HTN Blog

Too many years ago, when I was learning about menu writing, seasons were a serious influence on the dishes chosen to make up the menu. Normally it was a quarterly issue and so Winter would herald great big soups (delicious and profitable), casseroles, braises – more deliciousness and profit.

Apart from the fact, our bodies need different foods for nutrition in the colder parts of the year, there is also the expectation from our customers to see these winter warmers on our menus. There can be no confusion about how our customers’ love of these flavour packed dishes that now days are increasingly mass-produced by food manufacturers and come already prepared to be reheated.

Where I live, in the sub-tropics, I guess I am surprised to see steamed puddings listed on menus in Summer when I would naturally expect to see them only as winter items. However, to me, seeing these profitable puddings on the menu is only an indication that the majority of customers would rarely see these Granny desserts at home. Steamed Caramel Pudding, Sticky Date pudding and self-saucing chocolate desserts, Bread and Butter Puddings and variations on that theme, are always popular and is really easy to prepare.

And that idea goes along with a lot of other slow cooked, flavour packed casserole-style dishes.  Even with the advent of slow cookers at home, many people love to eat braised lamb shanks and other similar dishes in our eateries. Why not? They are scrumptious and always profitable for operators.

It is another lesson for us that if we give our customers what they want to eat, they will be satisfied, regardless of the season.

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I am glued to every cooking adventure that The Chefs’ Line brings on SBS TV. So far there has been so much delicious interest introduced to our small screens as we watch the magic of ethnic cooking unfold. So far there has been Lebanese, Chinese, Turkish and so many more multicultural cuisines featured.

Under the baton of the Magical Maeve O’Meara, this thought-provoking show lets us see home cooks pitted against the professional chefs that specialise in the specific cuisine that is being featured. I just love the way that the dishes unfold without any trickery. Good on SBS for having such forethought for this show and such brilliant production quality.

More to the point it is another example of where food has come in this country and how well such cooking shows have been accepted. Sure there are plenty other shows on other networks, all featuring the superb produce of this country and the super exponents that make them and their dishes some of the best, if not the best, in the world.

There can be no doubt that Australia’s ethnic mix is abundant in our country and also that two of the chefs I have seen (and know) are fully trained in the apprentice system (as are George and Curtis) and with that basic training and good industry experience they have gone on to operate excellent restaurants that lead the way to sublime eating in our country.

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While visiting the USA just recently – for most of March – I couldn’t help but notice that the restaurant business was as buoyant as ever which only goes to show that not even the bizarre antics of an ‘interesting’ president can disrupt the need for people to eat and enjoy.

And just like us, the American population certainly know how to enjoy themselves while circulating big bucks into the hospitality industry. You can be assured of good service, well almost 99.99% of the time and bountiful plates of food which is mostly good to eat.

I have been going to the USA since 1979 either to play or to work and have always come away with something new and this time, I came away with the realisation or reinforcement that the American work ethic is as sound as ever. Like us, they sure can work hard and perhaps the point I did notice was they staff:customer ratio has changed. In the places we went, there were more customers to wait staff than I had previously noticed.

However, be that as it may, and it may be only the places we went, the smiling service staff of San Diego and Fort Lauderdale were there for us. As for the guys on the ship we cruised on, they put the capital W in hard Work – boy do they do it.

The joy of travel is that we learn as we go and that is a point we all need to think about and that while we are enjoying, we are also watching the various cultures at play. Long may the cultures vary!

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What is Aussie cuisine?

Ask anyone their opinion and you are likely to get answers ranging from “I don’t know” to “I know it when I see it” and everything in between.

In the most recent Gault&Millau Australia review of dining establishments in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, more than 300 restaurants indicated that they serve “Contemporary Australian Cuisine”, but most were unable to give an informative explanation or even the defining characteristics of such a cuisine. It was this lack of a clear answer that gave birth to the Aussie Cuisine project.

There is no doubt that the past 25 years have seen the food offered in Australian restaurants and on our tables at home change considerably. Over this time, a new food culture evolved in which quality and variety – in contrast to an earlier focus on quantity – became important to many Australians. And while trends and food fashions are ever-changing, not only in Australia but in all the world’s major culinary centres, it is clear that there are certain key pillars on which our “Aussie Cuisine” is based.

Gault&Millau Australia’s Mission

“To define the current cultural cuisine of Australia while acknowledging its past and offer guidance for its future. To advocate its values domestically and internationally by providing vested industries a clear identity to promote the vast and talented culinary landscape within Australia”.

Gault&Millau Australia want to hear from you

You can get involved by letting them know what you think by commenting on their articles, or by submitting an article for publication to their team at [email protected].

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I look back in awe and amazement at the palate from which we cooks and chefs have to choose our produce and products from and I say look back from when I started cooking in 1970. For example, when writing menus in those days, Avocado was listed for two only because they were very seasonal and rare and expensive. Now, look at avocados and their year around availability.

The other expansive effect on the palate has been the brilliant range of ethnic cuisines from which to choose and the mighty Australian appetites that have embraced dishes from all over the world. Doesn’t that make choosing the dishes to capitalise on seasonal glut products easy?

Tradition also plays a big part in our choice of dishes. How long is it to Easter? – not long and naturally one thinks of Easter eggs which were originally hens eggs that had been painted or decorated in some fashion. However, the egg was and is significant as it culturally represented the start or rebirth of life and living. The old one of which came first…the egg or? Let’s leave that out.

But there are so many different ethnic dishes that have a traditional value and some rules by which we have to adhere – traditional Jewish food for example. When you start to explore the availability of the traditional dishes, you’ll find a richness of dishes from which to expand your menu knowledge and recipes.

Happy Easter and enjoy – even though you’ll be working hard through this busy period.

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When you’re a cook, chef, or apprentice you’re never far removed from the supplier of the basic we need to ply our trade. The primary producers (farmers) that make it possible to use the superb produce to cook to satisfy our customers.

So we need to spare a thought for these extraordinary hard working people who continue to work in these days of record heat, fires and personal confrontations. Can you imagine how difficult it is to do what they do as we ride to work in air conditioned comfort be that is trains to cars or buses? No such luxury for most of the farmers.

Watching tour produce turn to mush because of the heat or watching your grapes turn to raisins on the vines or having to euthanise your sheep because of fire damage must be challenging and heartbreaking – yet farmers are having to face up to these dilemmas and worse. Our hearts goes out to them.

On our side of things, it is inevitable that prices of goods rise and consequently, restaurateurs, F&B managers are faced with increasing the selling prices of the dishes that compromise the menu – or find another way around passing on these unwanted hikes in prices. Customers hate price increases.

Whatever way you look at it, we are a part of this chain and we must empathize with our primary producers and say thanks to them for all their efforts and professionalism.

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Happy New Year to everyone and may 2017 be all you would want. Time goes so quickly for me and your busy life as a Chef/cook, I am sure it goes just as quickly – maybe even more so.

In my retirement, I can only reminisce about this time of year and in my restaurants/work places, as in everyone’s; it was still a busy time of year. It is even more so now with so many more people to serve as people eat out for all meals and at all times of the day. Needless to say, in my early years of cooking and restaurant operation, breakfast was only ever offered in hotels. Now it is a major part of trading in cafes and so on.

Only another example of how the world of hospitality has changed (and continues to changes) and again it emphasises the fact that we, in the business of hospitality, have to be able to meet those changes and satisfy our customers’ needs.

From all the mates I know in the business, their take is the need for fluidity and going with the flow as they say. Meeting the growing expectations of our expanding customer base is the challenge that has to be met. And it is our bosses that have to make those decisions (maybe you are the boss) to keep their businesses going to pay our wages.

It’s all a part of a busy time for all concerned in hospitality, especially when you are a Chef or a cook. Happy New Year!

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It’s hot here in sunny Queensland – very hot! For me the high temperatures herald Christmas is near as we are so used to being hot, sweaty and humid right now. You could say it is traditional.

Then this time of the year is full of traditions, Christmas traditions. And one of those traditions is that we as cooks, chefs whatever, will work our butts off as it the busiest time of the year for most business we work in. And our customers are looking for traditional fare. No matter how much we think we can create new dishes for the holiday period, it will always come down to the expected Christmas food – the roast pork and apple sauce, the turkey and the trimmings, Plum pudding and custard…soon it goes. You know what I’m talking about as so many of your will have been reared in this Christmas fare.

As much as we try excite our customers to try something more suitable to eat for this time of the year, the old favs will always win out. Comes back to the fact that we must give our customers what they want; after all they are the reason we do what we do. Funny thing, you give ‘em what they want and they come back for more.

We are charged to use our skills in cooking the meals for our customers. Nothing new about that but then some of these dishes may not be what you cook regularly. Cooking a whole turkey takes real skill as does getting the crackling right on the pork. So few businesses make apple sauce from scratch which is a shame as it is so delicious.

So Christmas is nearly on us and from me to you all, a Happy Christmas. Remember you are a part of making so many peoples’ lives happy with you cooking skills over this traditional time of the calendar.

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Terminus on Darby is located at Shop 1/88 Darby Street, Cooks Hill 230 and is the perfect place to sit back and let the world go by!

With word of mouth, Google and Facebook reviews going through the roof, they MUST be doing something right!

From sandwiches, wraps and finger foods to Cocktail style and share meals they are able to either cater at your function or you can simply pick up from in store.

It’s simple, all you need to do is give them a call or flick them an e-mail with the details!

Bookings – (02) 49069195

Email: [email protected]

Monday through to Friday they aim to cater for those who are working with fresh, healthy and quick breakfasts and lunches from our display fridge so you don’t have to wait – these are available eat-in or takeaway. Of course they also have more substantial eat-in options and importantly, they have an extended weekend breakfast menu as well as their quicker options still on offer.

Dinner is a variety of bar snacks, share plates and main meals to suit all tastes – and of course craft beers, wines and cocktails.

 

 

 

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Hello there or should I say Aloha, the traditional hello here in Hawaii where I sit and look at the stunning azure ocean waters off Kona on the Big Island. It is so good to be here not only to holiday but to see the locals in action and it is a place where lots of examples of native ingredients being incorporated into the local eating scene.

Sure, you can find any number of hamburger joints as a result of demand by customers and that is a given but there is also the remarkable laid back, but yet, efficient waiter service ensuring we get what we want and always with a huge welcoming smile. Lots of Mahalos, thanks you!.

As I write this I find myself reflecting on the fact that I came to the United States of America (via Hawaii) for the first time in 1979 – amazingly, nearly 40 years ago and the one constant I find in the numerous consequent visits to the USA, is excellent service on the floor. There are so many factors to this excellence in service, including the appallingly low wages paid to waitstaff (in comparison with Australia) and so therefore the reliance on tips is to considered but then, there is also the natural friendliness of Americans.

Travel allows learning and indeed that was very much a part of the inspiration of the Peter Howard Culinary Scholarship. As you may know, it is an annual award run by HTN from which the winner receives an international return airfare and $5000 spending money. There have been loads of winners and they return with so much information from their travels that ultimately goes on to benefit our local industry.

It’s not too late to enter – look in the HTN website and please excuse me as I get back to this neglected MaiTai sitting here and looking lonely.

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