Alistair Wise has just returned to his hometown of Hobart after three years working for uber-celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay — two years in the pastry section with him in London and a year in New York helping open his restaurant and hotel complex as head pastry chef. Reviewing a special 22-course all-dessert menu Wise presented at Marque IV in May 2006 while en route to New York, I described it as a technical tour de force of 21st century foams, gelees, emulsions, slurps, pops, water ices, fruit confetti, cremeux, concasses and fondues and said, while provocative and confrontational, it wasn’t a meal. He now says, ”That was in my molecular, technique-driven phase. I’ve now learnt that people’s best food memories are not toothpaste and jelly experiences. In the last year I’ve stood back and realised that just because you can do something, that doesn’t mean it needs to be done. ‘The best dessert I tasted in New York was also the simplest—a silken tofu panna cotta with brown sugar syrup at Koyotofu. ‘It’s much harder to put less on a plate than it is to put more—one of the most difficult, and most important, lessons for any chef to learn.” Sunday Tasmanian, January 13.
Freshwater yabbies are becoming such a sought-after delicacy in Australian restaurants that a CSIRO geneticist has bred a super-yabby with a meatier tail nearly three times the normal size. Chefs say yabbies—which can be barbecued, steamed, grilled and pan-fried — have more going for them on the dinner table than lobsters. They are also ideal for soups and bisques.
And, as a health alternative, yabbies grow in a pollution-free environment, have almost no fat or cholesterol and are rich in vitamins. Yabbies are also more affordable than lobster at around $35 a kilogram live in some Sydney restaurants. Dr Ian Purvis, of CSIRO’s livestock industries division at Armidale, has worked on the super-yabby program for more than four years and has now provided breeding stock in a controlled issue to a number of selected commercial growers. He said the genetic changes made by his team had resulted in a yabby that not only had a bigger tail but also grew 40 per cent faster than normal. Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), January 13.
Flavours and aromas that can be found nowhere else in the world, a world-class food safety record, and a clean, green image make Australian foods stand out in the US. These pluses are capped off with Australia’s “exotic allure”, something that gives providers an edge in the world’s most competitive food market, said Austrade’s trade commissioner in Los Angeles Anthony Weymouth. Mr Weymouth is now immersed in Austrade’s month-long annual G’Day USA: Australia Week 2008, which co-incides this year with the annual three-day Winter Fancy Food trade show in San Diego. One of the biggest food fairs in the world, it expects up to 32,000 people from food, wine, gift and department stores, supermarkets, restaurants and other related businesses to meet more than 1000 exhibitors from around the world presenting more than 100,000 specialty foods. Previously, an impressive 87 per cent of attendees either authorised or recommended buying decisions. With a range of Australian food companies represented at both events, California is now officially food heaven. But getting there means more than just a trek across the Pacific. “The US is a complicated market,” Mr Weymouth said. “There are many choices for consumers and the US prides itself on being 100 per cent self-sufficient, so you have to have a very clear, compelling reason why someone would consider your products. But there are many small and medium-sized Australian companies here and, even though it’s tough, if you are committed, you have a good chance of success.” The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), January 14.
The Australian pork industry is in crisis with local producers driven to the wall by low-priced imports and rising feed costs. Mainstream pig farmers, tired of losing money because of record volumes of imported processed pork products, such as ham and bacon, are quitting the industry in record numbers. Australian Pork Ltd chief executive Andrew Spencer said: “We had record volumes of subsidised imports from Denmark and North America, and that has put an oversupply into the market, and depressed prices. Producers are really suffering.” Imports increased by 40 per cent in 2007 and accounted for 64 per cent of the processed pork market. The industry was liberalised in 1994 following the Uruguay round of WTO talks but imports initially were negligible. Research shows that since 2002 imports have risen by 126 per cent, and the rate is accelerating, jeopardising the future of the $2bn industry. Only boneless, processed pork or ham can be imported. Most of the imports come from Denmark, Canada and the US, countries Mr Spencer said subsidised their pork industries. With grain prices at record levels, and imports depressing prices, Mr Spencer estimates pork producers are losing up to $50 per pig. By Christmas last year the industry was losing $3.5m a week. The Australian, January 14.
