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The Forager: new chef for Wine Centre

Mar 18, 2015

In this week’s column: executive chefs shift stations, one convenient meal service is exchanged for another, secret pizza business, vintage views around the regions, and food and wine events to plan for.

Long-time chef decamps

After 20 years behind the stoves at the Adelaide Convention Centre, planning and overseeing the production of more than one million meals each year, chef Tze Khaw is looking forward to the opportunity to finesse with his new role at the National Wine Centre.

Khaw took over the Centre’s kitchen on Monday, replacing outgoing executive chef Philip Pope, who has taken up the position of functions and events sous chef under Hamish Robertson at Adelaide Oval. The role of executive chef at the Convention Centre has not yet been filled.

“I was at the Convention Centre for a long time,” says Khaw. “I have seen a lot of changes and the Centre has grown enormously – there are now 27 function outlets with the new extension.

“Once upon a time it was fun to work with as many as 700 meals in one service, but I’m now looking forward to more intimate cooking.

“The Convention Centre was more conference-driven, whereas here it’s more dinners-driven, more refined in terms of quality and sustainability of food miles and produce.

“At the Wine Centre there are seven function rooms and capacity is capped at 800 people. With that number, you’re still in control of every meal and every plate; to me, that’s starting to be more important than anything else.”

Khaw has also downsized from a kitchen staff of up to 50 to about 15 at the Wine Centre and, with a smaller team, he looks forward to achieving a high-end modern Australian dining experience in both the functions menus and at the more casual Wined bar and cellar door.

“At the Wined bar, we are looking at bringing in more new ideas for tapas that can be matched with wines by the glass,” he explains.

“I am also looking forward to letting my hair down with the wine dinners by opening up more food and wine matching possibilities. For example, red wine is not limited to red meat, and it’s not necessarily just about Shiraz and Cabernet any more – there are lots of Italian varietals growing here now.

“I will spend the next few months implementing new food and wine matching events, and working with the food and beverage team to look at new concepts and ideas for the Centre.”

Malaysian-born Khaw was trained in North Indian cooking and classical fine dining with the Oberoi Group at the Windsor Hotel in Melbourne. He went on to work in Switzerland and with a two-Michelin-star chef at Camargue in the south of France, before joining the Convention Centre in 1994.

Food in a box

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Hello Fresh Fish with Potato Cakes. Photo supplied

With local food business Provi to Your Door closing after two years of operation, interstate competitor Hello Fresh is looking to take up the niche market share of ready-to-cook, home-delivered meals in Adelaide.

Provi to Your Door mother-daughter partners Vicki Monteith and Vaness Clarke are taking time off from the food business while Vanessa has another baby, leaving up to 200 customers without a weekly delivery of fresh local produce and a choice of simple recipes for dishes such as baked salmon with capers and cherry tomatoes.

“Provi to Your Door had been a really good business,” says Monteith. “It wasn’t closed from lack of enthusiasm; we sourced the local produce, did the recipe development and made the deliveries ourselves, but what we didn’t have was the money required for a whole lot of marketing.”

The Sydney-based Hello Fresh offers the same service of convenient, ready-to-cook, home-delivered meals, but works slightly differently to Provi to Your Door. With Hello Fresh, you sign up (no contract) for either the omnivore or vegetarian option and will be sent a recipe kit including the menu and fresh produce for the week.

InDaily received the Hello Fresh Classic Box with this week’s ingredients and recipes for Cajun Chicken Salad with Fetta and Lentils; Barramundi en Papillot with Moroccan Couscous; Bacon Pizza; Lamb and Carrot Feast, and Thai Beef Salad. Each recipe came with a full-colour photograph, preparation and cooking times, skill level required and nutritional information, but none of the featured produce came from South Australia.

While Hello Fresh wasn’t available to comment on food miles and plans for incorporating South Australian produce, the Cajun Chicken Salad was tasty and easy to prepare.

Secret pizzas

After a short time interstate, Adelaide Hills assaggiatore (taster), food consultant, and award-winning pizza-maker Deanna Tilker is again firing up her pizza oven at Woodside, just between Woodside Cheese Wrights and Melba’s Chocolate Factory.

Featuring local ingredients such as Laucke flour, Kemps olive oil, Bald Hills Olives, La Casa del Formaggio cheeses and Balhannah Junction smoked meats, Tilker will be making take away pizzas on a pop-up basis under the intriguing name of Secret Pizza Business.

Catch Secret Pizza Business when it reveals its next pop-up time on Facebook.

South Australia’s best vintage in 10 years

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Harvest at Oliver’s Taranga, McLaren Vale. Photo supplied

As picking wraps up for 2015, white varietals and Shiraz look to be the wines to watch from this year’s vintage. Here, winemakers and viticulturalists from around the state give us vintage news from their regions.

Adelaide Hills

“I can’t remember such a perfect vintage in the past 12-15 years, with no drought, no rain, no poor fruit set. It’s the perfect vintage with really well-balanced crops of amazing quality. All the boxes are ticked.

“With all the white varieties, I’ve never seen such amazing flavour development from Sauvignon Blanc to Gruner Veltliner to Pinot Grigio. The flavour development came through early before the natural acids had a chance to diminish – there’s nothing better than natural acidity in a white wine.

“Flowering happened about a month earlier than usual and, as a consequence, harvest began a month earlier this year.

“Reds are still hanging out there on the vines and looking untroubled, but the proof will be in the pudding. Reports show even weather in next few weeks so they should continue lolling out there in the lovely autumnal weather. The region’s cool-climate Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Blaufrankisch and Tempranillo are all looking great.”
Larry Jacobs, vineyard and winery operations, Hahndorf Hill Winery

Barossa Valley

“The 2015 Barossa harvest period got off to a good start, with growers experiencing 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain in early January, which set the vines up nicely for the ripening period.  The majority of canopies held up through the warm days of February, with some extra irrigation going on to get the vines through the heat. No heatwave conditions this year, which was a relief!

“Winemakers are telling us Barossa Valley and Eden Valley whites (the main varieties being Riesling, Pinot Gris, Semillon, and Chardonnay) have come off with good yields, and some of the best quality they’ve seen for years.

“There has been significant demand for Barossa Shiraz in 2015, as yields for this variety have been low the past two years. The Shiraz yield has been strong (apart from those vineyards unfortunately hit by the October frosts, largely in Ebenezer). Overall, the Barossa Shiraz intake has been higher this year than in 2013 and 2014, which is very good news for both Barossa growers and wineries.

“Winemakers are telling us the quality of 2015 Barossa Shiraz is outstanding. At the Barossa 2015 Declaration of Vintage on 15 February, Baron and winemaker Louisa Rose said Barossa reds (the main varieties being Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot and Mourvedre) were showing “strong colours and rich flavours”.

“Eden Valley Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache are still yet to be picked.”
Nicki Robins, viticultural development officer, Barossa Grape & Wine Association

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Harvest at Oliver’s Taranga, McLaren Vale. Photo supplied

Clare Valley

“Vintage has almost wrapped up in the Clare; we’re seeing the last Cabernet and Mataro to come in.

“Overall, the year has been above average; Riesling is very good this year, Shiraz OK, with Cabernet the stand-out.

“Yield is of a high quality; we’re most happy with the tonnage, except for the Shiraz, which has been down due to an extended period of heat.”
Troy Van Dulken, viticulturalist Kilikanoon Wines, president Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association

Coonawarra

“We are unlike most of South Australia in that we’re two weeks behind. While many of the warmer northern regions have by and large finished harvest, we will be at peak harvest activity in a week.

“We had a warm spring which brought forward bud burst and flowering, so the whites came in very early, but the reds are coming in much more in alignment with long-term averages.

“We had a lot of cold weather in December, January, February and March, and haven’t had many hot days, so we’re optimistic about the reds because of the cold nights and long cool ripening.

“It’s been very dry and yields are moderate, so there is no disease. Baumes are still low and tannins are ripening beautifully.

“Early indications on ferments are very positive. The cooler nights have certainly delivered nice acidity and lovely flavours.”
Allen Jenkins, president Coonawarra Grape and Wine Inc, viticulturalist Wynns Coonawarra Estate

McLaren Vale

“A very dry and warm growing season meant early flowering and put us on track for a very early start to harvest. Large rainfall events in the first half of January provided welcome relief for many vineyards in the area, especially dry-grown. Vineyards that were looking dry bounced back with healthier-looking canopies – our Clarendon vineyard (which has very limited water supply) improved out of sight in the space of two weeks.

“The rain, in conjunction with mild January temperatures, slowed down the rate of ripening. As a result, vintage started just slightly earlier than normal.

“As the temperature warmed up, so did the rate of ripening. This was helped along by the recently invigorated canopies from the rain events the month before. The warm and dry conditions continued through February. The result was a very short and condensed vintage period. Logistical pressure on wineries was high, but those who had the fermentation space and the availability of harvesters no doubt pulled in some of the best quality fruit the Vale has seen in years.

“Fruit concentration and expression is very high. Varietal expression across all varieties is strong, showing a broad spectrum and depth of flavour. Natural acidity held up extremely well (the best I have seen) which also helped to preserve the condition of the juice.

“Yields were average size. Stand-out varieties for Primo Estate were Shiraz in general and Pinot Grigio from Clarendon.”
Daniel Zuzolo, winemaker, Primo Estate

What’s on…

Feast in the City on Foot – March 21 and 28
Discover some new eating places and art in public spaces around the city each Saturday at 10am until the end of March on this walking tour hosted by local foodie Caitlin Hillson.

Start at The Stag on Rundle Street for a three-hour food and art journey around the city square mile to experience everything from Middle Eastern snacks to gourmet chocolate and dumplings.

“The most appetising part is that you don’t have to feel bad about indulging,” says Hillson “You’ll be walking off the calories on your venture to each venue.”

Tickets are $25 for the tour, or $69 for the all-inclusive food and beverage package. Private tours also available. More information available here.

East End Wine Down – March 29
Vardon Avenue in Adelaide’s East End will be transformed into a dynamic urban laneway festival showcasing more than 100 local wines, street-style food, DJs and roving entertainment. Tickets are $30 (pre-booked) or $35 at the door (unless sold out). More information available here.

Barossa Vintage Festival – April 15 to 19
The 2015 program for the Barossa Vintage Festival offers 95 events celebrating the region’s rich heritage and gastronomic pleasures over five days.

Highlights include a series of ticketed events such as a decadent feast, an exclusive wine auction lunch and a host of indulgent wine and food experiences.

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Kristina Dryza. Photo supplied

The future of food – April 22

Some of the world’s greatest thinkers on food and food innovators will converge on the Festival Centre on April 22 for the Food South Australia Summit: Looking Ahead to discuss emerging food trends and how they can be converted into new food products and business models.

Local food identities Ray Borda (Macro Meats) and Maurice Crotti (San Remo) will join global experts Kristina Dryza (futurist and consumer trends doyen), Dr Kjeld Van Bommell (3D food printing), Jean-Yves Heude (consumer goods consultant) and Michael Neale (branding strategist) to examine the latest trends in the food industry and how they are affecting the future eating habits and choices of Australian consumers.

Each of the six keynote speakers will address their area of expertise in sessions bookended by six panel discussions. Panellists will speak on boosting efficiency with robots, food technology, food safety, exporting, packaging design and water usage.

The annual event attracts more than 200 participants and offers an excellent networking opportunity as it runs back to back with the Think Food trade show.

How to make table olives with Rossa Matto – June 14
Following on from her Tasting Olive Oil workshop last year, chef Rosa Matto is running part two of the olive oil story – how to make table olives.

“After the first workshop, a lot of people wanted to know about table olives,” explains Matto.

“After olive harvest this year, depending on the season that will be in late April or May, I begin the process of curing olives in different ways, either with salt, brine, or sun drying.

“In the workshop I cover at least four different curing methods and talk about the success of each of those methods with the olives that I have already cured for 40 days. Then we talk about how to pickle cured olives with ingredients such as olive oil, orange zest and fennel, and about cooking with olives.

“We will make a variety of recipes, such as tapenade, olive and almond pate, green olive relish to serve with fresh grilled tuna, and olive bread with black olives.

“To make your own table olives, all you need is access to a few trees. A roadside harvest will give you enough olives to make a fist of it and after the workshop it will still be early enough to find olives on trees.

“Alternatively, you can sometimes find raw olives at the Showgrounds and Prospect Farmers Markets.”

How to Make Olives with Rosa Matto will be held at Angas Street WEA and is limited to 35 places.

 

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