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The skills shortage

Staffing solutions

TempTing TreaT Sara Lee’s Danish pastries

Waste not, want notReducing food waste

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www.openhousemagazine.net Open House, April 2013 3

CON

TEN

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Industry news ........................................04

Cover story – Sara Lee Danish pastries ................06

Profile – Rhys Badcock ........................08

Q&A – Angie Schiavone .......................10

Origins of eggplant ...............................12

Consultant chef .....................................12

Sustainability.........................................14

Dairy .....................................................16

Grow it Local ........................................18

Skills shortage .......................................20

Training .................................................22

Global Pizza Challenge .........................24

Cooking the books ................................26

Products.................................................28

Culinary clippings .................................30Grow it Local.

18

Open HOUSe neWS

There’s been

a lot of controversy about employers looking overseas for skilled

workers since the Government announced in February that there would be changes to the 457 visa program to ensure that employers are “not nominating positions where a genuine shortage does not exist”.

Interestingly, the highest growth in occupations for which the visa has been sought has been for cooks, with a 46 per cent increase since last June, according to data released by Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor.

There’s no doubt there is a shortage of skilled chefs in Australia, but is employing workers from overseas the answer? Should we instead be trying to improve retention rates amongst apprentices, and older chefs for whom the work-life balance becomes a struggle?

When we started looking into the issue for this month’s “Coming up short” article (page 20), we found that there are a number of different ways people are tackling the problem, with mixed results. Why don’t you check it out and let us know what you think?

Ylla Wright Managing Editor

@ohfoodservice

Editor’s word

A mentoring program for female apprentice chefs is continuing to support young women entering the

industry. The Sydney-based Tasting Success program had its 2013 launch last month, with nine women paired with high profile mentors.

Lyndey Milan (pictured, with Tasting Success participants), co-founder and patron of the program, said the most rewarding thing about Tasting Success “is the transformation and growth in confidence in our girls between their first interview and graduation”.

Amongst the young chefs participating in the program is Tina Nguyen, who is currently completing an apprenticeship at Doyle’s at Circular Quay. Paired with Kylie Kwong from Billy Kwong, Nguyen said she felt a little starstruck at the calibre of the chefs taking part.

Participants will receive 35 hours of mentoring before graduating in August 2013.

Other notable chefs taking part include Martin Boetz (Longrain), Sean Moran (Sean’s Panoroma), and Lauren Murdoch (Three Weeds).

Penalty rate push failsAn employer led push to slash penalty rates for people working in the hospitality and retail sectors has failed, with the Fair Work Commission saying in its report that “there is a significant ‘evidentiary gap’ in the cases put”.

Employers had pushed to remove weekend penalties for the fast food industry, where workers are paid 25 per cent penalties on Saturdays and 50 per cent penalties on Sunday, with some saying the cost burden was threatening the viability of some foodservice operators.

However, the full bench of the Commission stated that “there is no reliable evidence regarding the impact of the differing Sunday (or other) penalties when applied upon actual employer behaviour and practice”.

“While aspects of the applications before us are not without merit – particularly the proposals to reassess the Sunday penalty rate in light of the level applying on Saturdays – the evidentiary case in support of the claims was, at best, limited,” the full bench said.

Tasting success is sweet

4 Open House, April 2013 www.openhousemagazine.net

neWS

Karaca new chocolate champ

Australian pastry chef Deniz Karaca, who works with Epicure Group in Melbourne, has won

the 2013 World Chocolate Masters Asia Pacific Selection competition in Taipei, beating Lei Fu Veng from Macau for the honour.

Both chefs won a trip to Paris to compete in the World Finals in October, where they will be joined by Akihiro Kakimoto, winner of the Japan World Chocolate Master 2012, who will also represent the Asia-Pacific region in the world finals.

Karaca impressed the jury with his showpiece, which they said captured the essence of the competition’s theme, “Architecture of Taste”.

“Deniz has the best presentation among the contestants with well expressed and designed in relation to the theme of this competition,” said jury president, Jean Marc Bernelin, technical advisor, Barry Callebaut Services Asia Pacific.

Karaca said that he interpreted the theme to mean “the connection of different senses, textures, smells and visual impressions that come together to form what we experience as taste”.

“Taste can be influenced by the way we put a creation together just as much as by the ingredients we use in it,” he told the judges. “Whether it is the spiciness in the chilly,

sweetness of the vanilla bean or even the tannins in a good red wine, in a well-balanced meal, sensations like these and many more will come together to form our very own architecture of taste, leaving us as chefs to be the engineers.”

The World Chocolate Masters is an initiaive of leading gourmet chocolate brands Callebaut, Cacao Barry and Carma.

Aussie restaurants make top 100Three Australian restaurants have made the list of the world’s best restaurants compiled by US-based Elite Traveler Magazine.

Topping the Australian entrants to the list was New South Wales’ Marque restaurant in 42nd place, followed by Melbourne’s Vue de Monde in 55th place and Sydney’s Tetsuya’s in 56th place.

Australian ex-pat chef Brett Graham, head chef of The Ledbury in London, was awarded 10th place on the list.

“I hope it’s a reflection of how we look after our customers and also the quality of our product,” said Graham. “We have a great, energetic young team who love what they do and I think that passion comes through.”

Italy’s Nadia Santini named world’s best female chefNadia Santini (pictured below), head chef at Dal Pescatore in Mantova, Italy, has been named the 2013 Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef, part of the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

The Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef award celebrates the work of an exceptional female chef whose cooking excites the toughest of critics of the world, 936 of whom voted in this category. The award is inspired by the life and achievements of Madame Clicquot, with the winner reflecting her attributes of innovation, creativity and determination.

“Madame Clicquot was a woman who two centuries ago revolutionised Champagne, with her

extraordinary stamina, her thirst for innovation and her quest for ultimate quality,” said Aymeric Sancerre, Veuve Clicquot’s director of international communications. “Nadia Santini represents exactly these values in gastronomy today and I am proud that our name and rich history is associated to such a wonderful personality.”

Previous winners include Elena Arzak, of renowned San Sebastian restaurant Arzak and Anne-Sophie Pic, of Maison Pic in Valence, France.

In the past 10 years, Dal Pescatore has appeared eight times on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Salmon producer ups sustainability credentialsNew Zealand King Salmon’s has been confirmed as a sustainable salmon producer, achieving the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.

The certification covers all of New Zealand King Salmon’s current operations – five sites and three production facilities in Marlborough and Nelson. Four new sites which are set come on line following the recent Environmental Protection Authority hearings will be audited as they do.

Certification examines farm compliance issues such as community property rights and relations, worker relations, the environment, fish management and welfare, wildlife interactions and supply storage and disposal. On the production side, it addresses management practices such as quality and staff, environment and food safety and verification and traceability.

NZ King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne says the BAP certification confirms the company is doing what it says it has been doing.

“Given the high standards we set ourselves compliance was achievable without a great deal of change to our current processes and procedures,” he said.

Audits will continue to be carried out annually.

Mad Mex introduces RSPCA-approved chicken Mexican food chain Mad Mex will introduce RSPCA-approved higher welfare chicken as standard in their NSW and ACT restaurants as part of their BiteMark commitment to healthy and responsible choices.

Chicken is the most popular meat at Mad Mex and accounts for almost two million of their meals each year.

With fewer than two per cent of Australian chickens raised to RSPCA standards there is not currently enough RSPCA-approved chicken to roll out nationally, according to Mad Mex founder Clovis Young, however by working directly with farmers who are converting their production to

Deniz Karaca's winning chocolate showpiece.


For even more industry news, in-depth reports and new product information, or to sign up for Open House weekly email newsletter, visit www.openhousemagazine.net. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@ohfoodservice). Or download the free Open House iPad app, packed with additional, exclusive content and updated monthly, from the iTunes app store.

Want more industry news?

the RSPCA standards, the chain expects to be able to serve higher welfare chicken in all stores nationally by the end of the year.

ACCC targets second duck producer The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Luv-a-Duck alleging false, misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to the promotion and supply of its duck meat products using statements implying the ducks were “range reared”.

The ACCC alleges that the duck meat products sold or offered for sale by Luv-a-Duck were in fact processed from ducks that did not have substantial access to the outdoors, or access to spacious outdoor conditions.

“Consumers must be able to trust that what is on the label is true and accurate,” ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said. “Businesses need to make sure they are not misleading consumers into paying a premium for products that don’t match the claims made on the label.”

In December 2012 Pepe’s Ducks were fined $400,000 in a similar case.

Restaurant operator fined for underpaying staffA former Canberra restaurateur has been fined $16,170 after using individual contracts to try to avoid paying award wages and entitlements to staff, resulting in underpayments of more than $50,000.

Damien Micah Trytell, who formerly operated the Mecca Bah restaurant at Manuka, in Canberra, was fined after admitting underpaying 26 employees a total of $50,996.

Federal Magistrate Warwick Neville ordered that the fine go towards rectifying the underpayments of the employees, who have not received any back-pay.

The penalty was imposed as a result of a prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The 26 employees, including 11 aged between 18 and 20 at the time, were underpaid between May and December 2009. Most worked as kitchen staff and waiters on a full-time, part-time or casual basis. Under the terms of the invalid, unlawful individual contracts, the restaurant employees were paid flat hourly rates ranging from $15.93 to $19.23.

This resulted in underpayment of employees’ penalty rates for night, overtime, weekend and public holiday work, for which they were entitled

to receive up to $38 an hour. Some were also underpaid casual loadings and annual leave pay.

Fair Work Ombudsman, Nicholas Wilson, said the Court’s decision sends a message that carelessly underpaying employees’ entitlements, particularly to young staff, is a particularly serious matter.

“Young workers can be vulnerable because they are often not fully aware of their workplace rights and can be reluctant to complain, so we will not hesitate to take action to protect them,” he said.

Moreau amongst world’s best Merivale’s MS group sommelier; Franck Moreau, has taken out seventh place in the final of the Best Sommelier of the World Competition, held last month in Tokyo.

The prestigious competition, described as “The Sommelier Olympics”, saw 60 of the best sommeliers from across Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific complete a range of challenging timed events testing their sommelier skills including blind tasting, written and oral examinations. The semi-final was conducted in front of a live audience, heightening the pressure for each candidate.

Moreau was selected to participate in the contest after being crowded the “2012 Best Sommelier of Asia-Oceania” at the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale contest held in South Korea last year. It is the second time Franck has competed in The Best Sommelier of the World competition; he also represented Australia in Santiago, Chile, in April 2010 where he finished in the top 12.

Moreau was recognised as a Master Sommelier in 2011, the highest internationally recognised title for his profession and one held by only 192 people in the world.

PorkFest on again Australian Pork Limited has once again declared April “Australian PorkFest”, a month-long initiative that encourages chefs to celebrate of the versatility and appeal of pork.

April is the time when pork is at its most plentiful, at its peak quality and it’s most economical. To make the most of this bounty, chefs in venues across the country will be showcasing their best pork dishes, together with more than 1000 butchers and supermarkets showcasing pork.

A long-term supporter of the event, pub group Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH),

said their hotels dished up an estimated 30,000 pork cutlet specials to its clientele during last year’s Pork Fest. They are expecting this year’s event to be even bigger.

“ALH will continue to offer pork dishes on our menus and encourage chefs and customers to enjoy the versatility and fantastic value of Australian pork in our venues,” says ALH’s food support manager Michael Kratz.

This year the group will be showcasing Barker’s Creek premium pork cutlets throughout April. Barker’s Creek premium pork is selected from prime cuts of quality grain fed Australian pork, is guaranteed to be moist, and has been specifically developed for the foodservice, catering and wholesale markets. Each state will have menu variation featuring the cutlet that best suit their customers’ tastes. Victoria’s showcase dish will be Barker’s Creek Pork King Rib Cutlet on seeded mustard mash with grilled scallops and roasted vegetable medley. OH

Dilmah’s ‘tea gastronomy’ comp open for entriesEntries are now open for Dilmah’s “Real High Tea Challenge”, which asks foodservice professionals to create an innovative yet harmonious high tea experience using Dilmah tea.

The winner will receive all-expenses paid trip to Sri Lanka, and the chance to compete in the Dilmah Real High Tea Global Challenge.

The judges will award marks based on an understanding of the high tea tradition, as well as demonstrating of different brewing techniques, creative use of tea as a core ingredient, and outstanding presentation and service.

Visit www.realhightea.dilmahtea.com for more information.

Last year's Real High Tea Challenge winners enjoy high tea in Sri Lanka.


cOver STOry

Traditional treatWith traditional, flaky pastry and real fruit filling, Sara Lee’s fully baked Danish pastries are a great way to tempt customers without the fuss of in-house baking.

Nothing captures the essence of a Continental breakfast more than the sight of a perfectly

baked Danish pastry. As with many of the best things in life, the ubiquitous Danish pastry came about by accident rather than design. A strike by Danish bakers in 1850 forced bakery owners to hire foreign workers, including Austrian bakers who, unfamiliar with Danish baking recipes, used their traditional ones instead. The resulting pastries, which were a hit with the locals, were modified later by Danish bakers, and the Danish was born.

Now a staple across the globe, the Danish pastry has cemented itself as a must have item on a

breakfast menu, whether it is for sit-down or takeaway. And thanks to the team of expert bakers at Sara Lee, foodservice operators of all sizes can now offer Danish pastries to their customers without the hassle of making them themselves.

Sara Lee’s Danish pastry range is fully baked before being snap frozen, locking in that “just baked” freshness. Each baking tray is then flow wrapped for convenience. Simply thaw and serve, and be guaranteed a consistently great tasting product every time.

Featuring traditional flaky pastry with a generous real fruit filling, Sara Lee has introduced two new flavours, apple and berry, to its range of Danish pastries. The new Apple Danish is made with real apples and a touch of cinnamon, while the new Berry Danish features real blueberries.

Made from scratch, Sara Lee always sources the best ingredients for its Danish pastries, including Australian butter and flour, and the best seasonal fruits available. Sara Lee’s chefs prepare dough the traditional way to form up to 96 layers of delicate and flaky pastry, and rest the dough before baking to achieve that authentic light buttery flavour.

Too good to keep just for the breakfast menu, Sara Lee’s Danish pastries are the perfect accompaniment for a morning buffet or an afternoon snack. Baked to perfection, glazed and ready to serve, Sara Lee’s Danish pastry range can be trusted to keep customers coming back for more. OH


Winner’s luckMasterChef: The Professionals may not have blitzed the television ratings, but for the contestants involved it was potentially a life-changing event. Ylla Wright speaks with winner Rhys Badcock.

prOfile

If reality television sometimes seems a little unreal, thanks to

combative casting, manufactured scenarios and judicious editing, it must have seemed a little surreal to chefs Rhys Badcock, Sarah Knights and Rhett Willis, the three finalists in this year’s MasterChef: The Professionals competition. With Channel Ten no doubt fearing that the winner’s name would be leaked to the media ahead of the finale’s screening, the trio filmed three alternate endings, with each one of them being announced the winner. Looking thrilled, as their fellow competitors looked on, they hefted the trophy aloft and posed for photos with the competition’s judges, food critic Matt Preston and UK chef Marco Pierre White.

In fact, the finalists didn’t find out who’d won until a full two months after filming the alternative endings when the finale, culminating in Badcock being announced the triumphant winner, finally hit television screens.

After two months of the “torture” of

not knowing, Badcock struggles to find words to describe the sensation of finally learning the judges’ verdict. “It’s a bit odd,” he says.

And possibly a little anti-climactic, after all that waiting.

“I had a glass of champagne in my room and watched

the episode with the other two finalists, and then went to bed,” he says, speaking to Open House less than 24 hours after learning he’d won the competition.

It’s not all bad though; when he gets used to the idea of being

Australia’s first Professional MasterChef, he’ll have the happy dilemma of deciding how to spend the $200,000 cash prize, and planning the round-the-world trip that will see him work in some of the world’s best kitchens. Not ever having imagined that he would win the competition, he hasn’t given either idea much thought yet.

About to start a season as head chef of luxury tourist vessel Kimberley Quest, based in Broome in Western Australia, Badcock admits he’s stunned by his win, which saw him score 50 points out of a possible 70 over three rounds: an “invention test” set by renowned chef David Chang from Sydney three-hat restaurant Momofuku Seibo, often described as the re-inventor of Asian American cuisine; a “pressure test” which involved recreating White’s deceptively simple looking leak and lobster terrine; and a “restaurant service challenge” cooking a three-course menu for 120 of Victoria’s top chefs. Willis and Knights tied for second place with 48 points each.

After struggling in the first round, where he had to cook with miso, an ingredient he’d never used before, Badcock turned in a near perfect version of White’s terrine even though he didn’t bother to read the recipe. In the final round his leadership skills saw him keep the lead.

“Not in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to be able to win against Rhett and Sarah,” he says. “I thought I was going to come third for sure. As far as I’m concerned Sarah was by far the most talented chef in the whole competition but I think it just came down to consistency on the day in the end.”

A solid performer from day one, Badcock says he was both helped and hindered in the competition by his much remarked upon laid-back personality. While taking his no-stress “attitude from outside into the competition” allowed him to deal with the pressure the contestants found themselves under, he often didn’t push himself hard enough to avoid being short of time when it came time to plate his dishes. “I had a few shockers there,” he admits.

With challenges ranging from creating a tasty, tempting dish from a tray of kitchen scraps including fish heads, ripe bananas, chicken skin and vegetable peelings, to creating a Moroccan-Mexican fusion, all of which needed to be created within a set period of time and under the watchful eye of the judges and all-seeing cameras, working in the MasterChef kitchen is “poles apart” from working in a normal commercial kitchen, according to Badcock.

“You’re under serious time

constraints; you can’t take the time to perfect dishes,” he says. “It drove a lot of the other chefs mad, putting up dishes they weren’t happy with.”

Surprisingly it was White, portrayed in many of the television show’s early promotional spots as, amongst other things, the chef “who made Gordon Ramsay cry”, who was there with a comforting word or helpful advice when things got tough.

“There’s a whole other side of him that people didn’t see at home,” says Badcock. “When someone was a bit down, or something was going wrong he had words of encouragement for everyone. He was an absolute gentleman; I couldn’t speak more highly of the man.”

Freely admitting that he had a troubled youth, which included a few minor run-ins with the law, (Badcock credits his mum and finding his way into the kitchen for “pretty much saving my life”), he hopes that winning the MasterChef competition will change his life.

“Chefs aren’t the most highly paid workers around, so if I can get a foot up and a bit of a head start, then that would be great,” he says.

In the meantime he’ll be following his mantra: “Don’t stress out; you’re useless when you’re stressed so just don’t do it.” OH

Badcock at work in the MasterChef kitchen.


Q: What’s the idea behind the Good Food Under $30 guide?

A: The book is all about great food at reasonable prices, and includes more than 550 places in Sydney where you can get at least two courses for $30 or less. It’s for people who love food, but perhaps don’t have a huge disposable income to devote to it. In saying that, the budget is an almost incidental thing; it’s the great-food-factor that is the most important.

Q: How do you judge which restaurants and cafes are worthy of inclusion, and which aren’t?

A: Great food is essential! We have a trusty team of reviewers working on the guide and I’m constantly bugging them for suggestions, and also on permanent lookout for anything interesting that we may have missed. Each restaurant in the book has been anonymously visited by a reviewer (sometimes on more than one occasion) who then decides whether it’s worth recommending to our readers. The things I always ask reviewers to ask themselves when making this decision are: would you go back? Would you recommend it to a friend? If not, then we won’t include it.

Q: Is it just the same old restaurants that make it into the guide year after year?

A: We do use the previous year’s guide as a starting point, but always revisit every entry, and always add a lot of new listings (this year there are more than 100 new listings). We’ve cut back a little on the number of cafes included in the book this year, since our sister publication – the Good Café Guide – has that very well covered. In their place, we’ve added more “global gems” and newly opened restaurants.

Q: What are you looking for in a reviewer and how can I spot one when they come in?

A: The best reviewer is observant and knowledgeable, and can communicate their observations and knowledge in a clear and fun way. We have people of a variety of ages, gender, and professions on our team, so there’s no real way to “spot one” – and that’s the way we like it!

Q: Do reviewers normally pay for their own meals or do they expect freebies?

A: All meals are paid for in full, by necessity – anyone asking for freebies will quickly find themselves out of a job! It’s important for our reviewers to have the same experience that the average punter would do so our review gives the

Q&a

Up for reviewWith the release of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Under $30 guide last month, Sydney’s best value restaurants have been under the spotlight. Open House asked the guide’s editor, Angie Schiavone, what goes into putting together a restaurant guide.

most accurate picture of the place in question. It doesn’t pay to over-sell a place, as all that does is draw a crowd of hungry customers with over-inflated expectations, and that’ll never end well, for the customer, the guide or the restaurant.

Q: What are some of the things reviewers are looking for when they visit a restaurant?

A: Great food and fair prices are primary concerns. Reviewers are also checking out how enjoyable a place is, whether other patrons are having fun, what the service is like, how much care is taken in what they’re doing, what they’re offering that other places aren’t, and so on.

Q: Are there any absolute no-nos that are guaranteed to get a bad review, or that will ensure a restaurant doesn’t make it into the guide?

A: We generally don’t do “bad reviews” as such, because if a place isn’t “good”, we simply drop it from the book. But we do, unfortunately, have bad meals: still-frozen food, bouts of food poisoning, offensive service – the list goes on. Reviewing isn’t always as glamorous a gig as it seems.

Q: What are your top tips for restaurants hoping to get reviewed by a restaurant guide?

A: Word of mouth is without doubt the most trusted form of publicity, so to ensure that, do what you do well and treat your customers – every last one of them – with care. It also helps to be active on social media. And restaurants should feel free to get in touch with us if they think they’d fit the Good Food Under $30 criteria, but again – the expectation shouldn’t be that getting in the guide will make business a success, the only way to do that is to keep customers happy.

Q: After putting together this year’s guide, what do you see as being the key trends for 2013?

A: Latin American food is all the rage; global street food is still very popular; and vegetarian food is getting

more of a look-in, too. Certain suburbs are flourishing, in

particular Bondi and Fairfield. And social media is bringing much more of a community vibe to the restaurant scene – particularly the under $30 segment – it’s great! OH

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OriginS Of...

Once shunned as food, the eggplant is now a staple ingredient for many cuisines around the world, writes Megan Kessler.

Eggplant

glenn austinwww.austinwright.com.au

cOnSUlTanT cHef

Short changedIf you hadn’t quite realised yet, getting hold of a good chef is almost as hard as getting an honest politician. Actually it is easier to get a chef, but my point is that over the past 10 years I have constantly come up against the same issue: the chef shortage.

The easy candidate to blame has been the mining industry; the cry from hoteliers and restaurateurs has been that mining companies pay so much they have taken all the good staff. The truth of the matter is that most mining camps are operated by catering companies and I am yet to see a catering company that throws fantastic money to chefs. Most mining jobs for chefs are “drive in, drive out”, not the perceived glamour of “fly in, fly out”. You’re working 12-hour shifts, are away from your family and home, and can expect to earn about the same as you would in a decent restaurant. My sources tell me the salary range for a line cook is between $55,000 and $65,000

a year. The big money is in camp management, and even if you were to crack $70,000, you need to weigh up how much is allowances before you run off to the Ferrari dealership.

Hotels however are the masters of playing mind games with chefs. Now I will say that there are some great hoteliers out there but there are a couple of groups out there still operating with a very ’90s mentality. The sales pitch for a head chef position normally starts with “this property can make a name for you”. The interviewer will then bang on for a while about how they expect cutting edge food, how they want the hotel to be best in the region, how there is plenty of room for career development, and so on.

The reality of it is once you start you learn that you are not there to do “your food”; you are there to feed the punters the food they will pay for – generally, comfort food.

Your rosters will not include full time kitchen attendants – they are deemed a privilege and will be called in when required, and generally are viewed as your relief chef – and kitchen cleaning is done by you or the other member of your extensive brigade of three.

So what is the answer here?

If you are not skilled in the interview process when applying for a job, get some help. Make sure that you will have sufficient staff to operate the

kitchen for all meal periods required and set a realistic amount of hours required for the job. Make sure you fully understand what standard of cuisine is required, as well as the parameters of the position such as food and wage costs. Make sure that there is a realistic repairs and maintenance schedule in place and a small equipment replacement budget that isn’t aligned with a sales forecast. Stuff breaks whether you are feeding 50 or 5000. Lastly, make damn well sure that both you and the manager sign off on all of this prior to you starting the job and you will find that things work out much better for both the establishment and you.

If for some reason all of the above gets a little too hard through the interview process and the employer is not willing to agree to these points, this is a clear signal that you are about to get right royally screwed and my suggestion is to get out whilst you can.

By starting the job and hoping it will get better you are just encouraging bad behaviour by employers. By not taking the job, hopefully they will get the message that they need to change.

Eggplant, also known as aubergine, is a versatile food that

crosses over a number of cuisines, from Mediterranean to Indian. Technically a fruit, it is most often treated as a vegetable.

There is some dispute over where eggplant originates; some say it’s from India while others argue that it was first cultivated in China.

Records from the fifth century claim that Chinese women would make a black dye out of eggplant which they rubbed on their teeth, however it is most likely that eggplant was first domesticated in India around 4000 years ago. At this time it was considered a main vegetable there, and used as the core ingredient for dishes such as curry and dahl.

Indians introduced the eggplant to

Pakistan and from there it spread west to the Middle East including Egypt and Turkey where it was incorporated into dishes such as baba ganoush, made from smoked eggplant and olive oil. Records from the ninth century indicate that eggplant was an important part of Turkish and Persian cuisines.

Arab traders were responsible for taking the eggplant to Europe in about the same century. One of the first ports of call was Spain where it was believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac, earning it the name “Apple of Love”.

The Italians also embraced eggplant and by the 15th century the vegetable was appearing on Italian dinner plates. One popular dish to come out of Italy, eggplant parmigiana, is made

by layering thin slices of eggplant, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.

Northern Europeans were not as fond of the vegetable as their Southern cousins however, believing that as it belongs to the nightshade family of plants it could be poisonous.

Eggplant was also widely known in Europe as the “Mad Apple” because it was thought that consuming them could cause insanity. Despite this, purple, white and yellow varieties were introduced to Germany from Naples in the 16th century.

The English were responsible for calling the fruit “eggplant”, probably because of their shape and the fact that the lighter coloured

varieties resemble eggs. Ironically, the English now refer to eggplants as aubergines, a name which originated in France.

In 1650 the Spanish introduced the eggplant to the United States, however they were unknown there for about 150 years until Thomas Jefferson made them popular around 1806. Even then, they were mainly grown as an ornamental plant.

The eggplant reached Australia in 1850, arriving as seeds sourced from India, however it wasn’t until the 1950s when European immigrants arrived that they became popular and began to be widely used in cooking. OH


SUSTainabiliTy

Waste wanted

“We produce enough calories in the world today to feed

everybody yet today one in seven people are literally starving and one third of all food consumption just doesn’t get used,” says John Webster CEO of Foodbank, a non-profit food redistribution organisation.

“People are asking how we are going to feed the estimated nine billion people [in the world] by 2050, but they are missing the point. The real point is, yes you need to produce more food, but it’s about how do we make sure we reduce the waste and reallocate the surplus to where we have shortage. The issue is not about availability of food but about the distribution of it.”

Foodbank rescues edible but surplus food and groceries from the farmers, manufacturers and retailers – this includes product that is close to its use-by date, has incorrect labelling or damaged packaging as well as excess stock and deleted lines – and distributes it to people in need as prepared meals, food hampers and emergency parcels. Last year they provided 24 million kilograms of food and groceries and fed on average 88,000 people a day through welfare agencies across Australia.

“There are about 2.3 million Australians below the poverty line, with about two million needing emergency relief throughout the year, according to the Australian Council of Social Service, while an Anglicare study showed that around 75 per cent of those needing relief were food insecure,” Webster says.

“At the same time, we did a survey of our welfare agencies, with 90 per cent of them saying they don’t have sufficient food. We are in an environment where we have an increase in demand for our product while the supply of waste has plateaued. It’s not that they don’t want to give anymore, it’s just that it is so tight out there that they want to reduce their costs and one way to do that is to reduce their waste.”

This has forced Foodbank to look further down the supply chain, right to the farm gate, with fresh fruit and vegetables now a key component of the food they supply to the welfare agencies.

“We are working with the major fruit and vegetable producers to pick up product that would be outside the commercial specification,” he says. “Good product that is perfect for eating but consumers want apples

blemish free and the right size and right shape.”

Food rescue charity OzHarvest distributes to organisations supporting the vulnerable in Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide and Brisbane, with founding director Ronni Kahn, saying it is the consumer rather than the suppliers that need to be “re-educated” about food waste.

“We as consumers have to redefine our lives, our shopping and eating habits and the concept that everything is always on tap, available at any time and any amount,” Kahn says.

“Food is left over on supermarket shelves because we have been told we want 24 hour shopping, and when we walk into the supermarket at midnight we still want the range of bread that would be there at 8am. Water, fuel, energy, all of that embedded stuff that is not even measured is in every loaf of bread that we throw away.”

OzHarvest Sydney delivers over 320,000 meals per month with its fleet of 12 refrigerated vans collecting waste food daily from retailers and food outlets of all sizes and often delivering it the same day to welfare

Food rescue charities help distribute unwanted food to those most in need while highlighting those areas with the most waste along the supply chain, discovers Sheridan Randall.

agencies, charities and hospices.

The vans operate on set routes picking up items as small as a tupperware container or bag of food through to pallets of fresh produce and packaged goods from a range of foodservice operators including cafes, takeaway outlets, bakeries, restaurants, supermarkets and convention centres. The food is quickly sorted and logged, before being delivered to the relevant organisation or welfare agency, with care being taken to ensure the differing needs of each recipient is catered for.

“Every bit of food we collect from anyone, we weigh it and measure it and write a report on it,” Kahn says. “So we could write a report for Woolworths about how much was milk, or cheese or yogurt, so that they could redesign their purchasing.”

This feedback is sometimes crucial for companies who can be completely ignorant of the amount and type of their waste.

“One supplier with 18 fruit and vegetable outlets took eight years to get on board,” says Kahn. “They then said we could do a pilot for them on three stores. At the end of the three week pilot they wanted us to do all of their stores. At the end they told us they we had saved them $225,000 over four months.

“Waste in any form costs money at the end of the day. The goal is for there to be no waste. When we started I always said if we could do ourselves out of business that would be a good thing.”

Webster agrees that zero waste is “what everyone is targeting” but maintains that “the chance of zero

OzHarvest Sydney driver Bruce Graffham is always a welcome sight for the many organisations

and welfare groups he delivers to daily.


errors is limited”.

“The other part of waste is where you manufacture in anticipation of what is going to be required,” he says. “Some of the food we get is getting close to its code date because the amount sold was less than the estimated amount. There’s a whole range of reasons why a product doesn’t sell the volume expected.”

For Webster, the simple fact is that hunger in Australia is a growing problem, which in turn demands organisations such as Foodbank work on such a large scale.

“There are two untold stories,” he says. “One is the hunger in this country, with 10 per cent of the population doing it really tough, so tough that they need help with food. The other is the generosity of the food industry to address what is in reality a government responsibility. Last year the food industry provided us with $180 million of food that was then redistributed through the welfare sector. That’s not individual company’s responsibility – they don’t talk about it, they just get on a do it.”

For Kahn, the problem of people going hungry while there is still such waste demands a holistic solution, saying “these are big philosophical questions but they can be measured”.

“We need to start to take care and purchase what we need and not demand everything whenever we want in the size we want,” she says. “Things get taken for granted in the same way that water gets taken for granted. These are finite resources.” OH

Watch the video on the Open House iPad app.

The worm that turnedAdelaide Convention Centre has been leading the way in sustainable practices across its facilities, including the kitchen, for years, with the Centre working with a number of food rescue organisations including Foodbank and OzHarvest.

“If we have catered for numbers that didn’t show up, we take the food not used and turn it into stews, freeze it and give it to charities, such as Foodbank,” says the Centre’s executive chef Tze Khaw. “It was a little bit of extra work but we used it as a training exercise for the junior staff to

learn how to make base soups and things like that. It’s nice for them to learn how to cook 100 litres of stew and soup. Food that is fresh that we can’t make into soups, such as sandwiches and salads, is picked up by OzHarvest.”

The Centre also established an on-site worm farm in 2008, with the worms having since eaten some 14.5 tonnes of kitchen scraps which were destined for landfill. On top of this the Centre has a composting system, BiobiN, which saves 80 tonnes of food scraps from going to landfill annually.

“I had a lot of green waste that was

adding to our rubbish removal,” he says. “I had a worm farm at home that you can buy from Bunnings and the idea grew from that. We just needed a bigger version. Green waste now all goes in the worm farm. We also partner with some suppliers, such as egg suppliers, who take the cartons back, and our processed vegetable plant, who supply us produce in biodegradable crates.”

The upside of the Centre’s crackdown on waste, apart from a marked decrease in produce ending up in landfill, has been economic.

“We are making financial savings with the worm farm through less rubbish removal and we also save on fertiliser for the garden, as it makes the garden grow better,” he says. “It’s a win-win situation. Over the long term there is a big saving in dollars.”

Adelaide Convention Centre executive chef Tze Khaw (right) with members of the OzHarvest Adelaide team.


dairy

With the dominant supermarkets locked in a price battle to win over consumers, the dairy industry is seemingly caught in the crossfire, with dire implications for local producers and the customers they service. Sheridan Randall reports.

The big squeeze

“Dairy farmers are being paid today for their milk what they

were getting 20 years ago,” says Mark Dunwoodie, spokesman for Farmer Power, a new dairy farmer lobby group set up to highlight the plight of the dairy industry following several years of milk price wars instigated by Coles when it began selling its private label milk at just $1 a litre.

Despite milk currently fetching a near record high price internationally, the local dairy industry is being pushed to breaking point by the discounting war between the retail giants and rising production costs, according to Dunwoodie.

“The big problem with the

supermarkets is that they have devalued the product,” he says. “There is nothing cheaper than milk. When you have bottled water on the shelf next to milk at twice the price, it’s just bizarre. Now people think that milk is worthless.”

For Dunwoodie, the problem is greater than the plight of a few farmers, there is the very real danger of losing our domestic dairy industry altogether, with the flow on effect meaning the foodservice industry would have to look overseas for their dairy products.

“There is a lot of damage being done here to a very noble industry,” he says. “We are bordering on the brink

of losing our dairy industry and if we do they’ll have to source it from another country and then there is no going back.

“The root cause is farmers are being paid less for their milk than it costs to produce it – it is totally unsustainable. We have already lost that connection between the next generation of farmers.”

Victorian dairy farmer Phil Bond is another key figure behind Farmer Power’s push to lobby for the dairy industry to both industry bodies and government, with the starting point a 10 cent a litre rise in the price retailers pay for their milk at the farm gate.

“It’s not a big ask,” he says. “I’m not sure if they [retailers] are going to respond although they are starting to see some pressure being put on them. I think over time people will look to buy branded products in support.”

With a drought in the south west of Victoria adding to their troubles, Bond says he is worried for the future of the industry.

“It just depends on the farmers and the debt levels as to how long they can survive,” he says. “There are just not the younger generations coming through to take over the farms which is a real concern for the dairy industry.”

Nick Green, from industry peak body Australia Dairy Farmers (ADF), concedes it is “very difficult for Australian dairy farmers to get a return for all the time and effort they put into their businesses when private label milk is being sold at $1 per litre”.

With both Coles and Woolworths using private label milk as “a loss leader to get more traffic in their stores” it seems unlikely they will voluntarily give up what has been an effective campaign to boost sales in their stores across the board.

“What they don’t communicate is the fact that when you reduce the cost of the product to $1 per litre it is very difficult to articulate to the consumer that milk is a valuable

commodity and should be priced accordingly,” Green says. “It also makes it difficult for dairy farmers, who work seven days a week, to obtain a return for what is a high cost production business.”

Dairy farmers are warning that they can’t survive for long under the current conditions, with Green saying that ultimately “it sends you down a path where there is no primary industry in this area and Australians are drinking UHT milk”.

Green says that the government is “beginning to understand it is not in the interest of industry and consumers to have such a duopoly”, with the increase in private label products hurting not just the producers, but also the consumers, who are seeing a reduction in the level of choice they have for products on the shelves.

With the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission currently investigating the two retailers over improper behaviour, both Coles and Woolworths recently went to Federal Government asking for a voluntary code of conduct. However, Green is dismissive of this, calling voluntary codes “ineffective”.

“The ADF pushed for an industry code that is mandatory for the retailers and industry, and that is also backed up by an ombudsman so that we really have a body that has oversight of the industry and the way that it operates and the way that retailers that have excessive market power operate and behave” he says.

Gold rushSupermarket chain Aldi scooped 49 medals including eight gold at the Sydney Royal Dairy Awards earlier this year, and was awarded the prestigious “Most Successful Dairy Produce Exhibitor” title, causing some smaller cheese producers to call for an overhaul of the competition to include separate categories for retailers and producers.

“The first issue is that Aldi is a retailer not a producer,” says Michael

Dairy farmers in Australia are feeling the pinch.


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McNamara, cheesemaker at Pecora Dairy in Robertson, NSW, and treasurer of the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association.

“This is an issue with generic brands broadly especially in light of the $1 Coles milk, in that [private label] brand being the corner stone of big retailers strategy to screw down

producers and farmers.”

Pecora did not leave the show empty

handed, winning medals in four out

of the five categories it entered, with

McNamara insisting it is not simply

a case of “sour grapes”.

“We question whether the Royal

Agricultural Society (RAS), by

allowing supermarkets to enter their brands, is consistent with their aims of supporting agriculture,” he says.

“Aldi entering under their label robs the manufacturer of their ability to build up a bank of reputational credit over time that they can use to secure their contracts, maintain their prices, build a reputation and see the flow on benefits that would go to their suppliers and their employees.”

For McNamara this is not a case of the RAS “deliberately going down this road”, more a question of not keeping up with the times.

“Generic brands are set to become a third of all products on supermarket shelves within the next few years,” he says. “Whenever you cut a producer out of this picture, that producer then becomes one more dispensable link in the supply chain.”

George Davey, general manager of agriculture at RAS NSW, says that “we welcome the sort of responses that have been raised around this particular competition”.

“This is not the first time supermarkets have entered products, it’s just this time they were very successful, which is why it has come

to ahead,” Davey says.

With around 94 per cent of Aldi’s dairy produce being sourced from Australian producers, Davey is keen to paint it as a positive for the local dairy industry.

“It is good news that an international retailer is buying Australian produce, and the fact that they are winning medals suggests they are buying high quality produce,” he says. “One thing that has to be borne in mind is consumers buy most of their products from supermarkets and many of these retailers are sourcing these products from regional producers – that is a good thing for regional producers, by giving them a market and supporting regional development.

“There are enormous benefits to dairy manufacturing in this country from what supermarkets such as Aldi are doing. It’s about getting the balance right.”

The society’s dairy produce committee, which meets every month, is set to discuss the matter and may make a determination whether they change any of the rules around competition as a consequence. OH


grOW iT lOcal

From the ground upA crowd-sourced food initiative that highlights the importance of food security in local communities is set to wow the hungry attendees at next month’s TEDxSydney conference, writes Ylla Wright.

When annual ideas festival, TEDxSydney, opens its doors

at the Sydney Opera House on May 4 it will debut a unique crowd-sourced food initiative, “Crowd Farmed by Grow it Local”, a first for any TED or TEDx event internationally.

A joint initiative of the organisers of TEDxSydney and Waverley-based sustainable food group, Grow It Local, the event aims to inspire members of the TEDxSydney community, local growers, gardeners and farmers to contribute food for a lunchtime feast for the 2200 attendees. From whole lambs donated by professional producers to a bagful of chillies grown on an apartment balcony or windowsill, no contribution is too small. People who don’t have anything fresh to contribute on the day can donate home-made pickles or jams.

Once the produce is collected from growers it will be delivered to high-profile chef Matt Moran’s Aria Catering, which does the catering at Sydney Opera House, to be turned

into a locally grown feast.

A month out from the event, contributions pledged include not only basic garden produce such as vegetables, fruit and herbs but also freshly baked bread from Brasserie Bread; milk, cheese and cream from Country Valley Dairy; hand churned butter from Pepe Saya; honey from Urban Honey; and an exclusive TEDxSydney beer made from backyard hops by Young Henry’s brewey in Newtown.

TEDxSydney’s food curator, food writer and critic Jill Dupleix, says the idea is “an underground movement that’s suddenly gone above-ground”.

“TEDxSydney celebrates our best and brightest ideas, and this year in addition to the mind food on stage, we’ll have an awesome food event that connects us back to the reality of the food chain,” she says.

“Sourcing sustainably produced local food is becoming increasingly important to the way we live.

“Anyone with a backyard, balcony, plot of dirt or planter box can contribute. We’re looking for everything from a bag of home-grown peas to your favourite passed-down-from-your-Nan fig jam.”

For Moran, a passionate supporter of sustainable food, it made perfect sense to get involved with the TEDx event.

“I have always believed in food sustainability and in using produce that is grown ethically,” he says. “We source produce that is grown locally wherever possible and we are now able to grow some of our own produce in our kitchen garden at Chiswick [restaurant]. We also look for suppliers where produce is either fished or farmed from sources that can maintain production in the future without jeopardising the ecosystem.

“This collaboration with Grow It Local invites everyone from commercial growers and producers to garden-variety gardeners to pledge a contribution from which we will then prepare a lunch for 2200 attendees. I

think it’s a great concept because it is something that people can really share in and contribute towards to create a great community initiative.”

Along with the time, creativity and hard graft of his team, Moran will also be contributing lamb from the Moran family farm in Rocklea for the event.

While not knowing exactly what is in the larder until the day before an event is going to a challenge it’ll be “a rewarding one”, adds Moran.

“I have a great team who are used to catering for large scale events and in our restaurants we change the menus seasonally so our chefs are used to creating great dishes from whatever is in season,” he says.

Completing the cycle of sustainable consumption, all organic waste from the event will be processed on the spot, with the resulting compost available to guests and growers at the end of the event.

The Grow it Local team: (from left) Marcus Costello, Andrew Valder, Jordan Sly, Grant La Brooy, Costa Georgiadis, Kinky the Chicken, Jess Miller, Paulie and Darryl Nichols. Watch the video on the Open House iPad app.


Modest beginningsGrow it Local started in 2012 as a pilot project in Waverley council to encourage food production within the community and raise awareness of some of the issues around food sustainability. Local residents were asked to register their gardens online, share their tips and tricks on a Facebook community page, and finally to contribute their produce to a special Local Growers Supper cooked by the chefs at Three Blue Ducks in Bronte.

Hoping to attract around 30 registered growers, Grow It Local co-founder Jess Miller said they were amazed when they ended up with almost 300.

“It was crazy,” she says. “We found we had patches being registered in Europe and America, as well all over Australia. The Facebook community was going off. Everyone was really excited by the idea of not only growing their own food but giving the food they’d grown to the chefs at Three Blue Ducks.”

With the Growers Supper scheduled for a Sunday, the backyard growers dropped off their produce at Bondi Farmers Markets the day before.

“We had no idea of what we were going to get; the quality or the quantity, or the type of anything,”

better when you can share with your neighbours, come together in real life and have a meal,” she says.

A lightbulb momentThe concept of staging a similar event at TEDx was, according to Miller, “just one of those ideas that happen over beers”.

“There was the suggestion, ‘what if we do this at TedX?’, and I was like yeah, yeah, yeah, and then realised the next day that we were scaling up from 200 to 2200 people,” she says.

“The goal posts have changed somewhat but so far it’s working really well; it’s been such a lovely collaboration between a whole bunch of inspiring people.”

Additional partners such as car share network Go Get have joined up to help address challenges thrown up by the size of the event, such as how to collect and transport donated produce to the Opera House.

“It’s going to an interesting logistical exercise but lots of people have put up their hands to help,” Miller says.

The contribution of a chef such as Moran is important because he has “the power to set agendas around the way that we eat and the type; the culture of food”.

“What we really want to emphasise with Grow it Local is the importance of beautifully made, simple food that’s really nourishing, made from local produce, rather than these very elaborate dishes that require produce from the other side of the world,” she adds.

“That’s already a trend we’re seeing locally, and we’re hoping that can continue. Ideally we’d also love to keep building the relationships between restaurants and farmers, so that the whole ‘field to feast’ movement takes off as much here as it has in places like New York and Europe.”

With her own contribution to the TEDx event – lettuce, zucchini, chillies and a variety of herbs, as well as lemon myrtle foraged from neighbourhood trees – growing nicely, Miller is quietly confident about the future of the movement.

“We don’t quite know where we’ll take it after TEDx,” she says. “We’d love to see it become something local councils support in their own communities to help educate local cafes, restaurants and consumers about food sustainability, and by default help small to medium-sized local producers.” OH

What is TED?TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”, which sees leading “thinkers and doers” asked to give an 18 minute speech about something that matters to them at the four-day TED conference held in the US every year.

Previous speakers have included Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, ape expert Jane Goodall, authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Isabel Allende, founder of the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson, designer and architect Philippe Starck, and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

TEDx events are independently-organised, local events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

recalls Miller. “There was an abundance of really interesting, beautiful produce but also all the stories that came with the produce. People would talk about the macadamia tree that has been in their family for three generations or the mission they went on last night to forage all these edible flowers. It was really powerful.

“The chefs had no idea of what they were going to get, which I think really challenged some of their concepts around food. They were pivotal to the success of the event, in terms of the expertise and the passion that brought to it; the creativity that goes into alchemising a bunch of random produce into something that can feed 200-odd people.”

Dishes on the night included chilli jam braised pork belly and leafy greens with deep fried green banana, coriander and chilli salad; roast beef with rosemary roasted Jerusalem artichokes, pumpkin and parsnips accompanied by smoky eggplant yogurt and iris flowers; Bondi honey glazed duck with cumquat syrup served on a bed of charred spring onion; and tamarillo and pineapple salsa with sage ice cream drizzled in hibiscus syrup and sprinkled with macadamia bush mint praline.

Looking back Miller believes one of the most important things about the event was the sense of community it engendered.

“That was the kind of magical thing about it; bringing people with a shared interest together,” she says. “The older members of the community who have been gardening for years connecting with younger people who are really enthusiastic and interested but perhaps don’t have as much expertise.”

The concept also allowed them to address issues of food security in the community in a fun way, without “hitting them over the head with it”.

“Beyond encouraging people to grow their own food it’s so much

Some of the produce contributed to Grow it Local's 2012 event.

Matt Moran at Chiswick Restaurant.


SkillS SHOrTage

Rarely does a problem have one cause – and this is as true of the shortage of employees in the

hospitality sector as anything. Low retention rates among apprentices, a relatively low median wage across the sector compared with other industries, low unemployment and a robust resources sector that continues to distort areas of the economy all have their part to play.

“This is an issue that has been around for ever,” says Michael Bennett, chief executive of group training organisation HTN, which employs chefs to go out into industry and mentor apprentices throughout the duration of their apprenticeship.

“Is there a skills shortage? I would say yes there is,” he says. “The fact that all year round we have one hundred plus cookery apprenticeships vacant and available for the taking is testament to that fact. However, having said that it is probably one of a combination of factors, with demand [for workers] outstripping supply probably representative that there is also a people shortage.”

Despite continued lobbying by employer groups for a decrease in penalty rates in the hospitality sector, the fact remains that the hospitality sector has one of the lowest ratings for median full-time earnings, according to the Employment Department’s Australian Jobs guide.

“The argument about low wages has been around

for a while,” says Bennett. “The difficulty is we work in a thin margin industry.”

Bennett maintains that the apprentice wage is essentially a “training wage”, which is in turn subsidised up to $7500 of tax free incentives by the Federal Government.

“However, if it is wages, and I’m not convinced that is the number one motivator of an apprentice to leave the game, I’d be all for a wage rise for apprentices but not at the expense of the employer,” he says. “I think there should be some sort of additional incentive to bolster the apprentice wage if that was to be a consideration, as industry could just not afford to absorb additional [wage] increases.”

The resources sector is also continuing to alter the economic landscape in many parts of the country, with the promise of high wages luring many who would have traditionally worked in hospitality.

“The mining industry has distorted things and from time to time we have graduates that ask us if we have connections in the mining industry, as there is the perception that there is good money to be had,” says Bennett, who adds that the minimum wages of graduating apprentices or qualified cooks are governed by industrial relations instruments depending on their level of qualifications, while “many end up negotiating a

salary anyway”.

“I don’t know if [money] is the real issue. Sometimes it is lifestyle. As they [chefs] start to get older and have families some see their job is not conducive to a happy home life with the long hours and weekends.”

Plugging the gapThe Federal Government has stated that there is a current shortage of around 36,000 hospitality workers which is forecast to grow to 56,000 in 2015, with the shortfall expected to made up by migrant workers in the most part. Melbourne recruitment company Work Intern Travel has partnered with a US-based cultural exchange organisation Alliance Abroad Group to provide employers in the Australian hospitality and tourism industry access to temporary and seasonal workers from overseas.

“Remote areas struggle because a lot of the workers will go and work in mines, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland where the money is really high,” says Work Intern Travel director of operations Ash Jurberg.

“Hotels may pay $20 an hour but the mines may pay double or triple that – they just can’t get any locals interested in working for them.”

Coming up shortWith the two-speed economy causing cracks in the fabric of the hospitality sector’s employment market, differing groups argue over whether it is a skills or labour shortage that is the issue. In the meantime, the problem of finding suitable employees for many operators is set to continue, writes Sheridan Randall.


Work Intern Travel sources international hospitality workers who come to work on 12 month working holiday visas.

“At the moment they [employers] rely on transient backpackers who just pass on through the region,” Jurberg says. “The problem with that is there is no commitment there – they might work for one week or three months but then they may want to travel somewhere else. We offer a solution where we bring people who want to work rather than holiday and can give that commitment. They are not contractually bound but we charge a program fee so they are financially committed, plus they are hospitality people – this is their career.”

Ironically, for many migrant workers the rate of pay in Australia is considered high when compared with the pay rates in their home countries, which is further boosted by the strong Australian dollar. This coupled with struggling economies in many countries makes Australia a compelling proposition for many.

“The pay rates are very favourable here with some of our employers paying up to $26 an hour, when you compare that with the US which has a minimum wage of around $5 an hour,” Jurberg says.

The high regard globally for Australian employers is also a drawcard for those workers looking to make a career in hospitality.

“They know if they come and gain experience here and then go back to their home country it’s going to look good on their resume working in Australia for a named brand,” he says.

“When we first launched we thought it would just be seasonal, for those clients that just wanted workers for that six month season, but now we are finding employers from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth coming on board, and they are not seasonal destinations. That’s been the biggest change; I was quite surprised, as more and more employers are open to the possibilities of bringing in international workers.”

The global nature of the hospitality industry works both ways though, with Bennett saying that an apprenticeship is “a passport to the world”.

“The demand for chefs is international and that’s something we focus on as a reward for our apprentices,” he says. “We will assist them get to London or wherever it is they want to go on graduating because ultimately that is one of the key motivators for them doing this apprenticeship – they do want to travel the world. When we send these young Aussie chefs overseas it is on the condition that they ultimately come back and impart their skills and knowledge to the next generation.”

Knowledge is powerWilliam Blue College of Hospitality Management catered predominantly to international students when Jenny Jenkins, general manager of business and hospitality of the faculty, joined the company six years ago. That has “changed radically” since, with the strengthening of the Australian dollar and the tightening of migration laws, William Blue now predominantly caters to domestic demand.

“When I arrived commercial cookery was at its height and 99 per cent of our students were from overseas; now we are about 82 per cent domestic,” she says.

International students flocking into Australia for residency rather than educational purposes was partly blamed on the inclusion of chefs in the Migrant Occupations In Demand List. A clampdown on “shonky providers” saw many private training organisations close their doors, according to Jenkins.

The take-up by domestic students is an encouraging sign of a continued demand by young people wanting to work in hospitality, although Jenkins concedes that some are being “snapped up” by employers before they have completed their course.

“Young people love to have some money in their pocket and really enjoy being recognised as skilled and valued,” she says.

“Our job is to try and encourage them to stick with their study, as they may get a basic position earlier on with their qualification, but really the goal is encouraging them to go on and get their advanced diploma or bachelor level so they can go on to senior management positions in the industry,” she says.

“A really good hospitality professional is worth their weight in gold. There is definitely a hospitality skills shortage and there are very high quality hospitality trainers both at TAFE and at private colleges that can get great outcomes for these young people.”

No one solution appears to be the cure all for the current shortage. Lobbying by employers to put chefs onto the 457 visa's Skilled Occupation List has been denied by government who claim the shortage is a labour issue and not a skills issue. In the meantime companies such as Work Intern Travel are looking to fill the gap with temporary overseas workers and institutions such as William Blue are assisting domestic students to acquire further qualifications.

“There’s a lot of thinking going on about what will be the silver bullet – but ultimately it will be a combination of things and focusing on retention,” says Bennett.

HTN works with schools to promote “the good news stories within our industry to prospective apprentices”, and is keen to work with students from Year 7, 8 and 9 students “before waiting until they get to Year 11/12 when they many have made up their minds about which VET [Vocational Education and Training] subjects they will be choosing”.

“There is a whole range of things we need to think about and not just that there is a skills shortage and that they’re being underpaid,” he says. “Let’s focus on the positives of the industry and promote them.” OH


Training

Looking to the futureWhile Indigenous chefs have traditionally been under-represented in commercial kitchens, a number of new training initiatives are set to change that, writes Ylla Wright.

Sydney’s National Indigenous Culinary Institute (NICI) is back

after a successful first year with a number of new high-end restaurants including Tetsuya’s, Aria and Bistro Moncur signing up to host trainee chefs completing the three-year accredited training course.

Developed by leading chefs Neil Perry (Rockpool) and Guillaume Brahami (Guillaume’s at Bennelong), restaurateurs Michael McMahon (Catalina) and Barry McDonald (Fratelli Fresh), and food writers and critics Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack (both from the Sydney Morning Herald), and supported by the Indigenous Employment Program, the NICI program supports the creation of a skilled Indigenous workforce for the hospitality industry.

During the three-year course the trainee chefs work in three of Australia’s best restaurants while completing a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery through the William Angliss Institute.

According to NICI coordinator, Cain Slater, the influx of new restaurants is testament to the scheme’s success so far. With the restaurants involved in last year’s NICI program full of praise for the training, dedication and skills of the students they employed, many of them “recommended their friends who own ‘hatted’ restaurants get involved”.

“Michael from Catalina has basically said to me that if they are all like Ryan, his apprentice, then he’ll take as many as he can get,” says Slater.

While there haven’t traditionally been many Indigenous chefs, especially at the pointy end of the hospitality industry, Perry says the Institute’s “longer term aim is for Indigenous chefs to be a major force in the Australian restaurant industry”.

“The students only spend a year at each place, so they might start off at Rockpool, then move on Catalina, and then go out to Icebergs or The Apollo,” says Slater. “That way they get a wide variety of experience which sets them up for life.

“They’re guaranteed a job at the end of it, but if they wanted to go and

Beryl Van-Oploo. Graduates can be found in a variety of hospitality roles including porters, front office, reception and housekeeping, as well as the kitchen.

Melbourne’s Charcoal Lane restaurant also provides accredited hospitality training, work experience, and mentoring and support for Aboriginal and disadvantaged young people. A Mission Australia initiative, the restaurant is run in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and the William Angliss Institute. With a strong focus on Indigenous culture and a contemporary Australian

menu incorporating many native Australian ingredients,

Charcoal Lane apprentices and trainees interact with customers, adding to the

travel the world, they could go and get a job anywhere.”

While covering all the basics of a normal apprenticeship, the course also covers a number of other “missing” topics identified by the chefs involved in the program, which will help the trainees gain a better understanding of the skills needed to hold their own in high-end restaurants.

“We sat down with all the chefs and said ‘help us design a program’,” says Slater. “They’ve asked for Asian; they’ve asked for Mediterranean; the techniques – how we do things; chocolate will be part of it; understanding wine.”

The course also offers support for the students, some of whom come from as far afield as Moree and Armidale.

“We offer role models and mentors in Sydney, outside of the chefs involved with program,” Slater says. “Some of the students are really happy to just have a chat once a week. Others, mainly the younger ones, may need to have one or two face-to-face meeting and follow up phone calls, depending on their needs.”

With a new intake of Indigenous trainee chefs recently placed with the first of their three chef-mentors, the NICI is already looking for their next batch of recruits, with plans to extend the program to Brisbane and Melbourne next year as well.

While the NICI scheme has undoubtedly attracted some heavy-hitting support from Sydney’s restaurant industry, Indigenous training programs for all sectors of the industry have gained traction in recent years.

Yaama Dhiyaan Hospitality Training College, in inner city Sydney, specialises in training unemployed Indigenous people for a career in the hospitality industry, with students working towards a Certificate II in Hospitality Operations. Subjects range from food preparation to advanced barista skills, while the course also

sees students get their Responsible Service of Alcohol and Responsible Conduct of Gaming certification, allowing them to work in licensed premises, and gain valuable work experience working at functions and events catered for by Yaama Dhiyaan. Students are also offered help to find employment, with nearby Gardener’s Lodge in Glebe taking many of the graduates. The cafe currently employs two graduates as apprentice chefs and another five front-of-house.

The college has a success rate of “75 per cent in employment or further education”, according to head teacher

Chef Mark Olive.


dining experience.

In Central Australia, the Indigenous Land Corporation, which runs the Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru through subsidiary Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, has set up the National Indigenous Training Academy to train Indigenous students in hospitality and tourism. Graduates of the nine-month course receive national accreditation and are guaranteed a job at Ayers Rock Resort, another Voyages property, or an Accor hotel anywhere in Australia if they choose. Students are recruited from all over Australia, with training conducted on the job and in a classroom environment, also facilitated by William Angliss.

While acknowledging the worth of inner-city training courses, high-profile Indigenous chef Mark Olive, owner of Melbourne-based Black Olive Catering, believes that it’s just as vital to give Indigenous youth from remote communities an opportunity to get into the hospitality industry.

The chef, with the support of Networked Communities for Sustainable Futures, is currently working on setting up a series of Outback Academies, currently planned for Echuca in regional Victoria, former Aboriginal Mission Roelands Village in South West Western Australia, and Melbourne.

“When you’re taking kids straight out of remote areas and bringing them to the city it’s going to be overwhelming,” he says. “The support mechanism needs to be in place first.”

The academies will provide training to Indigenous men and women

in broad hospitality and cooking skills, leading to a formal cooking qualification, as well as native and Indigenous food, ingredients, culture and “country”. Master classes conducted by Olive himself will include community events that will see the trainees promote a message about “pride in culture, country and self”, and encourage healthy eating and lifestyles in their own communities.

“The idea is to learn more about Aboriginal Australia and its food; the history of it, where it came from, the regions it grew in it and the people who used it,” says Olive.

Along with cooking, students will also have the chance to be exposed to other areas of the industry such as administration, front-of-house and catering management.

“We’d like to get Indigenous kids into all sectors of the industry, not only in the kitchen,” he says. “It’s really about finding out what they want to do.”

The trainee chefs’ stories, along with those of their communities, will be told through a television series, The Outback Academy, presented by Olive, which he says will be an opportunity to show “Indigenous communities in Australia in a positive light”.

“I get to go to some really amazing areas that non-Indigenous people aren’t allowed into,” he says. “There are so many negative images about what Indigenous people are, but this is going to enlighten people – wake people up to the fact that we have this vibrant culture here; lets utilise it.” OH

National Indigenous Culinary Institute students at work.

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pizza

Simply the bestPizza is Australia’s favourite food, with more than 264 million eaten every year, but what goes into making the perfect pizza? Open House goes inside the Global Pizza & Pasta Challenge to find out.

Entries for the Fonterra Global Pizza Challenge are open until May 1, 2013.

To enter visit www.globalpizzaandpastachallenge.com. Australian heats will

be held at the Foodservice Australia expo in Melbourne, from June 2-4, 2013.

When contestants at this year’s Fonterra Global Pizza & Pasta

Challenge in Melbourne line up at their benches they’ll be attempting to create the best pizza in the world.

While purists may talk about the Pizza Margherita, invented by chef Raffaele Esposito in honour of the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, in 1889, as the pinnacle of pizza making, the field has moved on, with just about anything going these days.

Founded more than 10 years ago by chef Glenn Austin, a former president of the Australian Culinary Federation and Open House contributor, the Fonterra Global Pizza Challenge sets out to promote and encourage culinary innovation with the world’s most popular food – pizza.

Since the inaugural competition, pizza has become the fastest growing food trend around the globe, with sales in excess of $44

This year’s competition will see “Large Pizza Chain” and “Pasta” categories added to the line-up of categories for the first time.

In 2012, Simon Best from Augello’s Ristorante & Pizzeria in Mooloolaba, Queensland, took home the grand prize in the world final of the Fonterra Global Pizza Challenge, with his Mooloolaba Yellow Fin Tuna with black sesame seeds, mozzarella, avocado, mango salsa and pickled ginger combination, all on a pizza base infused with black and white sesame seeds and blended Nori roll.

“Simon’s pizza demonstrates how a few ingredients can pack a fantastic taste experience; this pizza provided a high quality dining experience,” says Austin. “Simon set out with the pizza base as a blank canvas. He wanted to create a pizza with an explosion of flavours and he achieved this.”

Winning the 2012 competition has been great for business for Best, who says he was “lost for words” when he won.

“You can’t put a price on advertising like this,” says Best. “I had just about every form of media contact me even before I got the word out.”

Previous Australian winners John Lanzafame and Bruno Gentile agree.

“Winning Best Pizza launched six months of continuous growth for our business and we couldn’t keep up with the media enquiries,” says Gentile. “It added 30 per cent to our bottom line and even helped to put our town on the map.”

“Winning the Fonterra Global Pizza Challenge launched my career and changed my life to the value of six zeros,” says Lanzafame. “Literally.”

While competitors who have already signed up for the competition, including Lanzafame, who is planning to come out of retirement to go head-to-head with Best, are staying tight-lipped about their pizzas, Austin says “it’s probably going to take a little more than a Margherita”.

“I believe the secret to making a good pizza is really no secret at all,” he concludes. “You require the following four main components: a great base, sauce, cheese and a healthy dose of skill.” OH

Pizza fast facts• Global pizza sales are in excess

of $44 billion per year

• Pizza is the fourth most craved food behind chocolate, ice-cream and cheese

• Australians eat approximately 10 hectares of pizza annually; Americans eat 50 hectares of pizza daily

• The average Australian eats pizza once a month totalling more than 264 million pizzas a year

• Pizza is the most popular style of food eaten

• There are more than 3500 independent pizza shops and 3000 chain pizza shops in Australia

• Pizza is the fastest growing food trend in the Asia Pacific.

billion every year. Here in Australia more than 264 million pizzas are eaten every year.

In that same period, the Global Pizza Challenge has developed into the world’s biggest pizza competition with national events run in countries throughout the Asia Pacific, in Africa and in the Americas.

“I could see a clear, emerging trend in the pizza industry and wanted to launch a prize that would promote and encourage culinary innovation with the world’s favourite food,” Austin says.

“Whether it’s an exotic twist on an old favourite, or a completely original creation, competitors are judged by an internationally recognised panel of chefs on their originality, balance, creativity and excitement factor. And with the winner invited to compete in the global final, competition is always hot.”

Simon Best with his prize-winning pizza.

ARE YOU THE BEST PIZZA MAKER IN AUSTRALIA?

CATCH PAST WINNERS SIMON BEST AND JOHN LANZAFAME GO HEAD TO HEAD IN 2013!

ENTRIES NOW OPEN!

Melbourne Australia 2nd-4th June 2013

Food Services Australia Exhibition, Melbourne Royal Exhibition Centre

Australian Final 4th May 2013

Global Final May 2014

COMPETITION CATEGORIES

PIZZA

Red or White Meat

Seafood including Crustaceans

Vegetarian

Dessert

NEW FOR 2013: “Large Pizza Chain”

PASTA

Red or White Meat

Seafood including Crustaceans

Vegetarian

Dessert

Could you be the best in the world?The Global Pizza and Pasta Challenge is on again for 2013! Proudly sponsored by Fonterra, the event is set to be bigger and better than before with new category for chain restaurants and whole new section of the competition for Pasta.

Entries are now open for Australia’s best pizza and pasta makers with representatives of restaurant chains, franchises, take-away outlets, hotels or suburban hot spots invited to join in and toss up a masterpiece!

Whether it’s an exotic twist on an old favorite, or a completely original creation, Competitors will be judged by an internationally recognised panel of chefs on their originality, balance, creativity and excitement factor.

And with the winner invited compete in the global final, competition is going to be hot.

HOW TO ENTER

Simply visit globalpizzapastachallenge.com fill in the online entry form and pay online. Entries $25 per category.


cOOking THe bOOkS

Beyond butter chickenIndian restaurants in Australia tend to serve the same old dishes, but there’s so much more to this fascinating and diverse cuisine, as chef Kumar Mahadevan, the man behind Sydney restaurants Abhi’s and Aki’s, sets out to prove in his new book From India.

Ph

otograph

y by Mark R

oper.

This is a very popular dish at Aki’s. It’s rich in flavour, light in consistency and sweet from the flavour of the coconut and French shallots. Not much additional oil is required to cook this dish as the duck breasts cook in their own fat. Duck is not the most popular dish in India but the Keralites relish this dish.

6 duck breasts with skin and wing bone (see tip)2 tsp red chilli powder2 tsp finely grated ginger50ml coconut oil4 green cardamon pods6 whole cloves1 cinnamon stick2 long green chillies, thinly sliced diagonally2 springs of curry leaves12 French shallots (eschalots), chopped5cm piece of ginger, finely shredded250ml cocnut milk80ml coconut creamAppams or iddiappams, to serve

Preheat the oven to 160°C and put a baking dish in to heat up.

Score the duck skin a few times with a knife, then rub the skin and meat with the chilli powder, ginger and a little salt. Put in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil and cook the duck in two batches, skin side down, for about 3 minutes or until sealed. Turn over and seal the other side. This is just to seal the meat – do not overcook. Transfer the duck to the preheated baking dish and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the duck and set aside. Drain the excess fat from the baking dish but reserve the juices and set aside for adding to the sauce later.

Heat the remaining coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, green chilli and curry leaves and let these splutter for a few seconds. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes or until softened but without browning,

Add the ginger, coconut milk, reserved duck juices and 125ml of water. Add the duck breasts and cook, covered over low heat for 15 minutes or until the duck is almost cooked.

Duck mappas (Keralan duck curry)Serves: 6 as part of a shared meal

Add the coconut cream and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove the duck from the pan and thickly slice, then return to the sauce. Serve with appams or iddiappams.

This is an edited recipe and image from From India by Kumar Mahadevan and Suba Mahadevan (Murdoch Books, $59.99).

Editor’s note

Appams are bowl-shaped

thin pancakes made from

fermented rice flour.

Iddiappams are steamed

rice noodle cakes.


What’s on shelf this month?

Cook with love by Pete Evans (Murdoch Books, $49.99)

A household name thanks to his role as a judge on television cooking show My Kitchen Rules, Evans philosophy on food is “super easy and full of flavour”. While not all of the recipes in this collection of Evans’ “greatest hits” are as simple to prepare as this suggests, they certainly deliver on internationally-inspired flavour. There are chapters on breakfast, lazy lunches, the barbecue and seafood, to name a few, as well as one on “showing off” which references dishes from some of Australia’s top chefs including Teage Ezard, Tetsuya Wakuda, Neil Perry and Christine Manfield.

The original Lebanese cookbook by Dawn, Elaine and Selwa Anthony (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)

The first comprehensive book of Lebanese cooking to be published outside of Lebanon, this classic volume has been rereleased for a new generation. While Lebanese cuisine is undoubtedly not quite as exotic appearing as it may have seemed in the ’70s, there’s still plenty to excite contemporary readers. Along with favourites such as tabouleh, hoummus, baba ghannouj and fattoush, there are plenty of less familiar dishes, as well as a large number of meat- and dairy-free dishes ideal for giving vegetarian and vegan menus a middle eastern lift.

Cook it raw (Phaidon, $59.96)

Cook it raw reveals the behind-the-scenes story of four of the most innovative dining experiences ever staged, created by a collective of some of the world's most progressive chefs, including Rene Redzepi, Albert Adria, Massimo Bottura and Claude Bosi. Held initially in Copenhagen to mark the 2009 climate change summit the first “Raw” dinner challenged the chefs to examine the issue of sustainability. As the events have developed so too have the issues, themes and general philosophy of the group. With contributions from leading food writers and supporters such as Antony Bourdain, Jeffrey Steingarten and Andrea Petrini, this fascinating book also includes an inspiring collection of the chefs’ own “Raw” recipes, notes and anecdotes. OH

Open House is now available as an iPad app, offering even more ways to enjoy industry news, views and feature stories on the key issues and trends affecting the hospitality industry.

This exciting free app is packed with bonus extras including recipes, behind-the-scenes videos and interactive features.

Updated monthly, the Open House iPad app is available to download

free at the iTunes app store or www.openhousemagazine.net.

Get it while it’s hot!


prOdUcTS

Meatballs of the world

spread on toast, drizzle over granola or muesli, used in baking, or added to sauces and smoothies. It can even be used to make coconut milk or in pina colada cocktails.

The product is ideal for health conscious people or those with dietary requirements as it is gluten free, dairy free and vegan and contains no sweeteners or additives.● www.goodness.com.au

Pretty tastyNot only do they look pretty, but many varieties of flowers are edible. Herbeez offers a large variety of edible blooms to chefs wanting to add a floral touch to their dishes.

Herbeez flowers can be used as a garnish, added to salads, soups, syrups and drinks. They can also be frozen into ice cubes and ice blocks, or used to flavour oil or vinegar.

Markwell foods have added two new meatballs variants

to their range of Flavours of the World Meatballs; Indian Tikka and Moroccan.

The Indian Tikka meatballs are made with a traditional blend of herbs and spices while the Moroccan variety is full of North African flavours. The meatballs are ideal for all occasions including function and special event catering. They can be served as part of canapés and or as part of a platter with a side sauce or dip.

The two new flavours join the rest of the Flavours of the World range which includes Italian, Aussie, Swedish and Flame Grilled.

For institutions and caterers looking for a healthier option there are the Lower Fat Bigger Meatballs, a larger, chunky meatball that is lower in fat but still full of flavour.

The range of pre-cooked meatballs is snap frozen for convenience and to seal in freshness. They are suitable to oven bake, pan fry or microwave, making them quick and easy to prepare.● www.markwellfoods.com.au

Gluten free loavesThe Lifestyle Bakery has developed a new range of gluten free breads called Soft ‘n’ Light which will replace all current Lifestyle Bakery bread loaves.

With four different loaves to choose from having special dietary requirements no longer equates to having no choice.

The range includes White, Soy Linseed, Chia and Quinoa, and Fruit loaves. Each has been individually developed to provide nutritional benefits and excellent taste.

The Soy Linseed loaf is beneficial for heart health, with a high protein content and essential fatty acids; the Chia and Quinoa loaf has a soft texture and unique taste which provides calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium; and the Fruit loaf is packed full of luscious fruit and a hint of spice that makes it a tasty treat at any time.● www.lifestylebakery.com.au

Clean greenMany Australian businesses are choosing to help the environment by cleaning with Enzyme Wizard.

The chemical-free products are an excellent option for businesses looking to be environmentally friendly whilst meeting Occupational Health and Safety Standards.

Australian owned and made, the range has a plant based formula that effectively cleans whilst protecting surfaces. It is 100 per cent biodegradable and contains no harsh chemicals.

The Enzyme Wizard range includes a carpet cleaner, surface spray, heavy duty floor/surface cleaner and bathroom spray and wipe. ● www.enzymewizard.com.au

Going coconutsSydney-based organic and natural food distributer Honest to Goodness has added a new Organic Coconut Butter to their already popular range of coconut products.

The certified organic coconut butter is a mouth watering spread made from 100 per cent whole coconut flesh. It offers an array of health benefits as it contains natural fibre, nutrients and healthy fats.

“There has been a lot of interest around coconut for its health benefits, and is used widely amongst health conscious groups in cooking and baking as a healthy fat packed full of flavour,” says Honest to Goodness managing director Matt Ward.

The coconut butter can be used to


Amongst the most common edible flowers in the range are violas, which offer a vibrant flash of colour to meals and are known to be a natural way of treating arthritis, headaches and body pain, and borage flowers, which have a cucumber taste which works well in salads and dips, as well as punches, lemonade and sorbets.

As well as individual flowers, Herbeez offers flower packs that include violas, borage flowers, basil flowers, mustard flowers and calendula.● www.facebook.com/herbeez

Unique kitchenware hits OzInternational food and wine brand Vacu Vin in now available to foodservice professionals in Australia through Crown Commercial.

Vacu Vin is a Netherlands based brand well known for their innovative and practical kitchen products. Their first product, the Vacuum Wine Saver, which preserves bottle of wine, is now used in more than 30 million households.

Another clever product in the range is the Wine Aerator (pictured above), which slows down wine flow into the glass, allowing the wine to take up extra oxygen, enriching its taste and flavours.

Crown Commercial carries a large variety of the Vacu Vin range and will

unveil a new collection in August. ● www.crowncommercial.com.au

Once more with passionPopular international cider brand Rekorderlig has launched a new passionfruit flavour.

The new passionfruit flavour is made with pure Swedish spring water to create a perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess, and is best

served over ice with a wedge of lime.

Rekorderlig marketing manager Nikki Langford says the brand is “confident that the new Passionfruit addition will be popular amongst females and males”.

The Passionfruit cider will join the various other Rekorderlig flavours including Apple, Pear, Strawberry Lime, Wild Berries, Apple and Blackcurrant and Mango and Raspberry which are already stocked in a number of Australian bars and restaurants.● www.rekorderlig.com/au

Fashion forwardThese days the overall experience of going to a restaurant or bar is determined by more than just the food served.

To ensure waitstaff always look their best and add a touch of style to the experience of dining out Cargo Crew has developed a new line of uniforms.

Cargo Crew uniforms are a modern fusion of fashion and fun that staff can enjoy wearing.

“We believe staff should stand out from the crowd of customers in a cafe, bar or restaurant,” said Cargo Crew director Felicity Rodgers.

“We needed our staff to fit in with the fashion forward, trend setting culture of our inner city bars. We see their look as just as important as the food or drink we provide to our patrons.”

The collection of clothing includes denim aprons (pictured below), shirts, pants, bow ties, neck scarves and blackboard name tags.● www.cargocrew.com.au

Macarons made easyMacaron Silpats are an innovative new product from Demarle that assist chefs who are baking macarons.

The French baking mats have a template on them to ensure macarons are evenly sized and evenly spaced apart; they also help save time piping and reduce wastage.

The Macaron Silpats are made from fibreglass and completely coated with food safe silicon, making them both non-stick and non-slip for easy use. They can be used for both baking and freezing.

Macaron Silpats are available in Australia from Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School.● www.savourschool.com.au OH


preSidenT’S meSSage

Peter WrightAustralian Culinary Federation (ACF)

Now the work beginsElections are in the air and

thankfully ours ran a lot better than the outlook for the incumbent Federal Government.

At the Australian Culinary Federation (ACF) annual general board meeting, on March 24, I had to temporarily step down as president and allow honorary president Glenn Austin to take the chair and oversee our internal elections. As he took control the room filled with looks of fear and trepidation from days passed, however with a unanimous show of hands the election was swift and I was returned to the chair in a matter of minutes. Glenn managed to deliver an informative report on his work within the Pacific Rim (further details at www.austculinary.com.au) and more importantly thanked the outgoing secretary, Patrick O’Brien, who has held the position for over 17 years and more recently managed our

international culinary teams both junior and senior.

In his address Glenn revealed some of the antics of the early hard days and quoted Pat’s most famous quote in a pure Irish accent, “What do you mean, I have not a political bone on my body”. With this said and done it was a sad moment as Pat stepped down and Neil Abrahams accepted the challenge with big shoes to fill. Neil has been a long-term supporter of the Australian Culinary Federation in the ACT and NSW and represented us on national teams from 2002 to 2012.

We also had a change in the treasury with Paul Moore taking over from Deb Foreman who after holding the position for a decade had to step down because of her fulltime employment position with the ACF. The challenging position of vice president was taken on by Bruno Gentile, the current president of the Queensland chapter, who

cUlinary clippingS

works tirelessly to promote our fantastic organisation. Bruno will offer great support to the board assisting in the development of young chefs and creating new sponsorship opportunities. A big thank you to the previous board, and a big challenge ahead for the new board.

In other news, the 2013 Nestlé Professional Golden Chef’s Hat is open for entries so get in early to avoid missing out.

Peter Wright National President Australian Culinary Federation [email protected] www.austculinary.com.au

Talking pointOpen House spoke with South Australian chapter president Ross Hannah about some of the issues facing the foodservice sector.

OH: The Future of Casual Dining Consumer Trend Report by Technomic states that casual dining in on the increase but it is cutting into both limited-service fast-casual restaurants and full-service casual-dining chains, as they trade up and down respectively. What’s your take on that?

Ross: I think the age of the rapidly changing and evolving consumer environment is upon us. Those businesses that can adapt to change relatively quickly and anticipate the shorter attention span of the consumer will have more success. Price driven consumer decisions will undoubtedly continue however I do think it’s more about the experience a business can offer that

will set it apart from competitors.

OH: What new flavours are getting you excited?

Ross: I am looking at clean true flavours this year. I love produce driven cuisine and I am very excited about the opening up of different cuisines and cultures from around the world. I tried a fruit new to me today that one of my demi chefs’ family had posted over from El Salvador – it was called nance (savanna serret or golden spoon). That’s what I love about food, you can find new things every day.

OH: With costs rising and consumers price sensitive can venues use their downtime more effectively – such as hiring out kitchens to caterers?

Ross: I wouldn’t be in a position to do this but good luck to those

that can – I think it’s a great idea. It can be a real balancing act – costs versus revenue. You cannot make money if you’re closed. I’m sure we will see restaurants closing on quiet days as labour costs spiral out of control but I’ve always thought about growing your own crops for a restaurant, so that could be done on down days.

OH: There are reports of exploitation of workers in the foodservice industry with low cash-in-hand rates – are high award wages to blame?

Ross: There has and will always be a cash economy in the world and it seems to become prevalent when economies tighten up. There appears to be so many pieces being cut from a very small pie that I’m sure some operators are simply trying to stay afloat. Of course there are shonky dealings and I certainly do not condone the exploitation of anyone. I don’t necessarily think it’s the high award rates but the on-costs, penalty rates, utility and compliance costs that are certainly putting the squeeze on the industry.


OPEN HOUSE FOODSERVICE is proud to be a diamond sponsor of the ACF.

For information on ACF, visit www.austculinary.com.au,

or contact the ACF National Office via [email protected]

or (03) 9816 9859.

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Official organ for the Australian Culinary Federation; Association of Professional Chefs and Cooks of NSW; Professional Chefs and Cooks

Association of Queensland Inc.; Academie Culinaire de France; College of Catering Studies and Hotel Administration, Ryde, NSW; Les Toques Blanches, NSW Branch; Australasian Guild of Professional Cooks Ltd.

Subscriptions: 1 yr $99; 2 yrs $174; 3 yrs $261 (incl. GST and surface mail). ISSN 0312-5998

PUBLISHER Alexandra Yeomans

MANAGING EDITOR Ylla Wright

JOURNALIST Sheridan Randall

SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Jo Robinson

REGIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Leah Jensen

DESIGN/PRODUCTION Bin Zhou

ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATION [email protected]

Published in Australia by Creative Head Media Pty Ltd · P.O. Box 189, St Leonards, NSW 1590Opinions expressed by the contributors in this magazine are not the opinion of Open House Foodservice. Letters to the editor are subject to editing.

Golden ticket to culinary trip of a lifetimeEntries to this year’s Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award close on May 3, so now is the time to put yourself in the running to win a $15,000 culinary experience for you and a teammate. This year’s national winning team will be awarded a once-in-a-lifetime trip to London to

carry out work experience at world-

renowned, three Michelin-starred

restaurant, The Waterside Inn.

If successful in your region’s heat

you’ll get to cook-off against the

country’s most talented young chefs

at the National Final in Sydney. The

competition is open to apprentice

and junior chefs, who are residents

of Australia and no older than 24

years on September 9, 2013.

You can enter and find out more at

www.facebook.com/goldenchefs or

www.nestle-goldenchefs.com.au. OH

Cupcake fundraiserApprentice chef Rosie Firth (pictured below), of the Royal Canberra Golf Club and junior member of the Australian Culinary Federation NSW, ACT & Region, made over 1200 cupcakes for International Women’s Day, with the support of Bidvest who donated all the ingredients. The theme for International Women’s Day 2013 was “Ending Violence

against Women” and funds raised from the 2013 campaign will be directed towards UN Women’s Critical Services Initiative in Papua New Guinea.

This is not the first time Rosie has given her time freely – in 2011 she assisted local ACF chefs raising $10,000 for the World Cook Tour Against Hunger and last year helped chefs Paul Butler and Neil Abrahams

with a fund raiser for the Australian

National Culinary Team.

In the two years that Rosie has

been cooking she has won the HTN

National Apprentice Competition

as a 1st and 2nd year Apprentice,

has been a finalist in the ACF

National Apprentice Competition

twice and recently participated

in Fonterra’s “Proud To Be A Chef”.

The Australian Culinary Federation’s South Australian chapter held its inaugural social event of the year at the newly established Depot venue in Adelaide last month.

It was a great chance to mingle and network with other key stakeholders in the industry.

Tuckeroo proprietor Andrew Fielke (pictured) and his team hosted ACF members and guests at the Tuckeroo pop-up food stall, showcasing some of his new lines and the interesting native food products Tuckeroo has to offer.

South Australia goes social

Make High Country premium grain fed pork your choice.

Straight from the CountryFood service is all about quality produce. That’s why High Country Pork comes straight from our farms in northern Victoria and the southern Riverina.

Our carefully managed herd is raised on a diet of high quality Australian grain, much of it also locally grown. Our herd combines the best of the duroc, landrace and large white breeds and is raised in large breezy shelters where they forage freely in straw and socialise naturally.

With all of our own facilities onsite, High Country Pork is gently tenderised and then

Top Cut Foods – Melbourne 03 8371 5400Top Cut Foods – Sydney 02 8594 2333

Call today to place your order

vacuum sealed within 24 hours of leaving the farm. That’s why our pork is so moist and delicious – even when meals have to be held.

High Country Pork offers a full range of cuts to chef ’s specifications. That means fantastic options for every menu and cooking style. Chefs love High Country’s

easy preparation and excellent value, diners just love the beautifully tender and delicious Pork.

Serving High Country Pork means confidence. Your diners will always get the delicious taste you intended – guaranteed.

0325 0313

Top Cut Foods – Adelaide 08 8245 8099Top Cut Foods – Newcastle 02 4964 7777Top Cut Foods – Queensland 07 5568 8888 PORK

Rivalea High Country Magazine Full Page Advertisement FINAL

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