria, and under 30 years of age as of 30 May 2010.

Chair of the panel Alla Wolf-Tasker will select the finalist and winners with co-judges Andrew McConnell, Cumulus Inc and Cutler & Co., and Guy Grossi of Grossi Florentino, Merchant and Mirka at Tolarno.

According to restaurateur and chair of panel Alla Wolf-Tasker, this is an award all talented, qualified young cooks under thirty should consider entering.

“We are looking to give encouragement and support to the young rising stars of the industry. You might be a line cook or a head chef. It’s not your status or title that’s important; it’s the talent, promise and passion you show,” she said.

As further encouragement, this year’s Young Chef Award finalists will be profiled in Epicure before the award announcement.

Chefs, restaurateurs and employers are encouraged to nominate the rising stars within their kitchen teams. The winner will be announced at The Age Good Food Guide launch on Monday 30 August. Entries close this month. To receive your entry form, email: goodfoodguide@theage.com.au.

Excellence in makin’ baconQueensland company Schultes Meat Tavern has taken top honours in the inaugural Australian PorkMARK National Bacon Awards for Excellence.

A staggering 62 different bacons were judged from a total of 45 establishments around the country in two categories, full

rasher and low fat.The theme for Australia’s inaugural bacon

week was ‘Bringing home the bacon’, chosen to provide a logical platform to highlight that the majority of bacon sold in Australia is not from downunder pork but in fact the other side of the world.

Wanted: Victorian rising stars

Pleased as punch: Mitchell Orr, the 2010 Josephine Pignolet Best Young Chefs Award recipient.

And the bacon winners are:

News 7 29/3/10 3:17:57 PM

management

8 foodService April 2010

Rage against the system

In considering some of the problems we are encountering in commercial kitchens, particularly in relation to the management and financial efficiency of food production, I am becoming more and more concerned that our systems of training cooks and chefs are failing us rather badly.

It seems like a sizeable portion of the industry is struggling with falling margins at a time when finding the skills you need to run your business on the job market has become the most difficult I have ever seen in my forty years in this industry.

Looking at it simplistically, we’re in the narrowing space between pincers, in that Gen Y is reluctant to enter the industry, or at least stay in it, after the reality of long, unsociable hours and hard physical labour becomes apparent. It’s not like Masterchef or My Kitchen Rules in real life. On the other hand, many older, established head chefs are finding it all too hard because the nature of the job is moving away from being purely culinary, as it was 20 years ago when they entered, and is now moving inexorably towards sophisticated management, and now requires reading, writing, maths and competent computer skills. Senior chefs seem to be leaving in droves.

To further complicate things, we are seeing a vicious cycle repeated wherever we go. Cash-strapped businesses are running sweatshops due to economic necessity, which causes high staff turnover, which in turn further exacerbates the deteriorating financial performance. This cycle invariably ends in tears for everyone – owners, staff and customers.

A common lament from the head chefs we train in our workshops is that we can no longer rely on the completion of an apprenticeship in cookery to guarantee the cook concerned has the basics. This is a serious enough issue on its own, and one that throws the burden on employers to train and pay high salaries at the same time. There was a time, long ago, when the technical colleges provided this training at the government’s expense. I don’t know what went wrong, but it doesn’t seem to be happening now.

Part of the problem lies in the common belief that cookery doesn’t require reasonable academic achievement as a prerequisite. In times past, students who were ‘academically challenged’ were often directed towards cookery, as it was seen to be an occupation only requiring artistic and manual skills. To a certain extent this is still true today, provided you are content to stay a cook, but if you aspire to be a chef (read: head chef), you are now going to have to be computer-literate, numerate and competent with written communication.

I would argue now that if you enter cookery without a solid academic background, you are going to limit yourself and struggle to climb up to your potential later in your career. I’m telling my clients to only take

apprentices who have finished year 12 at secondary school – otherwise you are accepting people into a dead-end career.

I believe cookery training will separate into two streams in the near future. The first stream will be basic cookery, which will teach the student how to assemble food that’s already partially pre-prepared; after all, this is the way most institutional and lower-market level kitchens will operate in the future.

The second stream will comprise of those cooks who have done basic cookery and who have the drive and the flair to progress and learn à la carte cookery.

They will produce food from component ingredients, as most cooks do now. The real problems will come in the attempt to jump from cook to chef.

This leap is only partially about culinary skill. It has more to do with leadership, controlling human resources and the control of money and stock.

The dawning realisation that your head chef is likely to control the largest amount of money going through your business may focus your thinking. We are now finding ourselves having to work with quite a few businesses that have good food but no profit. It’s particularly upsetting when the head chef doesn’t want to know about all this ‘management bulls#@t’.

I believe the correct way to train chefs in the future is to bring cooks who have had four or five years experience in the industry back to part-time school for a series of ‘post-graduate’ development workshops or courses in the various management skills needed to run an efficient kitchen, the culmination of which should be a separate qualification to basic cookery.

The present system, where cooks who have completed an apprenticeship can happily apply for head chef’s jobs whenever they feel like it, is causing unnecessary problems. The number of supreme optimists who have sat, straight-faced in front of us and tried to convince us they were ideal for a $90k job in charge of a brigade of thirty and two million dollars worth of stock annually is quite disturbing, especially considering they appear to have minimal knowledge of menu costing, stock control, training techniques, labour laws, dismissal procedures, controlling repairs and maintenance or anything apart from cooking ‘their food’. We need a new system. Yesterday. ●

It’s a new world and the role of chef as simply the leader of the pack of cooks has changed forevermore. Tony Eldred delivers a body blow to the system.

Tony Eldred operates Eldred Hospitality Pty Ltd, ‘The Hospitality Management Specialists’. He can be contacted on 03 9813 3311; or via his company’s website: www.eldtrain.com.au.

❝❞

It’s particularly upsetting when the head chef doesn’t want to know about all this

‘management bulls#@t’.

Management 8 29/3/10 3:25:06 PM

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inside dining

10 foodService April 2010

On the crestof a wave

Ripples at Chowder Bay.

Inside dining 10 29/3/10 3:27:37 PM

Restaurateur Bill Drakopoulos has created a dining empire with establishments in prime locations on Sydney’s waterfront. This month Yasmin Newman dips her feet in the water with the 2009 RCNSW Restaurateur of the Year.

Everybody: meet Bill Drakopoulos.This is a man who knows his trade and has

built an empire on his knowledge. If you don’t already know the name, you’ll know the venue – or at least one of five.

Proprietor of the Ripples group, a jewellery box collection of dining venues scattered across Sydney’s idyllic waterfront shores, the scope of Drakopoulos’ business speaks for itself. But let’s throw in a Restaurant & Catering NSW award for Restaurateur of the Year 2009 for good measure.

Drakopoulos started out in the hospitality game more than 30 years ago. First as a kitchen hand, then a chef and waiter, he worked his way diligently up the ranks, typically working three jobs at the same time, mixing kitchen work with front of house.

By 19, he had his first business as a cheap and cheerful wedding caterer; just four years later, another, this time a café on Oxford Street. He continued to work at established venues simultaneously. By 24, he was part-owner of Harbour Watch, the iconic 300-seater on Sydney Harbour. He managed this for 13 years until he ventured out again, this time completely on his own and with his sights set high.

Clearly an entrepreneur from the get-go, Drakopoulos credits his success to solid experience, along with the mentors he has had along the way. As he recounts his story amid the gleaming glass of his flagship venue, Aqua Dining, I come to fully appreciate the wisdom that has built these walls and the insight that allows the business to thrive year-in, year-out.

Unlike many smooth-talkers of his kind, behind the glitzy setting Drakopoulos is no hyperbole-sprouting restaurateur full of ideas and no understanding.

Case in point: location. With sites in Milsons Point, Chowder Bay, Sydney Wharf and Whale Beach – settings that would make any heartbeat flutter and most chefs drool with envy – it’s easy to dismiss Ripples’ success as purely a function of the locations. But Drakopoulos is clear to point out it’s not as easy as finding a postcard view. “With the wrong application, what’s a stunning location could suddenly be a rubbish one,” he says.

Instead, he recommends identifying what a site best lends itself to and identifying a market to match.

“You see it a lot with young people when they’re choosing a site for their first business.” Drakopoulos points out the emotion that clouds buyers’ vision and the analysis of running costs that gets overshadowed by the excitement of a good-looking site.

“You find these guys often really struggle to make their first year, the whole time just trying to catch their breath.”

It’s a common tale, sadly, and one that highlights the importance of Drakopoulos’ tried and tested words. “I’m always reluctant to clone each venue,” he says of the temptation, even for him, to replicate his original, winning formula when opening a new Ripples. “But there’s no point trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.” Before committing to a new site, Drakopoulos

weighs everything up down to the last dollar – its beauties, its limitations, as well as the demographics of the area.

“We make sure to stay true to the concept,” he explains of not veering too far off the Ripples path once a new venue has been selected. “But if we have to modify our offering at each, we’ll modify.”

If Ripples Milsons Point maximises pedestrian traffic with its open set up, Chowder Bay attracts larger groups with private dining rooms and space for weddings. By contrast, the feeling at Sydney Wharf is more urban. At Whale Beach, it’s quintessential beach house. Drakopoulos avoids the ‘plug-n-play’ approach to menus too. “Of course, there are certain constants I insist on, but I don’t like things to be exactly the same – it takes the fun and challenge out of it.” He speaks as much for his chefs, as he does for himself, as well as customers who enjoy the diversity between the venues.

As modus operandi, it’s certainly worked for Drakopoulos. In the space of 10 years the business has grown exponentially. But according to the restaurateur, it’s been more a natural evolution than something forced. “After the first couple I had no intention of opening any more.” Yet Drakopoulos recounts a drive up to Whale Beach to help a friend out with advice on a property, ten

foodService April 2010 11

inside dining

of a wave

Below left to right: Bill Drakopoulos.Spanish open omelette with peking, capsicum and coriander pesto.Ripples at Whale Beach.Tortilla wrap breaki.

Inside dining 11 29/3/10 3:28:34 PM

inside dining

12 foodService April 2010

minutes later he walked out with the keys. The decision was similarly instant with Chowder Bay and Sydney Wharf.

Instinctive more than impulsive, the restaurateur cannot completely deny there might be more to come. “If the conditions are right… well, I’d be happy to open another,” he says with a mischievous smile. But he’s quick to add, “I already have an empire – my family. And to be honest, that’s the most important thing.”

With a low turnover rate, juniors sticking round until they are head chefs and apprentices encouraged to create ‘specials of the day’, Drakopoulos’ nurturing side clearly extends beyond his personal life.

“You’ve got to offer them [staff] a sense of ownership,” says the lead-by-example boss, who implements a structured training program including work with HTN.

“If you take an authoritarian approach, your staff will feel suppressed, and you’d have to be everywhere.”

As the swimming competition heats up in North Sydney pool just below, our early morning conversation switches to breakfast. Open for all-day dining, Ripples is perhaps best known for its morning trade – London’s Wallpaper Magazine included Ripples Milsons Point in its top 25 coolest as the best

breakfast venue in the world – and makes serious bucks from this trading period, where other restaurants fail to. “We try to think outside of the square and create a product that’s interesting for people,” says Drakopoulos, who cites Bill Granger as a pioneer of this approach. In place of conventional bacon and eggs, expect to find sautéed wood mushrooms with sage sauce on toasted brioche, or a Spanish omelette with Peking duck and coriander pesto.

The price point is kept accessible too, without losing the quality level they aim for during lunch and dinner.

Drakopoulos distinguishes another reason for his success, “I don’t do brunch.” Instead, he serves breakfast till 11 and then reopens at midday, giving the kitchen a full hour to turn around for the lunch trade.

“For breakfast, most people are prepared to pay around $15 to $25 per head. Brunch, something similar. But during lunch, this can go up to $55 to $60 a head – if it’s a nice venue like ours. All of a sudden, I’ve doubled my spend per customer.”

Drakopoulos notes that while brunch is a viable option for other venues, at Ripples with he can get more bums on seats and a higher turnover by separating the two.

For this restaurateur, a successful

breakfast trade can mean his daily costs are covered before he’s even served his first customer for lunch. But with low spend compared to cost of labour, particularly on the weekends, it’s crucial to be busy. Drakopoulos warns, “You don’t want to be serving one $3.80 coffee every 10 minutes on a Sunday!” Again, he advises to see which model best suits one’s own business.

He leaves me with a final thought: “Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, you have to take it seriously. If you open your door for service, you’re exposing your reputation to the public. So make sure you do it with integrity – even if it is just a cup of inexpensive coffee.”

As the interview ends and I begin photographing the dishes, I look over to see Drakopoulos clearing tables, three plates piled high, while serving customers with his sincere smile. This is a man who works with integrity; this is a man who knows his trade. ●

Sauteed wood mushrooms with sage sauce on toasted brioche, tomato fondue and poached egg.

❝❞

We try to think outside of the square and create

a product that’s interesting for people.

Inside dining 12 29/3/10 3:29:46 PM

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opinion

14 foodService April 2010

The politics of food

This story – inspired by everyone’s friend in food, the late Max Lake – is about Indian food and how this show of support could become a catalyst for change. Dr. Lake once told me there wasn’t a confrontation that could not be solved over the dinner table.“Good food, accompanied by good wine, promotes goodwill,” he’d say.

Post-World War II, Australia ingested a large number of immigrants from Europe the Middle East, and later Asia. Until this time, Australia was mainly populated by the Irish and English and over-cooked meat and potatoes. Come the late fifties, we discovered spaghetti could be cooked in strands rather than extracted from cans, chopsticks were cautiously trialled and mastered, and we started to spice up our cooking.

During the 70s, governments started to realise immigrants – or ‘new Australians’ as they were politely dubbed (although worse epithets were hurled in their direction) – were being unfairly treated. Racist rumblings that first instilled their ugly presence when our forefathers railed against Aboriginals and Chinese coolies, were beginning to emerge. The term ‘multiculturalism’ was introduced by the Labor government under Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1973. And the Victorian Department of Immigration & Ethnic Affairs, recognising these issues, produced a TV campaign that starred food as a culinary catalyst…

“I’m as Greek as a souvlaki, I`m as Irish as a stewI`m Italian as spaghetti, I`m as Danish as a blue I`m as Turkish as a coffee, I`m as Pom as strawberry jamAnd I`m an Aussie, yes I`m an Aussie, yes I am

(Peter Best, 1976)

The idea was if you speak to the stomach, the mind will follow (Max would agree). Food plays a key role in human socialisation. We communicate by way of food. Our resistance in food preference may give insights to our views on multiculturalism. Less than a decade ago, a typical white Anglo-Saxon protestant boy might not have been inclined to try sushi for the first time.

Spicy tuna rolled like a rainbow with fresh cucumbers, finely chopped carrots, and sinfully delicious avocado might not have appeased this young man. He’d scrunch his delicately wrinkled nose, adjust his collar and say, ever so politely, “No thank you,” just like his mother taught him. His resistance toward trying this fine piece of gastronomic art shows rejection and perhaps his social distance toward an ethnic group.

How we’ve changed. Or have we? We may believe in karma, love our korma, but killings - apparently racially motivated killing of Indian students - no.

The Prime Minister called for calm, the media whipped up frenzy, the Indian Government issued a

travel advisory, the Foreign Minister was dispatched to the subcontinent, Shane Warne volunteered his services and police unsuccessfully pursued the perpetrators.

So to spice up solidarity, ‘Vindaloo against violence’ became a nationwide event encouraging people to dine at their local Indian restaurant. In the Victorian town of Kyneton, the Singhs, owners of Dhaba at the Mill, offered food, music and a free screening of Bollywood movie Bunty and Babli. All in all, more than 400 restaurants across the land were packed with locals tucking into their curries. The idea came from Melbourne web designer Mia Woodrup who invited a hundred of her friends to share and support.

From little things big things grow. Premier John Brumby joined Indian students for lunch at city café Desi Dhaba and State Parliaments in Victoria and Queensland switched their menus on the day to Indian cuisine. From far-flung corners of the globe, supporters shared the anti-violence message. Expatriate Australians in Toronto, Tajikstan, Stockholm and Namibia took part.

The word ‘violence’ is unequivocal. But the origin of the word ‘vindaloo’ is vague and open to debate. Madhur Jaffrey, famed Merchant Ivory actress and author of 27 cookbooks, describes it as Goa’s most famous export, more Portuguese perhaps than Indian.

No TV network worth its salt is without a dedicated food-related show. Food sites have proliferated like mint through the internet garden. Celebrity or commonsense cookbooks over-populate our book stores, kitchens, and even, I’m told, boudoirs, as we leaf through the lush pages of soft-core porn food photography. Sri Lankan Charmaine Solomon, Carol Selva Rajah and Ajoy Joshi of Nilgiri’s are but three cookbook writers, teachers, chefs and restaurateurs who have elevated Indian cuisine past three colours of curry with pappadams to the delights of dosai, palak paneer, biryani and hussaini murg. Condiments like balchao and kasaundi moved us on from mango chutney, and we love those colourful syrup-sweet desserts like bufi and jalebi.

Food is more than essential nutrients for human growth and health. It is a key component of a country’s culture, central to its sense of identity. In India this might mean Assamese, Bengali, Kashmiri or Mughlai cuisine. Within recognizable similarities, characterised by sophisticated and subtle use of seemingly innumerable exotic herbs and spices, there is a visible variety of local styles, reflecting India’s diversity in geography, culture and produce.

The dynamic relationship between food and multiculturalism shows the fusion among different identities boiling down into the clichéd ‘great big melting pot’. Or if you prefer, balti, an Urdu and Hindi word meaning ‘cooking pot’ or ‘bucket’. ●

On 24 February, more than 17,000 Australians celebrated ‘Vindaloo against violence’ by dining at their local Indian restaurant. Gawen Rudder explains the power of food.

Gawen Rudder is a writer and raconteur with a background in food and beverage advertising, marketing, research and trivia. He speaks at industry conferences, seminars and dinners. Contact via gawensfood@bigpond.com

Opinion 14 29/3/10 3:33:35 PM

FSN_BROOK_FP_015 15 29/3/10 3:34:16 PM

masterclass

16 foodService April 2010

This month Sean Connolly puts an Asian spin on a classic flavour

combination.

It has been a 24-year culinary journey, but Astral’s Sean Connolly admits he’s never felt more inspired about his cooking and his life.

“Working with Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation, Hong Kong) and cooking in Hong Kong has had a big impact on me,” says Connolly, named SMH Chef of the Year 2008.

“The 2009 Sydney International Food Festival and meeting all those chefs with the showcases, was also really inspiring,” he says.

Connolly also explains that his first TV series, My Family Kitchen, which featured on SBS in 2009, inspired him to source, understand and use more unusual ingredients in his restaurants Astral and Sean’s Kitchen.

“Ingredients like the seven spices shown to me by Mandaean and the ‘ngai ngai’ leaf used in Congolese cooking. It’s the young leaf of the Rosella bush,” he says.

The influences are transferring to the plate as Connolly embarks and hones his skills to deliver his embodiment of contemporary Australian cuisine, but he maintains simplicity is paramount.

“I like to keep things clean and simple,” he explains. “I don’t like too many flavours on the plate.”

“Having said that, there are a lot of moves to get to the end result. Someone once said to

me, ‘It’s not easy making things look simple’.”Take a stellar dish on his new menu like

the Angus beef tenderloin miso-cured, potato parmentier and cultivated mushrooms with jus gras.

“It’s really a lot of work,” he says of the dish.“But the clever cook stands back and says,

‘What can I take away from that dish? What doesn’t it need, and what flavour can you take away for it to still be outstanding?’”

“To me that dish itself says steak, potatoes and mushrooms.”

Of course, a somewhat glorified version, and to Connolly it’s the perfect marriage of flavours.

“It’s like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, or strawberries and cream. Obviously with this dish we’ve added the miso as well, which is a different approach, but on the plate it presents simply.”

Connolly explains his brigade are trying to come up with some new ideas to make classic combinations look a little less traditional, with a little twist to give it a wow factor.

First of all the Angus tenderloin is marinated in miso paste, which Connolly explains not only gives it a hint of saltiness, but delivers the Asian secret flavour weapon, and also referred to as ‘the fifth taste’, umami into the dish.

According to Connolly the miso also helps cure the meat a little before cooking.

Connolly creates a visual mushroom on the plate with the clever use of shiitake mushrooms, king mushroom duxelles and potato. The heads of king mushrooms are used in the duxelles, placed inside the potato and representing a mushroom stalk, while a confit shiitake mushroom is placed atop to finish the intended look.

“Originally we used the king mushroom for the top, but they are very fragile and didn’t cook well. So I confit the Shiitake really slowly so it holds its shape,” he says.

Running along the plate underneath this ‘conceptual mushroom’ is a textural and rich treat that Connolly refers to as a ‘soil’.

To achieve this he pan-fries Japanese breadcrumbs in duck fat to give it a golden colour. To this he adds roasted and chopped organic jamon and some chopped chives.

“It’s the marriage of perfect flavours; the saltiness and the sweetness of the beef goes so well with the mushrooms and potatoes, and a miso-inspired hollandaise on top. Really clean flavours,” he says.

This month Astral’s executive chef Sean Connolly dishes up his Asian-inspired Bos taurus beef, miso-cured, hollandaise, king mushrooms and jus gras.

When thestars align…

Masterclass 16 29/3/10 3:35:15 PM

foodService April 2010 17

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For six people

Ingredients● Beef garnish● 300g king mushroom● 300g shiitake mushroom● 1kg desiree potato (large)● ½ bunch watercress● 100g breadcrumbs ● 100g prosciutto● 1 bunch of chives ● 120ml beef jus ● 200ml grape seed oil

● 100ml cream● 300ml duck fat● 6 beef tenderloin portion, 180g

(already cured)● 200g miso hollandaise (see recipe)

Miso paste● 2kg shiro miso● 200ml sake● 150ml soy● 150ml mirin

Hollandaise reduction● 100ml white wine vinegar● 300ml white wine● 100g of sliced eschallots● 10 black peppercorns, crushed● ½ bay leaf

Miso Hollandaise● 10 egg yolks● 2 eggs● 166g miso (shiro miso)● 100ml of reduction (see recipe above)● 100ml water (room temperature)

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Bos taurus beef, miso cured, hollandaise, king mushrooms and jus grasBy Sean Connolly, executive chef, Astral, Star City, Sydney

Masterclass 17 29/3/10 3:36:40 PM

masterclass

18 foodService April 2010

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● 420g clarified butter ● 3g gellan (vegetable-based gelatin)● 30ml of warm water for the end

MethodStep 1 (to be prepared 12 hours before cooking time)Mix together all the ingredients in the miso paste (1). Place the six portions of beef tenderloin in the paste and cover (2), leave to marinate for 12 hours. Once marinated wipe the paste off the tenderloin but do not wash in water.

Step 2: Hollandaise reductionReduce all ingredients together to 100ml, then pass.

Step 3: Miso HollandaiseIn a bain-marie (or a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water) whisk the egg yolks, whole eggs, miso, reduction, gellan and water (room temperature) (3). Add the ingredients in order, one at a time, making sure each is fully whisked before adding the next. The important thing is that the temperature should

be warm, not hot, so the water should be simmering gently, not boiling. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens – this will take at least 20 minutes. Then slowly add the clarified butter. Add the warm water at the very end; this will help the mixture stabilize (4).

Step 4: Cooking the beef tenderloin and garnishTake the tops off the king mushrooms and slice them into 1cm-thick pieces.Take the tops off the shiitake mushrooms and then confit the tops in grape seed oil at 90˚C for 30 minutes. (5). Dice the tops of the king mushrooms, then cook in a pan with butter (6), gently add the cream (7) and once cooked, puree the mixture in a blender. Peel the potatoes, get a round cutter, size 40 (approximately 4cm in diameter) and cut out the potato (8) (each one should be approximately 6cm high) Scoop out the centre (9, 10) of the potato to make a tube, then confit the potato in the duck fat until it’s cooked through (90˚C for approximately 30 minutes.) (11).Sear the beef fillets in a pan, being sure to

seal all the edges (the beef will caramelize very easily due to the miso, so this will not take long (12). Then place in the oven at 180˚C for three minutes, then turn and cook two more minutes, the other side.Remove from the oven and rest on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes (13). Dry out the prosciutto in the oven (14), then toast the breadcrumbs in a pan (15). Mix the two together in a coarse food processor and then mix through chopped chives by hand (16). Pick the watercress so that you remove the ends of the stalks. Warm the beef jus on the stove, ready to serve.

Step 5: To serveFill the potato tube with the mushroom puree (17) and sit on the plate with the shiitake mushroom resting on the top to resemble a real mushroom (18).Place the beef fillet on the plate next to the mushroom (19). Spoon a tablespoon of the miso hollandaise (20) onto the beef fillet and then dress the plate with 2 tablespoons of beef jus around the plate (21). To finish, sit the fresh watercress around the beef. ●

Masterclass 18 29/3/10 3:37:38 PM

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seafood

20 foodService April 2010

Rock oysters

Every year, as the Royal Sydney Show comes along, I have, I believe, one of the toughest jobs in the seafood business.

As part of the Royal Sydney Fine Foods Competition, I am a judge in the rock oyster competition. Over the six or so hours we spend judging, each of us will sample upwards of 140 oysters. That’s a lot of iron, zinc, selenium and vitamin B12 – but more importantly, it’s an incredible journey across the wonders of flavour and texture that characterize the rock oyster.

Is not the rock oyster the quintessential seafood? Defining of its origin, it is unique and luxurious – sweet, salty, rich

and delicious! Exotic yet simple, the rock oyster reflects the mood of its environment on any given day with flavour and condition literally subject to the weather, water and time of day it was harvested. More than any other oyster, the rock oyster reflects not only it’s ‘terroir’ but also its breeding and the skill of the farmer.

Oysters have probably had more written about them than any other seafood, and deservedly so, including the piece I wrote for the September 2009 edition of FoodService News.

Like most discussions about oysters, that piece was talking about the new boy oyster in Australia, the pacific oyster. Whilst the pacific oyster has some wonderful characteristics and is the most prolifically

produced oyster on the planet, it is our own local species that fascinates me most.

The rock oyster is to me real ‘bush food’. Endemic to Australia, it grows along some 1600km of coastline from Hervey Bay in Queensland to Wingan Inlet in

Eastern Victoria – a couple of small populations are to be found on Finders Island in the Bass Straight and Albany on the South Coast of Western Australia.

It enjoys the temperate waters of the intertidal estuarine habitats, such as rocks, mangroves, and

man-made structures, but it also occurs sub-tidally on natural dredge beds.

Like all oysters, Sydney rock oysters are hermaphrodites, starting off as males and changing into females at least once in their lifetime. They are at their best just before spawning, which can vary in species, location and time of the year. As a generalisation, the rock oysters from the South Coast of NSW are at their peak in winter and those from the north, in summer. However, husbandry and seasonal conditions can see oysters from either region available throughout the year. The highly prized rocks from Moreton Bay have a short season in the late part of the year whilst those from Albany in WA are around in late winter and spring.

Rock oyster cultivation began in NSW around 1870 when oyster farmers began to set out sticks, stones, and shells to catch and grow

As part of our focus on breakfast, John Susman dishes up a must-read guide to the breakfast of champions – the humble rock oyster.

Breakfast of champions

Seafood 20 29/3/10 3:12:02 PM

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oysters in the intertidal zone around Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay and the Pittwater. This was the dominant growing system from the 1950s until the 1990s. The structural remains of the early farming methods, such as wooden pegs driven into the mud bottom, rock culture (slabs of rocks standing upright in the mud), and bottom culture (shell spread out on a prepared base) can still be seen in some estuaries along the east coast, but this method is no longer as popular as it produces an inconsistent shape and form, making the oysters more difficult to open.

The Sydney rock oyster industry in NSW and Queensland is wholly dependent on natural spatfall, which has always been abundant and reliable. The industry therefore has been reluctant to selectively breed oysters or use the non-spawning triploid oysters popular in the pacific oysters.

It takes the Sydney rock oyster on average 3 1/2 years to reach plate size (50g whole weight), the most popular size grade. The larvae of Sydney rock oysters are set on tarred hardwood sticks and they grow inter-tidally on timber frame trays with plastic mesh bottoms which are placed on timber racks. Alternative growing systems, such as baskets and tumblers, are also being used, and some oysters are grown sub-tidally on rafts or on floating culture.

Some of the contemporary techniques used are producing rock oysters with a more consistent shape, size and meat quality.

The tragedy of the mysterious QX disease, which effectively wiped out the rock oyster farming in the traditional powerhouse production regions of the Hawkesbury and Georges rivers, just north and south of Sydney, has resulted in many farmers up and down the east coast taking a quality over quantity view on production.

The result is that there are now more high quality rock oysters which exhibit the unique flavour characteristics of the region they have been farmed in.

Specialist rock oyster growers, such as Steve Filletti and Audrey Thors from the Clyde River, Gary Rodley from the Tathra Lake and Tim Dumbrell from the Nambucca River, are bringing to the market a quality of rock oyster not seen before.

Although tradition in this country is that most oysters are sold pre-shucked on the half-shell, I firmly believe the time has come to change to freshly shucked.

The freshly shucked experience delivers a finished result, which is of surround-sound cinema quality compared to an am transistor radio for pre-shucked. Chefs will often say to me they don’t have the time or staff to serve fresh-shucked oysters – in my opinion, if that’s the case, don’t serve oysters.

Let’s face it, oysters are now a luxury foodstuff – gone forever are the days of the ‘cheap’ oyster.

Like all luxury foodstuffs, rock oysters require respect, care and commitment and a knowledge of seasons, regions and growers. A professional approach is required in the selection, storage and handling of Rock Oysters if you want to deliver a great product.

Shucking, to me, is a social skill somewhat akin to being able to open a bottle of champagne correctly. In a commercial kitchen environment it should be conducted with the same care

Breakfast of champions

Nothing comes close to a freshly shucked oyster; its pedigree shines

through when it has only had its lid taken off – I don’t even turn them

Ian Curley

Seafood 21 29/3/10 3:12:21 PM

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foodService April 2010 23

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Oyster opening step one: The set-upUnopened rock oysters will typically arrive with a light coating of dirt surrounding the oyster – this is the live oysters’ natural protection. Keep the rock oyster stored in a cool, damp place (10-14˚C) in a moist sack. Before serving, scrub the unopened oyster well in fresh water and refrigerate.

Take an oyster and with the cup of the shell facing down, wrap it in a clean cloth with the pointed hinge of the oyster facing out.

Place the cloth on a board, on a stable surface, and hold down firmly.

Insert the oyster knife into the hinge where the top and bottom shells meet at approximately 15 per cent.

Moving the knife in a rhythmical rocking

motion, push the knife into the hinge until it has purchase, firmly wedged between the top and bottom shell.

Oyster opening step two: The hard partWith the oyster knife firmly wedged between the top and bottom shell, hold the oyster in the cloth firmly.

Twist the oyster knife sharply as if accelerating on a motor cycle and listen for the “pop” as the hinge gives way.

The hard part of opening the oyster is now complete!

Oyster opening step three: Lids offWith the hinge now broken, slide the oyster knife gently along the top lid.

At the two o’clock position on the top lid is

the abductor muscle, which holds the top and bottom shells together.

Simply slide the oyster knife through this muscle to release the top shell.

Oyster opening step four: The finishHaving removed the top lid, snip the abductor muscle on the bottom shell to release the oyster. If you want, you can turn the oyster over to have it’s ‘belly’ facing up (like they do in the shops with pre-opened oysters!).

Try to keep as much of the oysters’ natural liquor in the shell as possible. It’s delicious, and one of the things that makes a freshly shucked oyster so good.

The oysters are now ready to serve. Place them on a bed of ice or salt to stop them tipping over and losing the delicious liquor!

Oyster opening

applied to the plating of a dish – not left as an afterthought for the new apprentice.

Chef Ian Curley of the European Restaurant, one of the oyster hot spots in Melbourne, agrees. “Nothing comes close to a freshly shucked oyster; its pedigree shines through when it has only had its lid taken off – I don’t even turn them.”

Andy Davies, chef/ patron of the high-volume Bondi Trattoria agrees. “Sure, we don’t have the luxury of bigger kitchens

around town in regards to staffing, but I would only ever serve a freshly shucked rock oyster. It is such a unique oyster that’s by far a superior offer when freshly opened. I find the rock oyster loses its iodine flavour and front-pallet sweetness about 30 minutes after opening.”

Con Andronis, principal of Melbourne’s Clamms Seafood, supplier to the stars and soon to open the Atlantic Seafood restaurant in Crown Casino with chef Donovan Cooke,

is adamant: “If a restaurant serves me a perfect Sydney rock oyster I know it’s serious about its seafood – it’s that simple”.

Rock oysters make a fantastic breakfast treat or even amuse bouche – offer them by the each, offer them by region, by season and by grower; open them freshly, serve them in perfect condition and be proud you are presenting one of the most special seafoods in the world – go ahead, you know it makes sense. ●

Seafood 23 29/3/10 3:12:40 PM

appetite

24 foodService April 2010

Opportunity of a lifetime

As Australia’s leading culinary kings come together to find Australia’s burgeoning talent in the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence, time is running out for young professionals looking to be a part of this opportunity of a lifetime.

Calling all young chefs, waiters and restaurateurs! If you’ve got the passion, the drive and the commitment to learn then this is your last chance to enter the 2010 Electrolux Appetite for Excellence program.

Entries for the 2010 Appetite for Excellence Awards close on 16 April.

As well as providing amazing opportunities for young chefs, waiters and restaurateurs at the finalist and winner levels, all entrants get their names and resumes in front of some of the country’s top chefs, maitre d’s and restaurateurs.

Just as the deadline looms for Australia’s young dynamos, there comes news that Quay’s three-hatted chef Peter Gilmore – whose skill has steered Quay to Best Restaurant status over the past few years – has joined the highly regarded Electrolux Appetite for Excellence judging panel for 2010. Gilmore will be judging the Young Restaurateur category along with chef and owner of Universal Christine Manfield, and founders Lucy Allon and Luke Mangan.

Another new addition to the growing list of culinary greats associated with these awards is Melbourne chef Andrew McConnell (Cutler & Co and Cumulus Inc) who joins as one of the Young Chef state judges, Victoria.

Program co-creator Luke Mangan admits that early on his career was far from smooth sailing but he soon learnt that perseverance, patience and to learn as much as he could during his apprenticeship and beyond was integral to his success.

"I was lucky with the mentors I had early in my career," says Mangan.

"Michelle Roux and Hermann Schneider, and if you are willing to learn and listen you will be amazed about how much people in the industry do like to pass on their knowledge. The industry is hard work but if you are dedicated and passionate about what you do with a little perseverance, you can go a long way."

Mangan explains that the competition is a wonderful device that draws out the best young talent in the land and that it's 'really exciting' to see the next generation of chefs, waiters and restaurant owners coming through now.

"We (judges) find the program inspiring because of the young talent that we see

coming through and get to interact with."For me the program consists of a two

messages; the first is to all of the industry to keep on encouraging people to select hospitality as a career, and stay in the industry because it really is an exciting one.

"The second is, that by lending support and encouragement to those that enter the program, that they too will then continue to be supportive of their team, when its their time as a head chef, restaurateur or business owner."

Entries for the 2010 Appetite for Excellence Awards close on 16 April. Visit www.appetiteforexcellence.com for details and a downloadable entry form. ●

Electrolux Appetite for Excellence co-creator Luke Mangan (centre)

with the 2009 finalists.

ElECtrolux Young ChEf JudgEsAndrew McConnell, Cumulus Inc; Cutler & Co,Anthony Musarra, The Stokehouse Cath Claringbold, Food ConsultantChris Taylor, Fraser’sDavid Rayner, Food ConsultantFiona Hoskin, Food & Hospitality ConsultantGuy Grossi, Grossi Florentino, Mirka at Tolarno, Grossi Trattoria, BangkokLuke Mangan, glass brasserie, The Palace, Salt Tokyo, Japan; Salt Grill, P&OLyndey Milan, Food Communicator Peter Doyle, est.Philip Johnson, ecco bistro; ecco barTetsuya Wakuda, Tetsuya’s

ElECtrolux Young WAitEr JudgEsGeorgia North, Becasse; Etch Dining; Plan B; Le Grande Café

Lisa van Haandel, Circa, The Prince; The Prince Complex, Carousel; Longrain Melbourne, The Beach Hotel. Luke Stringer, Mezzo Bar & Grill, MelbournePeter Sullivan, ARIA RestaurantsSam Christie, Longrain, Sydney and MelbourneSimon Hill, Bar Alto Tony Bilson, Bilson’sTrudi Jenkins, delicious, MasterChef Magazine

ElECtrolux Young rEstAurAtEur JudgEsChristine Manfield, UniversalPeter Gilmore, QuayLucy Allon, Co-founder of Electrolux Appetite for ExcellenceLuke Mangan, glass brasserie, The Palace, Salt Tokyo, Japan; Salt Grill, P&O

Appetite for excellence 24 29/3/10 3:13:48 PM

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breakfast

26 foodService April 2010

More and more diners are opting to hit the nation’s restaurants and cafes at the crack of dawn for this cost-effective, not to mention scrumptious, way of catching up with friends and dining out-of-home. This month, a haggle of Australia’s best chefs dish up some tantalising breakfast recipes that are worth getting out of bed for.

Dawn

Chris Merrick27 Chorizo bruschetta

Pete Evans27 Eggs with chorizo

Chris Harry28 Spanish open omelette with peking,

capsicum and coriander pesto

28 Sauteed wood mushrooms with sage sauce on toasted brioche, tomato fondue and poached egg

of a new day

Luke Mangan28 Hangover breakfast wrap

Sean Connolly30 Raspberry and pear clafoutis

with Isigny crème fraiche

Somer Sivrioglu30 Kaygana

32 Cilbir

Rob Pirina32 Glenorie Bakery

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foodService April 2010 27

breakfast

Chorizo bruschettaBy Chris Merrick, head chef, Le Monde, Surry HillsServes fourIngredients● 2 chorizo sausages● 1 red onion● 2 garlic cloves● 2 field mushrooms● 15 cherry tomatoes● Juice of 1 lemon● 1 avocado● 100g fresh ricotta● Baby basil● Loaf of sourdough

MethodThis is a great breakfast dish because there are only three steps.1. Toast the bread (two slices per serve) until golden brown. On one slice spread ricotta, and on the other place sliced avocado.2. In a pan, sauté the ingredients listed, starting with the chorizo. Once you have your cherry tomatoes in the pan, finish with lemon juice.3. Place neatly on the toasts, and garnish with baby basil.

Eggs with chorizoBy Pete Evans, restaurateur and food personalityServes fourIngredients● 1 red capsicum (pepper)● 4 tomatoes, halved● 1 chorizo sausage, cut into slices● 1 small handful of torn flat-leaf

(Italian) parsley● 8 eggs● Pinch of smoked paprika● 100g (31/2 oz/1 cup) cup grated

manchego cheese

Method1. Preheat the barbecue grill to high. Cook the capsicum on the grill, turning occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the skin turns black. Remove from the barbecue and let cool. Wipe away the skin leaving the capsicum flesh. Cut in half, remove the seeds and stalk and cut into strips. Meanwhile, barbecue tomatoes for a few minutes until tender, then cut into chunky pieces.2. Place the chorizo slices on the barbecue and cook until golden on each side then combine in a bowl with the capsicum, tomato, parsley and salt and pepper.3. Place the chorizo and capsicum mix in a cast-iron frying pan on a barbecue hotplate and make some holes in the mix to crack the eggs into.

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Breakfast 27 29/3/10 3:15:45 PM

breakfast

28 foodService April 2010

4. Add the eggs, then sprinkle with paprika and manchego cheese. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are runny. Delicious served on barbecued sourdough bread.

Recipe and image from My Grill by Pete Evans, published by Murdoch Books. RRP $49.95

Spanish open omelette with peking, capsicum and coriander pestoBy Chris Harry, Ripples Milsons PointIngredients● 2 cooked, diced Spanish onions● 1 piece ginger, chopped● 2 chopped chilli● 1 cup roasted, diced red capsicum● 1 cup diced tomatoes● 2 cups chopped peking duck● 1 bunch chopped coriander● 1 bunch torn mint● 1 cup sliced scallions● 3 tbsp salsa verde● 4 tbsp hoisin sauce● 4 eggs ● 2 tbsp grated mozzarella● 1 garlic clove, chopped● Snow pea leaves● Julienne capsicum● Julienne cucumber● Coriander leaves● Thai dressing

Method1. First sauté off the onion, ginger and chilli mix. Add the capsicum, tomatoes, duck and herbs, then stir in half the hoisin sauce. Make the omelette base in a 26cm pan. 2. Add the duck mix, then cheese and put under salamander. Place on plate then add salsa verde and salad.

Sauteed wood mushrooms, sage sauce on toasted brioche, tomato fondue and poached eggBy Chris Harry, Ripples Milsons PointIngredients● 2 tbsp Hollandaise reduction● 40ml chicken stock● 40ml cream● 3 pieces sage, torn● 1 egg● 2 slices brioche, toasted● 60g mixed Asian mushrooms and Swiss

browns● 5g garlic confit● 2g chopped oregano● 2g chopped chives● 1 tbsp tomato fondue

Method1. For the cream sauce, put the Hollandaise reduction in a sauteuse, bring to a simmer. Add stock, reduce by half. Add cream, reduce by half. Then add sage and cool. Poach the egg and toast the brioche. 2. Saute the mushrooms, then add garlic, cooked onion, herbs, and season. Put the mushrooms on top of the brioche and add poached egg and fondue. Top with chives. Serve.

Hangover breakfast wrapBy Luke Mangan, glass, The Hilton, Sydney, The Palace, Melbourne, Salt, TokyoServes 4Ingredients● 1 soft avocado● 4 free-range eggs● 5g (1 tsp) Luke’s Provencal herbs,

or a mix of chopped parsley, chives, sage and rosemary

● 4 rashers bacon● 4 slices leg ham, torn into pieces

● 1 chorizo sausage (about 100g), thinly sliced

● 2 button mushrooms, sliced● 50ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil● 4 large soft corn tortillas, or other

bread wraps● 40g (3 tbsp) grated Swiss cheese● medium (100g) tomato, chopped coarsely● 1 small (100g) red onion, finely sliced● 1 butter lettuce, torn● 15g (1 tbsp) light sour cream● 15g (1 tbsp) mayonnaise salt and pepper

Method1. Remove the stone from the avocado and spoon the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the Provencal herbs and salt and pepper to taste.3. In a non-stick frypan, heat the olive oil and cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.4. Pan-fry the sausage slices and add the leg ham and mushrooms and cook until they start to brown a little. Remove from the pan and set aside.5. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and swirl the pan so that the egg spreads evenly over the base. Once the egg is set, sprinkle over the cheese and finish in the oven until cooked. Turn the egg out onto a board and cut into quarters.6. Lay the tortillas on a flat bench and spread with the avocado. Top each tortilla with a quarter piece of the egg omelette, top with chorizo, bacon, mushroom, tomato, sliced onion, lettuce, sour cream and mayonnaise. Wrap tightly and warm gently in oven to heat the tortilla through.

Source: Recipe and photograph courtesy of At Home & in the Mood by Luke Mangan.

Breakfast 28 29/3/10 3:16:30 PM

Guests want value for money.The breakfast buffet is an exciting and special moment for them and an opportunity

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Cereals are one of the lower cost items on the buffet or breakfast menu. By encouraging your guests to start with cereal, it’s possible to minimise consumption of higher cost items. Kellogg’s offer a range of

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FSN_KELLOGG_FP_029 29 29/3/10 3:18:05 PM

breakfast

30 foodService April 2010

Raspberry and pear clafoutis with Isigny crème fraicheBy Sean Connolly, executive chef, Astral, and Sean’s Kitchen, Star City, SydneyServes fiveIngredients● 1 vanilla pod ● 50g butter● 4 eggs● 125g caster sugar● 60g plain flour, sifted● 100ml milk● 1 punnet raspberries● 2 pears, peeled and sliced into segments● Isigny crème fraiche

Method1. Preheat oven to 200˚C.2. Split vanilla pod lengthways and gently scrape out the seeds.3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on a very low heat, remove and allow to cool.4. Beat the vanilla, eggs and sugar in a large bowl using a whisk.5. Add the sifted plain flour slowly and continue to beat the mixture.6. Add the butter into the mixture and continue to whisk. 7. Add the milk slowly and continue to beat the mixture for a few more seconds.8. Grease a small baking dish with butter and line with caster sugar. You will need five round flat dishes, approximately 10cm in diameter, with sides that are two to three centimeters in height.9. Arrange pear segments in a star shape in the centre of the dish and sit raspberries between each piece. Pour the batter mix around the fruit until the mixture reaches half-way up the dish. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot with a scoop of the crème fraiche.

KayganaBy Somer Sivrioglu, Efendy, BalmainThis is a popular Black Sea pancake dish.

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Breakfast 30 29/3/10 3:17:04 PM

FSN_MASSEL_FP_031 31 29/3/10 3:18:25 PM

breakfast

32 foodService April 2010

Ingredients● 4 free range eggs ● 50g plain flour ● 100ml pekmez (Grape molasses, available

in Turkish and Middle Eastern grocery shops) alternatively, maple syrup if pekmez not found

● 100g crushed walnuts● 1 fresh fig in season (or pekmez poached

dried figs off-season)● 25g unsalted butter

Method1. Spray oil on 16-20cm non-stick pan. Mix eggs well with flour. Pour the mix into the pan. Place in 200˚C preheated oven. Cook 10 minutes, or until the sides rise and edges turn brown. 2. In the meanwhile, heat pekmez with butter, simmer, not to boiling. Place pancake on the stove top, add pekmez mixture and sliced figs. Simmer for 30 seconds on low heat, take off when pekmez starts to bubble. Add walnuts and serve.Photograph by Gabriel Pace.

CilbirBy Somer Sivrioglu, Efendy, Balmain

Pronounced ‘chelber‘, this is a simple yet popular Turkish egg dish served for breakfast or lunch.

Ingredients● 3 free range eggs● 30ml white vinegar● 200g natural (unsweetened) yoghurt● 2 garlic cloves● 25g Aleppo chilli flakes● 50g butter

Method1. Add salt and vinegar to 2L of boiling water. Poach the eggs, leaving yolks runny. Gently press the yolk to test if cooked to your liking. Hold eggs over paper towel to drain. 2. Crush garlic in pestle with salt. Mix it well into yoghurt, then heat butter in a small pan, and add chillies.3. Place yoghurt in a deep bowl, add the poached eggs and then pour hot burnt chilli butter over the dish.Photograph by Gabriel Pace.

Glenorie Bakery GranolaBy Rob Pirina, Glenorie Bakery

Ingredients● 3 cups rolled oats● 1 cup mixed nuts (roughly Chopped)● 1/2 tsp cinnamon ● 1/3 cup sweetener (honey)● 2 tsp vanilla essence● 3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, dates, figs,

pear, apricot), chopped

Method1. Put all the dry ingredients, except for the dried fruit, in a large bowl and combine.2. Add the wet ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are well coated. Spread this mixture on an oiled baking tray.3. Set the oven to 160C and bake for half an hour. Stir occasionally to break up the lumps and turn the tray to cook the granola evenly.4. Once cooked, remove from the oven and fold in the dried fruit.5. Allow the granola to totally cool before storing - and hiding away - in airtight jars. ●

In many non-Asian recipes, naturally-brewed soy sauce is the secret weapon that gives depth and complexity to all kinds of dishes.

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Breakfast 32 29/3/10 3:17:39 PM

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sauce

34 foodService April 2010

Eggs Benedict – arguably one of the most popular breakfast dishes in the nation’s cafes – is a simple recipe whose defining feature, hollandaise sauce, is rich and buttery with a touch of tang.

In its simplest form, the Eggs Benedict features include an English muffin, poached eggs, ham or smoked salmon, and one of the French mother sauces – hollandaise – ladled atop.

Of course hollandaise, an emulsion sauce, is used in a variety of culinary applications and is ideally suited as a pour over sauce for seasonal greens like asparagus or broccolini.

Hollandaise is a tricky sauce to get right and requires skill, a deft touch and constant attention to temperature to ensure a smooth and creamy result without any separated oil.

Chris Merrick, head chef of Le Monde Cafe in Surry Hills, proclaims there are a number of vital steps involved in creating the perfect hollandaise.

“Clarifying the butter is probably the most important part of making a hollandaise,” says Merrick.

“Apart from perhaps the sabayon that you make with the yolks and vinegar, clarifying the butter is vital because you want to

separate the milk solids from the fat in the butter – otherwise the solids will thin your hollandaise out at the end and cause it to split, whereas the fat holds together with the yolks.”

However, as Merrick explains, the trickiest part of a good hollandaise is making the sabayon with the yolks and vinegar. This is done by holding a bowl over a bain-marie to create a gentle, indirect heat. The mixture of yolks and vinegar is whisked to create a foamy, thickened sauce that forms the basis of the hollandaise.

“You have got to make sure that you don’t make it too hot when you’re whisking the vinegar and yolks, otherwise you’ll cook the yolks,” he says.

“Then you will get chunky bits of cooked yolk through it, which looks disgusting, and texturally the sauce is ruined.

“The best way is to whisk it at pace, and keep your eyes at the edges of the bowl where the heat is highest. If you see just the tiniest clump appear there, pull it off the heat and keep whisking it. Get it all smooth, then put it back on the heat and keep whisking. Patience is important, as they say: ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’”

Merrick explains that a good, consistent

whisking pace is vital in limiting the chance of your eggs cooking.

“Whisk quick, be attentive, and keep your eye on it,” he says.

Merrick warns that when adding the clarified butter, do so at a steady pace – otherwise the sauce will be ruined.

“You need to create an emulsion through the egg yolk vinegar and the clarified butter, because they don’t naturally mix together.

“So you need to pour it in slowly because the mixture can only take a certain amount of clarified butter at a time.

“So just pour it in slowly and as it thickens up you can even add a touch of hot water from the bain-marie to get the right consistency.

Merrick explains it is vital to keep an eye on the temperature of your hollandaise through preparation and more importantly storage during service.

“Remember that hollandaise, while a rich, creamy and tangy addition to a dish, is right in the danger zone in regards to bacteria if not handled properly.”

Ideally a fresh batch of hollandaise should be made for every service as the shelf life of a hollandaise is really only three to four hours maximum.

This month Le Monde’s Chris Merrick shows us how to make one of the classic French emulsion mother sauces, hollandaise – from scratch.

Golden yolk at sunrise

Eggs Benedict with Hazelnut hollandaise by Chris Merrick, Le Monde.

Scratch 34 29/3/10 3:19:16 PM

Hazelnut hollandaiseBy Chris Merrick, head chef, Le Monde, Surry Hills, NSW

Ingredients (1)● 250g unsalted butter● 200ml cider vinegar● 5 black peppercorns● 2 bay leaves● 50ml water● 5 egg yolks● Hazelnut oil

MethodPlace the vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaves and water in a pan and reduce to roughly 50ml (2, 3). Now remove the spices. Clarify

the butter by placing it in a pot on a low heat. Remove the milk solids that gradually rise to the top (4, 5, 6). In a bowl over a bain-marie, whisk the egg yolks and reduced vinegar until thick and pale. Be careful not to cook the yolks (7, 8, 9, 10, 11). Once the eggs have thickened, remove from the heat and

slowly add your clarified butter (12, 13). If the mix becomes too thick, add one tablespoon of warm water, then continue the process. Add hazelnut oil to the mix (14), then salt to finish.

Recipe makes 20 portionsCost per portion: 30 cents ●

foodService April 2010 35

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1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

13 14

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quaff

36 foodService April 2010

Moscato with your yoghurt and muesli?

The number of Moscatos I’ve tasted during the past 12 months has been rising. Many of them have been all over the place in terms of price, wine style and quality, however there is one common thread amongst the Moscatos of late, and that’s the lower alcohol content of this style of wine.

For this reason they are aptly coined by winemakers a “breakfast wine”, simply because of their low content. In other words, you could have a glass or two with breakfast and not feel any effects. Most Moscatos sit between 5.5 to 9 per cent alcohol, which is considered pretty low for Australian table and sparkling wines; our table wines normally sit at around 13 to 15 per cent alcohol. So what is Moscato and why is it so popular all of a sudden?

Moscato is part of the Muscat family – at one end of the spectrum you have those great Rutherglen Muscats and then fruity low-alcohol Moscatos both from the same grape. It can be made in many styles from a straight table wine, sparkling wine to a dessert-style wine. Years ago Moscato and the other white wine called Gordo Blanco were firmly entrenched as partners in crime as the bag-in-box cask wines.

Today winemakers are sensing a change in consumer habits and Moscato is coming out of the box so-to-speak. It is a common grape variety mostly planted in less thought-of wine regions such as the Murray Darling, Riverland and Riverina. It is in essence a summer wine, and breakfast would be the ideal time to enjoy a glass or two. As for its popularity, sales of low-alcohol wines, in general, are on the increase for a variety of reasons.

Despite its current success, I read an online article recently about two Australian companies who have shipped a couple of containers of Moscato to the UK and not one case has been sold to British consumers. Amazing stuff. Why on earth would you ship a container or two half-way around the world without doing some kind of research amongst the British consumer on this particular wine style? The companies involved obviously thought anything and everything could be flogged to the British based on the past success of Australian wine shipments. This is obviously not the case.

In Australia, the myriad of styles available range from the bland to those that have lovely aromatics on the nose with copious amounts of tropical fruits and crushed grapes on the palate. Most of the new-wave Moscatos have had a “spritzig” zesty off-dry finish, similar to a sparkling wine but without the bubbles (bead). There are also sparkling Moscatos with all the fizz of real champagne. Jacob’s Creek NV comes to mind here, as does the Peter Lehmann 2009 Princess Moscato – and there are others such as Wirra Wirra, Two Hands Tempus Two and De Bortoli.

The price points, like the quality, vary as one

grapples for market share, shelf space and brand positioning. I’ve seen them for as low as $5.50 a bottle to $30 per bottle for the Tower Estate Moscato. Admittedly the $30 a bottle from boutique or high-end producers is quality stuff, but I’ve also seen good quality at the entry-point level. The key here is ‘wine education’ or product knowledge’. If no one knows what Moscato is and in what styles it’s made, then they are hardly likely to buy the stuff. Perhaps this is the trouble with those Aussie producers who have shipped a few container-loads to the UK without success. The consumer needs to be educated and guided in their selection before they’ll move out of their comfort zone. To give you an example, I recently took a bottle of Zontes Footstep 2009 ‘Savagnin Blanc” (look at the spelling closely); “Savagnin Blanc”, not “Sauvignon Blanc”. One lady friend turned to me and said, “I’ve never heard of the Zonte’s Footstep Sauvignon Blanc before,” but thought the winemakers had made a spelling mistake on the bottle. “No, it’s not Sauvignon Blanc”, I said, “it’s “Savagnin Blanc.”

She was genuinely surprised she had never heard of this style of wine, but liked it all the same. It’s times like this that wine writers can do the work of the wine companies – they bring a product onto the market and we do the education for them, for free. In this case, it wasn’t until about 18 months ago that this grape variety was correctly identified.

Prior to this it was inadvertently called Albarino until a DNA test proved the vines we had here in Australia were in fact ‘Savagnin’ vines, an obscure French indigenous grape variety. There are many winemakers who planted this vine, calling it Albarino, and now have to refer to it by its correct name, Savagnin.

Coming back to Moscato, as a low-alcohol wine it is taking off amongst the more discerning and especially those who like to have a glass or four. Your wine education in Moscato might start here. As a provider of food and beverage, why not introduce a chilled glass of sparkling Moscato to your breakfast menu. It’s so cheap (Banrock Station 2007 Moscato at RRP $5.60) and versatile you could almost give a complimentary first glass away with your all-day full ‘Aussie breakfast’. As we match wines with both lunch and dinner menus, why not match wine with breakfast? I think it’s a great idea. Why hadn’t I thought about it before? Simply because I had no reason to. Plenty of us enjoy a long, lazy breakfast with friends at weekends or simply poring over the newspaper. Sipping on a chilled glass of Moscato might just be the way to go!

See what the punters think and educate them into buying their next glass of Moscato.

If you think your punter deserves something a little more special, you can always up-sell them to the very versatile, anytime drink of champagne. ●

The breakfast trade is booming thanks to a low average spend and a society that looks to feed their appetite for out-of-home consumption and social discourse. Jim McMahon profiles a tipple that could get the early birds chirping.

Jim is available to help compile your next wine list – wine2000@optusnet. com.au.

Quaff 36 29/3/10 3:21:09 PM

Visit our website for recipe ideas www.groenz.co.nz New Zealand 04 568 2687 Australia 07 3393 5562

FSN_GROENS_FP_037 37 29/3/10 3:21:38 PM

legal

38 foodService April 2010

Whose recipe is it anyway?

Some time ago I was consulted by the purchaser of a restaurant who’d purchased it from a corporate owner, the directors of which were two chefs. I did not represent the purchaser in that transaction. It was a term of the agreement that the two chefs would continue to work in the restaurant for one year after settlement. There was a penalty if they left sooner and the agreement also provided for a restraint of trade within three kilometres of the restaurant and for three years from the settlement date.

As the vendor was the company, it was only the company that was bound by the restraint as the chefs/directors had not been required by the purchaser’s solicitors to execute any Deed of Restraint.

After the end of the one-year working obligation the chefs moved to the restaurant next door and reproduced the menu of the restaurant they’d sold to the purchaser. I hear the howls of dismay as you read this. I don’t intend dealing with the restraint issues but simply quote these facts as an introduction to the issue of the ownership of recipes.

You may ask who owned the recipes, given the chefs had created those recipes while the company owned the restaurant. When the restaurant was sold, one must assume the purchaser acquired the intellectual property owned by the company. Further, during the one-year period when the chefs worked for the purchaser, no doubt more recipes were developed.

With the ever-present challenge to be different, business owners, managers and chefs all jealously guard their creativity and ‘perceived’ intellectual property. The reason I use the word ‘perceived’ will become clear as you read on, and you will understand why the old adage that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ is not so lovingly embraced by all.

So, the chef revises the current menu and creates new dishes, and shortly thereafter the chef departs for greener pastures. Do you as business owner have recourse if the chef reproduces those dishes at his new place of employment? In other words, who owns the recipes and what kind of protection is available?

What protection, if any, is afforded by Copyright Law? Copyright Law offers no protection for: ● Ideas (which ingredient to mix with another)● Information (ingredients/quantities used in a

particular dish); or● Styles, methods or techniques (preparation

methods). In some cases the rights, duties and reciprocal

obligations of owner and chef might be agreed upon prior to commencement of employment but in the absence of any agreement (written into a contract of employment or otherwise) we look to the general rules of ownership covered by the Copyright Act and the extent to which it affords protection, if any.

The general rule is that the ‘author’ (in this case the chef) who gives expression (reduces to written form) to the idea or information in a work (an artistic work i.e. the menu and recipe) is the first owner of copyright.

Copyright protection is afforded to any works comprising words and consequently written recipes, namely, listing ingredients and the method of creating a particular dish – and menus.

The general rule may not apply:● where there has been a written agreement that

another person (e.g. the chef) will own the copyright (as contemplated above) or

● where there was no agreement, and ● the author (e.g. the chef) was an employee and

created the work as part of his/ her usual duties. In the above example, the chef wrote up a new

recipe and revised the menu. Assuming there was no prior agreement dealing with these issues, the question that might arise is whether the creation of new recipes and revising menus are part of the chef’s duties. In the majority of cases these tasks generally fall squarely within the duties of a chef and it would seem that the copyright would be owned by the employer unless the duties were specifically excluded.

Irrespective of who ends up as legal author/owner of the recipe, there are only very limited rights afforded to them. The author, if the owner, can control the written form only in specific ways such as:● Reproduction (photocopying, copying by hand etc) ● Communication (fax, email and the like)● Translating to another language

Because copyright only protects the expression of an idea (reducing an idea to writing) not the idea itself, even if the recipe was created in the course and scope of employment, the chef may reproduce the dish, though not in its prior written form.

Similarly, as far as the menu is concerned, reproduction of the menu in its original form would not be permissible based on the principles of Copyright Law mentioned above, but it would seem there would be no bar to subtle and stylistic changes.

Having examined the situation where there is a bar to the written form being reproduced, the question remains: What if a dish with the same ingredients and production method but a different layout and design is reproduced by the chef in his new employment. Does that constitute a breach?

In a nutshell, the answer is ‘No’. Why, you may ask? Because Copyright Law only protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Chefs are influenced by each other’s creations and fusion of ideas, so it would be a sad commentary on the creative resources and moral standards of chefs to attempt to pass off another’s creation as their own without acknowledgement... but can they do it? Sure. ●

With chefs in a constant employment merry-go-round shifting from restaurant to restaurant, who retains ownership over recipes conceived during employment? Jonathan Kaplan investigates recipe copyrights.

Jonathan Kaplan is a consultant solicitor with Meerkin & Apel Lawyers in Melbourne and is a NMAS accredited mediator. Jonathan can be contacted on (03) 9510 0366 or 0418 588 855.

The advice and information contained in this article is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute or replace professional advice.

Legal 38 29/3/10 3:22:11 PM

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40 foodService April 2010

a: Old California is a range of premium tomato products that are made from fresh vine-ripened tomatoes and packed in clear, multilayered film pouches that have a two-year shelf life. Available in three varieties, Premium Pasta Sauce 3kg; Fully Prepared Pizza Sauce 3kg and Chopped Tomatoes 2.8kg. The Old California sauces are made with fresh herbs and spices that offer a fresher flavour and make an ideal base for tomato-based dishes. The Old California pouches are easy to open with a ‘tear tab’ on the top of the pouches. Old California products are distributed by SPC Ardmona Food Service and available from distributors now.Enquiries: 1800 805 168

b : Just like when you make your from-scratch gravy and sauces, all KNORR Sauce Mixes have a real roux base. Made from a mix of wheat flour and vegetable oil, it gives KNORR Sauce Mixes a close-to-scratch taste and texture. The KNORR Rich Brown Gravy, Demi-Glace and Classic Gravy deliver perfect results every time for your pourover sauces, casseroles and pies. They are delicious as is, or allow you to use your creativity as a base for other sauces. They

are convenient, versatile and make good food taste even better. The KNORR Boosters (Chicken, Beef and Vegetable) can be used to create full-flavoured bases and the tastiest sauces. The KNORR Jus is a sauce with rich flavours of caramelised beef marrow and roasted onion. It is a great base jus that allows for personalisation by adding balsamic vinegar, red wine or rosemary to create your signature jus. Enquiries: w: www.unileverfoodsolutions.com.au

c : Five soup mixes in the MAGGI Classic range have now become certified Gluten-free including Tomato Soup Mix, Pumpkin Soup Mix, Crème of Chicken Soup Mix, Mushroom Soup Mix and French Onion Soup Mix. These five soup mixes are low in fat and save money on space because there is no longer any need for you to store extra gluten-free products. Like the rest of the MAGGI Classic Soup Mix range, the MAGGI Classic Gluten Free Soup Mixes are versatile enough to not only make hearty soups but dishes that range from appetisers to main courses.Enquiries: w: www.nestleprofesional.com

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42 foodService April 2010

d: Bulla Dreamwhip Catering aerosol cream tastes like real whipped cream because it is real whipped cream that has been ultra pasteurised to keep it fresher longer. Bulla Dreamwhip aerosol cream is perfect for serving with fresh fruit, cakes and desserts, and hot and cold drinks.Enquiries: w: www.bulladairyfoods.com.au

e :For over 17 years Ben & Karen Lebsanft of Kurrajong Kitchens have been creating and delivering to the foodservice industry their

Original Lavosh Crackerbread. Now a product of choice for many top restaurants, retail outlets, hamper markets and airlines domestically and internationally, Kurrajong Kitchens has developed its range to include a selection of high-quality cracker and flat breads, sourced by select chefs of Australia. Additional to the Original Lavosh available in Snack and Bitesize, and its ever popular Grissini, Kurrajong Kitchens now offers Wholemeal Cracker Bread baked in slender, long pieces with a naturally sweet-sprouted wholegrain, an ideal accompaniment to

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strong flavours, washed rind and blue cheese. Shepherd’s Bread, an ancient Sardinian-style flat bread, has a wide range of uses from Antipasto platters to soups and cheese plates, and is getting great reviews served with curries and soups. Being yeast-free, egg-free and dairy-free, Shepherd’s Bread is a great offering for customers with intolerances, baked in large sheets for chef’s creative play and brilliant buffet display.Enquiries: w: www.kurrajongkitchens.com.au; e: info@kurrajongkitchens.com.au

f: Riviana is one of Australia’s largest and most successful importers of quality foodservice products. Adding to Riviana’s already extensive range is Riviana New Baked Beans in a 420g ring pull can. Riviana’s baked beans are naturally high in fibre, 99 per cent fat free and have no preservatives or artificial colours. The navy beans are accompanied with a flavoursome tomato sauce, making it ideal for breakfast menus, jaffles or a side to main meals.Enquiries: w: www.rivianafoodservice.com; e: info@rivianafoodservice.com; t: 1800 814 800

g: Asian Home Gourmet has an extensive range of Asian spice pastes made in Asia by Asian food experts, and is being introduced to the Australian market by Cerebos Foodservice. Eight varieties of Asian Home Gourmet spice pastes are now available in convenient resealable 1kg packs. Seven of these are gluten-free, making them suitable for those with gluten intolerance and coeliac disease. The range includes Indian Butter Chicken (Gluten-Free), Indian Korma Curry (Gluten-Free), Indian Tandoori Tikka (Gluten-Free), Indian Vindaloo Curry

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44 foodService April 2010

(Gluten-Free), Thai Red Curry (Gluten-Free), Thai Green Curry (Gluten-Free), Singaporean Laksa (Gluten-Free) and a Indonesian Satay Marinade. Each Asian Home Gourmet spice paste has an unopened shelf life of 24 months and comes vacuum-sealed in a pouch that’s packed inside a resealable 1kg tub.Enquiries: t: 1300 365 865; e: CustomerService@cerebos.com.au

h: Two MAGGI products are now gluten free and have joined the already extensive MAGGI Wholeness range of gluten-free stock powders, soup and gravy mixes – Instant Mashed Potato Mix and Instant Rich Gravy Mix. With MAGGI Gluten Free Instant Rich Gravy Mix you get the same rich meat-style gravy you’ve always enjoyed. You also get the added benefit of no stovetop cooking – made in an instant. A simple whisk into 95ºC hot water and the gravy is made and it’s bain marie-safe for four hours. Likewise, MAGGI Gluten Free Instant Mashed Potato Mix is made in an instant from real potatoes. Still with the same smooth, buttery flavour of delicious mashed potato that you’ve come to expect.Enquiries: w: www.nestleprofesional.com

i: Sandhurst Fine Foods produces a range of sauces and spreads, from our classic basil pesto, to our sundried tomato spread, and olive paste. Our basil is single sourced, processed within hours of picking, and is great for deli-style sandwiches, focaccias, pastas and main course garnishes. Sandhurst also have variants on the classics - sundried tomato pesto and sundried capsicum pesto, all available in 2kg jars. Sandhurst produces a premium olive paste, using only Greek Kalamata olives, and olive oil, ensuring the highest quality and superior flavor, tasting great as a dip by itself, on pizza or pasta. Sandhurst also has a sweet chilli sauce in a 2 x 5L carton, made from Thailand’s finest, our sweet chilli sauce is rich and thick, with a slight kick of chilli. Give your stirfries, and the standard sour cream and wedges, a flavour boost with Sandhurst’s own Thai sweet chilli sauce. Sandhurst is also Australia’s only importer of the premium Mutti tomato range, all made from quality Italian tomatoes. Their sauce range includes a rich passata bursting with tomato flavour, in a 700mL jar, and also their thick and delicious pizza sauces- Classico and Aromatizzato.

The Gravox®

gluten free rangewas the smart choice for our restaurant.

The Gravox®

gluten free rangewas the smart choice for our restaurant.

Crystal FlippenExecutive Chef - Manly Warringah Leagues

Catering for customers with special dietary needs isn’t always easy. For example, simply using regular gravy on an otherwise gluten-free meal of roast meat and vegetables turns it into an unsuitable menu choice for someone diagnosed with coeliac disease (gluten intolerance). And if you can’t meet the needs of one guest, you’re likely to lose the entire party.

That’s why Gravox® has developed an exciting gluten free range of gravies and boosters that are ideal as a replacement for regular mixes. Bursting with all the fl avour you expect from Gravox®, the Gravox® gluten free range is simply a smarter choice for food service professionals.

To fi nd out more about gluten free menu planning, go to www.coeliacsociety.com.au and click on the Foodservice Professional link.

THE SMART CHOICE FOR GRAVIES AND BOOSTERS

* Limited stock, area restrictions may apply. ARMORY CF2414a

PROFESSIONAL GUIDE TO GLUTEN FREE COOKING*FREE

Call 1300 365 865 today for your copy

ARM0206 FSN_CF2414a.indd 1 26/3/10 10:24:58 AM

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foodService April 2010 45

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Enquiries: w: www.sandhurstfinefoods.com.au; e: info@sandhurstfinefoods.com.au

j: Hotels are often challenged to make breakfast a profile builder with guests and deliver high sales but at a low cost. Measuring “cost per guest” is a good place to start. Average guest intake is

approximately 400g – by encouraging choice of lower cost food items, the average cost per guest goes down. This can be driven through a well-managed buffet layout – displaying lower cost items, for example cereal and bread, in a prominent position. Kellogg offers a wide range of bulk and portion control cereals to suit both high and lower turnover establishments. Kellogg has recently launched its Breakfast for Profit manual to help add value to breakfast and make it a loyalty building tool.Enquiries: w: www.kelloggs.com.au

k: The Knorr Garde d’Or Hollandaise Sauce is a classic and versatile sauce made with egg yolk, white wine and cream to create the rich sauce. It is ideal used as a pour over sauce for char grilled or pan fried beef, chicken or fish. It can also be used with the classic Eggs Benedict, in wraps, sandwiches, burgers and as a dipping sauce. The Hollandaise sauce can withstand high temperatures without splitting and is suitable for use on the stove or bain-marie. Each pack has 25 portions and a 12 months shelf life unopened.Enquiries: w: www.unileverfoodsolutions.com.au

AB39

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Riviana Food Service has launched

a brand new website with a bright,

contemporary look and improved

functionality. Features include easy

navigation, detailed recipe listing

and extensive product information.

We aim to bring you the latest news and product

offerings, and be a valuable resource for your

business. Stuck for ideas with what to do with

your Riviana products? Check out our recipe pages

where you will find all the inspiration you need.

View our full range of products, including the

Menu Master, Garden Supreme, Ocean Supreme

and Regal Sea brands, as well as comprehensive

product information detailing nutritional

information, storage and handling advice

and packaging details. Enjoy!

New website launched just for you

visit www.rivianafoodservice.com396-RFS Website FSN-54.indd 1 17/3/10 2:21:13 PM

diary 201024-26 MayHotel, Hospitality + Design Expo, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank, Victoria. Enquiries: www.hhdexpo.com.au

21-23 JuneFoodService Australia, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, NSW. Enquiries: www.foodserviceaustralia.com.au

9-10 AugustThe Restaurant 2010 Sydney show, Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, NSW. Enquiries: www.restaurantevents.com.au

13-16 SeptemberFine Food Australia, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank, Victoria. Enquiries: www.finefood.com.au

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46 foodService April 2010

48 per cent of consumers take portability (buying

product that can be taken away) into account when

choosing a restaurant or cafe for breakfast on weekdays.**

is the per cent of UK consumers that

nominate a traditional ‘fry-up’ as their favourite

to eat out-of-home.

is the per cent of consumers that say they skip breakfast because they are too busy.**

2/3 46 13is the per cent of Canadian

consumers that say breakfast is the meal they prefer to eat out-of-home

(rather than lunch or dinner). This is over three times

more than US consumers (4 per cent).***

of UK consumers eat their breakfast

at home every day.*

is the per cent of US consumers that eat their breakfast out-of-home

on weekdays.*

56

* Consumer Breakfast Eating Habits - UK - February 2010, Mintel

** Technomic - The Breakfast Consumer Trend Report 2009 (USA)

*** Out of Home dining Nielson October 2008.

is the per cent of consumers that say they don’t like breakfast.**

532 is the per cent of consumers that would like to see breakfast offered all-day in limited service restaurants.**

61 per cent of diners that consider speed of preparation and delivery of breakfast an important attribute when choosing a restaurant or cafe for breakfast.**

66 is the per cent of consumers that place the convenience of location as an important attribute when choosing a restaurant or cafe for breakfast.**

46 is the per cent of consumers that say they’d like to see full-service restaurants offer breakfast throughout the day.**

Backbites 46 29/3/10 3:26:54 PM

easy. delicious. sandhurst!4 Kiama St, Miranda, NSW 2228

Tel: 02. 9522 4522 Fax: 02. 9522 4139

Email: info@sandhurstfinefoods.com.au

Web: www.sandhurstfinefoods.com.au

watch out for sandhurst’s lineup ofthe most-wanted olives from italy.

not the usual suspects!

Cerignola Olives• Giant Cerignola olives direct

from Italy

• Beautiful green colour, delicious taste

• In 500g jar and 2 kilo jar

Rainbow Olives• Giant ‘Bella di Cerignola’

direct from Italy.

• Everyone loves these delicious and colourful olives

• In 500g jar and 2 kilo jar

Sicilian Green Olives• The Godfather of Italian Olives

• Succulent, large with nutty taste

• In 280g jars plus 2 kilo and 5 kilo buckets

caution! these olives are so dangerously delicious and beautiful it’s criminal.

they have been known to lure customers into buying more and more of them.

be prepared and get free samples* from your rep!

mimmo ‘the big olive’ lubrano

says ‘me and the boys

here at sandhurst think you

should try them. and we know

where you live.’

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