Hospitality October 2017

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NO.739 OCTOBER 2017

Back to basics A WINEMAKER AND A SOMMELIER MAKE A CASE FOR NATURAL WINE

A French affair TRADITIONAL VS PROGRESSIVE STOCKS AND SAUCES

Destination Mexico DECODING THE INDUSTRY’S MOST MISUNDERSTOOD CUISINE

Ed's note

October 8 Contents 12

N

urturing emerging talent is so important. Grabbing young chefs and holding onto them is no easy feat, and it takes real passion to persevere in a demanding profession.

I recently attended the S.Pellegrino Young Chef cook-offs in Melbourne and spent some time in the kitchen with the 10 semi-finalists. Although only one emerged victorious — Amaru’s chef de partie John Rivera — it was clear the day was a bonding experience to share ideas, and of course, an opportunity to compete against peers.

Fine Food 2017 also afforded young chefs a shot at glory at the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Awards. Twenty under-25s from across Australia competed for the title in front of a live audience. All-girl team Abbey Wendland and Mahlet Girma took out the title for the second year in a row after they produced a winning dessert.

It was encouraging to see an equal presence of men and women in the competition. But there’s still a long road ahead. R&CA recently found there are just 21,308 female chefs to 66,735 male chefs.

This issue, Lizzie Meryment discusses her women-only podcast and the response she’s received thus far. Automata’s sommelier Tim Watkins reveals how venues can incorporate natural wine into their menus and we go back to the roots of Mexican cuisine on page 26.

As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on the issue.

Until next time, Annabelle Cloros Editor acloros@intermedia.com.au

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October 2017

6

In focus

8

Openings

10

Flavour of the month

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Fast casual

12

Trends

14

Drinks

16

Column

18

Best practice

20

Superannuation

22

Natural wine

26

Mexican

30

Stocks and sauces

32

Shelf space

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Diary

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5 minutes with…

32 30

22 26

14 PUBLISHER Paul Wootton pwootton@intermedia.com.au

PRODUCTION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper jacqui@intermedia.com.au

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in focus

Aussie beer drinkers prefer independently owned breweries The 2017 Australian Craft Beer Survey has revealed beer drinkers have a strong preference for independently owned breweries.

O

wnership matters when it comes to beer selection according to 64 percent of the 17,000 beer drinkers who responded to Beer Cartel’s 2017 Australian Craft Beer Survey.

The survey found there is a strong preference for independently owned craft beer. While 99 percent of respondents are happy to buy from independent Australian breweries, only 23 percent are satisfied with buying craft beer from large multinational companies.

Drinkers are also happy to purchase beer from ‘gypsy’ brewers who brew beer at facilities owned by other brewers, with only 15 percent of respondents saying they would be reluctant to do so.

According to the report, the majority of respondents say a seal

identifying whether a beer is from an independent Australian brewery would have a medium to large impact on their choice of purchase.

Overall visitation of craft breweries increased significantly in 2017, with 71 percent visiting a craft brewery every two to three months or more often — a jump of 10 percent compared to 2016.

Richard Kelsey, director of Beer Cartel says the findings were a reflection of the attitudes of those who purchase craft beer.

“Craft beer is an artisanal product that is produced by skilled workers using the best ingredients possible,” he says. “There is a story behind the beers and the brewery that makes them. Independent ownership is part of the story drinkers buy into.” n

Survey results 41% of drinkers spend between $26–$50 in total on beer a week (via bars, bottleshops, restaurants and breweries) A further

64% of drinkers think it’s important to know who owns the beer they’re drinking

99% are happy to buy from an independent Australian-owned craft brewery While only

23% are happy to buy from a large multinational company

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October 2017

31% spend $51–$100 in total

95% of craft beer drinkers think the quality of Australian craft beer is improving

94% are on the lookout for new and interesting beers to try

73% think beer tastes better from a glass

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P ROFESSIONAL

Openings Some of the latest venues to swing open their doors in Australia’s foodservice scene.

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Misfits

Sydney, NSW W. Short Hotel Group has opened Misfits in Redfern with James Privett at the helm. A neon sign leads visitors up the stairs to the bar which has local craft beers on tap, classic cocktails and single-malt whiskies available.

Misfits features a ’70s-inspired dining space along with a rooftop terrace and private dining area. Dishes include charred octopus and mulloway fillet with prawn tortellini.

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Alex&Co

Sydney, NSW Aslan Hospitality Group has launched Alex&Co in Parramatta, providing a cocktail and dining destination in the booming suburb. The 350-seat venue is located on Church Street and features a restaurant, café and cocktail bar. Kyle Quy has put together three separate menus according to the spaces, spanning everything from smoked salmon belly and braised lamb shoulder to banana crème brûlée.

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King & Knaves Espresso

Melbourne, Vic Toast and espresso bar King & Knaves has opened up shop at the top end of Melbourne on Williams Street.

Allpress Espresso is on the menu as well as masala chai and Mork hot chocolate. Menu staples include prosciutto with roasted tomato, basil, mozzarella and rocket on sourdough as well as smoked salmon with Saint David Dairy’s crème fraîche, horseradish, rocket, capers and Mount Zero lemon oil on seeded sourdough.

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Nudefish Poké

Sydney, NSW Bucket List’s Tom Walton has ventured over the bridge to open Nudefish Poké in Greenwood Plaza, North Sydney.

Seafood is sourced from New Zealand and Australia and everything is made in-house, from the sauces to the wakame seaweed salad. There are six poké bowls on the menu that can be customised according to taste.

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8 Hospitality October 2017

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Fratelli Fresh

Sydney, NSW Fratelli Fresh has opened its ninth venue in Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter. The space features an indoor–outdoor beer and wine garden and room for more than 300 diners.

Pizza and pasta are on the menu as well as the restaurant’s signature desserts — think banoffee torta and tiramisu. The venue will hold Fratelli’s largest beer offering, with 15 Italian craft beers available.

Bistro Blackwood

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7

Bing’s Bao & Beer

Sydney, NSW The Streets of Barangaroo has a new addition in the form of Bing’s Bao & Beer from Lotus Dining Group.

Dine-in and takeaway is available, with a range of bao and housemade noodles on the menu. Diners can choose from beef brisket, crumbed fish fillet, Shanghai red-braised pork belly or soft shell crab to fill their bao.

A dessert offering is also available in the form of a sweet bun with coconut ice cream and green tea.

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CREDIT JACQUI WAY

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Adelaide, SA Chef Jock Zonfrillo has launched Bistro Blackwood under Restaurant Orana. The space boasts white marble tables, an open kitchen and leather banquette seating. The menu changes seasonally, and Orana’s staff will work across both venues under the guidance of restaurant manager Greta Wohlstadt and head chef Sam Christopher. Diners can order off Orana’s 400-bottle wine list and enjoy bistro classics such as Goolwa pippies with crème fraîche and beach succulent along with steak tartare and fire-pit chicken.

8

Vizio Caffe e Cucina

Sydney, NSW Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Vizio features an industrial interior with aged timber and black ceilings setting the mood. Breakfast options range from wholemeal pancakes to açai bowls and lunch includes pumpkin gnocchi and twice-cooked monkfish. Diners can choose from 30 cheeses and 30 meats to create a custom antipasto board in the evening before enjoying smoked emu tartare and ravioli ripieno with prawns.

October 2017 Hospitality

9

Flavour of the month Koji is a little-known ingredient on our shores, but it has been used in Japanese cooking for years. Mayumi Sui explores the origins of koji and how it can be used.

Koji EXPLAINING KOJI Koji is the key ingredient for various traditional Japanese fermented foods including soy sauce, miso, mirin (rice wine), rice vinegar and sake. These staple ingredients for Japanese cooking and diet are all fermented by a type of traditional rice culture called koji culture (fungi: Aspergillus oryzae). It usually looks like grains covered by mould. The colour could be white, yellow or green depending on the type of koji. White rice koji is the most commonly used type for making the aforementioned foods. However, various types of grains and soybeans can be inoculated by koji culture to make different types of koji.

ORIGINS OF KOJI There are several different opinions as to where koji culture 10

Hospitality

October 2017

originally came from, but the use of koji was most likely introduced from China. It is believed the koji fungi now widely used in Japan was harvested from the mould on the ears of rice grown in Japan. Over time, the koji fungi was refined enough to establish monopolies of ‘koji culture’, and became a commodity by the 17th century.

HOW KOJI IS MADE Ingredient-wise, all you need is koji culture (Aspergillus oryzae) and a medium to inoculate the culture. The types of koji are determined by the medium. The most common medium widely used for koji production in Japan is medium-grain white rice.

Despite the simple ingredients, the process of making koji is quite complex. In short, it is all about creating the optimum

environment for the culture to work. It takes about three days from the preparation stage to the end of the production process.

KOJI IN COOKING In the past five years, chefs in the fine dining scene (especially in Europe and the US) have been attracted to koji, and the trend has become more prevalent in Australia in recent years. A key characteristic of koji is in the uniqueness of its enzyme varieties. Creating a strong umami flavour and softening ingredients are two of the most distinctive functions of koji, but it all depends on the characteristics of koji you wish to use.

Normally, concentrated umami can be found in ingredients which have a strong flavour and a certain texture such as mushrooms or meat. Although

koji itself is quite neutral in flavour and flexible in format, these characteristics make koji a powerful umami source. It can be used for anything from sweets to mains and drinks. It can also be useful for vegetarian/vegan dishes as a full-body flavour can be achieved without any animaloriented umami.

Koji can be used in its original grain format along with a powder, paste or liquid format. Koji can be added at any stage of the cooking process from preparation to the garnishing stage. It can act as a salt alternative, a sweetener, flavour enhancement or to add additional texture to dishes. n Mayumi Sui is a miso sommelier and owner of Sasakani Kobo, an artisan producer of organic miso and related products. sasakani.ecwid.com

fast casual

Go your own way Fratelli Fresh has a famous sibling building a name for itself.

At a glance

T

Fratelli Famous World Square

When was Fratelli Famous established? July 2016.

Number of locations? Four (Westfield Sydney, Westfield Penrith,

he build-your-own notion to keep it seasonal and change the World Square Sydney, Eagle Street Pier). isn’t a foreign one to toppings out every 60 days,” says Number of staff? 24.

Australians — think Pash. “Neil hand-selects produce Subway and Mero Mero. every season and thinks about the Best-selling menu items? Build-your-own pizzas.

But when it comes to custom toppings we should offer.”

Biggest challenge facing the business in 2017? Building brand pizzas, the closest you get is Speed is another crucial awareness. adding jalapeños to a supreme. The component of Famous’ offering.

Growth plans for the year ahead? Fratelli Famous views large US is flooded with lucrative fast The venues are able to crank out shopping centres as the sweet spot for the concept, and is currently casual pizza restaurants that put upwards of 300 pizzas an hour looking at a rollout plan across Australia. the power in the customers’ hands, at 90 seconds each thanks to a which is why Rockpool Dining combined gas and wood-fired oven Group was keen to emulate the imported from the US. “These concept on a local level with Fratelli Famous. ovens keep a high, constant temperature,” says Pash. “We looked at the Fratelli Fresh is a brand known for Italian eats, with their pizza and best technology from all over the world and similar players in the US are pasta dishes hitting the spot for Sydneysiders and Melburnians alike. all using this oven. We were the original importer of those ovens and Rockpool purchased Fratelli Fresh in April 2016 with plans to evolve the brought a bunch to the market. They’re the Rolls-Royce of pizza ovens.” brand in a number of ways. “One of the first things we wanted to do Like all new ventures, there are teething issues. But Famous has was come up with a small-format version using the great Fratelli name,” managed to navigate obstacles with Rockpool’s experience in the fast says Thomas Pash, CEO of Rockpool Dining Group. “We wanted a fast casual sector. “With any new concept, it takes a while,” says Pash. casual [venue] modelled after the innovators in the US market that was “We opened four [Famous venues] and it’s been a constant fine-tuning focused on a build-your-own concept.” process. It’s gone smoothly and there’s been a great reception. A lot There are four Fratelli Famous venues in Australia, with three located of people would walk up and see this line of 100 people and think the in Sydney and the fourth in Brisbane. So how does it differ from Fresh? wait will be forever, but they don’t realise you can be through the line in First and foremost, Famous is strictly pizza and salads. The pizza crust a few minutes and the pizza cooks in 90 seconds. Famous is now over is the same you get at Fresh, but at Famous, the process is completely a year old and the stores are all profitable. We are definitely looking for customisable. “You pick your crust and go down the line and put your additional locations to grow the concept.” ingredients on top of it,” says Pash. “It’s amazing, fresh ingredients and In terms of staff, Famous has the company’s best pizza talent in the you can do endless combinations.” kitchen, especially during peak times. “There’s an art to working the But endless combinations weren’t always on the menu, with Famous pizza oven and being able to do 12 or 15 at one time without burning briefly limiting the options. “At first, we let customers do unlimited and them,” says Pash. “The training department that does premium training they put whatever they wanted on it and they loved it,” says Pash. “And has also done all the training for fast casual.” then Neil [Perry] said, ‘Well, I think some of these people are creating Rockpool Dining Group is well known for its premium offering, and pizzas that I don’t think are that great’. So we said it won’t be unlimited, their fast casual venues are no different to their fine dining restaurants in but customers liked the flexibility of putting two or 10 toppings on. terms of quality and experience. “The premium DNA is in everything we Now, we’re back on unlimited toppings and letting the customer do the do,” says Pash. “We wanted high-quality ingredients and the best crust in full customisable experience.” a fast casual format. And that doesn’t change whether we are premium There are three sizes available, with a personal pizza priced at $10. or fast casual — it’s just more convenient. The DNA stays in our company Customers can select from a classic Napolitana or gluten-free base before from our premium brands all the way down to fast casual and casual.” opting for green, white or red sauce. Next, a choice of six cheeses and The build-your-own concept is clearly a hit for Australian consumers, five seasonings are available and protein is selected. Finally, unlimited with 80 percent of customers returning to Famous four times a month. toppings are on offer, with seven dressings completing the preparation Expansion is on the cards for Fratelli Famous, so it’s only a matter of process that’s handled by staff who pass the pizza down the line. “We try time before the concept is rolled out across the nation. n October 2017 Hospitality 11

Trends Activated charcoal is the latest movement sweeping across the industry, turning everything in its path to the dark side.

By Annabelle Cloros.

Charcoal is the new black W

hat’s old is new again. And in the case of activated charcoal — thousands of years old. Originally used to purify water, the black stuff’s detox powers were soon discovered and quickly became a staple to treat poisonings, cleanse skin and whiten teeth. But it’s recently found its way into our food, taking clean eating to a new level.

Before you add any kind of charcoal to food, there are a number of grades and a specific process it has to undergo before it becomes ‘activated’ and deemed safe for consumption.

So how is it made? Activated charcoal is typically produced by heating wood or coconut shells to high temperatures until they are completely burnt — or carbonised.

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Hospitality October 2017

The resulting ash is treated with hot steam which increases the surface area of the charcoal, resulting in a material that has the ability to absorb toxins.

Local brand Pressed Juices were one of the first in Australia to jump on the black magic bandwagon, creating black lemonade. “Activated coconut charcoal holds its pore structure and all of its absorption characteristics until it is put in contact with compounds that can be absorbed,” says Natarlia Hansen, nutritionist at Pressed Juices.

Activated charcoal has been a key ingredient in juice cleanses for many years, promising to clean you from the inside out. “[It] assists with lowering cholesterol, bloating, liver and kidney issues, nausea and vomiting and helps to eliminate the body of toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, nicotine and alcohol,” says Hansen.

But a large part of charcoal’s rise to the top of the food chain can be credited to its Instaworthy jet black shade. In recent months, Instagram has been swamped with thousands of images of black burgers, pancakes, ice cream, lattes and bagels, proving consumers are more interested in the novelty of snapping a photo than its taste or health benefits.

“Activated charcoal has become a huge trend,” says Hansen. “The deep black in the fridge is always an eye-catcher.”

LA’s Little Damage is a key player in the charcoal food realm, dominating the scene with their signature charcoal-dyed soft serve cones. “In our soft serve, we wanted to try something new and unique,” says founder Jenny Damage. “We wanted to implement a natural ingredient to achieve black ice cream.”

But Little Damage’s soft serve is more almond flavour than burnt bits, with the team

using activated charcoal for its shade, not its flavour. “Small amounts of activated charcoal is mixed in well with our other ingredients, so for us, the taste of charcoal in our ice cream is pretty much transparent.”

Health perk or the key to social media success, activated charcoal is definitely the great divider. In spite of its ’Gram-worthy status and detoxifying abilities, it should be enjoyed for a short time, not a long time. n

drinks

Ready to drink Venues are looking for innovative ways to offer guests a premium drinking experience, and bottled cocktails could be the answer. By Madeline Woolway.

“They suit venues that don’t have the equipment or staff to produce cocktails in-house — all you need to do is pour over ice and garnish appropriately.”

- Shaun Campbell

14 Hospitality October 2017

P

remiumisation has reached all corners of the alcohol market in Australia, and ready-to-drink cocktails aren’t immune, with a number of venues opting to pre-bottle everything from negronis to piña coladas.

“Bottling cocktails plays into batching and other things like that, which bars are doing as best practice anyway,” says Kate McGraw.

As group bar operations manager for Lotus Dining Group, McGraw started bottling cocktails for Bing’s Bao & Beer in Sydney’s Barangaroo. While the choice was purely practical to begin with –– space at the venue is tight, resulting in no ice machine and limited area for prep –– the challenge of creating a premium cocktail offering has turned into a satisfying experience.

“Finding ways to create flavour without limiting use-by dates was very interesting,”

drinks

“It’s the same thing restaurants do with meat, and it’s a more stable way of maintaining the flavours. We also use lots of organic stabilisers including seaweed extract as it doesn’t affect the flavour at all but it tricks people into thinking they’re drinking something creamier than they are, like piña coladas –– it’s purely about viscosity.”

While bottled cocktails save time for Bing’s Bao & Beer during service, the pursuit of perfection means they’re labour intensive to make.

“We’re keeping the list small because we don’t want to offer 1000 different drinks and have them half-done,” says McGraw. “We can do three highballs and two cocktails very well.

They’ll be rotating eventually.”

In Adelaide, the team at Bank Street Social

“Anything that only contains spirits or has a relatively high alcohol content will store really well,” says Campbell.

Keeping things simple also means the brand can offer their bottled cocktails at a lower margin than drinks made in-house.

“They’re a premium drink that uses the exact same ingredients in the same quantities that we do at the bar,” says Campbell. “But we can charge less than you would pay for an equivalent drink made in-house because we have lower margins than you would on-premise.

“Most bartenders won’t stock RTD, but a lot do their own bottled cocktails.”

- Kate McGraw

says McGraw. “It’s a mix between complete cocktail nerd territory and food science practicality.”

Bing’s decided to build their offering around tiki drinks due to the venue’s waterside location, which led to McGraw crafting old-school drinks — including piña coladas — without compromising on flavour.

“There are a lot of drinks in the tiki canon that use unstable ingredients,” she tells Hospitality. “There were quite a few missteps and weird experiments that didn’t work out as I’d hoped.”

Many of the successful techniques have had the added bonus of using what would be waste from the group’s other restaurants.

“We’re using a lot of acids,” says McGraw.

“We turn citrus peels and husks that are actually offcuts from our other restaurants into a stock.

started by bottling cocktails they had been barrel-ageing in-house.

“We were offering them within the venue,” says co-owner Shaun Campbell. “Then we saw the concept gathering momentum at bars around the world and decided to look at developing our own range of bottled cocktails.”

Bank Street Cocktail Company was born in 2016 when Campbell founded the brand with Simon Orders.

“The bar had a bottled barrel-aged negroni back in 2015, but it wasn’t until last year that we thought about more retail-ready bottled cocktails designed for home use or for onpremise venues like cinemas and restaurants,” says Campbell.

When choosing what cocktails to bottle, Campbell says they looked for popular drinks with high-ABVs, settling on three classics: an old fashioned, a negroni and an espresso martini.

“They suit venues that don’t have the equipment or staff to produce cocktails inhouse –– all you need to do is pour over ice and garnish appropriately.”

So far, the response has been positive, with the company looking into expanding interstate.

RTDs may have been blacklisted historically, but the new wave of bottled cocktails might turn the category’s fate around.

“I think the quality will increase over the next couple of years,” says McGraw. “Most bartenders won’t stock RTD, but a lot do their own bottled cocktails. Hubert has a bottled martini and Continental has the Mar-tinny.

“It’s an interesting space to work in because it’s still underdeveloped. It forces you to use skills, techniques and ingredients you wouldn’t otherwise put in drinks.”

Far from undercutting the bar trade, bottled cocktails could start a new revolution. n October 2017 Hospitality 15

column

Girl on

fire When Elizabeth Meryment decided to launch a podcast showcasing women in hospitality, the reaction was a mixed bag, to say the least.

W

hen I tell people I have been working on a podcast about successful women in the hospitality industry, their reactions are often mixed.

I had expected most people to smile benignly and nod with varying degrees of interest. But in fact, reactions have been passionate, both positive and negative. These reactions tend to range from, “Brilliant! About time women were recognised!” to, “What the hell are you doing that for? Why should women be recognised? What an insult [to women and to men].”

One of the more bizarre comments has come from a man of some regard in the Sydney hospitality world who genuinely demanded he be interviewed for the series.

“Why not?” he said. “I work with more women than men — I have a lot to say on the subject.” At first I figured he was being facetious; sadly, not.

The reaction that has intrigued me the most is the notion the podcast is an insult to women. In particular, young women seem affronted there’s a need, as I see it, for a woman-focused podcast. In their view of the world, they would rather work on what they think is a level playing field than be bolstered by affirmative actions or positive publicity.

“You don’t want it to look like you’re bashing men,” one young female chef urged me. “I want to look like I can do this on my own, not because I’m getting promoted because I’m female.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, that attitude tends to dissipate among women in their thirties and older, who commonly face the difficulties of maintaining demanding jobs that often involve night and weekend work while trying to raise families in an industry that comes to be more and more dominated by blokes.

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Hospitality October 2017

“You’ll notice there are less and less women at the top the older they get,” noted one interviewee wryly. “The women get out and leave the men to it.”

Many I’ve interviewed have noted the road to their success has been long and tough, not only because generally speaking it’s a tough road, but because they have in many cases been subjected to sexist and demeaning attitudes, and worse, physical abuse and assault. This is an ugly truth of the industry that has not often been aired. But it’s an issue that everyone who has worked in restaurants for long enough seems to know about.

Perhaps as hard to stomach is the reality that there are not as many women as men with success stories to tell. While there are a few women CEOs leading large food businesses across the country, they are the exception rather than the rule. High-profile female chefs are also diminishing. Think back 20 years ago and there were a number of strong or up-and-coming female chefs (Kylie Kwong, Christine Manfield, Karen Martini and

Alex Herbert to name a few). These days, the rise of the high-profile female chef seems to have halted. It’s hard to name a woman chef of the current era who is as well-known as those of the previous generation.

Those are the negatives of this story. On the positive side, if you look hard enough, there’s a true bounty of women doing exceptional and often under-recognised jobs in food and hospitality.

In the series, I will speak to women who have built and lost business and done it all over again. Award-winning chefs; sommeliers who run cellars of world repute; legends of the industry, innovators, agitators and a MasterChef survivor who has gone on to make a career in food the old-fashioned way.

Their stories are compelling, funny, uplifting and gripping. Maybe I’ll interview men for season two. Or maybe not. n Food writer Elizabeth Meryment’s How I Do This podcast will launch on 14 November on howidothispodcast.com.au and iTunes.

best practice

Modern skills for smart chefs

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Upgrading your skillset is essential to continued success, writes Ken Burgin. s a head chef, operations manager or even CEO, you can ask for a great salary. But it’s time to modernise your skills and think beyond a career of cooking — what needs to be stronger?

UPGRADE YOUR DIGITAL SKILLS You know how your phone works, but what about spreadsheets for costing recipes, checking menu profits and organising stocktake?

Learn how to interpret and download reports from a POS system and understand online security threats. Improve your email writing and be ready to take good photographs for marketing and training. Start to use online rostering, and perhaps you’ll be one of the first chefs to use digital order screens in the kitchen.

LEARN TO USE THE LATEST CONTROL SYSTEMS Combi ovens, refrigeration, power consumption and sales data all have sophisticated electronic controls, and many are now connected via the Internet of things to a PC or app. You can have control over almost everything — use it.

SHARPEN YOUR NEGOTIATION SKILLS A new chef often wants new suppliers, and you’ll do it based on an organised tender process, with rebates for volume and regular price monitoring. You’ll spend less time on price checks and more on finding better suppliers who communicate with you electronically.

LEARN HOW A BUSINESS WORKS Your position is a central part of the profit and loss statement, so make sure you know how to read one. If you’re given a budget, make sure it’s explained to you, and ask for the food cost percentages to be prepared weekly.

LEARN ABOUT MODERN MENU MARKETING A clever menu not only looks and tastes good, but also maximises profitability through layout and pricing. Menus may also need to work 18

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for takeaway, online delivery services, on a digital display or on an order kiosk. If you cater for tourists, add good photos to the menu essentials.

TAKE A POSITIVE APPROACH TO HEALTHY MENUS Food that doesn’t rely on huge amounts of sugar, fat and salt. A ‘no problem’ approach to allergies is also beneficial. As the world gets fatter and less healthy, there are enormous numbers of people wanting better options. This is now standard practice in a modern kitchen.

BECOME A FOOD SAFETY EXPERT Food safety plans, HACCP and tighter WHS rules are all part of the landscape in a modern kitchen. Build up your skills with extra short courses and learn about electronic temperature monitoring and control systems. You may even want to become a food safety auditor for a future career move.

DEVELOP MODERN PEOPLE SKILLS Build your experience with teamwork, personality types, anger management, negotiation, delegation and effective meetings. Modern kitchens are like the United Nations, and you need the ability to work with everyone. You are a modern hero when you take the diversity that’s available and use it to create a high-performing team.

LEARN HOW TO TALK TO THE BOSS Sometimes called ‘managing upwards’. Work out the best way to make your case with senior management when you need more equipment, staff changes, different work hours or even a raise. Make an appointment, prepare some written notes. Be ready to talk about the financial side and sell the benefits of your request.

UNDERSTAND HOW TO REDUCE UTILITY COSTS Implement energy and water-saving measures to reduce costs through kitchen equipment, equipment washing, use of chemicals, use of hot water, use of ventilation, etc. A practical green approach makes a big difference to the bottom line. n

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superannuation

Topping the super table It’s incredibly important to select a super fund that works for you through life’s changes.

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ife is full of twists and turns — new jobs, new cities, new adventures. Wherever your team goes, it’s important to have a super fund that moves with them; a top performer who puts their needs first with competitive fees, consistent investment performance and comprehensive insurance options.

Hostplus, the industry fund for everyone who lives and loves Australian hospitality, tourism, recreation and sport, is a proven performer over both short and long terms.

According to leading independent superannuation analysts, Chant West and SuperRatings, the default Balanced Option was the number one investment choice for the 2016–17 financial year with an impressive 13.2 percent returned to members’ accounts.

The default investment choice, favoured by most of the fund’s members, has also delivered market-leading returns in the long term with chart-topping results over the past one, three, five and seven years as of 30 June 2017*.

Co-founded by the Australian Hotels Association in 1987, Hostplus has grown to be one of the largest super funds in the country.

With more than one million members, over 133,000 employers and more than $25 billion funds under management, the scale and ongoing growth of the fund affords their members high value, competitively priced retirement products to help them get the most out of their working years and all that comes after.

Hostplus is a proud supporter of the hospitality industry serving to raise the profile of the talent found in our ranks through their annual scholarships across key organisations including Melbourne Food and Wine and the International College of Management Sydney. n *Number one Balanced Fund over one year (13.2 percent), three years (9.68 percent p.a.), five years (11.76 percent p.a.) and seven years (9.92 percent p.a.) — SuperRatings Fund Crediting Rate Survey, 2 August 2017.

20 Hospitality October 2017

“The default investment choice, favoured by most of the fund’s members, has also delivered market-leading returns in the long term.”

natural wine

Decanting natural wine Natural wine is causing a divide in the industry, but isn’t there room for diversity?

By Annabelle Cloros

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ove it or hate it, natural wine is well and truly steering the bandwagon.

Despite the fact there’s nothing new about it — it’s how wine was made for thousands of years — the sacred stuff has been resurrected thanks to humankind’s obsession with leading a more ‘organic’ existence.

Hospitality spoke to punk-rocker-turnedwinemaker Taras Ochota from Ochota Barrels and SMH’s 2017 Sommelier of the Year Tim Watkins from Automata about the definition of natural wine, cuisine pairing and how venues can encourage diners to trade in their usual glass of Marlborough sauvignon blanc.

DEFINING THE UNDEFINABLE Categorising natural wine is not an easy task due to the absence of guidelines and regulations. “There is no official classification for natural wine, and that’s been part of the issue with defining it,” says Watkins. “I define it as wines that have been farmed organically and/or biodynamically and produced in a way 22 Hospitality October 2017

that’s minimal or low intervention in terms of farming and the wine-making practice itself.”

For Ochota, taking the organic and biodynamic route from start to finish is the key to creating authentic natural wine. “To me, it is simply farming organically/biodynamically and not adding anything besides a bit of sulfur dioxide at bottling,” he says. “Natural wine festivals around the world generally have a limit of 40ppm and we add about 20ppm.”

FLAVOUR PROFILE From acidity to fizz and funk, natural wine has a fluid range of characteristics. “I find greener phenolics from picking early give the wine more energy and a nervous tension,” says Ochota.

“I love drinks that make your mouth water for more ... compact little bullets of tightly wound flavour drops that pulse your saliva glands.

Some ‘faults’ in balance give a wine gorgeous character and interest. A bit of bretty barnyard and lifted ethyl acetate can be nice, too. But there is nothing nice or complementary about mousiness or sharp acetic characters in wine.”

A cloudy complexion can also be a giveaway of natural wine due to the absence of additives. “A lot of natural wines will be bottled without filtration, so they may be a little cloudy in colour,” says Watkins. But this isn’t always the case, and natural wine often aesthetically presents in the same manner as conventional varieties. “It’s difficult because there are some natural wines that wouldn’t be different from conventional wines people have enjoyed in the past.”

Because of the low-intervention method, there can be variations between bottles, which can be alarming for consumers who have always experienced wine that never falters in consistency. “With low-intervention winemaking, the risk of wines having variation between bottle to bottle is greater,” says Watkins. “With natural wine, I’ll open a bottle and the same wine may taste a little bit different. In one rule of thought, it could be looked at as a fault, whereas for other people, it’s not better or worse — it’s different.”

The flavour profile of natural wine is

natural wine

also subject to alteration due to the lack of preservatives. “The philosophy with a lot of people in the natural wine community is that the wines are alive and will change quite frequently over time,” says Watkins. “With natural wines, this will occur within a year or a short timeframe. It won’t be bad or good, it will just have a different profile over time.”

BAD REPUTATION On the flip side, natural wine doesn’t have the best reputation — especially among ‘purists’ who label it as inauthentic and a trend for millennials. Interestingly, a number of wineries have chosen to dodge the term ‘natural’ due to the high volume of fault-heavy wines. “Romanée-Conti produces some of the most expensive natural wine in the world, but they would never advertise themselves as a winery making natural wine. But effectively, it is,” says Watkins.

Ochota agrees. “There are so many wineries out there doing this, and have done so for years, but have chosen not to jump on the term ‘natural’ because they don’t want to be associated with the shocking examples that have been dumped out in the past few years,” he says. “These wines have now scared off even the more adventurous consumer. People still want to drink wines that are delicious and taste like wine and not the bottom of a mouse cage.”

CONVERTING SKEPTICAL DINERS One way to navigate hesitant diners is to avoid labelling the wine. Many diners have had an unsavoury experience with organic, biodynamic or natural wine and tend to let a bad experience taint future choices. “Natural wine can be divisive and people love it or hate it,” says Watkins. “When I introduce people to wine at Automata, I introduce it as wine — I’ll never use the term ‘natural’. For me, the main thing is to get people feeling relaxed and open-minded.”

Creating a relationship between food and natural wine is another way venues can prompt diners to try something out of the ordinary. “We offer a tasting menu at Automata, so I have an opportunity to do beverage pairing where I can use these drinks throughout and not have to sell them each one,” says Watkins. “I get people saying, ‘When I tried it, it was a bit strange, but when I had it with food, I realised how it works and it was interesting’.”

Understanding and having a conversation with the customer is key to gauging interest and determining how much or how little they need to know before making a beverage choice. “As a sommelier, it’s about reading your customers,” says Watkins. “I try not to overwhelm people with information beforehand as the receptors can close. If I’m giving someone something they’ve never tried before, I want the receptors to be as open as possible because that’s where I have the maximum

“I love drinks that make your mouth water for more ... compact little bullets of tightly wound flavour drops that pulse your saliva glands.” – Taras Ochota

Taras Ochota

October 2017 Hospitality 23

natural wine

chance of them having an enjoyable experience.

So even if it’s just giving someone a taste and a bit of information and then going back and getting some feedback after they’ve tried it.”

CUISINE PAIRING In regard to wine matching, Watkins believes the only limitation is narrowmindedness.

There’s no right or wrong cuisines when it comes to pairing natural wine with food, and a little education goes a long way. Some wines can have a fermented, beer taste, which lends itself well to cuisines with umami profiles.

“At Automata, we have some influence from Korean and Japanese kitchens, so those cemented elements to the food work well with a lot of these wines,” says Watkins.

“Japan has become very excited about natural wine and it works well with their cuisine.

There is a broad range of flavours between white, red and everything in between.”

SELECTING NATURAL WINE There’s no doubt natural wine has been creeping onto menus in recent years, and for venues selecting varieties, the process is no different to the norm. “I would never look any differently for natural wine as conventional wine — I just want wine that works with my menu,” says Watkins. “Sommeliers are excited about the increase in popularity and there’s certainly room for it. The smartest and most Automata

24 Hospitality October 2017

respected sommeliers have integrated it in a way that it’s not saying, ‘This is natural and this isn’t’. They’ve just put them in as different styles and having themselves and good wine teams that are able to sell and promote these wines in a way customers will enjoy.”

STORAGE Just like conventional wine, there are natural wines designed to drink now and those crafted to age. But extra care should be taken to avoid damage to stock. “There are natural wines that last a long time, but because they’ve got fewer additives, you do have to take precautions in terms of keeping things at the right temperature and not moving stock around too much,” says Watkins. Taste can also fluctuate during transportation, and wine tasted in Europe can have a completely different flavour profile by the time it arrives in Australia. “Sometimes, importers will bring in a wine from Europe and they will let it sit in the warehouse for months and taste it until it’s ready.”

In an ideal world, all wine would be treated equally. And in reality, there’s room on a wine list for a few ‘unconventional’ varieties. Thanks to a surge in popularity and attention, natural winemakers are growing by the number and it’s only a matter of time before natural wine will be on the radar of the average consumer.

So it makes good business sense to at least give it a red hot go. n

“The philosophy with a lot of people in the natural wine community is that the wines are alive and will change quite frequently over time.”

– Tim Watkins Tim Watkins

mexican

Regional matters Mexican is one of the most common cuisines yet one of the most misunderstood, but Australian chefs shouldn’t be afraid to tackle the regionally diverse eats. By Madeline Woolway.

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rom the Yucatan peninsula to Baja California, each region of Mexico has a canon of dishes unique to specific areas. Even within regions, there are variations from town to town, with local produce and traditions resulting in different riffs on different dishes — so much so it’s impossible to say precisely how many cuisines are cooked throughout Mexico.

But in Australia, the conversation often boils down to a simple argument about the origins of burritos (they might be associated with TexMex fast casual outlets, but they’re common throughout northern Mexico, too).

That is beginning to change though, with a crop of Mexican restaurants including Mejico embracing regionalism. And, in a rare coup, the kitchen of the soon-to-open Chula will be headed up by a chef from Mexico City. The new venue is a sibling to Barrio Cellar and will offer a refined dining experience rooted by Mexican traditions.

Venues like Guzman y Gomez are also making an effort to offer a respectful take on Mexican food, with the fast casual giant bringing chef Cindy Flores on board to lead menu innovation.

“I don’t even think Mexicans have a clear understanding of what Mexican is. I’ve heard it all since I arrived here,” says Flores, alluding to the number of times she’s been told burritos aren’t ‘real’ Mexican.

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Chef Cindy Flores

“There are things that can be Mexican for someone in the south and not in the north.

Just because they aren’t sold in your postcode doesn’t mean it’s not Mexican.”

Complicating things further is the history of colonisation and trade, which has seen Mexican cuisine adopt techniques and

ingredients from other countries, eventually incorporating them into traditional cooking.

“There are the ancient traditions of the Mayan, the Olmecan and the Aztecs, which are the base of our cuisine,” says Flores. “Then, after the Spanish conquered Mexico, there was a fusion of European ingredients. Plus, there

mexican

was a boat that came from China to exchange products, which is why a lot of Mexican flavours are similar to Chinese cuisine.”

Broadly, Flores says Mexican cuisine can be divided into three areas: the north, which is more influenced by the US; the central coast, which is distinguished by the availability of seafood and the southern parts around the Gulf of Mexico, which have retained a heavily Hispanic identity and remains most influenced by ancient cuisines.

“In the south part, they still use lots of ancient techniques including cooking things under the ground or cooking soups with volcanic hot stones,” says Flores. “In the north, we cook things more on top of the ground over wood fire.”

While people are concerned their local cuisines are being distorted, Flores — who hails from the tequila-producing state of Jalisco — thinks there are a lot of things that won’t change, regardless of time.

“With everyone mixing foods and gastronomy, I think extremely traditional lines have been crossed, not just in Mexican but in general,” she tells Hospitality.

“If my Grandma used pork lard to deep fry tortillas to make sopes, then we’ll keep doing that generation after generation.

“We also have a peculiar way to ‘Mexicanise’ everything we do. When I worked in Asian restaurants in Mexico, we would find a way to add Mexican flavours no matter what.

“If we were making sushi, we would add chipotle or melted cream cheese. We would top fried rice with avocado. We base the cuisine on the land it comes from, but add our Mexican touch.”

This attitude, albeit in reverse, is similar to the one that drives the kitchen team at Sydney’s Mejico restaurant.

“Although the restaurant is called Mejico, which would lead you to believe the food is authentic Mexican, it’s not,” says Richard Prout, food and beverage operations manager at Sam Prince Hospitality.

A selection of dishes from Mejico

Mejico tacos

Mejico’s tableside guacamole

“We are in Australia, yes, but if you’re going to make money with my country, you better do it with a little respect.”

— Cindy Flores

October 2017 Hospitality 27

mexican

“We take inspiration from those places but use the ingredients and produce we have access to here to make it our own.”

MEXICAN IN AUSTRALIA Acknowledging that they can’t replicate truly authentic Mexican food is one of the ways Mejico’s staff show respect for the cuisine.

“When you put a taco in your mouth in Mexico City, the flavour is amazing, and I’ve not been anywhere yet that can replicate that flavour,” says Prout.

“I think we can only try to showcase that food as best we can but never claim to be authentic — it’s always about inspiration.”

For Prout, a taco in Mexico will always taste unique because of variables like the water used to make tortillas or even the terroir of the produce.

“The problem is people will often put something in a tortilla and call it a taco without understanding the complexities that create a perfect taco, whether it’s the acidity, the heat, the sweetness or a combination of them and how they’re layered,” he says.

Chef Cindy’s top tips While Flores encourages Australian chefs to explore their own interpretations of Mexican cuisine, she does have a few hard and fast rules.

• Don’t use too much cumin — Mexican cuisine only uses cumin lightly and in balance with other herbs and spices.

• Don’t use too many ingredients or overcomplicate things — you should be able to close the edges of the tortilla when making tacos.

• Don’t use hard taco shells, sour cream in excess or yellow cheese — unless you’re trying to make Tex-Mex. • Be brave in the utilisation of ingredients — but respect them.

• Get adventurous cooking — don’t just buy what the market says is Mexican, do some research.

“There are things that can be Mexican for someone in the south and not in the north. Just because they aren’t sold in your postcode, doesn’t mean it’s not Mexican.” — Cindy Flores Recreating Mexican cuisine in Australia is less about mimicking and more about paying homage, but when it comes to ingredients, there are a few key must-haves.

“The range of chillies available in Mexico is phenomenal,” says Prout. “The chillies transport well because they’re dry, which means they also keep a little longer.

“We have an incredible fresh selection from habanero, serrano and jalapeño to dried ones like chipotle, with that beautiful smokiness.

Guajillo is also smoky but can be sweet.

Pasilla has the texture of leather and the smell of raisons or plums with an amazing depth of flavour.”

While produce in Australia may never provide a carbon-copy of Mexican crops, the past few years have seen a rise in the availability of ingredients from the Central American nation.

“In Australia, you can find pretty much anything if you’re persistent enough,” says Flores. “When I arrived six years ago, it was a bit hard to find things like fresh poblano chillies and fresh tomatillos — which have a very specific taste — but now there 28 Hospitality October 2017

are people growing them in Queensland.

“There are also a couple of suppliers that make corn tortillas using ancient techniques — a couple in Melbourne and one in Sydney.

They were one of the first things I had to find. You have to have good tortillas, although properly made corn tortillas are an acquired taste for Australians.”

STRENGTHENING TIES Some Mexican flavours — such as corn tortillas — might be unfamiliar to Australian palates, but Flores has found diners here to be adventurous.

“Australians are very open to try things — there isn’t this square idea like they have in Northern America about what Mexican food is,” she says.

“Here you can experiment with ingredients and there are no limitations. The more people that travel to Mexico, the more Mexican cuisine will grow here.”

The exposure that comes with time spent in-country is especially worthwhile for those working in Mexican venues.

“Unless they’re from the country, you’re

Flores at a market in Mexico

rarely going to get a team of chefs that are truly trained in Mexican cuisine,” says Prout.

“If we can find chefs that are truly passionate and curious, then we can show them what we know. Sometimes having people from different backgrounds allows us to be more innovative.

“If you have the opportunity to send your chefs over, like we’ve been very fortunate to do, it’s an invaluable thing.”

Prout encourages chefs to immerse themselves in the cuisines they’re cooking, whether they can make the journey to the country of origin or not.

“We’ve had chefs join us with the assumption that chilli is just hot and you should use it very sparingly unless you want to pack a punch.

“We want them to understand how Mexican techniques can change the flavour and heat of chilli. I guess I’d say go forth and play, but do it with respect.”

The fast casual sector might be maligned with venues that are inauthentic, but for Flores, working in food innovation at Guzman y Gomez has provided an avenue to reach more people.

“We’re still in that battle in general of what Mexican should be and what it is. Everyone has an opinion,” says Flores.

“I’m loving it because I get to know a lot of people that have the capabilities and possibilities to make things happen.

“I get to develop the recipes and the culture; I get to help keep our roots in Mexico.

“We are in Australia, yes, but if you’re going to make money with my country, you better do it with a little respect — so Australians can eat better Mexican.” n

Contact your local supplier by calling 1800 500 362 info@sandhurstfinefoods.com.au

www.sandhurstfinefoods.com.au

sandhurstfinefoodsau

stocks and sauces

Barzaari

Taking stock

Dishes from Frenchies Bistro & Brewery

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as a base for so many dishes and we want to ensure they are authentic every time to maximise flavour."

For Poncet-Gonzales, traditonal processes aren’t just important for quality control — they’re a defining factor.

“All these sauces [including béarnaise and hollandaise] are made the same way and you add different things to change them,” she says. “If you put thyme in, it’s a béarnaise, if you put citrus in, it’s a hollandaise. If you make a béchamel and don’t use a flour roux, then it’s not béchamel.”

To illustrate, Poncet-Gonzales points to some classic French sauces on the Song Kitchen menu. One of her favourites is the anchoïade.

“Anchoïade is basically anchovies broken down with garlic, eschalot and thyme. Some people will add basil as well, but I prefer not to,” she says.

Another classic is the Spring Bay mussels.

“With the sauce I make for the mussels, it’s

okay to personalise it as long as you have the base ingredients, which are garlic, thyme, bay leaf and rosemary,” says Poncet-Gonzales.

“Some people put tomato sauce in it as well; I add andouille.”

Given the specificity of both recipe and method, training new chefs in classic French techniques is a must.

“Some sauces such as vinaigrette and hollandaise are very easy to prepare and do not require a lot of time. Demi-glace, however, requires a lot of time — minimum two days — and a good chef,” says Roianov.

“I’ve noticed more recently that new chefs are often skipping some steps in the preparation of classic sauces, which can bring poor taste to the dishes.”

“Some of them take a long time to perfect,” adds Poncet-Gonzales. “It’s important chefs understand the process behind how they’re made. It can come down to hand movements.

ALANA DIMOU

ALANA DIMOU

hile kitchens have modernised exponentially since the time of Carême or even Escoffier, the essential stocks and sauces of French cuisine have remained mostly unchanged.

“It’s good for people to add a personal touch, but I don’t think those traditional recipes should be modified too much,” says Charlotte PoncetGonzales, head chef at Sydney's Song Kitchen.

At Terindah Estate in Victoria, executive chef Ivan Roianov also uses traditional methods to make a range of French sauces.

“They’re the basis of many of our dishes,” says Roianov. “Chicken, fish and vegetable stocks are our staples. Demi-glace is used as a base for lots of sauces, too, as well as mayonnaise, vinaigrette, hollandaise, béchamel and chicken velouté.

“We use traditional methods to make our sauces and stocks because we use them

ALANA DIMOU

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Auguste Escoffier codified just five French mother sauces, but there are many more to be discovered, writes Madeline Woolway.

stocks and sauces

Cooking them is like chemistry: it can also depend on the temperature of the pan and the liquid. You need to do it again and again.”

THE NEW CLASSIC While tradition is still very much alive, some chefs have adapted their methods and the ingredients they use. ”The stocks we make form the base for all our sauces; you can make all the famous sauces, including beurre blanc, by emulsifying with butter and then adding whatever aromatics you want,” says Thomas Cauquil, co-owner and head chef at Frenchies Bistro & Brewery in Sydney’s Rosebery.

Co-owner and chef at Barzaari in Sydney Darryl Martin also takes liberties, using traditional French methods to make stocks and sauces before adding unconventional ingredients to suit the Middle Eastern menu. ”Generally, a lot of our sauces are made using a veal stock, which we turn into a demiglace,” he says. “Then we derive other sauces from that. At Barzaari we’re using French foundations and working from those bases to create a range of sauces.

“We make a jus gras, for example, but I add date molasses for a Middle Eastern touch.”

Having trained in French restaurants, Martin found himself automatically turning to classic theory.

“French stocks and sauces are very solid; they transfer well across cuisines,” says Martin.

“You can take them in any direction. A lot of the sauces here are grounded in French theory and customised using Cypriot or Middle Eastern products.”

Cauquil and Martin stress the importance of time when it comes to maintaining the quality of French-style stocks and sauces, with both saying patience is key.

“There are a lot of new techniques that will allow you to speed things up, but you need to be patient, respect the products you’re working with and pay attention to detail,” says Martin.

Time is important, says Cauquil, because he prefers to reduce his sauces rather than thickening with roux where possible.

“We try not work with flour anymore,” he says. "With béchamel, you need some flour to thicken it, but generally I would rather reduce than add flour to sauces because I think you get a better texture that way.

“It’s not harder to make sauces without roux, but it does take more time. You have to balance the ingredients in the sauce with the

Barzaari

amount of liquid you add and then reduce the sauce to the point where it emulsifies by itself.

“You also need to caramelise bones before making a jus. If you don’t, there won’t be a Maillard reaction, so your jus won’t taste as powerful and it won’t emulsify properly.

“Everybody has their own way. We ask our chefs what they’ve learned and what they think. It’s more a discussion than training. I’ll take what they’ve learned that’s good and tell them what I’d prefer — like not using roux.”

From traditional to progressive, French stocks and sauces remain an indispensable part of a chef’s arsenal. n

October 2017 Hospitality 31

shelf space

Point of difference

Champagne taste

Laurent-Perrier has launched La Cuvée as the new house style.

Blended with 50–55 percent chardonnay, nearly double the average in Champagne, La Cuvée is created with the purest grape juice. The higher percentage of chardonnay reveals a nose with hints of fresh citrus and white flowers. Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée is available through selected independent wine stores and restaurants nationally. laurent-perrier.net.au

High fryer

HP Inc has released HP ElitePOS, an all-in-one point-of-sale system. The ElitePOS features a modular design that can be used for interactive signage, employee attendance and self-service applications. The display can be separated from the input/output base for maximum placement versatility, ensuring a clutter-free countertop. Restaurants are often harsh environments which can damage or destroy technology, which is why the ElitePOS is designed to pass MIL-STD tests, deter minor spills by channelling liquid out of the device and provide efficient cooling with side venting for improved reliability.

8.hp.com/au

Formula 40 has always been the preferred oil brand for chefs who celebrate quality and success. For more than four years, Formula 40 has been the only deep-frying oil used by William Angliss Institute. Formula 40 has a thicker, cloudy, robust base, guaranteeing a long fry life and superior drain-off, while its neutral taste ensures natural food flavour is retained. It makes sense to entrust your reputation to a reliable, quality frying oil as Formula 40.

Make it your choice and don’t risk using inferior oils. peerlessfoods.com.au

Tickled pink

Back by popular demand, Bass & Flinders Distillery have officially released Cerise Gin. Cerise features subtle hibiscus and orange blossom aromas blended with cherry and raspberry flavours, which is where the pink colourway comes from. Cerise Gin has been made in small batches to yield the best-quality spirit that celebrates ingredients from local farms on Red Hill. Available from the cellar door and website for a limited time. bassandflindersdistillery.com

Turkey time

Ingham’s turkey products include a wide range of fresh and frozen turkeys and oven-roasted or smoked small goods. With delicious options such as Sweet Herb and Mustard turkey half-breast roast, all the hard work has already been done. Ingham’s premium-quality whole turkeys come in a handy spectrum of sizes from 3–11kg together with a broad selection of ready to roast and turkey buffe products. All Ingham’s turkey products for foodservice have been created with an emphasis on taste, variety and flexibility to provide you with the best choice of turkey products in Australia. inghams.com.au 32

Hospitality October 2017

Say goodbye to minimum spends

MasterCard and a number of Australia’s banks and payment providers have come together to help Australian businesses give their customers choice. Zero Minimum is a commitment from businesses that allows customers to pay the way they want without restrictions. Research shows businesses are losing up to 40 percent of potential business by imposing minimum spend restrictions. The campaign has been running since early 2016 and participating businesses are seeing a jump in their business as they scrap minimum spends. no-minimums.com.au

For the diary Upcoming events in the hospitality industry. Find out more at hospitalitymagazine.com.au Hunter Valley Uncorked Balmoral

in the industry. The event will be held at the Former Transport Depot from 11am till 6pm. foodservice.org.au

8 October The Hunter Valley’s best will make their way to Sydney’s Balmoral to showcase the region’s food and wine. Visitors can sample wine throughout the day from the likes of Allandale Winery, Colvin Wines, Margan Family Wines and Pepper Tree Wines.

Restaurants and producers include Bar Coco Pty Ltd., The Deck Café Lovedale, The Cellar Restaurant, RidgeView Restaurant, Muse Restaurant, Hunter Valley Cheese Company and Pukara Estate. winecountry.com.au

Sydney Wine Festival

Canberra Foodservice Tradeshow 10 October The Canberra Tradeshow will see Australian food manufacturers exhibit for one day only.

The event is free to foodservice industry personnel and offers visitors the opportunity to experience a variety of quality products and brands as well as the chance to talk to experts

14–15 October Some of New South Wales’ best winemakers will be on show at the Sydney Wine Festival, with 60 wineries presenting 350 wines from around the state. The festival, held at Rosehill Racecourse, will give Sydneysiders the opportunity to sample wines from 14 different regions including Mudgee, the Hunter Valley, the Southern Highlands and New England. A gourmet cheese corner and 15 food stalls will also be on-site to complete the wine offering. sydneywinefestival.com

Orange Wine Festival 13–22 October The Orange Wine Festival is the region’s opportunity to celebrate the thriving wine industry and high-quality cool climate

wines produced in the region. The program features more than 90 events including the Orange Wine Show Tasting, Wine in the Vines, the Vino Express and the Festival Night Market. The festival will also showcase a range of events run by Orange’s producers and restaurateurs. brandorange.com.au

Brew & the Moo 11 November After a sell-out event in 2016, Brew & the Moo is back on Saturday 11 November. The Pilbara’s premier beef and beer festival will be based in Dampier, a seaside suburb that features beach-front views. Brew & the Moo will work closely with chefs to create mouthwatering beef menus that pair perfectly with a variety of beers. This year, local vendors will showcase innovative dishes and promote locally sourced produce. brewandthemoo.com.au

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October 2017 Hospitality

33

5 minutes with...

Dany Karam,

BLACK Bar & Grill at The Star Sydney Executive chef Dany Karam has a global approach to food, but nothing beats seasonal produce and a pared-back ethos.

M

y culinary journey began in my home country Lebanon where I worked at Le Centrale in Beirut as a chef de partie.

I then moved to Nice, France, where I expanded my knowledge and technical skills at the renowned Michelin-starred restaurant Particulier. I moved to Australia in 2009, where I joined The Star working at Astral restaurant before being offered the opportunity to work under Teage Ezard at BLACK Bar & Grill. Following Teage’s departure, I took the role of executive chef at BLACK. My Lebanese heritage plays a significant role in my food philosophy.

As a child growing up in a small village, we harvested fresh produce from the land. My mother created traditional meals, prepared preserves, sauces and dried herbs in anticipation of winter. My philosophy is

34 Hospitality October 2017

simple: I aspire to create dishes using locally sourced produce from farm to table.

My biggest challenge at BLACK is also the best thing about working at BLACK — our fierce commitment to seasonality. There is also some pressure attached to our location at The Star as so many of our guests have travelled far and wide. However, we’re lucky enough to have access to Australia’s most spectacular produce which you can’t taste anywhere else in the world, and I relish the opportunity to share this with our local and international diners.

The provenance of food is extremely important when sourcing produce. The natural environment, including the soil and climate, contributes to its characteristics.

Where and how the produce is grown will determine how the product will taste.

The menu at BLACK changes with the seasons, so we always aim to serve Australian produce at its peak. The menu

is completely dependent on the best local produce available at the time. We have made some significant changes to the menu at BLACK by switching our cooking methodology to utilise various types of natural wood and charcoal. We have introduced a charcoal oven and rotisserie to our kitchen, enabling us to enhance the flavours of the food we serve.

We have a distinct smoking technique unique to BLACK. We lightly smoke the meat to infuse the sweet, delicate flavour of cherry wood ash before grilling over high heat using Australian ironbark.

When it comes to fuels for grilling, nothing beats wood. Cooking over a wood fire brings out the primal caveman in all of us.

The flickering flames are as fascinating and soothing to stare at as the delicate smoke flavour is to taste, and the aroma is unlike any other. n

You’ll love our Christmas Turkey Range The Ingham’s Foodservice turkey range includes products ideal for seasonal celebrations from Christmas cocktails to full-on festive feasts. From raw whole turkeys, turkey tenderloins and bone-in and de-boned raw turkey buffes to ready-to-serve smoked turkey, turkey half breast and turkey breast roll, you’ll find all you need in the extensive Ingham’s range.

For turkey tips and delicious Christmas recipe solutions visit www.inghams.com.au/foodservice When it comes to turkey at Christmas… Ingham’s has the answer.

Why not talk to us about your washroom needs today.

1300 832 883 info@solarispaper.com.au