Australian Tropical Foods

French Food

2011-06-13T21:32:00.008+10:00

Published: 28th May 2011

Arriving in Paris early in the morning I sat comfortably at a table ina little café for a coffee & croissant.
It amused me to see Parisian’s dropped in, stand at the bar to drinkingcoffee, eat a croissant, read the morning papers, and off they would go. Such is a busy life when you don’t have thetime to sit and enjoy breakfast.

At lunch queues wind around corners at the best boulangerie for themost fabulous quiches, tarts, rolls and salads; eaten on a stool in the shop oron the go in the streets. Breakfast andlunch ‘on the run’ is obviously made up for at dinner when the sidewalk cafesare brimming with customers who live in minute inner city apartments and userestaurants as their social space.

A glance at the many restaurant menus showed consistency in traditional French dishes, but I was looking for a different food experience. Going solo infrance I was happy to gather fresh produce and have it at my apartment where Icould rest my weary body from walking the streets of Paris all day. I find markets and food stalls more exciting than tourist restaurants.

The fishmonger who sets up his stall outside a fashion shop, and thebutcher who has a wonderful selection of meats that are cut or prepared in manydifferent ways, rabbit, different styles of branded poultry (corn feed chicken quail, duck, goose etc). I loved how the fruit and vegetable stalls presented their wares, with masses of punnets of berries, water features to cool the lettuces and signs that tell you where everything is grown or produced. The vegetables are proudly presented as quality and the spring season at present is right for large white and small wild green asparagus and bright red ‘saveurs ancienne’ (heirloom) tomatoes. The Fromageries are to die for with a vast selection of cow, sheep and goat cheeses. Where milk is raw (not pasteurised) the cheese has a sensational creamy flavour. It was the chocolate and macaroon shops that I had to resist.

But now I am in southern France on the Cotes du Azur and ready to experience more regional flavours. I am here for a week with friends at a stunning location just outside the village of La Colle sur Loup in a beautiful house with an olive grove owned by a recognised architect/interior designer Jacqueline Morabito. This very chic house has views over the Mediterranean Sea and across the valley to the ancient
fortified village of Saint Paul de Vence.

Only two hours from Italy the cuisine is a blend of Provencal French and Italian with a growing influence of North Africa. Meals are simple and dishes reflect the bounty of produce from the region. Street markets stock only the best quality fresh products and in true French style, presentation and packaging are foremost.

Our evening meals are usually taken in the garden overlooking the olive grove (the oldest tree labelled approx.1,500 years old) and in this northern hemisphere sunlit evening we sit around a large weathered table to enjoy a simple traditional Nicoise meal. Pissaladiere, roasted peppers with garlic homemade olive oil and balsamic, red tomato and Mozzarella, white asparagus gently steamed and served with butter and parmesan along with a green salad, batard bread and a pinot noir.

Simple but magnificent! I need to pinch myself.

World's Best Restaurants

2011-06-13T21:24:00.000+10:00

Published: 7th May 2011

The San Pellagrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurants Award
has surpassed Michelin Star rating as the beacon of the ‘culinary best’ and
this year judged by over 800 industry experts, Danish Noma Restaurant from
Copenhagen seized the top position again for the second year running.

The restaurant they claimed the ‘One to Watch‘ due
to its meteoric rise, is the two Michelin star Frantzén/Lindeberg restaurant of
Stockholm, Sweden. So does this confirm
the suggestion of a new trend to Nordic cuisine? Noma’s Chef Rene Redzepi is noted for his
foraging approach to using quality local ingredients, applying innovative
techniques and a new term ‘emotive’ that arouses memories. However Rene and
many of his contemporaries claim inspiration from the Spanish movement?

The Spanish movement was popularised by doyen Ferran
Adria and his El Bulli restaurant just north of Barcelona. El Bulli (The Bulldog) held number one
position for five years in the Worlds 50 Best Restaurant. However early last year, Ferran opted out of
nominations when he decided to voluntarily close his restaurant for two years
to simply revive his culinary direction. It has taken until July this year to
honour his reservations before actually closing. Yet the Spanish movement is not just about El
Bulli, in the past seven years, two other restaurants from the Basque region
have consistently been in the World’s Top 10: Mugaritz and Arzaks from the San
Sebastian food hotspot region. And in 2009 another Barcelona restaurant, El
Celler de Can Roca rocketed up 21 places to number 5 positions and this year
became the second best restaurant in the world. Proving the Spanish movement is still alive.

Sometimes you just have to indulge yourself and
this week I am off to Europe for a sensory journey around France, Italy and the
new food mecca; Spain. Spending a week
in both Barcelona and San Sebastian and I am going to indulge in some of these restaurants. I can’t believe I was able to get a booking
at Arzaks and at Ferran Adria’s new Tapas Bar Tickets & 41 °. So all I have to do now is
decide on either Mugaritz or El Celler de Can Roca.

In the next few weeks I will keep you posted on
these restaurants and my travels through this page and my blog at http://australiantropicalfoods.blogspot.com/

Port Douglas Carnivale

2011-04-26T19:32:00.006+10:00

Published: 30th April 2011

Each year the Port Douglas Carnivale seems to be getting better and better. Last year the event organisers, Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce really started to focus on food by introducing two excellent events; the Food Fight and Palates of Port. This year they have added a Food Fair in conjunction with the Food Fight that have gained noted sponsorship from Taste Paradise, the new regional food brand. You know the event is going to be good when heavy-weight food event sponsors Audi come on board for the Palates of Port. Audi sponsors a number of large southern state food festivals such as Noosa Food & Wine Festival.

Heralding in the start of this week-long suite of events is the classic Sheraton Mirage Longest Lunch on Friday 20 May, and this year is proving to be extra special featuring the first ever North Queensland release of the renown Penfolds Bin wine series.

On Saturday 21 May, the Cancer Council Queensland’s Mossman Port Douglas branch is hosting a Mad Hatters High Tea party at Sheraton Mirage to raise money for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. What is really mad is the fact that it will be held in the afternoon? …but all for a good cause!

The Food Wine & a Taste of Port is always a winner, especially if you arrive in time to watch the impressive sunset. This year Craig Squire of Ochre Restaurant is offering his winning Taste Paradise Signature Dish of Tempura bugs, papaya salad, with sweet chilli lemon myrtle dipping sauce.

With the Seafood Extravaganza on Sunday morning at the Meriden Marina Mirage, you may as well start booking accommodation for the weekend. A feed of prawns straight from the trawler goes down well after a stroll around the Port Douglas Markets.

Stay the whole week, as on Wednesday 25 May, 5 Senses at the sugar wharf will take you on a sensory adventure of art for sight, music for sound, cheese for taste, wine for smell, and meeting others adds a nice touch.

Taste Paradise Food Fight on Friday 27 May is great fun where chefs of Port battle it out in a Masterchef style competition, held in conjunction with the Food Fair with offerings from restaurants and providores.

The Palates of Port this year on Saturday 28 May will be held in the magical setting of Flames of the Forrest where eight chefs from Port’s Salsa, Bucci, Flames of the Forest, Bistro 3, Harrison’s, 2 Fish, Port Douglas Catering, & Sheraton Mirage. The first 100 ticket holders to book online and win an Audi to drive for a weekend!

Support our region and go online at www.carnivale.com.au for information about these and other events.

Natty Nathan

2011-04-26T19:18:00.005+10:00

Published: 23rd March 2011

New to Cairns is Nathan Thompson, Executive Chef of the Cairns Hilton. Coming from South Australia you know straight away that he is going to be interested in regional food. No other state celebrates its culinary culture better than South Australia, and Nathan learned his skills from the best.

Nathan started his apprenticeship at the Hotel School at Regency TAFE. He graduated with a Level 3 Certificate in Cookery, Advanced Patisserie, Chinese Cookery and Bakery. He learned traditional methods from a third generation German patissier; many of these skills have been passed-by in today’s kitchen training.

In 1999 Nathan commenced at the Adelaide Hilton in the same year that the hotel’s Grange Restaurant head chef; the great Cheong Liew received his Medal for Order of Australia (OAM). This medal was awarded for distinguished recognition for “service to the food and restaurant industry through involvement in developing and influencing the style of contemporary Australian cuisine". Cheong Liew taught Nathan about creativity and flavours. After rotating through all areas of this large kitchen under the tutelage of Executive Chef Bethany Finn he learned about process.

“Cooking is about Method, Process & Flavour. If you have good methods and process; you will get the flavour right” says Nathan.

What Simon Bryant taught Nathan was that chefs can’t just stay in the kitchen these days. Simon, who was Executive Chef at the Adelaide Hilton, became well known through ‘The Cook and the Chef’ television program with Maggie Beer. Simon understood that customers in the restaurant want to meet the chef and as Sous Chef Nathan learnt the importance of customer – food - relationship.

During his 11 years at Hilton Adelaide, Nathan was a champion of fresh and ethical foods, supporting the RSPCA’s Choose Wisely campaign to promote free range eggs, and upholding the trademarked Seriously South Australian®, maximising the use of local produce within the hotel. Nathan was also called on by the South Australian Government, to assist with the development of the food chain on Kangaroo Island; working with restaurants and producers, where getting the locals involved was essential to its success.

With qualifications in cookery, advanced patisserie, Chinese cookery and bakery, Nathan recently transferred to the Cairns Hilton and is now seeking out local tropical foods for his new menus.

Passionate Nick

2011-04-26T19:11:00.005+10:00

Published: 16th April 2011

There is an interesting fact about Nick Holloway, chef/owner of Nunu Restaurant in Palm Cove; Nick didn’t start out to be a chef …he was studying to be a scientific engineering. Like a number of uni students, he grabbed a part-time job as a kitchen hand in a Melbourne restaurant to make ends meet.

What surprised this keen top grade student that was heading to a professional career; he discovered a new career paradigm. “it was very different! tough work, long hours but it had a certain excitement about it’ remembers Nick. “The chef would throw dirty pans from one end of the kitchen and every time they would end up in the sink in front of me” he added. It was not only the action, timing, fun and comradery in the kitchen that appealed to Nick but this is where his suppressed artistic side could be expressed. He decided to swap university for William Anglis College where he commenced a hospitality course.

It was at an event where Nick was working at Howque Dale in the Victorian countryside where some of Australia’s top chefs gathered, and that he met his mentor Geoff Lindsay. “Blown away” by Geoff’s skills and philosophy of cooking he immediately contacted him and started work shortly thereafter at the acclaimed Stella Restaurant in Melbourne.

Nick never actually finishing his cooking study; it was his artistic creativeness and passion for cooking that came to the fore and under the tutelage of Geoff, where his culinary skills shone. From one mentor to another, Nick moved to the critically acclaimed Blake’s Restaurant where he worked with Andrew Blake before returning to Geoff Lindsay’s new and awarded Pearl Restaurant as head chef. Here he had a chance to really express his professionalism and was featured as one of 13 young Australian chefs by the Lifestyle Channel and made guest presentation television appearances.

With his wife Amy and business partner Jason Rowbottam, they made a sea change to Palm Cove and started Nunu restaurant in 2004. Winning numerous awards at Nunu, it didn’t finish there for Nick and Jason, last year they opened two other tiers of catering in Palm Cove. Numi is a little takeaway with home cooked meals, packaged food and delicious ice-cream for apartment dwellers and The Rising Sun; a fun pub style haunt for locals. Where Nunu reeks of tropical style, elegance and culinary innovation, The Rising Sun is laid back with a modest casual style menu of wide appeal. Their Sunday barbecue takes you around the world from Greece, Thailand, USA, changing every week and with a cool breeze and live music it’s a pretty good Sunday afternoon venue.

A dotting family man Nick makes time to share with Amy and his three gorgeous children. Amy who has also been in the hospitality industry understands Nick’s love of restaurants as a place of creativity, vibrancy, hard work, intelligence and pleasure, and one where his role is to pass on the knowledge.

Nick is one of those passionate chefs who seek out farmers and providores to find interesting and unusual local foods for his menu and has just renamed one of his most popular dishes using palm hearts ‘taste paradise’.

Phil's Philosophy

2011-04-26T19:04:00.001+10:00

Published 9th April 2011

This week I popped into see what was happening at the Reef House and caught up with Chef Philip Mitchell and newly appointed and well-known local Kelly Eustace, who has taken over as General Manager. There seemed to be a new buzz to the resort that has put a smile on Philip’s face with a vision of bringing back the former glory to the restaurant.

Philip is one of our regions recognised chefs, being at Reef House for many years now he has played host to and cooked with some of the most popular celebrity chefs such as Rick Stein, Guy Grossi, Neil Perry, Chrissy Mansfield, Stephane Manfredi, Ian Hewitson, Luke Mangan, Manu Fieldel, Gary Mehigan, Miguel Maestre and Ben O’Donoghue. Phil has done his share of guest chef also at some of the best Australian Food events where he has promoted the food of this region.

An Englishman, Phil’s love of travel took him to many European countries where he honed his culinary skills prior to reaching Australia. Phil worked at the best restaurants in Noosa and was executive chef of the Bedarra Resort before being discovered by Reef House.

Phil’s cooking philosophy is about simplicity on the plate and allowing the hero ingredient to speak for itself. His love of seafood is evident on the menu and style is influenced by his Mediterranean experiences using local products such as Vanella buffalo fetta and burrata cheeses for authenticity. But it’s not all about Europe, there are some lovely Asian flavours that balance the menu perfectly for this climate.

Now that the recent hiatus with change of ownership has now come to an end, Philip (and Kelly) will be working closely with the new owners to revive the restaurant to once again be the star attraction of the resort. The Reef House now joins the other boutique property of its new owners; Mt Lofty House in the Adelaide Hills; an area that reeks of regional food prowess. So I think it will be ‘watch this space’ for the Reef House in the coming year when we hope to see some exciting culinary events happen.

Jonssons Farm Market

2011-04-26T18:07:00.004+10:00

Published: 2nd April 2011

No doubt you have heard about it by now? You can’t have missed the striking facade on the Cook Highway at Stratford. The Jonsson Farm Market finally opened this week and full credit to Warren and Gail Jonsson who have done a magnificent job of creating a local food produce market.

With a ‘can do’ attitude, it’s been hard for some to keep up with Warren and his vision to provide honest prices for the producer and consumer. Being a cattleman, his extensive butchery offers excellent Tablelands beef, pork, and chicken. But you can also find spitchcock, quail and rabbit in the frozen section as well as a full range of Jervois organic meats, and this weekend will see the first batch of prawns arrive.

There’s a wide range of quality fruit and vegetables including your standard temperate climate varieties. At present, our wet season is a quite time for the most crops of the region, but you can still find a good selection of tropicals at Jonsson’s.

The big surprise is a real showcase of packaged and processed foods from Rainforest Bounty, Kuranda Kandy, Wondaree Macadamias, Tropical Harvest dried fruits, Shaylees Conserves, SpiceZ curry kits, Gagarra Honey, Nerada and Daintree Teas, all the regions coffees, to name a few.

In the fridges you’ll find all the Mungalli and Misty Mountain products, Gallo’s Cheese, and in the freezer is Kuranda Ice-cream and check out the chocolate coated bananas and other fruits by Tropical Harvest. Tableland flowers and a juice bar completes the scene.

The great wall murals at Jonsson’s Farm Market proudly demonstrates that this is very much a family affair and very much ‘local’. Go along and have a look for yourself and support the Jonssons and the producers of the region.

Bring our ya Fruit

2011-04-26T18:04:00.001+10:00

Published: 26th March 2011

Haven’t planned anything for Sunday? Tomorrow is one of my favourite events of the region. Market Day at the Feast of the Senses in Innisfail is going to be bigger and better despite what the weather has thrown at the district.

It is usual for the ‘Ultra-Tropics’ to put on a stunning display of its exotic fruits each year at the Market day. However with all crop devastation in the southern region, the Feast of the Senses is asking people to bring to the event (from far and wide) any exotic fruits from their backyard orchard, to make up one gigantic display. They are offering a prize of Clare Richards Tropical Cuisine cookbook for the most exotic fruit received.

Spread along Edith Street will be 72 stalls of laden with regional foods, exotic plant and other general items that you can taste and buy. Look out for the Taste Paradise stall. On centre stage Ajay Zalte of Rydges Resort will be back again this year with cooking demonstrations along with Jordan Lakin of the Barrier Reef Motel and our celebrity chef; Peter Russell-Clarke. You can also catch Peter wandering around between the Elandra Resort and Australian Banana marquees.

Just around the corner in Rankin Street, the family area will be home to the Youth Precinct with ‘Our Kitchen Rules’ competition, artists workshops, busking, circus and street theatre and rambutan stacking competition. (I wonder how many rambutans they can source.)

After looking at all that food you will probably be feeling a little peckish, so head on to the Canecutters Court for some local vittles and entertainment. Landcare have offered two free (1 hour) bus tours that will take you around the devastated and regrowth areas, one at 10.30 one at 12.00.

It’s a wonderful day and this year you can expect the unexpected, so jump in your car, throw the kids in the back; it’s a 1 hour cruise down to Innisfail for the day. At just $2 per adult and unaccompanied minors, $5 for a family, it’s a good opportunity to put a bit of money back into the Cassowary Coast economy. The Feast of the Senses Market Day is held in the main street of Innisfail from 9am – 3pm this Sunday. For further information check out the website www.feastofthesenses.com.au

Larry & Yasi - Still a Feast

2011-04-26T17:56:00.005+10:00

Published: 19th March 2011

Come hell or high water (literally), the Innisfail Feast of the Senses gets under way this weekend and what a great opportunity it will be to show your support to the good people of the Cassowary Coast.

Starting today with Taste Paradise Food Trails, you will be driven around the cyclone affected areas to taste and learn about the foods of the ‘Ultra Tropics’. On Saturday the tour travels north to take in Mungalli Dairy, Yamagishi Eggs, Mena Creek Eco Gardens and Broken Nose Vanilla. On Sunday the coach travels south to Lizzio’s Banana Plantation, Salleras Fruit Forest Farm and Spurwood Springs. If you can’t make the coach tour this weekend, a self drive tour around the region will take place this coming week.

Special guest of the festival is Peter Russell-Clarke, a very talented icon of the Australian food scene; and the ‘original’ celebrity chef. What this down-to-earth Aussie hasn’t done doesn’t matter. His CV is star studded from writing, producing and presenting over 900 television shows, documentaries and programme segments, to publishing and nationally distributing a magazine. He has been a cooking writer for all the popular food mags, has written and illustrated 25 cookbooks and has recently published an Encyclopaedia of Food. He has been a food editor of a major newspaper and guest on all the national TV and radio talk-back shows. Peter became controversial when his bloopers featured on You Tube. Known for ‘Where’s the Cheese’ is only one of the many food television commercials that Peter presented.

Peter may have cooked the Silver Jubilee Dinner in Australia for HRH Prince Charles as well as having cooked for the Duke of Edinburgh but his style these days is very simple and relaxed.

An avid artist, for many years Peter was the Melbourne Herald’s political cartoonist so you’ll find his quick witted stories will have you in stitches. Peter will be the guest speaker at the Ultra Tropics Gala Dinner on Friday 25^th March so it’s sure to be a very funny night. Craig Squire of Ochre Catering once again has created a wonderful menu for the evening in the beautiful deco shire hall.

You can catch Peter at the very popular Market Day on Sunday 27^th March where the best of the regions food produce will be on display. This is a day I really love and worth the mere one hour drive from Cairns for a good day out.

In its ninth year, the Feast of the Senses is well entrenched in our region as an event not to be missed. So help support the community and check out the website www.feastofthesenses.com.au or call Kirsty on 0413 010 625 for full details of the events that start this weekend and continue through to next Sunday.

If I train them and they leave - If I don't train them and they stay??

2011-04-26T17:52:00.001+10:00

Published: 12th March 2011

Gavin King has now referred to the service at a Cairns restaurant, similar to two snowflakes or two circumcisions; no two are the same??? Well Advance Cairns has decided to do something about it and through its food project will assist restaurants with ‘Aussie Host’ customer service training.

Great news, as this comes on the heels of a recent survey by Restaurant and Catering Australia that for every dollar you spend in a restaurant 44 cents goes towards wages and salaries. With staffing costs taking the highest percentage of earnings, you would expect great service, but alas that is not always the case. Finding good staff and retaining them is the bane of the industry these days and no one is prepared to train the itinerant backpackers who are filling the void. But what a vicious circle?

About 15 years ago ‘Aussie Host’; a customer service training program was rolled out across Australia. This one day course taught front of house staff in the tourism and hospitality industry, the art of making service a memorable experience. Something that today is repeatedly reportedly lacking in numerous establishments in this region! Back then many of our hotels, restaurant and tourism operators enrolled their staff in Aussie Host and surely this contributed to a more customer focused reputation in hospitality of the region at that time. Unfortunately management staff move on and Aussie Host was by-passed. It was a couple of years ago that Aussie Hosts made a comeback and although not taken up with the same zest as its former incarnation, it’s still an excellent training course that should be encouraged in every hospitality and tourism enterprise.

As a prerequisite to work in a restaurant, you need to have completed a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course. To uphold the reputation of this region, I believe it should be mandatory also for everyone (including backpackers) to have completed an ‘Aussie Host’ training course before serving customers in our restaurants.

Sustainable Seafood

2011-04-26T17:51:00.000+10:00

Published: 5th March 2011

This week heralds the opening of the prawn season and fishers will be at sea for the next three weeks before bringing back the first bounty of prawns of the season. These fabulous morsels are the culinary icons of our region and to consume or serve an imported alternative should be deemed as sacrilege.

Strangely enough there is a assumption that our fishing industry does not care about over fishing and the extinction of a seafood, but that if far from the truth. With the exception of a minute number of rogue fishers, the Queensland seafood industry as a whole care very much for the ‘hand that feeds them’ and have self monitored and governed their fishing areas for many years and in 2001 a local group formed Eco-fish to formalise their activities. The Australian fishing industry is possibly the most regulated of its kind in the world and thus we have seasons, quotas and environmental regulations for each fishing sector. Hence the prawn season!

A publication of the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s (AMCS) Sustainable Seafood Guide recently caught my attention with over 100 species relegated to the categories of Better Choice, Think Twice, or Say No. I was surprised to see such a large number of seafood condemned to the Think Twice, or Say No category, so my scepticism led me to investigate.

Fortunately I didn’t have to look very far to find Nick Ruello who lives in Cairns and is a former fisheries scientist, Sydney fish merchant and consultant. For the past 45 years he has worked with many Australian businesses and national and international R & D projects on fisheries management and seafood processing, marketing, and quality assurance. He is a Slow Food member and acts as a seafood advisor on the Ark of Taste program. He is a founding member of the Australian Society for Fish Biology and a board member on two seafood industry organizations. He has an MSc degree from Sydney University and lesser qualifications in various fields.

Mentioning this publication touched a raw nerve with Nick. As he explains “Quite a few of their assessments are poorly founded and many of the Think Twice recommendations are so vague and general they are of little use” Nick gives the example “All trawl caught prawns are relegated to the Think Twice category although Australian trawlers are world leaders in sustainable harvesting, by-catch reduction and minimising environmental impacts and the major fisheries pass the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act assessment”.

Nick contrasts the AMCS approach with the considered, constructive efforts being made by the Australian Conservation Foundation in collaboration with government fisheries managers, the University of Technology Sydney and the seafood industry to guide consumers to more sustainable seafood choices

(www.acfonline.org.au/seafood).

It is concerning when a ‘guide’ can be published with misleading information that can impact on an industry and on what we feel comfortable with at our dinner table. A full report of Nick’s findings can be found at www.australiantropicalfoods.com news page. So in three week, grab a kilo of fresh prawns and ‘enjoy’.

Serious Cooking

2011-04-26T17:50:00.000+10:00

Published: 26th February 2011

In most parts of the world’s hospitality sector it is not uncommon to find a more mature workforce cooking or serving your meal, and here in Australia some twenty years ago this was the case. However for one reason or another the industry’s age went into free-fall and only the young were hired.

When I first started in hospitality I was inducted into a team of mature people who really knew their stuff; I am talking about gloved silver service and other skills that these people executed with much aplomb. Chef’s who learned how to bone out a carcase and a broad spectrum of classic sauces. Skills that may not be used in this particular era are dying out. And now even in a time when our television is flooded with cooking shows, there is not the uptake of younger people entering the culinary workforce.

Restaurants are screaming out for quality candidates to join their kitchen brigades and apprenticeships are at an all time low. An industry forum held in September last year identified the restaurant kitchens as in a critical situation.

Tropical North Queensland TAFE (TNQT) has answered the hospitality industry’s call for a greater number of commercial cookery apprentices by offering a free course to jump-start the careers of twelve would-be chefs.

The Certificate II in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations) is a pre-apprenticeship program for commercial cookery designed to introduce students to the culinary world and secure an apprenticeship. This initiative has been welcomed by a number of hotels and restaurants who have expressed their support.

There is no doubt about it, kitchen life is a hard slog but one that has instant rewards, and one that you can take it to wherever you wish. I am sure there are a number of mature age people who enjoy cooking and would grab the opportunity to make a serious step into a commercial kitchen.

Down, Down, Up, Up

2011-04-26T17:30:00.001+10:00

Published: 19th February 2011

The state of grocery shopping is in turmoil at present with several factors adding to the destabilisation of the marketplace. Floods have inundated crops in many eastern (and western) Australian food growing regions and now cyclone Yasi has added a final touch to the sugar cane, banana and tropical fruit industry. It is said that the two large supermarkets are now weighing up imports of fruit and vegetables for the coming year. ...and they have now initiated a price war on several grocery essentials.

What effects will this have on Australian produce and farmers? Will there be pressure to relax the restrictions on imported produce into Australia at present? What bargain prices will other countries offer to deal with the two Australian supermarket giants? …and will these low prices set a buying precedent that will continue on after Australia has fully recovered from the floods and cyclone?

Down, down the prices are down and price cutting of milk and other commodities has outraged several agri-food groups, and the Australian Food and Grocery Council; slamming the price blitz as unsustainable for farmers, manufacturers and jobs. Using their generic brand for price cutting, the super two talk about absorbing their own cost so farmers and processors are not affected, well yes they are affected; that is, all the other farmers who don’t supply to the major supermarkets. I noticed in one suburban shop the local Misty Mountain brand has even been moved out of the milk fridge section.

Up, up, the prices are up and bananas have quickly reached $6.96 kg. But why so early after Cyclone Yasi? It appears that at least one of the two large retailers has justified this by posting a note in the store to let you know that they have decided to pay the growers double the original price of their existing stock! Great news for the farmer being paid twice as much, but at these prices great for the retailer whose margin could be close to twice as much as well!

Fortunately our banana industry has expanded across the region with plantations on the Tablelands and a very large one in the Lakelands area. This should mean that reasonable priced bananas should still be available at local outlets and markets.

Chefs Donate Menu

2011-04-26T17:29:00.000+10:00

Published: 12 February 2011

Next Saturday at TAFE’s Tropics Restaurant, a Gala Dinner will be held to raise funds for the Premier’s Flood Relief Fund. The organising committee invited me to their planning meeting but hey! only chefs have meetings at 6:00am on a Monday morning. Suffice to say I didn’t make it. But I have kept in touch and found that this event is really turning out to be something special!

So many people and businesses have donated their expertise, produce, prizes (great prizes) or their time to make this event spectacular.

Craig Squire has now joined in with other high profile local chefs Phil Mitchell, Nick Holloway, Grant Jones, and James Saunders to create the four course menu and produce sponsored by Independent Seafood, Morganbury Meat, Simon George & Sons, Mungalli Creek Dairy and Rainforest Bounty. The inclusive price of $110.00 includes five excellent wines sponsored by Red and White Wines to compliment the menu, entertainment and the auction.

The fun starts with the auction, and this has proven very popular in the past when teams of local chefs from Rydges Esplanade, Thala Lodge, Sea Temple PD, Olivers, Chriso and other noted chefs of the region are auctioned off to create a dinner event in your home or at a venue. So if you have a special anniversary, birthday or corporate event coming up, these chefs will ‘just do it’.

Other fabulous prizes have poured in from restaurants, hotels, tourist operators and include 3 nights’ accommodation in a swim out penthouse at Sea Temple Port Douglas with spas and golf thrown into the package valued at $3500.

At $110.00 per person this is great value. Bookings for the gala dinner on Saturday 19^th February can be made through A-List Events on 4031 6200. All proceeds will go to the Premiers Flood Appeal.

Feast of the Senses

2011-04-26T17:28:00.000+10:00

Published: 5th February 2011

In 2006 at the time of the Feast of the Senses, a group of the agri-food industry got together at a forum in South Johnstone to ignite the industry into working together to put this region on the map as the food bowl of Australia. It was a very enthusiastic gathering and a clear direction was established for the future. The next day Cyclone Larry lashed across Innisfail. The farms in ruin, communication cut and farming families walked off their properties; our plans, people and enthusiasm had gone to mud.

At the 2010 Feast of the Senses there was an air of excitement that finally after four years; crops were starting to reproduce to the capacity of pre-cyclone times. With a heightened motivation within the industry and a new awareness of local and regional foods, an application for government grant was successful to develop and position the agri-food industry into an emerging food tourism region.

A regional food branding was implemented last year and this last week was to be the start of the development of a local food network with forums and workshops planned for the Tablelands and Cassowary Coast. There have been talks with major grower groups who are ready to fully embrace a branding accreditation and strategies that would ensure sustainability of the brand and the network.

Now that Cyclone Yasi has wreaked havoc on our sugar, banana crops, vegetables and exotic fruit crops, does this mean we are back to square one again? what will the future be for our food industry? Well we aren’t giving up! The developmental work will be rescheduled and hopefully from the ashes will rise an even stronger regional food industry.

Personal History of Food

2011-04-26T17:25:00.000+10:00

Published: 29th January 2011

Have you ever thought about the foods that made an impression in your life? The food that brings back memories of a celebration, a holiday or a warm fuzzy family feeling? I found an article about this once and thought it interesting to reflect on the foods that have been significant in my life’s journey – thus far. So I made a list of the ten most momentous meals I have experienced and found quite a history story unfold. I won’t go into the whole list but here’s a few of my food eureka moments.

Many years ago a Gianni, a young Italian man who worked for my father came to our house for dinner – that is, he cooked it! It was my first taste of Spaghetti Bolognaise and it was ‘Bellisimo’! Italians and Australian didn’t really integrate in these days but fortunately he taught the whole family how to cook and opened our eyes to Italian produce shops in the Italian quarter where we were able to buy our ingredients or dine in their restaurants.

As a teenager I used to surf and on a cold winters day at the beach you couldn’t get better than a chip butty – Crusty bread, cold butter and hot salty chips. One year at the Yallingup Surf Championship , Zac (a white Russian) would take off in the morning before anyone else rose from their sleepy state, and go out fishing. By the time we staggered out of our tents, Zac had the King George whiting sizzling away in the pan over the fire. Clean fish filleted and cooked only minutes after it was caught; Oh so memorable.

I travelled to Lombok in the early ‘80’s to areas where westerners didn’t really go. As we arrived in the morning at our lodgings situated in the mountains on a picturesque clove and spice farm, the owners slaughtered a chicken for our evening meal. Pluck and hung for most of the day it was then infused with the most memorable flavours fresh from their spice farm. I have eaten in many very 5 star fine dining rooms but this still remains the pinnacle of my food memories.

Living in Melbourne, you really eat well and that I did. There was one restaurant that I still talk about today, that expanded my thoughts about presentation of food. It was especially the way that the oysters were served under their claypot caps. That restaurant was called the ‘Isthmus of Kra’ and it was the creation of a man called Jimmy Shu. Fortunately here in Cairns some 25 years later, Jimmy’s oysters are still served at his Hanuman restaurants and I recommend them to everyone.

Writing the 10 most memorable foods in my life and the stories with them was a fun exercise, so much so that I decided to list other interests; music, fashion and people I have met. Try it yourself.

Flood of Generosity

2011-04-26T17:24:00.000+10:00

Published: 22nd January 2011

In the flood ravaged regions of southern Queensland it has been humbling to see the turnout of people willing to help their fellow citizens. Here in the north local food identity Sim Hayward has stirred up a group of people to organise a fund-raising gala dinner event on the 19^th February in aid of the flood victims.

High profile local chefs including Phil Mitchell, Nick Holloway, Grant Jones, and James Saunders have donated their professional time and expertise to create a fabulous four course menu of local produce. Fresh seafood donated by Independent Seafood Producers, Succulent Pork compliments of Morganbury Meats, local vegetables and fruit through Simon George & Son, and other products from Bidvest, Mungalli Creek Dairy, Rainforest Bounty and a number of other food producers; all unequivocally responding with a ‘yes, glad to help’

TAFE has offered the venue as well as their hospitality staff with assistance from Skills 360. Arthur Basha of Barnacle Bills has jumped in to the Maitre‘d’s position and chefs and waiters are coming ‘out of the woodwork’ to help.

At $110.00 per person this is great value with beverage and entertainment included. An auction with some fabulous prizes donated from the business community will make this an exceptionally worthy evening. Bookings can be made through A-List Events on 4031 6200. All proceeds will go to the Premiers Flood Appeal.

Clare Richards, author of Tropical Cuisine contemplated what she could do to support those affected by the floods and decided she has one thing to give – her book. So she has decided to run a silent auction of 10 of her books to raise money.

Here is how it works: bids start at $59.95 and are made on the Silent Auction page of her website, with the highest current bid posted twice daily at 9am and 9pm. The auction (presently underway) closes at 9pm (AEST) on Tuesday 25^th January 2011. All funds will go directly to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. For more details go to www.tropicalcuisine.com.au

Easy being Green

2011-04-26T17:20:00.002+10:00

Published: 15th January 2011

A walk through Rusty’s Market and what caught my eye this week was the amount of fresh greens available. Not your common lettuce, beans and broccoli varieties – but the leafy Asian greens that are on offer. This time of year when the ground is too soggy to grow anything, Asian greens thrive - and are cheap too.

So is there a barrier to buying these unusual green vegetables that are so rich in nutrients of vitamins A & C, minerals, iron, calcium and other trace elements? Let me guess – ‘how do I prepare and cook them’? Answer: Simply. With any delicate leaves; the simpler the better, for taste and retaining nutrition.

Many can be simply eaten raw as in salads; either whole leaf, torn or shredded. Most of them you will find are best when added at the last minute to any stir-fry, curry, stew or soup. Garlic, chilli, and ginger are great partners as are prawn paste (sambal belacan) soy, fish and oyster sauces.

Some of these greens are almost perennial at the markets such as Kang Kung; a leafy vegetable with hollow stems that's often called ‘swamp cabbage’ or ‘water spinach’. But what’s this - Sweet potato greens? I remember my mother growing a sweet potato in our kitchen where its spreading vines engulfing the room like something out of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. Never thought to eat the vine! But similar to Kang Kung these leaves are simple additions to any Asian cooking.

I also found purple stem Ceylon Spinach which similar to the English variety can be shredded and added to coleslaw, great with egg and cheese dishes; quiche, filo pastry as well as stir-fry. Sitting next to the spinach was bunches of Choko leaves; a commonly consumed vegetable of the Asian regions. It is said that the leaves and tendrils have a medicinal qualities when cooked or dried and made into a tea. I even found young Passionfruit Leaves – in the Caribbean and the Maldives they eat the leaves raw as a salad, or boiled. Lastly I spied the hairy Pumpkin Leaves with their curled tendrils – didn’t think they would be much to eat, however I found that they have a flavour elements similar to green beans and broccoli. These vines are used in Asian and African cuisines.

We become so entrenched in our eating paradigm that we often throw away the tasty highly nutritional leaves of a sometimes less tasty and less nutritional vegetable.

The Shelves are bare, but don't despair

2011-04-26T17:10:00.002+10:00

Published: 8th January, 2011

Whilst our thoughts go out to those in the flood zone of southern Queensland, we are lucky to have in this region, our own dairy industry, meat and seafood industry and a diverse fruit and vegetable industry that can support our community. Yet it’s when the flooded roads are cut off and the supermarket shelves run bare, that we realise how much food is transported to the region. It is times like these that add to the growing trend (mentioned last week) for consumers seeking local produce.

So how do you access local foods when you have a family to feed? Looking around Rusty’s it is easy to see who really sells local food and who doesn’t? But I must say that Rusty’s stallholders have recently accentuated ‘local’ fruit and veg. and they offer a lot more local processed foods such as milk and yoghurts, cheese and seafood, breads and dips. Perhaps a return to the friendly little butcher and seafood shop where they get to know your name and what your buying habits are, or to the local fruit and veg stall in a shopping centre or on the roadside. A trip to the Tablelands or Cassowary Coast can make a fun day out as well as buying up on some well-priced vittles. Most IGA stores tend to stock local foods and are stepping up to the demand.

How are restaurants coping? ‘Due to floods, this menu item is not available’! Well last year there was a strong swing with chefs to source local foods which has paid off for those who did. Having foods from other regions on a menu can be disastrous in times such as these and the longer a chef has been in our region the more knowledgeable they are to understand the importance of using local seasonal foods.

It’s clear that we do have produce here; it can be a new and interesting experience to source it.

Food Trends for 2011

2011-04-26T17:04:00.003+10:00

Published 1st January 2011

Trend predictions in other countries or even other parts of Australia don’t necessary relate to the local scene but can be a good indication of what might eventuate.

For a number of years, world food trends have emphasised ‘local produce’ and Australians are now showing a greater interest in supporting their local producers of fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat and seafood. These consumers understand seasonality and don’t want year round availability such as the apples that are held in storage for up to nine months and gased to ripen. They are happy to welcome fresh and more nutritious varieties as one season closes another one opens. And with seasonality the old methods of bottling and preserving is making it to some trend lists for 2011. There is a certain satisfaction in buying local produce in bulk at an affordable price, having fun preserving it and enjoying the foods beyond the season.

Smaller portions have become a serious trend in Australia. A report showed that of people who make an effort to eat smaller portions has increased by 46% in 2010 compared with 29% in 2009. With smaller portions, the trend is veering away from strict diets to that of a wider range of foods. Eating a little of this and a little of that can offer a more balanced nutrient intake and can even allow for a little indulgence of ‘forbidden’ foods. The rising popularity of tapas bars, mezza and assaggini menus makes this style of grazing a winner in our economy with smaller price tags and a wide variety of exciting flavours.

Due to MasterChef style television programs, our young people are very switched on about food and want more transparency about where (local, Australian) and how (free range, organic) their food is produced. So there is a trend in demand for more transparency and truth in labelling of ingredients and nutritional data.

Apps are a growing trend and for those with an appetite for food, there’s a whole new world of phone applications to be downloaded onto your smart phone device. You can follow a food trail on a GPS, get a recipe from your favourite chef, find the best restaurant or specialty shop, count your calories, all with the touch of your fingertips wherever you are in the world. Watch out for our region’s comprehensive GPS/APPS download in mid 2011.

For restaurants, I noticed that someone predicted ‘dirt’ instead of sauces. Yes dirt, made from crumbled, powdered and dried ingredients to flavour dishes, as done by chefs Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck and René Redzepi at Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant. We will wait and see if this takes off in our region of the world. The trend of ‘Hyper Local’ is about restaurants with their own gardens outside, inside or even on the roof. It’s also about chefs getting back to their own butchering or even having their own farms. Matt Moran has Moran’s Lamb Farm.

There are many other trends that have been listed for 2011 but there is still a strong following for healthy, nutritional, organic, gluten-free, clean and green, sustainable, carbon & mile reduction. But in the end, rustic and simplicity has got my vote.

National Left Over Day

2010-12-31T01:17:00.002+10:00

Published Sunday 26th December 2010

Boxing Day; National Left Over Day. When the tumult and the shopping dies the day after Christmas we are all left with a fridge overflowing with turkey, ham bones, cranberry sauces and puddings, and all those special sweets that laden the table for the festive season.

So just how many ham and turkey sandwiches can you eat in this week? It’s worth noting that turkey should be eaten within two or three days, ham will last four or five days and roast beef or pork should also be used within three to four days. Freezing is the best way to keep them safe and delicious.

The best tip is to portion the meats into sizes chunks that will last you 3 days and wrap separately in plastic and then place in plastic freezer bag. Now you can have that ham or turkey sandwich when you want it. Freeze the meats as soon as possible to maintain the best quality for up to four months in the freezer.

Leftover ham and turkey make great salads and soups and a good addition to quiche, pasta, pies, pizza and casseroles, whilst cooked beef and pork work well with Asian salads, stir fries and curries. Don’t leave the cranberry sauce in the fridge until next year; it can be used in several sweets dishes.

Mix crumbled Christmas pudding into ricotta cream with a bit of butter and sugar and wrap in filo or puff pastry to bake for a strudel. Or mix the pudding with some cream into vanilla ice-cream and refreeze for an ice-cream variation. You can also add brandy to both of these ingredients for more flavour.

So enjoy the festive season and keep your food safe and without waste.

Christmas Gifts

2010-12-31T01:15:00.001+10:00

Published Saturday 18 December 2010

I finally got my hands on the finished cookbook ‘Tropical Cuisine – Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen’ when it was launched recently, and what an achievement it is. Clare Richards has done an amazing job of compiling 250 luscious recipes using the most common and the most obscure foods of this region in a 300 page cookbook with stunning images and a great reference A-Z of tropical product. This is a cookbook that every discerning chef in Queensland …and Australia should have on their reference shelf. What a great gift for Christmas.

On the subject of Christmas, you can’t go wrong with a gift of food and wine. It’s something that appeals to everyone and perfect for that person who has everything. To indulge in the decadence of beautiful chocolates, premium sweets, rich fruitcake, sauces and other luxurious foods that you may not normally buy yourself, is a delight when received as a present. Giving a hamper of foods that are specifically from this region adds to the experience.

I recently attended the Club Relish evening at The Edge Food Store, where a wonderful range of beautifully packaged Christmas foods were on show. There is a great selection of local and Australian food gift ideas in all price ranges to choose from and you can buy a ready-made hamper or select your own items and they will gift wrap it.

Mangoes and other tropical fruits are well known to us but to family and friends in southern states, receiving a box at Christmas time has a real Wow Factor. (But check for quarantine regulations first).

Whether you consider a book, a box of mangoes, a beautifully wrapped hamper or a number of food items and make up your own gift or stuff into a stocking, you can be sure you will please the lucky person who receives it.

Soils ain’t Soils

2010-12-31T01:10:00.003+10:00

Published Saturday 11th December 2010

Last week over 140 local people turned out on a Sunday evening to listen to a public talk by Joel Salatin of PolyFace Farms in Virginia, USA. His introduction was by the hilarious, very passionate, and hirsute Costa of Costa's Gardening Odyssey who always enjoys coming to this region to learn more about gardening and regenerative agriculture.

Joel’s Poly Face Farm is a small property with an array of animals and food crops that symbiotically produce a richness of food products in a diversified system that is profitable. He calls himself a ‘beyond’ organic farmer as he is not ‘certified’ organic but uses a holistic farming methodology that enriches the soil with compost, natural manure and earthworms and without chemicals or pesticides. Using portable electric fences the animals are moved around the property is succession in what Joel calls a ‘salad bar’ of rich pasture that offers landscape healing and greater nutritional food.

Joel works on the transparency theory; he doesn’t have to have a certificate to tell people about his farming methods, you can visit anytime to see what and how he does it. He sells produce to only people within a radius of his community and doesn’t need the ‘big guys’. His product sells through ‘word of mouth’ and he doesn’t have a marketing plan or an advertising budget for his product…and if sales are down, he can’t blame his budget, he looks within!

He talked about how the price of food has escalated due to the many regulations and control and was amused at the governments concern for safety in not allowing a more nutritional raw milk, yet its okay to feed your kids on multinational brand burgers, sweet chocolate breakfast cereals and fizzy drinks.

Joel is a world-leading example of how a small family farm can become an extremely diverse and profitable Local Food producer, and how the benefits of Local Food Systems can create resilience, stability and abundance for both local farmers and the wider community.

Joel’s parting words were ‘The food we eat is as good as the soil it is grown in or the pasture it is fed on and as good as the farmer who is the custodian of the land’. Eat well!

Save our Honey

2010-12-31T01:06:00.003+10:00

Published Saturday 4th December, 2010

Since ‘on the go’ breakfast products have bypassed the breakfast table, the art of smearing honey across a slice of crunchy toast or swirling it on your cereal has shown a bit of a slump. Honey is now also competing with other new highly marketed sugary spreads available. Yet there are great health benefits in bringing honey back to the breakfast table, such as its low Glycaemic Index or GI. (The lower a food’s GI rating, the slower you absorb and digest it, which means a more gradual and healthier infusion of sugars into their bloodstream and helps keep ‘hunger pains’ away for longer).

New Zealand’s Manuka (the NZ name for tea tree) honey is famous for its anti-bacterial power and Tetsuya raves about the Leatherwood honey from Tasmania and South Western Australia where many of the trees don’t blossom till more than 70 years old.

Here in Tropical North Queensland there are a number of apiarist manufacturing honey with very distinct tropical flavours. If bees have access to where a particular blossom predominates, they produce honey with a flavour and colour typical of that plant. Our tropical honey tends to be dark amber in colour with wonderful flavours of red mahogany, Molloy box, grey box, rainforest, macadamia, mango, guava and a number of other exotic blossoms that are unique to this region.

Where larger honey manufacturers blend honey from many apiarists, local honey is often pure honey from one hive. The honey is also most likely to have had less process treatment of preservatives or heat searing so the nutrition and flavour is in its purest form.

However we have one threat to our honey industry that first appeared inside a mast of a yacht here in Cairns in 2007 and that is the Asian honeybee. These aggressive little bees compete with our European honeybees for local flora. They rob honey from hives, which may cause hives to die, but most importantly Asian honeybees are a natural host for mites and other unwanted bee pests and diseases, a major threat to Australia's honeybee industry.

The Asian honeybee has been found nesting in tree hollows, under the eaves of houses, in the recess under the floor of houses, in letterboxes, in a cable reel, and in various other urban locations. It is smaller than European honeybee at approx. 10 mm long, flies fast and erratically, is less hairy than the European honeybee and has distinct yellow and black stripes on the abdomen. So look out for this little blighter and call Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 to help save our local honey.

A Future for our Agri-Food Industry

2010-12-31T00:57:00.005+10:00

Published 27th November 2010

Imaging in 10 years time where our agri-food industry will be? With our rich soils, plenty of sun and an abundance of rainfall, will it be the nation’s food bowl? Will we have a food manufacturing industry to support the diverse range of food products available? Will our regional food brand Taste Paradise be as renowned as Food Barossa? …and will our region be internationally recognised as a food tourism destination similar to Provence, Tuscany or San Sebastian? It is said that nothing significant happens that isn’t planned!

Last week I attended an Agri-food tourism field day and Food Industry forum held in the Cassowary and Tablelands areas. These four well attended workshops proved that farmers are interested in the future of the industry.

The field day looked at opportunities to diversify their farming product in a number of ways that included linkages into tourism. Whether it’s selling food at local farmers markets, processing their product, finding a supply chain to local retail & food services, or opening their property for visitation, these farmers were positively encouraged to take the next step; a series of workshops of mentoring their way through a maze of related business development skills.

The forums were about bringing the industry together; development of a local food supply chain that brings regional produce into the Cairns area, to retailers and restaurants, and developing an accreditation framework that links to the new regional food brand; Taste Paradise. The sessions lead by Rose Wright from the Southern Cross University provided a great discussion. This lady knows her stuff when working along the supply chain from farmers to the consumer but she also works on a political level of compliance support and regulatory reform to address the impediments placed on agribusiness entrepreneurs. At the end of the forum it was exciting to see a very positive response from farmers, and it goes without saying the more who embrace this framework, the better chance of success.

Rose is finalising a Regional Food Strategy 2010-2020 in consultation with industry and will facilitate the elements in the region over the next six months.

Good Food & Wine Show

2010-11-28T18:39:00.001+10:00

Last weekend was action packed in Brisbane with Lenard Cohen, James Galway, Valentino Retrospect, and of course the Good Food & Wine Show.

With the consumer clearly in mind the Good Food & Wine Show attracted a crowd well in excess of 20,000 people over three days. Many of them; seasoned attendees armed with their shopper trolley ready to ‘buy up big’ at the special prices of a host of gourmet products and wines from across Australia.

With over 300 exhibitors you could taste cheeses, salamis, sauces, ice-cream, coffee, pasta, health snacks, to name a few, and scoop up some lovely gourmet Christmas presents. This year wines from the Barossa, McLaren, and Margaret River joined a large selection of Queensland wines that were of particular appeal in the late afternoon.

There were hands-on cooking, wine and coffee classes but the star attraction was in the 500 seat celebrity theatre where chefs Gary Mehigan and George Colombaris, Matt Moran, Jane Purcell, and Manu Fieldel applied their skills and with a great sense of humour. Matt Moran was particularly entertaining as he butchered a lamb carcass to show the audience that you don’t have to rely on the most expensive cuts of meat. After Good Food & Wine Shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, the celeb chefs have developed a fun repartee between themselves. Having his Aria restaurant in Brisbane, Matt received plenty of flack from the Gary and George about the expense of his menu but also a number of referred invitations to free dinners at his restaurant.

The Queensland Government display hosted 26 food and wine exhibitors from 10 different regions of the State and for the first time our own Taste Paradise regional brand showcased 15 packaged foods of Tropical North Queensland.

This annual event is growing in popularity each year and is worth a visit.

Taste Paradise Signature Dish

2010-11-28T18:25:00.003+10:00

Published: 6th October, 2010

When you think of a dish that represents the wonderful flavours of this region, seafood tend to come to mind as the star ingredient. Well that's what 22 chefs thought when asked to produce a regional dish for the inaugural Taste Paradise Signature Dish competition. The public have made their choice by voting on-line and the two highest scored dishes will compete against another two finalist chosen by a panel of judges.

With the public voting closed, it was the restaurants from far and wide that gained the most votes with dishes from Cedar Park Resort at Speewah coming in at sixth position, Restaurant 1770 in Cooktown came fifth, Eden House Restaurant at Yungaburra was fourth, and Emerald Restaurant at Green Island, voted third highest by the public.

The two highest public voted dishes; ‘Tropical pan seared Tuna salad laced with a Mango vinaigrette’ by Chriso the Personal Chef’s won top position, followed by ‘Julaymba Journey’ from Julaymba Restaurant at Daintree Eco-Lodge in second place.

Whist the public tended to vote for the dish from their favourite restaurant, a panel of six judges have now voted on another two dish, for their innovative use of local produce.

Mayor Val Shier of Cairns Regional Council, Ross Contarino of Advance Cairns, Jeff Gillies of Tourism Queensland, & Dale Flack of TTNQ, plus two highly professional chef judges; Patrick Biddlecombe, La Chaines des Rotisseur, and Brian Down, Australian Culinary Federation, cast their votes this week.

The Judges chose two finalists; the ‘Tempura bugs, green papaya salad, sweet chilli lemon myrtle dipping sauce’ from Ochre Restaurant and the ‘Tier of mud crab, mango and avocado’ from Kewarra Beach Resort.

Next Saturday starting at 10am at The Farmgate Markets at The Pier, the four finalists will cook off their dish in front of the public and the judging panel to find the winner of the Taste Paradise Signature Dish.

The winner of the competition will receive a trophy as well as a tourism marketing package that will promote their business throughout the next 12 months.

So come along next Saturday to see who takes out the trophy.

Special Dietary Menus

2010-11-28T18:25:00.001+10:00

Published: 30th October, 2010

The number of food allergies seems to be growing rapidly in our society and gluten free diets are becoming more popular even to those who don’t suffer Coeliac Disease. At Chelsea Clinton’s (that's Bill & Hillary’s daughter) recent wedding, her gluten free wedding cake made headlines across the nation and bought attention to this dilemma.

Restaurants and caterers are finding there are more requests for special dietary requirements and after a request I made to many of the local restaurants in Tropical North Queensland, it seems most of them are geared to cater for the usual gluten free, lactose free, vegetarian and vegan diets. Many of the restaurants have icons beside the items on their menus or denotations that offers any special dietary dishes.

Whist I sometimes wonder if we are all getting too much gluten in our diets, there are other allergies to foods such as shellfish, nuts, eggs, even fruit, meat and vegetables that can have life threatening effects to some. Anaphylaxis is an issue that restaurants must take seriously. It is too big a responsibility for any waiters to ensure the food from the menu is completely free of the allergic ingredient. When a guest asks for a special diet, there are two reasons why it is important for wait staff to notify the head chef on duty. 1. The chef will ensure there is no mistake, 2. The guest feels confident their request is being taken seriously. It maybe that the waiter returns from the kitchen with menu suggestions, but best of all is when the chef takes the time to come out of the kitchen and speak directly to the guest.

Functions can be tricky, with agency staff serving canapés. They can be unfamiliar with all the ingredients and not aware of the seriousness of an anaphylaxis. At a cocktail reception I witnessed a good friend of mine suffer before me, an anaphylactic shock from food after she was told there was no seafood in the canapé.

Most of our best restaurants and caterers are geared for special dietary requirements, but as a guest, it is always good to let them know when making a booking at a restaurant or accepting an invitation to a catered function; that you will require a special menu.

Tasty Taste of the Tablelands

2010-11-28T18:22:00.001+10:00

Published 23rd October, 2010

Nothing brings people together better than food, and what an enjoyable day it was at last weekend’s “Tastes of the Tablelands”? It exceeded my expectations of being one of the best food events in the region and I take my hat off to the organisers and volunteers who made it so. Every year this event gets bigger and better and with 53 stalls, a chef’s cooking competition, ice-carving demonstration and some great community performers, there was something for every one of the 5,000+ people who attended. ..and spending an hour or so on the gate I found there was a good mixture of people from the Tablelands and Cairns region and a surprising number of visiting tourists.

Of course my special interest was with the food growers and producers who displayed, offered tastings and sales of what the Tablelands region has to offer. Local coffee, waters, Indigenous sauces, jams and preserves, fruit wines, ice-cream, Italian nougat and biscuits, spices, fruits and vegetables, dried fruits dipped in chocolate, honey, macadamia’s and peanuts, the list goes on. It was all there – if not sold out. The stall holders all did well on the day.

One stall that caught my attention had books and a display of wonderful food photography from world famous photographer William Yang who was born in Dimbulah. These photos were part of a 2006 exhibition that documented the many cultures of Dimbulah families through their food. The success of the photographic exhibition led some energetic community members to produce the book that celebrates their artisan foods from their ethnic origins. Aptly named ‘Our Celebration – Stories behind the Food’ the book takes you into the homes and kitchens of the community to expose the richness of their cultural food traditions from Spain, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Philippines, as well as indigenous Australia. Looking like they had been designed, photographed and beautifully produced in Melbourne and not our sleepy little farming community of Dimbulah, I just had to buy a book which was well priced at $30.00.

This event organized by the Rotary Club of Atherton truly shows great community spirit and the amalgamation of all the regions of the Tablelands area. I’ll be sure to be there next year.

Taste of the Tablelands

2010-11-28T18:18:00.002+10:00

Published 16th October, 2010

One of the best food festivals of the region is the “Tastes of the Tablelands” and it’s on again tomorrow (Sunday 17th October) from 10am – 4pm. This Festival won an Australia Day Award for the best community Event in the Tableland region in 2008, an award the Rotary Club of Atherton is very proud of. Last year 4,000 people attended the festival and this year the numbers are expected to increase significantly.

This great community event is held in the serene grounds of the Chinese Temple on Herberton Road, Atherton, and will once again be a showcase of the very best that the Tablelands has to offer. The day will be filled with cooking demonstrations, music, entertainment, a fashion parade, a vintage car & motorbike display, ice carving displays and children’s activities. The Chinese Temple Museum and the Art Gallery will also be open. All funds raised on the day will go towards community projects organized by the Rotary Club of Atherton.

Just over an hour drive via the Gillies Highway or ninety minutes via Kuranda, it makes for a lovely day out on the Tablelands. Do the circuit and take in some of the other attractions of the region. If you need a caffeine fix, the Mareeba area is ‘Coffee Central’. Drop in to Tichum Creek Coffee, Jacques Coffee or The Coffee works, or meander out to Skybury or Maloberti’s on the Dimbulah Road.

Other stops along the way are Mt Uncle Distillery at Walkamin, The Peanut Place and The Humpy at Tolga and around Atherton you have Gallos Dairyland for a snack, cheese or chocolates. Between Mareeba and Kuranda there is de Brueys Boutique Winery and Emerald Creek Ice-creamery.

A Dining Challenge

2010-11-28T18:17:00.002+10:00

Published 9th October, 2010

There is a worthy saying in the restaurant industry when it comes to customer satisfaction; ‘If you enjoyed it – tell the world – If you didn’t – tell us”. Although a good restaurant will always strive for perfection in every aspect, as with any highly human service orientated industry there can be times when they fall short.

This was true just recently at a very long lunch with four visiting friends where we enjoyed a few convivial hours of impressive food, wine and great friendly service. Being a long lunch there was a change of shift and where we had experienced nothing but excellence from the first waiter, the new fellow came in cold with a different mindset to a table of people who were (well) enjoying a mellow afternoon. Now I have experienced this waiter before and he is highly professional and has a friendly attitude. But today with these people – it just didn’t work. However with just one word to this fellow, he quickly apologised and put someone else on our table, and we settled back into a pleasurable lunch. As a result my visitors enjoyed another three meals at this establishment over the weekend.

When things go wrong, a restaurant can be judge on how well they handle the complaint – there and then. A complaint is a plea from a guest who is saying ‘I chose your establishment, something is not right, I am giving you a chance to make amends’. A good restaurant will be thankful that you have given them that chance and will do their very best to make sure their guests leave happy.

With the internet, online website reviews and complaints about restaurants are becoming more prolific. Perhaps valid if a complaint wasn’t handled well, but before an online whinge, a phone call, email or letter to the restaurant manager/owner would be polite. Otherwise it’s a cop-out and downright unfair? No comeback for the restaurateur and unwarranted damage to their business.

If your dining experience does not match your expectations, first give the restaurant a chance to rise to your challenge; before you leave. And if you enjoyed it; then go on-line and tell the world.

Hannah at Permaculture Convergence

2010-11-28T18:10:00.005+10:00

Published 2nd October, 2010

We have seen Daryl Hannah featured in the newspaper recently and some of us had probably not take too much notice of why she came to this region. Last Sunday I attended the Australian Permaculture Convergence (APC10) Dinner on a beautiful evening in the grounds of the Rudolph Steiner School in Kuranda where Daryl was the guest speaker. Of the 300 dinner guests most of them had attended the convergence over the past week with Daryl and were privy to some exciting information on permaculture and key-line agricultural methodology that is gaining momentum around the world.

With a stellar cast of international speakers, the convergence was simply about a new (or should I say ‘old’) way to grow our food. “Simply” meaning - less artificial inputs (oil, chemical fertilizers & pesticides, etc) and more natural inputs (bio-fuels, compost, land/soil regeneration) to grow healthy food.

Daryl’s “Love Life” farm in California runs its tractors and machinery on a bio-diesel of used peanut oil, and her sustainable permaculture methods of producing foods and caring for her animals does not buy-in to the escalating cost of petro-chemical fertilizers and pesticides that has most farmers’ in-debt to their banks.

These methods also include the traditional saving of the best seeds from one crop to plant the next crop rather than purchasing GM seeds that are often designed for other characteristics over flavour and with no ability to reproduce future crops. The uptake of using heritage seeds is bringing back the flavour of ‘how it used to taste’ in vegetables that Daryl was obviously familiar with.

It was quite apparent that the surprisingly demure, environmental activist; Daryl had warmed to Tropical North Queensland and to the people she had met over the month in the region. The feeling was mutual for this lady who had a great message to tell about a low impact lifestyle.

This week from Friday 1st to Sunday 10th October is National Organic Week, themed ‘Be Organic: Taste the Difference, Feel the Difference, Make a Difference.’ The annual event highlighting and promoting the country’s growing organic industry, which is forecast to be one of the fastest growth industries in Australia this year. Now in its third year, industry associations the Centre for Organic & Resource Enterprises and Biological Farmers of Australia are hosting and promoting National Organic Week. www.organicweek.net.au

Laneway Art and Specialty Coffee

2010-11-28T18:03:00.002+10:00

Published 25th September 2010

I have always loved the notion of a specialty coffee shop with superb coffee, interesting snacks & cakes, books, music and art, and now there is emerging a new set of coffee shops in Cairns with identities far placed from that of any coffee house franchise and who selectively choose their coffee beans.

After enjoying a hilarious documentary entitled ‘Exit through the Gift Shop,’ (recommended) presented by End Credits at CoCo, about street art, I was curious to see if Cairns has picked up on the Melbourne trend of laneway renaissance of art and food. So off on an excursion around Cairns I searched for art and cafes of our lanes.

Bang Espresso is not down a lane but does have lane art on its walls at the Boland Centre on Spence Street where owner Roy McPherson set the bar high when opening in 2008 with a feel of Melbourne urban sophistication. Great coffee and food, great music, convivial space and friendly staff. Bang’s coffee blend hails from six different origins and is independently Master roasted in Sydney.

Not quite in a lane but at the corner of an arcade (Mainstreet) is Ever After Cafe Bookstore; another specialty coffee establishment in the Lake Street Mall. Run by mother and son team, Mary and Nick Roberts. Nick has worked as a barista around Melbourne and it has paid off; their coffee was recently praised by an online coffee geek website as the best in Cairns. Popular for brekky and lunch, they have a great selection of books; old and new to browse.

Ah! I find a laneway in Grafton Street with the most fabulous art along the wall and follow it down to Caffiend; a curious little specialty coffee shop run by Ollie and Josie. Ollie really knows his coffee and serves a blend of nine beans. He also has Nigel Giacomi who won the last two years Cairns Barista Competition behind the machine on Saturday mornings. With the same passion he inherited from his previous employer NuNu, Ollie sources local products and produce to make his own jams, sauces for his all-day brekky & luncheon specials.

The renaissance has begun. So watch this space, or should I say ‘the laneways’ as they re-invent themselves into trendy quarters for the next generation of cafes, art and interesting shops.

A Multi-Sensory Perception

2010-11-28T18:00:00.002+10:00

Published 18th September 2010

The pleasure of eating food dependents on our multisensory perceptions. Our oral or ‘taste’ sensors perceive texture and temperature, and when food hits our taste buds it registers as sweet, sour, bitter, salt, or savoury (also known as ‘unami’) flavours. But there are other senses at play and the popularity of molecular cooking has highlighted the roles of these multisensory receptors. Ferran Adrià of El Bulli restaurant in Spain quotes ‘Cooking is probably the most multi-sensual art. I try to stimulate all the senses.’

I am intrigued by Heston Blumenthal’s (Fat Duck restaurant UK) exploration of the relationships between the senses and a food experience.

What you see is not always what you get and if you saw Heston’s beautiful fruit on the first series of Heston’s Feast; visually your mind registers ‘luscious sweetness’. However Heston’s mandarins were made from chicken livers, apples with minced pork and plums from bull’s testicles - a real shock to the senses. Here in our region we have ‘miracle fruit’ that if eaten just before another food, it reverses the taste. So biting into a sour lemon produces a sweet taste; confusing our perception.

Heston’s signature dishes ‘The Sound of the Sea’ is seafood served on a glass-topped wooden box containing edible sand and seashells, foam and edible seaweed, along with an iPod for the consumer to listen to the sound of waves crashing on a beach and seagulls overhead. A series of tests on this dish at Oxford University revealed that sound can really enhance the sense of taste.

With taste in the mouth, the olfactory sense (of smell) identifies aroma. The aroma of coffee brewing or a cake in the oven is a great stimulus to the appetite. Once again in Heston’s television show ‘Kitchen Chemistry’ he demonstrated feeding his blindfolded, nose pegged chef a spoonful of mashed strawberries. The chef tasted sweetness and only when he uses his nose, he perceives strawberries.

It’s great to know that eating has so many nuances and using all your senses of visual, smell, sound, taste and even touch can further enliven its pleasure.

Our Price is Right

2010-11-28T17:57:00.002+10:00

11th September, 2010

A weekend in Brisbane is a refreshing change, but I have to admit we have it pretty good here when it comes to the cost of food.

A visit to the James Street Markets in Fortitude Valley is always interesting and if you are in the food industry and are a seafood, meat, bakery or fruit and vegetable retailer; it’s worth having a look at what is on offer there. Food is fabulously presented, quality very much assured and with numerous quick and easy take home convenience items. However, you pay for what you get and most meats seem to start at around $29.99kg and rise from there. ..and I was staggered to see our Skybury papaya at $6.69kg where here we pay around $2.59kg.

The restaurant scene in Brisbane is now giving Sydney and Melbourne a nudge with chefs such as Mat Moran and Ben O’Donoghue setting up camp on the river and the Spanish Ortiga this week winning the Australian Gourmet Traveller ‘Best New Restaurant’ award. Trying to get into any of these restaurants on the same weekend as ‘River Fire’ was not an option so we chose a trendy bistro in New Farm. Now some say that Cairns restaurant prices are high, however a dish of swordfish on risotto once you add the (separate) vegetables came in at a hiking $43.00, and the glass of wine that would normally be $9-10 in our region was $14 for the same.

So the reality is that we are not so bad off here and especially if you buy local produce, the transport costs are eliminated from the price.

Kitchen Garden

2010-11-28T17:51:00.002+10:00

4th September, 2010

The backyard garden of my childhood in Perth was no different from any other in the suburb. It grew Peach, Apricot, Plum, Almond, Orange, Lemon and Mandarin trees and the large vegetable garden grew broad beans, corn, peas, french beans, spinach, tomato, lettuce, carrots, potato and strawberries. Only the ‘new Australian’s” gardens in their quarters grew anything different. It would take years for us to embrace their cuisine. But this is the way it was; you grew your own food. That notion seemed to fade out for a number of years, but now there is a resurgence of backyard vegetable plots, and even apartment dwellers are not missing out.

City gardens, community gardens and balcony gardens are becoming popular and the Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Program now has over 140 Australian schools involved with the thought that if you can teach children to grow food and learn to cook it, they will have a better appreciation of a healthier diet.

A study conducted by two Melbourne Universities credits the Kitchen Garden Program with creating positive attitude changes in primary school children across Australia. It found that 39% of children reporting they would try new foods, compared with 26% at the start of the Program. 71% of children in participating schools reported they enjoyed cooking, compared with just 50% at non-participating schools. The Program was also considered by teachers to be particularly effective in engaging ‘non-academic learners’.

At present there is only one Cairns school participating in this program and thanks to Annie Wolff at Cairns West Primary School, students there are benefiting from the Kitchen Garden Program. It would be good to see more schools join in.

Whether it’s a school garden, community or backyard garden, growing your own food has something for the whole family, not only the healthy food, but for family interaction.

Word of Mouth

2010-11-28T17:45:00.001+10:00

If you are a ‘foodie’ then you will enjoy the Word of Mouth foodie chat sessions at The Pier in this weekend’s Taste Paradise Food & Wine Festival. All sessions are free to the public and start at 9am with a food debate ‘The Kitchen is the Centre of the Universe’. Here a group of determined high school students will debate their case. Whilst Gordonvale High School will argue for the affirmative, Trinity Anglican School team will argue against the notion that a home kitchen is the centre of the universe.

The ‘Future of Restaurants’ should be a hot session for restaurateurs and diners with panelist chefs Craig Squire, Nic Holloway and Leon Walker discussing where their industry is heading and what’s hot and what’s not.

Food tourism is an emerging niche market that is sweeping the world. What we have to offer here for the culinary visitors is astounding, but how do we get the message out to the world? In ‘Food Tourism Ambassador; Is that Me?’ listen to regional tourism experts Jeff Gillies, Jason Chuck & Ross Contarino, show us how we can be great food ambassadors.

An interview with Marion Grasby is surely going to pack the room in a session that will talk about her life and love of food and her rise to prominence.

With climate change, issues of food security, sustainability and the environmental impact of food production, the growth of agribusiness and the homogenization of food production, how can we ensure that our children and grandchildren will be able to eat real food? A panel of lively enthusiast from APC10 will discuss these issues in a session on ‘Real Food’

If you are not that ‘au fait’ with wines, ‘Wine? Wine Not?’ will give you a little introduction to the wine world of Australia and a few tips on matching wine with food in Jane Brentnall’s discussion. And whilst we are on wines, ‘Grape DeVine and Drink Paradise’ is an adjoining event from 2-4pm that for $25 you can taste some of Australia’s great wines from 11 wine companies as well as local beer, fruit wine, spirits and liqueurs from with Pernod Ricard, Yalumba, McWilliams, Red & White, Treasury Wine Estates, Taylors Wines, De Bortoli Wines, Mt Uncle Distillery, Blue Sky Brewery and de Brueys Boutique Wines.

A Special Taste of Paradise

2010-11-28T17:38:00.002+10:00

21st August, 2010

What dish could possibly represent the essence of ‘Tropical North Queensland’? A dish with an innovative use of our regional food produce that every mouthful says ‘Taste Paradise’. It’s evident from the 22 dishes submitted by chefs of the region in the Taste Paradise Signature Dish Competition that seafood is very much our local favourite with 100% of entries featuring seafood. So now the voting will probably come down to the other ingredients in the recipes that will bring out the flavours of the tropics in these dishes … and what a diverse range of flavours this region has to offer?

The challenge has been set for our restaurant chefs to throw down the kitchen glove and compete in this inaugural competition where the public can be the judge. On-line voting commenced on August 20 at www.tasteparadise.com.au where you can view all the dishes and recipes contributed by 22 chefs of the region who have taken up the challenge. By voting for your favourite dish you will also be able to monitor the dishes popularity as they clock up their votes. What’s more when you vote, be sure to leave a comment and you could win a dinner at the winning restaurant to the value of $200.

After voting closes on 20 September, the five top dishes will be put to the test when they are cooked up for a panel of food experts to judge the winning Taste Paradise Signature Dish. This will be announced at a gala dinner to be held in October and the winning restaurant will receive a trophy and a fabulous promotional package from Tourism Queensland and Tourism Tropical North Queensland.

Marion Made

2010-11-28T17:31:00.001+10:00

14th August, 2010

Yes it’s confirmed, Marion Grasby is coming to Cairns. One of the most popular contestants in the MasterChef series 2 will feature at the Taste Paradise Food & Wine Festival at The Pier on Saturday 28th August where she will present public cooking demonstrations and a chat session; ‘Word of Mouth’.

This day is set to be a ‘foodies’ paradise with more cooking demonstrations by local celebrity chefs Nick Holloway (NuNu), Jimmy Shu (Hanuman) David Bres (Olivers) and Jason Chuck (Eden House) at the Pier centre stage. M.C. Tammy Barker will keep the heat up on stage with the chefs throughout the day from 9am – 4pm. Kids have not been forgotten with a ‘Kids in the Kitchen’ cooking class at Cho Gao from 2-4pm with limited bookings taken on the day. ‘Palate to Palette’ is an art exhibition on a food theme by the Visual Arts Association of FNQ and well known Australian but local contemporary artist Julie Poulsen will exhibit her ‘Menu’s collection at her Gallery Inc. in the Pier. The Farmgate Market has plenty of stalls to showcase local food produce and Apostrophe Bookshop will host ‘Cook the Books.

Between cooking demonstrations pop upstairs to the Shangri-la’s Trinity room for ‘Word of Mouth’ hosted by local personality Juanita Soper. Juanita will facilitate a series of six foodies chat sessions throughout the day with local chefs and identities, to provoke thoughts and humour in fun fill gatherings including The Food Debate with year 12 high school students.

Drink Paradise & Grape DeVine; a wine tasting expose in a the Shangri-la hotel’s trinity room will happen between 2-4pm and is the only event of the day where there is a charge of $25.00 entry, but what good value for 2 hours of tasting some of Australia’s popular fruit and grape wines, beers, spirits and liqueurs.

So if you have any interest in food, spend your Saturday at The Pier.

Taste Paradise Food & Wine Festival Begins

2010-11-28T17:26:00.002+10:00

7th August, 2010

Ben O’Donoghue will thrill the diners at the Sea Temple and Sebel Reef House in Palm Cove this month but that doesn’t stop other ‘foodies’ from catching up with Ben at a public cooking demonstration in The Pier at the Marina, Cairns at 9:30am on Saturday 21st August. Well known as one of the handsome two guys from ‘Surfing the Menu’, Ben will let you into a few of his (recipe) secrets with his relaxed surfer style that is sure to please the crowd.

Also on that Saturday at The Pier there will be cooking demonstrations by our own local celebrity chefs. As much as we love to have the likes of Ben O’Donoghue come up to our region, we have some pretty good chefs of our own. Local culinary hero such as Craig Squire; this region’s most dedicated advocate of the local food produce that he has been espousing in the 14 successful years of his Ochre Restaurant, will showcase some delights from his menu. Not so long in Cairns but dedicated to using local produce is Jimmy Shu of Hanuman’s Restaurant whose knowledge of the Asian foods grown in our region, is a part of his psyche stemming back from his own Asian roots.

An art component is added to the festival with the Palate to Palette art exhibition of all thing foodie, presented by the Visual Arts Association of FNQ. Here paintings, pottery, ceramics, photography and even weaving on a food theme will be on display. And in Gallery Inc., well known Australian contemporary artist and local Julie Poulsen will display her ‘Menus’ exhibition.

There will be a renewed interest in stallholders for the Farmgate Market and a good display of locally produced foods will be available. So put it in your diary and come along on Saturday 21st August from 9:30am – 2pm. See you there.

Next week I will update you on the second big weekend of Taste Paradise Food & Wine Festival and announce our other special guest chef.

Taste of Palm Cove

2010-11-28T17:06:00.002+10:00

31st July, 2010

Now that MasterChef has drawn to a conclusion, there will obviously be many people suffering withdrawal symptoms for their foodie fix. Don’t despair; Cairns is about to get its first real food event with the Taste Paradise Food & Wine Festival held in conjunction with the new regional food brand and with Festival Cairns.

It all starts at Palm Cove with a Long luncheon right on the Beachfront at Angsana’s Far Horizon’s restaurant; a superb way to kick-start a host of events to follow. On Friday 20th August, Chef Lee Shaw and his team will serve a fabulous luncheon in an amazing setting that will defy beating. There are not too many places in Australian where you can sit under the shade of coconut palms and take in a five-course platter lunch featuring regional iconic ingredients. This is surely Paradise.

Then the star of the festival; Ben O’Donoghue will be your guest chef for a luncheon at Sea Temple Palm Cove on Saturday 21st August. Ben is well aware of our great local food from filming ‘Surfing the Menu’ here a few years ago, so his four-course luncheon menu assisted by Sea Temple’s chef Patrick Aebi, will be a real treat.

The Taste of Palm Cove on Sunday 22nd August is a casual affair that allows you to just stroll down Williams Esplanade and choose grazing dishes (starting at $10.00) from a number of great restaurants along the beach. You will find the tasting plates at restaurants; Far Horizons at Angsana, Sea Temple, Deli aDrift, Nu Nu's, Bella Baci, Lime and Pepper, Il Forno, Beach Almond, Après Beach Bar & Grill, Vivo Bar and Grill, to name a few. There is even a kids cooking class at Pepper’s Beach Club

Look, you may as well check out some good deals with accommodation and stay the whole weekend in Palm Cove. Then you can finish a perfectly indulgent weekend with drinks at sunset on Sunday evening (22nd August) at The Sebel Reef House where Ben O’Donoghue will be your guest celebrity chef for a stunning four course dinner. Ben is a familiar face at The Reef House and has worked with Chef Phil Mitchell on past ‘Chefs of the Reef’ events, so this is not to be missed.

But don’t think it finishes there. I will tell you more about Taste Paradise Food & Wine Festival next week. Till then check out www.festivalcairns.com.au and go to Taste Paradise.

Jicama

2010-11-28T16:45:00.003+10:00

Jicama (pronounced ‘Hikama’) or Yam Bean is native to Mexico but has spread to South America, the Pacific and Asia. The turnip shaped and size tuber root has a yellow brown skin that can be easily peeled to reveal a creamy white interior.

Jicama’s crisp crunchy texture is similar to an apple or raw potato and has a lightly sweet and starchy taste. More often eaten raw it makes a great crispy addition to salads or stir fry when thinly sliced or julienne. Peeled and cut into wedges it goes well with a squeeze of lime juice or as a crudités in dips.

Jicama is sometimes used as a substitute for water chestnut in Chinese dishes, and added just before serving. It can be juiced or used in stuffing and a variety of other recipes. In addition to having a unique flavour and texture, Jicama carries flavour well, making it well suited to culinary experimentation.

Range of Eggs

2010-11-28T16:30:00.001+10:00

24th July, 2010

I don’t know about you but I get a little confused when confronted at the egg shelf in a supermarket with caged, cage free, barn laid, free range, premium gourmet, natural living, grain fed, natural grain, whole grain fed, organic eggs... it goes on!

I did smile when I found a carton labeled ‘simply eggs’; they had done away with all the buzzwords - good marketing ploy – but they were caged! Another carton said ‘certified free range’ yet I couldn’t find who certified it and the cute chicken certification logo was not the accredited logo used by the Free Range Farmers Association Inc. Another one nearly got me in when I noticed (in big words) ‘organic’ but on closer scrutiny found that the birds were caged and fed organic grain. It was comforting to find the Australian Organic logo on another carton. I think I will buy this one. Better still, I can find Bio-Dynamic eggs from Bio-Eggs at the Farmgate markets. These bright yellow yoke eggs come from chickens that forage free in grass paddocks at Gordonvale.

Jamie Oliver gave a great television presentation about Britain’s egg industry to awaken the conscious of consumers to the welfare of the birds. Here in Australia consumers are catching on and want to make informed buying decisions, so eggs from free range chickens are gaining popularity.

With current standard for ‘free range’ poultry farming at 1500 birds per hectare, you would think that any shift in these ratios would be to decrease the bird numbers. However the Australian Egg Corporation has launched plans for new standards for free range egg production which allows stocking densities on farms to increase to 20,000 per hectare and permit hens to be kept locked in sheds for up to 25 weeks.

This change in standard could allow large producers to charge a premium for branding their eggs as 'free range' without incurring the additional costs of genuine free range production methods. Is it about marketing or about ethics?

A petition by the Australian Free Range Farmers Association has been set up for consumers to say no to the changes. If you are concerned go to www.ipetitions.com/petition/freerange/

Harissa

2010-11-28T16:26:00.001+10:00

Harissa is a spicy sauce which features in Tunisian, Libyan, and Algerian and other North African cuisines. It is generally made from a grind of chilli peppers, cumin, coriander, caraway seed, garlic, and olive oil, although there are many variants. Freshly made harissa is generally spicier, as you can control the ingredients and use fresh chilli. Roasted chilli can give a smoky flavour.

Used as a condiment, in a small dish on the table to accompany North African traditional meals, it is also a major ingredient in many soups, stews, and curries. The spicy sauce may be used to rub meats before roasting or barbecuing, and is often paired with couscous since the starch of the couscous helps to cut the spice of the harissa.

When purchasing a packaged harissa, always check the expiration date, as it will get progressively less hot the older it is. Harissa by Suzanne Quintner Fine Food has been chosen by Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant in Melbourne for a soft shell crab recipe.

Brighten up a carrot dish with this simple recipe from Suzanne Quintner’s website www.suzannequintnerfinefoods.com

Tunisian carrots

What you need:-

1kg carrots, washed and sliced

2 tablespoon olive oil

3-6 cloves crushed garlic

1 teaspoon (or more!) harissa

3 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoon brown sugar

salt to taste

What to do:

Saute carrots in oil, then add garlic and other ingredients and cook uncovered until carrots are tender and caramalised (you can do this in the oven as well).

Serving Suggestion:

Sprinkle with carraway seeds or sesame seeds

Relish The Edge

2010-11-28T12:13:00.003+10:00

17th July, 2010

In May I finally got to go to Club Relish at The Edge Food Store in Edge Hill. I was astounded to find over 100 ‘foodies’ had gathered for an evening of Taste of the Tablelands.

Geraldine McGuire and Margo Watkins of Rainforest Bounty showed the audience how to prepare Vietnamese spring rolls which was served up along with a Laos pumpkin curry, both with Rainforest Bounty condiments. Their sauces and chutneys were a treat to accompany the seven cheeses from Local cheese maker and dairy farmer Frank Gallo next on the presentation list.

It was then onto Bella Coffee and Trish Inderbitzen gave an insight to the process of sacred coffee bean whilst the wafting aroma and shwoosh sound of freshly made espresso in the background added to the experience.

Served with some fresh friands whipped up with Rainforest Bounty jam and Mungalli cream finished off the night beautifully.

Loren Gillison tells me that their first Club Relish event attracted 20 people, doubled to 40 on the next, then 70 and now 100 eager ‘foodies’ attending a great midweek night out. …and all over in time to watch the ‘state of origin’. As if ‘foodies’ are interested in rugby??

With such interest, Loren is planning her next Club Relish – Meet the Maker for Wednesday 4th August, but has decided that she will limit the numbers to make it more comfortable for everyone. A second night will be considered if there is a demand. So get in quick. The evening will feature Brisbane Based Suzanne Quintner with her Flavours of North Africa. She is meant to be a real character – so it should be a fun evening. Also our local Missy Moo and her fabulous cup cakes will featured with cup cakes all round. For more information about Club Relish contact Loren or Gary on 4053 2977. For products go to www.suzannequintnerfinefoods.com and www.missymoosweets.com.au

Purple Sweet Potato

2010-11-28T12:07:00.004+10:00

Originally from Central America and the West Indies, but made their way to Polynesia and New Zealand to become a staple diet in the Pacific and some parts of Asia, purple sweet potato is just one of the varieties of Sweet potato that today are the world's seventh largest food crop. It is an herbaceous perennial vine with edible leaves however the long and tapered root is most popular.

Purple sweet potatoes have a much lower on the glycemic index scale than white potatoes therefore even carbohydrate-sensitive people and diabetics can include these good carbohydrates in their diets. As with other purple coloured foods they are said to be rich in antioxidants with 150% more than blueberries.

Purple sweet potatoes natural sweetness makes them perfect for baked, boiled, fried (like French fries), or roasted, They are wonderfully versatile and have a naturally creamy flavor and texture and hold their shape well for salads. Purple sweet potatoes maintain their lovely lavender colour even after cooking.

In Clare's Kitchen

2010-11-28T11:59:00.003+10:00

7^th July, 2010

At last we will have a unique comprehensive tropical reference cookbook like no other on the market, nationally or internationally. And it's all down to the persistent work of one local lady, Clare Richards.

After moving to north Australia 8 years ago and searching in vain for a reference cookbook that could guide her in the use of tropical produce, Clare decided to research and create the cookbook herself. Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen is the result.

I have been privy to some afternoons of test tastings at Clare’s kitchen where her confident use of tropical produce in her creative yet simplistic recipes have delighted her guests. These soirees’s have also doubled as the photographic session where Port Douglas photographer Alison George has captured some beautiful images for the book.

More than 350 pages in full colour, with information on over 70 lesser known but available tropical produce, Clare has including instructions on how to select, store, prepare and cook produce in over 200 recipes. Duck with Lychee Salad, Fettuccini with Fresh Pippis from Cairns beaches, Coconut & Tapioca Pancakes; a gluten free mix, to name a few, all with Clare’s personal narrative about the recipes, as with our feature recipe for a healthy breakfast that will sustain your energy throughout the morning.

Clare’s book is the first of what will be a series of comprehensive reference cookbooks, progressively exploring more of the produce that our tropical Australian gardens and farms have to offer in recipes drawn from the rich array of cuisines from the tropical zones of the world.

There are some lovely local cookbooks on the market but this book is different in that it is the first reference tropical cookbook for all lovers of our unique produce grown and used in the region. Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen is due to be released in October 2010 just in time for Christmas. For more information go to www.tropicalcuisine.com

(Image by Alison George of www.catseyeproductions.com.au )

Banana Perfection

2010-11-28T11:57:00.002+10:00

I remember my father being happy to wait for bananas skins to go black before he ate them. He said they were so much sweeter! I have never been that ardent; but as a child it was normal to eat bright yellow bananas with a few small brown spots on the skin. I remember them as being sweet with a lovely creamy texture.

Today’s consumer has been conditioned to want perfection and not accept blemishes. Wholesalers and supermarkets now prefer to purchase food crop varieties that present in ‘perfect’ condition on the shelf, often at the expense of flavour. This relates to a staggering 30m bananas wasted per year because of blemishes or shape.

Minor blemishes on Banana skins don’t necessarily relate to damaged inedible fruit… and it could be more likely that they are sweeter. Chefs know this and outside a banana packing shed on a recent chef’s food tour of the regions, they spied a large pallet container full of bananas sitting out in the sun. When queried ‘what is to become of these bananas’? They were told they were seconds and would be thrown out. This surprised all the chefs as they would be happy to pay less for second grade bananas for ingredients of cakes, breads, desserts and smoothies. They didn’t need the skins to be perfect as they would only require first grade for a fruit display.

Unless treated roughly, those brown spots are a natural part of the ripening process. When purchasing bananas don’t discard a few spots and if you buy those ‘perfect’ green bananas, make sure you wait until they are optimally ripened. As a naturally hygienic sealed, easy to eat, highly nutritional fruit, a banana is a perfect snack food especially for children.

Tropical Health Loaf

2010-11-28T11:47:00.003+10:00

What you need:-

1 cup All Bran cereal

1/2 cup chopped dried mango
1/2 cup chopped dried papaya
1 cup low fat milk

1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup wheatgerm

3 bananas

2 eggs

What to do:

Place All Bran, dried mango and papaya in a bowl, cover with milk and allow to stand 10-15 minutes.

In a large bowl combine flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, coconut and wheatgerm. Stir well.

Mash bananas thoroughly, break in eggs and stir to combine.

Add banana mixture and soaked All Bran to dry ingredients. Mix well.

Pour mixture into greased and lined loaf tin and bake at 170C for approximately 1 hour or until skewer inserted in the centre comes out cleanly.

Turn onto a cake cooler and allow to cool.

Slice and butter if desired.

Avocado and Mango Temaki

2010-11-28T11:41:00.005+10:00

240g prepared sushi rice

6 nori sheets

1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

Pickled sushi ginger

Roasted sesame seeds

Place a small handful of sushi rice on the nori sheet. Add avocado and mango slices. Fold into a cone shape and top with some sesame seeds. Repeat to make 5 more rolls. Garnish with pickled sushi ginger.

Tuna & Cucumber Rolls

2010-11-28T11:26:00.005+10:00

Prepared sushi rice

Nori sheets

Wasabi paste

Tuna – cut into narrow strips

Cucumber

Prepare the sushi rice. Slice the cucumber into narrow strips.

To make the rolls, lay sheet of Nori (shiny side down) on the bamboo rolling mat. Moisten your hands with water, spread sushi rice on the nori and cover the edges, leaving the tops 2 ½ cm uncovered. Dab a very small amount of wasabi on rice in a line along the centre of the rice. Lay thin tuna strips and half the cucumber onto the wasabi.

Holding the filling in place with your fingers, lift the front of the bamboo mat closest to you and roll up. Just before reaching the end of the sheet, wet the exposed end with a little water. Press the mat around the roll to shape it, remove the mat and with a sharp knife cut the roll into six slices

Yellow Fin Tuna

2010-11-28T11:16:00.002+10:00

26th June, 2010

An excellent source of Omega 3, Tunas has firm, thick fillets that make a succulent red meat alternative. Cutlets and steaks can be cooked by grilling, barbecuing, baking, smoking, poaching or marinating. Japanese demand for sushi and sashimi has highlighted superb eating qualities raw.

Grilled or barbecued, tunas are best seared and left rare centrally. Highlight with intense flavours such as charred capsicum, eggplant, balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressings on a bed of bitter greens and aioli, roasted garlic, and Japanese wasabi, soy and pickled ginger. Alternatively, prepare a baked dinner of tuna, with a herbed crust to seal in the flavour and prevent it drying out.

To marinate, use lemon, garlic oil, vinegar and fresh herbs. Serve as is (the marinade will cook the tuna), or slowly braise or poach as a finishing touch, but be careful not to overcook.

Sashimi Sammy

2010-11-28T11:05:00.004+10:00

26th June, 2010

Recently I walked into Smithfield Shopping Centre and there at ISP Fish Market was a familiar face –Sammy; in his element behind the counter filleting and slicing seafood, his dexterous hands working his razor sharp knife through the freshest of fish. He looks up, smiles broadly and says ‘hai’ just as he did for years from behind his sushi bar at his Yama Restaurant in Spence Street.

Masami (Sammy) Kawano paved the way for Japanese restaurants in Cairns when he opened Yama restaurant in 1987. Arriving from Melbourne he was aware of the quality of this regions yellow fin tuna, however at that time; procuring sashimi was a challenge. Sammy had to bring tuna from Sydney until he could convince local fishers to supply very fresh, unfrozen sashimi grade tuna.

His other dilemma was that local people were unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine and this also took some time before acceptance set in. With the Japanese tourist boom in the ‘90’s things changed and with that more Japanese restaurants appeared in town.

Interestingly, when you walked into Yama’s you would find not the Japanese tourists but the Japanese tourist operators. It seemed that this was their special (home away from home) eating spot, and away from work. ‘Don’t tell the tourists about Yama’?

Now at ISP Fish Market, what a great partnership this is with the McAtamney family and Sammy Kawano? Here is a reputable local fishing family business with the expertise of a seafood master chef offering a quality product to the Smithfield and beaches area. You can find Sammy there in person at ISP on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and he makes up enough sushi & sashimi for Sunday.

Coconut

2010-10-31T18:30:00.003+10:00

The Spanish called this nut Cocos which means "monkey face" because the three indentations (eyes) on the hairy nut resemble the head and face of a monkey. Nucifera means "nut-bearing."

Coconuts do not have a long shelf life, especially after the outer husks have been removed. When purchasing a coconut choose one that is still heavy with juice. Shake it to make sure there is plenty of juice inside. Check the eyes, they shouldn't look dark or moldy. Choose a rich brown shell if you wish to press fresh milk. Inside, the thick flesh should be a pure white color; yellow flesh means rancidity. A lighter brown shell means a younger nut with soft meat that is delicious as a snack, or shredded to use in recipes. Milk pressed from these coconuts may be less creamy but its flavor can be fresher and tastier.

To open a coconut, hold over a bowl in one hand with the tip on one end and the eyes on the other. Whack the coconut with the back of the cleaver a few times all around the center until it cracks open cleanly into two nearly equal halves. Make sure you use the blunt side of the cleaver. Catch he juice in the bowl as it drains from the cracks.

Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a "functional food" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.

Fruit Wine Awards

2010-10-31T18:24:00.002+10:00

19th June, 2010

Without a grape wine industry in the tropics our emerging fruit wine alternative has flourished with wines made from mango, jaboticaba, lychee, Davidson plum, pitaya, mangosteen, ginger and passionfruits, to name a few.

This region has the most commercial fruit wineries than anywhere else in Australia and so it’s befitting to hold the 2010 Australian Fruit Wine Awards in Cairns. Next Saturday fruit wines from all over Australia and New Zealand will vie for the gold, silver and bronze medals; judged by experienced and passionate fruit wine judges Amanda Conrad and Wayne Hewitt from Hobart.

I helped out last year and was surprised to see there were over 60 fruit wines and liqueurs entered with 40 from this region. The judging categories are similar to grape wine; Light Flavoured Dry Wine, Full Flavoured Dry Wine, Light Flavoured Sweet Wine, Full Flavoured Sweet Wine, Fortified Wine (Dessert Wine), Sparkling Wine and Liqueurs. I particularly enjoyed some of the fortified wines and tropical flavoured liqueurs.

Last year the Victorian ‘Thieves & Duffers’ won the Best Fruit Wine of the show and this year’s wine judge Wayne Hewitt’s Rebello had a stunning strawberry sparkling winner. However our local Murdering Point scored the best sweet wine for its Pinnacles Passionfruit wine and de Bruey’s Boutique Wines took out the Best Liqueur trophy with two of their Flagship Coffee Elixer and Tropical Temptation liqueurs.

The Australian Fruit Wine Awards is held each year in conjunction with the Cairns Show Wine Awards in a separate room downstairs in the De Jarlais function centre. This year the new Cafe and Market has been added to showcase local foods of the region. So on Saturday 26^th between 3-6pm you can come along to the public tasting of grape and fruit wines as well as local foods. For more information go to www.cairnswineawards.com.au .

Whey to Go - Buy Local Milk

2010-06-10T16:47:00.002+10:00

It’s simple to just buy a bottle of milk from the supermarket and not think about where it comes from or what is actually in the bottle. Buying the local brands can have an enormous positive flow on effect that supports the local dairy industry and the region’s economy.

But there is more to our local milk! It has a purity that can only be achieve when all the milk in your glass comes from a 70klm radius as it does on our southern tableland. A glass of milk from the Brisbane area could be blend of milk from a radius of 700klm. With such a small output of milk from this region the product moves quickly, and because of our hot climate the milk is refrigerated from the milking shed to the consumer. This means our milk is really fresh.

You may not realise that milk takes on the flavours of its environment and our southern tablelands with high altitude and high rainfall produces rich tropical pastures that imbues milk with a definite tropical flavour of its own. Whereas other drier regions use a much higher percentage of silage or grains for stock feed, our lush tropical pasture impart a rich buttery flavour to the local milk.

You can be proud that our region’s milk and cream products have won countless awards and in 2009 Dairy Farmers Malanda was named by Dairy Australia as Grand Champion for their full cream milk.

Mungalli Bio-Dynamic Dairy can’t get enough milk to satisfy the ever growing demand for its organic non homogenised product. Their fabulous milk allows the cream to float to the top, just like it used to years ago before homogenisation. This milk is so popular that even the little extra you pay does not deter the consumers.

So check the brand and buy local milk.

Now the Carnivale is Over..

2010-06-10T16:39:00.002+10:00

Port really knows how to party! …and at the end of this year’s Port Douglas Carnivale there is one thing for sure; this event has proven to become highly successful as a food festival of the region. With some adjustment to moving Food Wine and a Taste of Port forward to the first weekend and adding two new food events to the end of the 10 day festivities, it did not deter the throng of Port locals, Cairns and interstate visitors to the sell out events.

What a lot of fun there was at the Food Fight at the Sugar Wharf on Thursday evening? Organised by a group of restaurateurs called “Eat Port”, they decided that it was time the industry worked together to promote their establishment. 300 people showed up to barrack for their favourite restaurant, which incidentally was won by Tommy Young of 2 Fish Restaurant; it’s an event definitely not to be missed next year.

Eight rivalling chefs of the Food Fight called‘surrender’ the next evening, to present a stunning eight course degustation menu to 160 guests at Rex Smeal Park. The highlight was the previously filmed cooking demonstration of each course in the respective chef’s kitchens and beamed up on screen before the presentation of the dish. Another excellent event.

Despite the economic downturn of the region, it was encouraging to see a total sell-out of all Carnivale events and the great support for the Port Douglas restaurant industry. …and not to forget that only a week prior to Carnivale, Sea Temple Port Douglas hosted celebrity chef Manu Fiedel for a cooking demonstration luncheon for over 100 guests and dinner for 140 guests. It appears Port is draw card for food.

Palate of Port

2010-05-29T16:30:00.004+10:00

Spencer Patrick - Harrison's Restaurant Port Douglas

29th May 2010

What has Raymond Blanc, Nico Landenis and Marco Pierre White got in common? Answer: Michelin stars and Port Douglas Restaurant chef/owner Spencer Patrick. Yes, English chef Spencer has worked for all three chefs at their Michelin Star awarded restaurants in the United Kingdom.

At Marco Pierre White’s Cafe Royal Grill Room in Piccadilly, Spencer was head chef at this prestigious establishment where a budding Australian chef named Curtis Stone came to work for him in 1998. In the same year Spencer was ranked in "The London Good Food Guide" as 3rd best chef in London.

Working in Melbourne Spencer met his wife Reina and later they travelled to Port Douglas to set up Harrisons Restaurant named after their son. In this lovely Queensland garden setting in Wharf Street, Spencer applies innovative European methods to the finest local produce to create a cuisine ideal for the Australian tropics.

Last night Spencer joins seven other Port restaurants to produce a fabulous eight course ‘Degustation under the Stars’ culinary event at the Carnivale Palates of Port for over 150 guests. Set in Rex Smeal Park the giant fig tree came to life when illuminated with fairy lights, lanterns and up-lights of soft, atmospheric colours that created an absolutely magical setting. At its base a small stage provided the setting for each of the eight contributing chefs to demonstrate how their dish was prepared and showcased the local produce which it incorporated. A large projected screen showed the preparation processes involved.

Spencer of Harrison’s Restaurant was joined in the kitchen with other chefs from Bucci Ristorante, High Tide Beach Bistro Bar, Salsa Bar & Grill, 2 Fish Seafood Restaurant, Bistro 3, Bel Cibo; and Sakinah House Restaurant.

Bamboo Shoots

2010-05-29T16:24:00.000+10:00

Bamboo is the most versatile product in the world as well as the strongest wood. The shoots have been used for food across Asia for thousands of years and are harvested as soon as they appear above the ground, while they are still young.

Bamboo shoots must be peeled and cooked before using. Do not eat bamboo shoots raw. Trim the roots, peel the outer leaves (sheath leaves), and remove any tough flesh - tender leaves can be left attached.

Extremely popular in China and Asia, Bamboo Shoots can be boiled, sautéed, or steamed as an accompaniment to meat or fish. Braised in soy sauce and spices, sliced Bamboo Shoots are often served as appetizers or added to soups, stews and various other Oriental dishes.

Asper Park Bamboo is an organic Bamboo plantation on the Atherton Tableland producing fresh Bamboo Shoots and processed Marinated Bamboo Shoots. The marinade for the Bamboo Shoots is made with Vinegar, palm Sugar, Garlic, Ginger, Herbs and spices and free from any artificial preservatives, colours or flavours. For more information Contact Sue Stephens on 4091 1737 or

susane@austarnet.com.au

Zinc Chandon Luncheon - Port Douglas Carnivale

2010-05-29T16:23:00.004+10:00

Hagan Wittner - Zinc Restaurant Port Douglas
22rd May 2010

Keeping food clean, simple and very tasty and never forgetting about old school cooking methods is the philosophy of Hagan Wittner, Head Chef at Zinc Port Douglas. “The tropical foods of this region really suits Asian style cooking and that’s so exciting when you come from a European traditional cooking style; it really makes for a great fusion” says Hagan who has been at Zinc Restaurant in Macrossan Street for over three years.

Hagan has had plenty of practice with local produce, as prior to Zinc he worked around Port Douglas at Sheraton Mirage as Sous Chef and the Rydges Reef (Sabaya) Resort. Previously working in other hotels and restaurants in Australia and Europe, he now calls Port Douglas home.

Hagan is looking forward to presenting his menu this Friday (28^th May) at the popular Zinc Domaine Chandon Carnivale luncheon. It’s a beautifully balanced menu that is sure to please those who keep coming back to attend.

Starting off with French Veuve Clicquot Champagne on arrival, followed by a fabulous four course degustation menu that is perfectly matched with some luscious Domaine Chandon wines and finishing off with a Chandon Cuvee Riche, makes for a very, very pleasant luncheon.

The initial Zinc Domaine Chandon Carnivale luncheon commenced in 2004 in the year Zinc Restaurant opened, and now in its sixth year has become a major part of Carnivale and recognised for its tremendous value.

Galangal

2010-05-29T16:20:00.001+10:00

15th May 2010

Fresh Galangal rhizome (underground stem) is usually pink tinged in colour with a creamy white flesh that has a delicate, aromatic, peppery flavour. It is similar to ginger but should not be used as its substitute.

Peel and take off top layer and slice before either mincing or cutting into (matchstick) strips. Galangal is harder than ginger so will need to be cooked for a longer time to become tender. Leaves are sometimes used in soups (tied in a knot and removed before serving) or finely chopped as a garnish. For longer-term storage, galangal can be placed in a plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen.

Often used with garlic, shallots, ginger, chilli, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and tamarind; it’s found in a wide variety of dishes such as sauces, soups, satays, sambals, chicken, meat and vegetable curries. It also tends to dissipate the fishy taste in fish and shellfish recipes.

Food Fight - Port Douglas Carnivale

2010-05-29T16:17:00.002+10:00

Tommy Young - 2 Fish Restaurant Port Douglas
15th May 2010

Get eight top chefs of Port Douglas together and you have a ‘Food Fight’; not in the literary sense but a challenge to create the most impressive menu and deserve the title of Master Chef Port Douglas.

Staged at sunset on the Port Douglas Sugar Wharf on Thursday 27^th May, a mystery basket of ingredients will put the chefs under pressure of a panel of professional industry based judges. Celebrity Chef Darren Simpson from La Sala Restaurant, Sydney and Neil Hargreaves, Food Stylist from the Age Epicurean will adjudicate the winner based on a number of criteria including the difficulty factor in preparation, the creative use of the ‘mystery’ ingredient, the skilled execution of the dish, how it relates to current cuisine trends and of course how good it tastes and looks.

Tommy Young is one of those Young Chefs of Port who heads up the kitchen at 2 Fish Restaurant on Wharf Street. He came to Australia from England and worked at the Radisson and Opera House in Sydney before taking off to Canada. Much too cold there, he needed to defrost and chose the lifestyle of Tropical North Queensland. Tommy enjoys the hard work of the kitchen that is balanced by ‘always something exciting to do’ on his days off, that this region offers. Tommy has been in Port Douglas for nearly six years and has worked as Sous Chef of Nautilus and The Living Room before becoming Head Chef at the stylish 2 Fish Restaurant.

“Awesome”! Tommy describes the local food of this region. “I love this Asian influenced tropical cuisine that is very different from the traditional one I was trained in” he added.

Other chefs participating in the Food Fight are Shaun Malone - Bucci Ristorante, Thomas Ahsendorf and Phil Seely - High Tide Beach Bistro Bar, Goran Zonai - Salsa Bar & Grill, Evan Seaward - Bistro 3, Spencer Patrick and Sam Hiroki - Harrison’s Restaurant, Andy Gray - Bel Cibo, and Anthony Kramer -Sakinah House Restaurant.

This inaugural event should be extremely entertaining with the audience also participating in the ‘People’s Choice’ vote which qualifies them for the door prize draw; two tickets to join the Chef’s Table at the inaugural Palates of Port dinner the following night. For more information go to www.carnivale.com.au

Food & Wine Festivals

2010-05-29T16:03:00.002+10:00

8th May 2010

I really got my fill of food last weekend when I travelled to the Noosa Food & Wine Festival and then onto Adelaide for Tasting Australia.

At Noosa it was an action packed weekend of guest chefs converging with local chefs to celebrate Australia’s great food and wine. Our Nick Holloway of NuNu’s was one to team up with Dayle Merlo of Bistro C on the beach for a dinner of the best of coastal cuisine.

At the Celebration of Australia Food and Wine event in the park there were cooking demonstrations, food tastings, lectures and of course plenty of food, wine and entertainment.

With drawcards such as Mat Preston and George Colombaris of MasterChef fame, Greg Doyle of Pier NSW, Geoff Lindsay of Pearl Vic, Philip Johnson of Ecco Brisbane and Matt Moran of Aria NSW/QLD, the festival attracted over 8,000 people through the gates.

So off to Adelaide and straight to the Feast of the Senses in Elder’s park on the Torrens River. Wow! Over 20,000 people visited this event on that sunny Sunday. …and no wonder; I thought I would be there for an hour or so, but I just couldn’t leave the place. Apart from the great food and wine, the cooking demonstrations and the celebrities, I spent most of my time in the ‘Word of Mouth’ event hosted by Joanna Savill that covered food and wine related matters. I particularly enjoyed listening to the exuberant Peter Cundall talk on ripping up your lawn to grow vegetables. In his 80’s, what an inspiration?

Tasting Australia hosted a total of 45 events and at the Le Cordon Bleu Media awards it was the who’s who of food with Italy’s Antonio Carluccio, Ireland’s Paul Rankin, Rosemary Shager (Ladettes to Ladies) Anthony Worrell Thompson, Stephanie Alexander, Maggie Beer, Simon Bryant, Manu Feildel, Paul Mercurio, Ian Parmentier, Poh Ling Yeow, and Will Studd just to name a few.

Durian

2010-05-29T16:00:00.002+10:00

1st May 2010

Durians originated from Malaysia and Borneo and are regarded as the ‘king of tropical fruit’. Described as ‘taste like heaven and stinking like hell’, the fruit is large golden greenish in colour and covered in spines.

The flesh is divided into five segments, each containing one to four seeds. Maturity is indicated when the middle of the fruit exudes a strong smell and the flesh has a really rich creamy texture and tastes like cream chease, garlic and onions.

After consuming fruit, pour water into skin cavity and drink from this to avoid burping. To remove odour from fingers, pour water over external surface of skin and wash hands in the runoff.

Durians are best eaten fresh but the flesh can also be used for making jams and cakes. The richness of the flesh also makes an excellent foil to hot, spicy foods like curries and chilli dishes. Durian seeds can be roasted and eaten like nuts. Great in mousses, drinks and desserts. Durian flesh freezes and stores well, freshly thawed it is a welcome treat during the off season.

Port Douglas Carnivale 2010 The Looonnnngest Lunch

2010-05-29T15:20:00.001+10:00

1st May, 2010

Hotel chefs don’t often stay in one place for very long, they usually move around from hotel to hotel, but for Klaus Keller; he seems to have made his home in Port Douglas. For the past 17 years German born Klaus has been working for the Sheraton Mirage and is now the longest serving Executive Chef of the hotel. It’s at the hotel that Klaus met Rupa and they were married two years ago in Port Douglas; however last November they journeyed to India for a traditional Indian wedding with her family.

As Executive Chef, Klaus presides over three restaurants, a cafe, two bars and events throughout the large resort complex and some of the outstanding guest he has cooked for are US President Bill Clinton, Chinese president Hu Jintao, rock stars AC/DC, Guns and Roses to name a few. Klaus was president of Les Torque Blanches (TNQ) an association for professional chefs for two years 2005/6.

“The lush green environment, easy Australian lifestyle and the village community of Port Douglas was the attraction, as well as working with great local produce” says Klaus who chefed in several countries of Europe before coming to Port. Klaus is very active in seeking out local food produce for his menus and this year’s Longest Lunch menu will be ‘very local’.

Last year the Carnivale’s Longest Lunch event was hosted for the first time by Sheraton and the love-to-lunchers of Port Douglas along with the seasoned Southern visitors turned up with delight. This year’s theme ‘Lunch like a Celebrity’ has promised there will be good reason to dress to impress and make it a very lonnnng lunch.

Custard Apple

2010-04-25T17:48:00.003+10:00

Native to South America and the West Indies, Custard Apple was developed in Hawaii in the early 1900s before findings its way to many Far North Queensland backyards.

This round to oval fruit has a scaly-like yellowish-green or tan skin with creamy white flesh that has a sweet and juicy aromatic flavour that lingers.

Choose a fruit without dark blemishes. Unripe fruit should be kept at room temperature until

ripe. Custard Apples can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Fruit should be eaten fresh. Simply chill then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, removing the inedible seeds. For a treat, add a dollop of fresh cream. It can be used in jellies and sorbets and mixed with water for a refreshing drink. It also makes an excellent fruit sauce when mixed with banana and cream.

The Chains of the Rotiserie

2010-04-25T17:32:00.010+10:00

Last week I was invited to taste some 18 meals as one of the judges of the exclusive La Chaine De Rotisseurs Great Barrier Reef Bailliage 'Jeune Commis' Competition held at TAFE. Six local chefs where placed under the eagle eye of six professional kitchen judges to cook a three course meal for four persons within four hours using a mystery box of limited ingredient.

The competitors were given 1/2 hour to see the ingredients and then write a work plan and menu they would prepare in the allotted time before presenting their dishes to twelve tasting judges.

In the kitchen they were judged on their professionalism, hygiene practice, culinary skills, product utilization, organizational skills, and cooking techniques and were deducted points for every minute late. The tasting judges had to judge the final plates, as if they were a restaurant customer, on taste, presentation and originality.

The six chefs competing were from restaurants and hotels around Cairns but also included an entry from Weipa. However there was only one winner and Kyle Must of the Rydges Esplanade Resort was presented with the Bronze Medal to go onto represent the Cairns Region in the National Competition in Brisbane in July for a silver medal. Whoever wins silver in Brisbane competes in September in Helsinki, Finland for the Gold Medal.

Congratulations to all the competitors who did a fine job and completed the tasks assigned. It was an excellent experience for them to better themselves and improve their professionalism.

Steamed Coral Trout with a pickled watermelon, cucumber and Asian herb salad

2010-04-13T12:43:00.003+10:00

serves 4

Recipe by 2 Fish Seafood Restaurant Wharf Street, Port Douglas

Ingredients

4 x 180 g Coral trout fillets

½ small seedless watermelon

100ml white vinegar

100ml water

1tbsp coriander seeds

50g sugar

2 medium carrots

1 bunch shallots

1 continental cucumber

½ bunch coriander

½ bunch thai basil

½ bunch Vietnamese mint

Method:

Peel and dice the watermelon into 2 cm cubes.

Place the vinegar, water, sugar and coriander seeds in a pot and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and allow cooling slightly then pouring over the watermelon and stand aside to cool.

Julienne the carrots and peel, deseed and thinly slice the cucumber.

Thinly slice the shallots on an angle.

Tear the herbs being careful not to bruise them and then combine them with the prepared vegetables into a large mixing bowl.

Bring water in a large wok or large pot to the boil.

Place the coral trout fillet into a steamer and season with salt and pepper and place over the steaming water (Chef Tip - it helps to place the fish fillets on a small piece of grease proof paper so its easy to get out of the steamer after cooking).

Steam the fillets for 8-10 minutes; The fish fillets should be firm to the touch when done.

Strain the watermelon and add to the vegetable and herb salad in the mixing bowl. Lightly toss with a small amount of the pickling liquid and place a nice pile in the center of a bowl.

Place the steamed fish fillet on top of the salad.

Garnish with a sprinkle of fried shallots or if you like it a little spicier with chilli flakes.

Rainforest Cooking School

2010-04-11T12:48:00.004+10:00

When Dr Geraldine McGuire is not working on high calibre projects to balance sustainable economic, environmental and social solutions in Australia, Indonesia, PNG and Laos, she is busy cooking up indigenous rainforest fruit condiments under the Rainforest Bounty brand.

But later this month, Geraldine will commence the first of a series of Cooking Classes at her magical property nestled into the rainforest on the Tablelands, and overlooking Bartle Frere.

A finalist in the recent RIRDC Rural Womens Awards, Geraldine is a local woman who has a passion for sustainable development, native foods and fusion cooking. Rainforest Bounty consists of three partners who also grow native rainforest fruits using sustainable farming practices on the Atherton Tableland. Eleven products are currently produced by Rainforest Bounty. The most popular are the spicy condiments with an Asian flare such as the Rainforest Spicy Plum Sauce, Rainforest Lemon and Lime Pickle and Rainforest Fruits Chutney.

These Australian rainforest fruit flavours are intense and unique, unlike any other fruits you may have tasted and with their truly stunning colour and flavour; they provide a unique and very pleasurable north Australian bush food experience.

When Geraldine and her husband launch the Rainforest Bounty Slow Food Experience at the end of April, the day will begin with a gentle stroll through their luxuriant native fruit orchards of Davidson Plum, Lemon Aspen, Finger lime, Native Tamarind, Atherton nut, Water Cherry and other Lillipillies. Next stop, the kitchen gardens to harvest seasonal ingredients for the hands-on cooking class that shows you how to bring out the unique flavours of Australian rainforest fruits. It’s a very social event and the day culminating in a sumptuous lunch to share the results of your endeavours.

For more information: http://www.rainforestbounty.com.au/

Feast of Easter

2010-04-11T12:45:00.009+10:00

3rd April, 2010

Determined by the lunar calendar, Easter was originally an early spring feast day of pagan celebration of renewal and rebirth. The word Easter is believed to have evolved from Eastre, the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility and springtime. The Greeks and Egyptians ate small cakes or buns in honour of the respective goddesses that they worshipped. Buns marked with a cross were eaten by the Saxons to honour their goddess Eastre - it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's quarters. To Christians, the cross symbolises the crucifixion.

However Easter was originally called Pascha a Hebrew word for Passover, a Jewish festival that happens at this time of year. When Pharaoh freed the Hebrews, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. So for the duration of Passover, Jewish people do not eat leavened bread, and celebrate with “The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". A meal of lamb symbolises the lamb sacrificed before the commencement of Jewish Passover.

The 40 days before Easter is the period of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday. For many Christians, this is a period of fasting and repentance in preparation for Easter, culminating in a feast of seasonal and symbolic foods. In the late 17th century, a rich fruit cake called simnel cake was baked for the fourth Sunday of Lent. The cake was decorated with 11 marzipan balls representing the 12 apostles minus Judas, who betrayed Christ.

Eggs have been a symbol of fertility and new beginnings since ancient times, but were adopted by Christians to represent Christ’s resurrection. The Easter bunny is derived from another traditional symbol as rabbit is also known for its fertility, it symbolises new life.

Limes (Tahitian, West Indian, Kaffir)

2010-04-11T12:42:00.003+10:00

Native to a region somewhere between India and Malaysia; West Indian lime has a goldish yellow skin with small seeds and extremely sharp lime flavour. The Tahitian lime is green skinned with no seeds and has a milder flavour and Kaffir Lime has a distinctive wrinkled skin.

Choose a firm fruit with thin, shinny skin and one that is heavy for its size. (Sign of good juice content). Avoid any fruit which seems light for its size, shrivelled, soft or significantly discoloured. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Kaffir Lime is grown for the leaves which are particularly used in Thai cuisine. The fruits, especially the fruit skin, may also be used. Kaffir lime has a very strong, characteristic fragrance. Dried leaves lose their flavour within a year and are better kept frozen.

Use lime juice for cleaning the inside of coffee pots. Diluted lime juice will dissolve calcium deposits in tea kettles overnight. Grind a whole lime in the electric garbage-disposal to eliminate unpleasant odour. The leaves or an infusion of the crushed leaves may be applied to relieve headache.