Flair Magazine - Issue 2 | 2019

EDITION 2, 2019

PROVIDING PERFECT PATTIES THAT’S THE SPIRIT A SMOKING HOT SUMMER IN GOOD SPREAD

Coming Up Daisies JASON BARRATT REFLECTS ON HIS EARLY CAREER AND HOW HE’S FOUND HIS SWEET SPOT AT NSW’S PAPER DAISY RESTAURANT

PLUS... THE LATEST IN SUSTAINABLE FRIDGES AND DESIGNER HOTEL AMENITIES

Jason Barratt’s lightly cured fish, served at Paper Daisy in Northern NSW.

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ummer is just around the corner, and it’s the busiest season for the hospitality industry. It brings hungry and thirsty crowds to your door and is an opportunity to deliver the best quality products and latest offerings to customers.

In this edition of Flair, we talk to chef Jason Barratt about his decade-long journey leading him to head up the award-winning hatted restaurant, Paper Daisy, at the chic Northern NSW boutique hotel, Halycon House (pg 23). Read about the new guest amenities range specially designed by highend British fashion icon Paul Costelloe (pg 7), and see our recent event hosted by talented Bunzl chefs at our ‘Night of Hospitality’ at the Sydney Innovation Centre (pg 4).

With a true summer slant, there are articles about the evolution of the versatile hamburger in Australia (pg 8), the boom of the local craft gin industry (pg 12) and the popularity of smoking meat ‘low and slow’, Southern style (pg 16).

Are you ready for the Christmas rush? The trusted buffet has dramatically improved – with new equipment and serving options (pg 20) – and we speak to our in-house kitchen equipment specialist, Craig Bradfield, about his expertise in high-quality restaurant fit-outs (pg 22).

It’s the season of feel-good moments and thriving establishments. I hope you enjoy the read.

Mark Phelan

General Manager, Hospitality, Bunzl Australia & New Zealand

BUNZL ANZ flair@bunzl.com.au

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Contents

“People who love to eat are always the best people.”

Julia Child

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Centre Stage: A Night

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Spotlight: Cool Change

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of Hospitality

The Process: In the Bag Check Out: A Design Collection Providing Perfect Patties

Why burgers should be on the menu this summer... and the perfect plates to serve.

That’s the Spirit

The modern-day gin craze shows no signs of slowing. Here's glasses to match.

A Smoking Hot Summer 16 Discover the joys of Southern-style meat smoking with the Convotherm oven.

Good Spread 20 In

How to have your diners beelining for the buffet this festive season.

Quick-fire Q&A: 22 A Perfect Fit

Bunzl’s Craig Bradfield shares insights into his work with restaurant fit-outs.

Talk With...

23 Toque Jason Barratt

The Melbourne transplant talks about heading up the lauded Paper Daisy restaurant in Northern NSW.

Photography (cover and left) Kara Rosenlund

@bunzlANZhospitality @bunzlANZhospitality Bunzl ANZ Hospitality Bunzl Australia & New Zealand

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CENTRE STAGE

A Night of Hospitality An Indigenous-themed menu and inspiring guest speakers stole the show at our Sydney Innovation Centre event.

Three members of Bunzl’s talented team showcased their cooking skills to suppliers and customers at our Night of Hospitality Flair cocktail party. Equipment specialist Ryan Parker and account managers Jason Williamson and Elizabeth Hammond, all trained chefs, delivered an Australiana-themed menu full of surprises.

Guests were wowed by unique dishes such as pan-fried crocodile medallions crusted in lemon myrtle, damper sliders with kangaroo and bush tomato jam and, for dessert, salted caramel and macadamia ice-cream with quandong, Illawarra plum and wattleseed.

The event was held at Bunzl’s Sydney Innovation Centre to coincide with the Fine Food Australia program and starred a range of guest speakers.

Danny Russo, our first Flair magazine cover chef, spoke about his love of food and travel, his restaurants and his consultancy group, Russolini.

Brendan Maher introduced the Clontarf Foundation, an organisation that aims to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men by partnering with

Above Tiger prawns in native curry paste. Below Lance Ward (Bunzl Australia & New Zealand), Brendan Maher and Casey Fields representing the Clontarf Foundation, and Kim Hetherington, Group Managing Director Bunzl Australasia; event chefs Ryan Parker and Elizabeth Hammond.

schools and communities. Guests also heard from Clontarf graduate Casey Fields.

To close the event, Kim Hetherington, Managing Director of Bunzl Australasia, discussed two timely issues: the need to look for sustainable alternatives to hospitality products and practices, and Bunzl’s zero-tolerance policy towards modern slavery.

Hetherington quoted statistics from the International Labour Office – 40 million people were reported as victims of modern slavery in 2016 – to emphasise the importance of ensuring that every person in the Bunzl supply chain around the world is treated fairly, legally and with dignity.

To request your own event at the Sydney Innovation Centre, contact Ryan Parker: Ryan.Parker@bunzl.com.au

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1. SKTME1000NAC 2 Glass Door Display or Storage Fridge, Lit Sign.

SPOTLIGHT

Cool Change The ActiveCore2 fridge from New Zealand manufacturer SKOPE is smart, energy efficient – and it helps the environment too.

Often expensive to run, commercial glass-door fridges have nevertheless long been a necessity for any hospitality business. But in the shape of the ActiveCore2, New Zealand manufacturer SKOPE Refrigeration has developed a cutting-edge unit that promises to be both a money-saver and an environmentally kinder alternative to older models.

A two-door top mount can cost less than $400 a year to run – a potential saving of more than $600 compared to running a similar model, making it a world leader in energy efficiency.

ActiveCore2’s sustainable credentials extend from its use of the natural refrigerant hydrocarbon, as opposed to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are man-made greenhouse gases used primarily in

air-conditioners and fridges. As these appliances age or wear, the gas leaks and builds up in the atmosphere – HFCs are among the fastest growing greenhouse gases on the planet. As a result of using hydrocarbon, the ActiveCore2 has virtually no Global Warming Potential (GWP).

The ActiveCore2 features an integrated smart system, allowing users to set temperatures, monitor energy usage and review beverage popularity via a smartphone app when used within Bluetooth range.

Owners can also remotely control fridge lights and receive alerts when there’s an unscheduled temperature change, potentially saving thousands on lost stock as well as reducing food waste. www.shop.bunzl.com.au/skope

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Providing Perfect Patties AUSTRALIA’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE BURGER HAS HIT NEW HEIGHTS THANKS TO A FRESH WAVE OF GOURMET OFFERINGS AND AN ONLINE AUDIENCE THAT CAN’T GET ENOUGH.

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ummer: the long hot season of sunny beach days, barbecues and… burgers?

From a fast-food favourite to a gourmet Instagram sensation, burgers have managed to entice young and old over the past decade, proving especially popular with Millennials and the younger ‘Z’ generation.

It’s been a heck of a rise for a simple meal – a ground beef patty in a bun, at its most basic – that, once transported to Australia from America in the 1930s, was more likely to be dished up in a local milk bar than a trendy eatery.

But it’s been a rise tinged with its own Aussie flavour – literally, thanks to the addition of pineapple and beetroot, which gave the burger here its own proud identity.

Though less commonly seen now than in its heyday, the Australian burger has nonetheless survived, even as American fast-food giants McDonald’s and Hungry Jacks have popped up everywhere from Innaloo to Ingham since first arriving on these shores in 1971.

Nowadays, food blogs and magazine pages are dedicated exclusively to finding the ➜

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Are your wipers classified Food Zone Primary ( FZP)?

TorkÂŽ is the only brand of paper wipers and cloths that are HACCP certified Food Zone Primary (FZP) so they are classified safe for contact directly with food.

- Food contact safe with HACCP FZP certification which means that cloths and wipers can be used to wipe down or strain food - Improve hygiene with disposable cloths and wipers by reducing the risk of cross-contamination in the kitchen - Save time with extra strong and absorbent wipers and cloths When you’re deciding what wipers and cloths to use in the food zone, be assured that you can trust Tork.

For further information visit www.shop.bunzl.com.au/tork IEZZI I703 BUNZL

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“It’s an enterprise that sees social media flooded with mouth-watering images of chargrilled patties and spongy brioche buns oozing cheese.”

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country’s best burgers, and it’s an enterprise that sees social media flooded with mouthwatering images of chargrilled patties and spongy brioche buns oozing cheese.

In recent years, a league of top chefs have vied for that prize themselves, venturing out of the fine-dining world to found gourmet burger joints. Daniel Wilson is one example, establishing Huxtaburger in Melbourne in 2011 while still running his hatted Huxtable restaurant (now closed); superstar chef Neil Perry is another, opening Burger Project in Sydney in 2014 as a way to sell a quick and easy version of the famous burger offered at his Rockpool Bar & Grill restaurant. Both brands are now running in cities around the country, alongside similar chains such as Grill’d, Betty’s Burgers and Chur Burger.

So how best to present this new generation of high-quality burgers with a flair worthy of their newfound status?

We’ve put together a range of super-stylish serving options to suit any establishment.

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That’s the Spirit GIN HAS UNDERGONE A RENAISSANCE IN AUSTRALIA IN RECENT TIMES, WITH DOMESTIC SALES BOOMING AND LOCAL CRAFT DISTILLERIES WINNING A SPATE OF GLOBAL AWARDS.

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f any drink symbolises the rise of craft spirits in Australia over the past decade or so, it has to be gin.

But it’s been a long journey, with the drink’s reputation see-sawing over the centuries. Seen first as a solidly workingclass drink in 18th-century England, its popularity later spread throughout the British Empire with the invention of the classic gin and tonic: the infusion of quinine helping to ward off malarial mosquitoes.

As the 20th century wore on, however, other spirits, especially vodka, took hold.

Cue gin’s 21st-century revival, especially here in Australia, where a bloom of boutique distilleries across the country have brought the liquor firmly back to life.

The change has come through innovations in flavour, with local producers adding native botanicals to the spirit’s traditional juniper-berry base – finger lime, river mint, bunya nut, wattleseed, anise myrtle and lilly pilly, to name a few.

TURN OVER FOR FIVE OF OUR FAVOURITE GIN RECIPES Through their creative approach, the likes of Sydney’s Archie Rose and the Yarra Valley’s Four Pillars have developed national and international reputations, their blends winning fans everywhere from Melbourne to Munich. Awards have followed. In 2018, Tasmanian boutique distiller Hartshorn saw its sheep’s whey gin awarded a gold medal at the World Gin Awards and, earlier this year, Adelaide’s Never Never gin took out the World’s Best Classic Gin title at the London Gin Awards.

All of this has helped inspire something of a movement, with 100 gin distilleries now operating in Australia – a 10-fold increase on five years ago. Of course, there’s been an increase in consumption, too; a rise of almost 17 per cent across the board, while locally made gin is up by 33 per cent.

So, as the hot weather hits and cocktail lovers begin to amass, this might just be the summer of gin. Get your glasses at the ready.

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CLASSIC MARTINI

Only two ingredients are needed to make this world-famous cocktail. We like ours garnished with a lemon twist.

• 60ml gin •5ml dry vermouth •Lemon peel

GIN & TONIC

There are so many varieties of gin on the market now – and many types of tonic, too – that the flavour variations on this classic mixer are endless.

• 50ml gin • 100ml tonic water • 2 lime wedges

In Good Measure We asked a top mixologist to choose five of their favourite gin-based cocktails and team them up with a selection of suitably stylish glassware.

TOM COLLINS

To make a Tom Collins, mix gin, lemon juice and syrup in a tall glass, then top with soda water and garnish.

• 50ml gin • 25ml fresh lemon juice • 10ml sugar syrup • 75ml soda water • Fresh lemon wedge

NEGRONI

WHITE LADY

Here’s a tip when working with egg whites: ‘dry shake’ the ingredients without ice first, then add ice and shake again before straining into a chilled glass.

• 37.5ml gin • 12.5ml Cointreau • 25ml fresh lemon juice • 1 egg white

This chic Italian cocktail is made by stirring the ingredients and pouring into a chilled glass over ice. Garnish with orange.

• 25ml gin • 25ml sweet vermouth • 25ml Campari • Orange wedge

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A Smoking Hot Summer THE POPULARITY OF THE AMERICAN ‘LOW AND SLOW’ TREND HAS BROUGHT THE CONCEPT OF SMOKING MEAT INTO THE MAINSTREAM. AND WHILE YOU CAN USE A BARBIE, THERE’S A QUICKER, EASIER WAY.

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f there’s a subject we pride ourselves on knowing a thing or two about in Australia, it’s the barbecue. We are, in fact, one of the largest backyard-grilling hotspots on the planet, with more than two-thirds of the population owning a barbie.

But in recent years, the trend of ‘low and slow’, a barbecuing movement born in the southern states of the US that does exactly as it says – cooking meat at low temperatures, slowly – has somewhat derailed all we thought we knew about the art of the barbie.

Hot-smoking meat in the low and slow way relies on either wood chips or charcoal burning at a reduced temperature to steadily cook cuts such as brisket, shoulder and ribs until they become fall-apart tender – and infused with a beautiful smoky flavour.

Traditionally, maple or hickory wood give meat that delicate smoky lick, but options abound. Woods from fruit trees (such as apple and pear) have subtle notes ideal for use with poultry and fish, while the stronger flavours produced by harder woods (such as Australian mountain ash and red gum) as well as charcoal bring an up-front ashiness to red meat. You can even go a step further and introduce wood chips soaked in a range of beverages: beer, bourbon, cola, Cristal.

So far, so delicious… but, if you’re running a busy eatery, somewhat time consuming.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to achieve the flavours of hot smoking without the long cooking process. The Convotherm Easy Touch comes with an optional smoker that does all the hard work for you, cooking and smoking meats quickly, easily and with minimal investment.

Whether you want to wholeheartedly embrace the latest trend or just try out a few specific dishes on your menu, Convotherm’s technology will make all your worries go up in smoke. ➜

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COMPACT • Easy to handle

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PERFECT HYGIENE • Bell can be entirely taken apart within a few seconds for fast easy cleaning (scan to view video)

Make summer yours, put your twist on any dessert from coulis to purees.

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Convotherm-smoked Buffalo Wings You might not think of chicken wings as a slow-cooking cut, but give this recipe a go and wow your diners with falling-off-the-bonetender chicken imparted with a signature Southern spice and a subtle smoky flavour. By Moffat Executive Chef Perry Peters.

Ingredients

Southern-style rub mix 1⁄4 cup brown sugar 1⁄4 cup coarse salt 2 tbsp garlic powder 1 tbsp cayenne pepper 1⁄4 cup paprika 2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper 2 tbsp onion powder 1 kg chicken wings, patted dry 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1⁄4 cup southern-style rub mix (store leftovers in an airtight container) 3 hickory smoker pucks

Method

1. To make the rub, mix all ingredients together.

2. Place wings in a large mixing bowl and toss with oil.

Add rub and massage into wings, coating well.

3. Spread wings onto Convotherm 1/1GN grill rack.

Place smoker pucks into Convosmoker box and slide into combi oven.

4. Set smoker profile to 1 hour and allow to smoke.

5. Release door and evacuate smoke slowly utilising Convotherm’s patented 3-step ‘Disappearing Door’.

Remove wings and close door.

6. Select ‘Wings’ profile from the Convotherm Cookbook and allow oven to pre-heat.

7. Follow instructions on the EasyTouch user interface and insert grill rack and wings when prompted.

8. Remove wings and place onto serving dish.

Serve with your favourite barbecue or hot sauce.

Above MOFC4EST1010CD Convotherm C4EST10.10CD11 Tray Electric Combi-Steamer Oven – Direct Steam – Disappearing Door.

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In Good Spread BUFFETS HAVE COME A LONG WAY, WITH ADVANCED EQUIPMENT PROVIDING GOURMET SELECTIONS FOR ANY CROWD. 3

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et ready for the rush. With Christmas just around the corner, ‘tis the season for office outings and festive functions, while summer in general always brings its own cluster of events on a larger scale than usual. And while that means an increased demand for drink, considering your food offerings is, of course, equally important.

For years, the best solution to the problem of catering for big numbers was always the buffet. That still holds true today – only now the equipment and serving options have

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improved drastically. And with crowds more diverse than ever in their tastes and dietary requirements, the buffet renaissance is good news for all.

So how has it changed? For one, stainlesssteel chafing dishes and burner fuel are no longer all that are available, as induction units and compatible casseroles, combined with electrical griddles and pans, offer energy savings while keeping food warm and smartly presented.

Secondly, there is an emphasis on reducing waste through the use of smaller bowls, pans and platters, rather than simply the excess

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Rust - Proof Lifetime Warranty of ‘all you can eat’. These smaller dishes also lend themselves to a more refined, sophisticated look.

While wood is an ideal material for aesthetic buffet presentation, hot buffets benefit from a combination of metal, glass and ceramic serving equipment, which provide a modern look that in turn elevates the food on offer.

So, whether you’re holding regular wedding parties throughout the summer or simply a festive Christmas bash, there’s only one direction to follow: straight for the buffet.

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Shelving for Life

QUICK-FIRE Q&A

A Perfect Fit In this issue, we speak to Bunzl in-house expert Craig Bradfield about his work with high-quality restaurant fit-outs.

Our Bunzl in-house chefs at the Night of Hospitality event in Sydney. @BunzlANZHospitality

CRAIG BRADFIELD Bunzl Business Development Manager Kitchen Equipment

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What is your professional background? I started my career in hospitality and catering in South Africa in 1984 and have been in the industry ever since. I also lectured part-time at various TAFEs, universities and international hotel schools in the fundamentals of HACCP [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points], commercial kitchen design and catering management systems. I’ve been able to continue in this great industry since arriving in Australia in 2008.

What does your role at Bunzl involve? I’m a Business Development Manager specialising in food-service design and project management. I also assist the Bunzl National Equipment Specialist Team with preparing layout drawings and specifications in accordance with BCA [Building Code of Australia] and health authority regulations and codes.

What does your team do? We offer a food-service design and consulting service along with top-of-the-line equipment and full restaurant fit-outs. Our capabilities allow us to take a concept from the planning stages to successful implementation, attending to every detail and requirement along the way.

Can you tell us about a recent project? I worked on a new multivenue precinct in Broadbeach, Queensland, incorporating Miss Moneypenny’s and Fat Freddy’s Beach Bar & Diner. This project involved a turnkey design and equipment-supply package.

What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on? My first project with Bunzl was to assist the team to manage the supply and installation of kitchen and bar equipment for the new Howard Smith Wharves precinct in Brisbane. In total, there were five restaurant kitchens, two function kitchens, two satellite kitchens, one cafe kitchen and 11 bar areas. We had great support from our key suppliers (Moffat and SKOPE Refrigeration) and it was great to be involved in.

Left Chef Jason Barratt at Cabarita’s Halcyon House.

Below Salted kangaroo with blue conga, saltbush and macadamia.

TOQUE TALK WITH. . .

Jason Barratt

PHOTOGRAPHY: KARA ROSENLUND

Chef Jason Barratt explains how stints at two of Melbourne’s best restaurants prepared him for the gig of a lifetime.

Jason Barratt wasn’t looking for a job when the chef’s position at chic NSW hotel Halcyon House became vacant earlier this year – in fact, he was just settling into a new gig at the recently renovated Byron Bay hotel-restaurant Raes.

“I had no intention of leaving Raes, and I umm-ed and ah-ed about it for a while,” he recalls. “But jobs like Halcyon House don’t come up very often. It just felt too right.”

Barratt already knew how special Halcyon House and its à la carte restaurant Paper Daisy were: two years earlier, he and his wife had spent their honeymoon at the property.

“It felt like a slice of paradise,” he says. “We had both been working a lot, so we decided to do a full digital detox: we put our phones in the safe and just completely switched off for a week.”

Returning to the hotel as a staff member, Barratt felt some pressure to perform: his predecessor, Ben Devlin, had won widespread praise for a sophisticated menu full of ambitious flavour combinations.

“I didn’t simply want to replicate that,” Barratt says. “I decided to make Paper Daisy a bit more user-friendly, a bit easier to understand.”

He adds: “We’re still using interesting ingredients – just not in such obscure ways.”

Six months into the job, Barratt has brought fresh produce to the fore, taking advantage of the hotel’s proximity to the growers and fishers of NSW’s lush Northern Rivers region.

“I’ll actually go to the farm twice a week to pick up the fruit and veg,” he says. “There’s no middle man. The fish guy comes and knocks on the back door of the restaurant every now and then with a carload of fish that he’s just pulled from the boat.

It’s something you just don’t get in Melbourne.”

Before moving to Northern NSW, Barratt honed his craft at some of Melbourne’s most acclaimed restaurants, including St Kilda stalwart Stokehouse and the three-hatted Attica (previously included in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants). He says those jobs gave him the stamina and resilience necessary to head up his own operation.

“I was incredibly lucky at Stokehouse: they really did give me everything I wanted,” he says.

“Every time I was growing out of a role and was looking for that next step in my career, they were very receptive.”

He singles out chef Anthony Musarra as a key mentor. “Before I worked with him, I didn’t think of cooking as a career that could take me places.

He made me understand that, if you put your mind to it and work hard, the opportunities are endless.”

And it was later, at Attica, that Barratt learned the art of running a kitchen: “It doesn’t have to be a really structured setting – it can be creative. I think Ben [Shewry] has a really unique way of operating a kitchen. It opened my eyes.”

Now, after a decade spent moving from kitchen to kitchen, Barratt is looking forward to settling in and striving to make his mark.

“To run a hotel restaurant well is incredibly difficult,” he says. “Every single touchpoint needs to be consistent and considered: the food, the staff, the attitude. You have to be on your ‘A game’ all the time.”

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