Issue Seventeen FOR THE LOVE
OF LAMB

Editor’s Letter

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Editor’s
Letter

 
 
 

 
 

Happy New Year – welcome to 2022 and Issue 17!
 
In this issue, we focus on the wonder that is Australian lamb as the nation patiently awaits the release of the annual Summer Lamb ad. More than just an ad, the Summer Lamb campaign is an integrative marketing campaign that drives consumption of Australian lamb from shopping trolleys to restaurant plates and celebrates Australia’s love of lamb.
 
Pat Nourse profiles chef Trevor Perkins of the aptly named Hogget Kitchen – hogget being a young adult sheep aged around 15-16 months between lamb and mutton. At Hogget, Trevor takes a nose to tail approach sourcing from a range of Gippsland lamb producers and takes diners on a journey of Gippsland’s finest.
 
Myffy Rigby heads for the hills for What’s Good in the Hood – the Blue Mountains edition. Just a stone’s throw from Sydney, the Blue Mountains is an incredible destination rich in history and spectacular scenery. It’s also sporting what Myffy thinks is one of NSW’s best new fine dining restaurants and a host of other epic places to eat.
 
Mark Best looks into the recent CSIRO study that labels Australian lamb as only one of two foods produced in Australia that is climate neutral – a good news story worth telling. He also delves into the world first Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework launched in 2021 and profiles one of Australia’s first organically certified farms – Cherry Tree Downs.
 
Cut Two Ways takes two chefs from the Seagrass stable, 6HEAD head chef Scott Greve and Meat & Wine Co-head chef Thomas Godfrey, and matches them with a dry-aged chump on lamb leg expertly prepared by Tony Mandaliti of Global Meats.
 
I profile talented young butcher Lachy Kerr who is progressing forwards by looking backwards and embracing the butchery of yesteryear. Kerr makes the effort to personally visit the farms of each of his suppliers, sourcing from independently owned NSW farms that align with his ethos. Whole carcase butchery that connects the customer with the origin of their purchases – Wollongong is in good hands.
 
Finally, our Big Business section looks at two hospitality groups leveraging the power of a nationwide summer lamb campaign with lamb menu specials for January.
 
I hope you enjoy the issue and share the love of Australian lamb on your menus this summer.
 
 

Mary-Jane Morse
 
Meat & Livestock Australia
[email protected]
@_raremedium

 

Copyright: this publication is published by Meat & Livestock Australia Limited ABN 39 081 678 364 (MLA).

 
 
 
 

People Places Plates

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Trevor Perkins

Hogget Kitchen

Trevor Perkins at Hogget Kitchen in West Gippsland.

Trevor Perkins at Hogget Kitchen in West Gippsland.

You wouldn’t call the concept for Hogget Kitchen tricky. The way Trevor Perkins tells it, it was as simple as a conversation he had with his mates Pat Sullivan and Bill Downie, winemakers both, over a meal of local, very fresh produce and local, very drinkable wines, and saying “why can’t we just do something like this, but as a restaurant?”

 
 
Hogget is the result, a place where a casual, friendly air on the floor is balanced by some real rigour and passion in the kitchen. It could well be the very picture of country dining in Australia right now.
 
The restaurant is set on a building leased from Wild Dog Winery, perhaps the oldest winery in the Gippsland region, overlooking a valley planted with riesling, gewürztraminer, merlot and a variety of other grapes. In a paddock just past the carpark graze alpacas, woolly and serene. The big deck of the restaurant is stacked with neat cordons of chardonnay and shiraz cuttings bound for a variety of barbecue rigs, many of them welded up by Perkins himself.
 
We’re five minutes out of the West Gippsland town of Warragul, and about 100 clicks east of the Melbourne CBD. The land is lush, the soils volcanic, the rainfall high – almost certainly some of the richest agricultural land in Victoria. Farming around here is typically sheep and cattle, the sheep a mix of merino wool and prime lamb, with lamb being the majority.
 
Hogget Kitchen takes its name from the word used to describe an animal that is older than a lamb – between about nine and 18 months – that doesn’t yet have the two teeth that would mark it as a mature ewe or ram, and its meat as mutton. But it isn’t a restaurant concerned solely with the meat of sheep. A meal here might trip open with a fine little shortcrust tartlet of roe from trout up the road at Noojee, or a creamy dollop of Gippsland rabbit pâté paired with a chutney made of medlars, everyone’s favourite strange medieval fruit. This is a restaurant that follows the rhythm of the local seasons and supply.

Hogget Kitchen overlooks the vineyards of Wild Dog Winery.

Hogget Kitchen overlooks the vineyards of Wild Dog Winery.

Perkins takes Monkery and Chamela, two ripe, fresh cow’s milk cheeses made by Rachel Needoba at the nearby Butterfly Factory micro-dairy, and dresses them with celery oil and herbs picked wild around the shire. The flowers of borage, pea, pineapple sage and society garlic, the feathery tops of fennel, leaves of nasturtium, sharp wood sorrel, sweet basil and the perfume of lemon balm. Fillets of the superb garfish that Bruce Collis catches at Corner Inlet, meanwhile, appear delicately grilled and accented with lemon myrtle from the property’s small orchard of natives, and slivers of loquat from Perkins’ mum’s tree. It’s confident cooking, considered and with a light touch that’s easy to like.
 
But there is no better example of what Perkins is about as a chef and what Hogget is about as a restaurant than how they handle lamb. “Since we opened in 2017, we’ve never used boxed meat,” Perkins says. His dad, Graham, was a butcher, and the ability to break a lamb down and then put all of those pieces of meat, all those bones and organs, to good use in the kitchen are the skills he wants to preserve and pass on. “Teaching our next generation of chefs technique and respect to the whole animal,” he says.
 
Whether it’s East Friesians from Guendulain Farm at Yarragon, Rylands from Seaview Park Farm at Mountain View, the White Dorpers Tim Wilson runs at Lardner, Wiltshire Horns from Drouin, or any of the Dorpers, Suffolks, Poll Dorsets or other lamb, hogget or mutton he sources from his mates at Radford’s Abattoir 10 minutes away at Warragul, the approach Perkins takes is the same: a hand-saw and a boning knife.

Gippsland lambs hanging in the cool room - Hogget Kitchen has never used boxed meat.

Gippsland lambs hanging in the cool room – Hogget Kitchen has never used boxed meat.

The carcases hang for a week before they’re boned, and the team will bone as many as four at a time depending on how busy things are at the restaurant. “We break the lamb into thirds on the rail then process the cuts on the benchtop,” Perkins says. “We remove the fillets and kidneys first then split the forequarter from the third rib closest to the neck. We cut just below the hip joint to remove the barrel from the legs.”
Trevor breaking down a lamb carcase at the restaurant.

Trevor breaking down a lamb carcase at the restaurant.

A typical breakdown might be bone-in shoulder, square-cut forequarter (with the shank, neck and brisket bone removed), the eight-point racks (chine off, cap on, “but not Frenched!”), backstrap, rump and fillet (all cap on), belly and short-cut hind legs (shank off). The bones – chine, H-bone and brisket among them – go into stocks and sauces, the trim gets pickled and boiled, and the sweetbreads, kidneys and liver get looked after as the precious jewels that they are. “The offal really speaks to the quality of the animal you’re dealing with,” Perkins says. “You can tell a lot from its flavour.”
 
Smoking and grilling are Perkins’ weapons of choice for lamb, the Kamado Joe in the kitchen and the grills outside getting a good workout. But while Perkins cut his teeth as a country cook, growing up nearby in Moe and doing his apprenticeship at Da Nunzio’s, he also worked with Philippe Mouchel at Langton’s in Melbourne, so there’s more going on here than turn-and-burn. A glance at the shelves loaded with cookbooks in the private dining room, reveals the breadth of his interest. There’s plenty on butchery, charcuterie, meat, and cooking with fire, but also Ducasse, Escoffier and Guérard, and next to them, volumes from David Thompson, Christine Manfield and Sean Brock, as well as plenty on the food of Mexico.

Trevor preparing lamb crepinette using diced leg, kidney and liver.

Trevor preparing lamb crepinette using diced leg, kidney and liver.

Black beans and Oaxacan cheese go into a golden empanada served at one end of the meal at Hogget, alongside a round of an American-style blood sausage, fried off and topped with quail egg sunny-side up, while at the other end of the menu the dessert is built around limoncello, the sour-sweet pudding plated with citrus curd, macadamia-nut praline and an ice-cream flavoured with clementines.
 
Buying lambs whole calls for planning in the kitchen. The lamb necks and shanks get saved up for ragù for pasta, for navarins, for shepherd’s pies, or other braises. Briskets are scored and seasoned and given six or eight hours in the smoker. Sometimes the menu will name a particular cut – lamb shoulder braised and served with artichokes, for example, or sweetbreads put into pithiviers and teamed with salsa verde – but more often than not it’s simply listed as “Gippsland lamb”, which gives the team maximum flexibility on the cuts they choose on a given day, whether they’re going to be deployed as barbacoa to be stuffed into tortillas at one of the occasional “Fiestas de Trevo”, or simply grilled and served with brassicas.

A ‘Gippsland Lamb’ dish featuring rump, backstrap, a lamb crepinette of leg, kidney and liver, and crumbed brain.

A ‘Gippsland Lamb’ dish featuring rump, backstrap, a lamb crepinette of leg, kidney and liver, and crumbed brain.

 
 
 

The highlight of lunch for a diner lucky enough to visit in the spring might well be grass-fed Gippsland lamb spread across a platter to share: juicy loin and tender braised shoulder complemented by the dense flavour and texture of shank, with a golden garnish of airy puffs of deep-fried brains. Garden-fresh peas, asparagus and broad beans provide the green top notes, while crépinette, rich in the flavour of kidneys, and a jus made with lamb’s fry bring the bass notes. It’s a bravura performance.

 
 
 

Trevor’s dad’s butchery tools on display at Hogget.

Trevor’s dad’s butchery tools on display at Hogget.

It’s tempting to say something like “what Trevor Perkins doesn’t know about lamb isn’t worth knowing”, but he’s far too modest a guy to go for that. And he’s also very quick to say that the lamb he knows is Gippsland lamb. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had lamb from anywhere else.”
 
As timeless as Hogget Kitchen’s setting seems, the valley isn’t cut off from the trends and realities of the wider world. Take the price of a whole lamb. When Hogget opened back in 2017, Perkins was paying around $7.60 a kilo for a carcase; today it’s more like $12 a kilo – an increase of nearly 60 per cent in under five years. When a body coming in at Perkins’ preferred weight of around 22 kilos now costs $260, the ability to make every gram of that animal count in the kitchen and on the plate becomes that much more vital.
 

 
 
 

Why 22 kilos? Between 22 and 24 is the sweet spot, as far as Perkins is concerned, for fat cover, flavour and tenderness in a Gippsland lamb. This is not a stance struck by a chef being difficult – Perkins is not going to send a carcase back because it comes in at 25 kilos – it’s just an observation made by a guy who has cut up a lot of lambs, who pays attention, and who knows what he’s doing.

 
 
 

And maybe that’s what Trevor Perkins is all about, at the end of the day. He’s a doer. He’s not cooking over fire because he saw it on Netflix or Instagram, he’s doing it because he’s on a property that generates tonnes of vine clippings, because he likes building barbecues, and because it’s a great way to cook lamb. He’s not on a DIY trip making things from scratch because it’s trendy – it’s in his blood.
 
He grew up, camping with his parents nearly every weekend, chasing trout in the hills and trapping rabbits, and fishing for gummy shark, flathead and Australian salmon with his grandfather, Richard, at Ninety Mile Beach, always cooking over open fires. As he got older, he’d go out shooting, or taking a bow to stalk deer. Jenny, his mum, has always grown fruit and vegetables at home, and Perkins’ partner, Kylie, runs Hereford cattle, some of which end up in the Cleaver dry-ageing cabinet at the end of Hogget’s bar. He’s a doer, but he’s also clearly someone who understands that it takes a whole lot of people working together to make food great, whether it’s the people who make the wine, or the people who grow the food, the people that he’s learned from, or the people that he teaches.

Beef dry ageing onsite including Hereford produced by Trevor’s partner Kylie.

Beef dry ageing onsite including Hereford produced by Trevor’s partner Kylie.

The blackboard by the open kitchen is chalked with dozens of names of the people and properties that supply Hogget. Holy Goat and Gippsland Jersey among the dairies, the Chapmans, Jones and Jim’s Spud Shed for potatoes, and shout-outs to the growers of everything from the blueberries and the figs to the quails and the rabbits. One corner is just marked “Friends”. You quickly realise that what you’re looking at isn’t a supply chain, but a rich web of relationships, of season, landscape, weather and friendships.
 
“Baw Baw Shire here is amazing, and the access to good food that I have here gives me such a huge platform to showcase what we can do,” Perkins says. “It’s taken me a long time to find my identity and figure out what we do here. But with the help of a lot of other people, I’ve seen that in pockets of the country you find groups of people coming together to express what their region is all about.”

 

Spotlight On

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AUSTRALIAN SHEEP ARE GOOD MEAT

 
 

Around the world, there is an increasing demand from consumers for transparency and demonstrable sustainability credentials. These consumers are actively making moral decisions about what they do, what they purchase and the effect it might have on animals, environment, and people.

 
In a win for conscious consumers everywhere – the Australian sheep industry has an extraordinary story to share. Research released in 2021 by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) shows Australia’s sheepmeat sector is one of only two food products grown in Australia that is climate neutral. This means Australian sheep are making no contribution to global temperature increases and in fact, their impact is trending downward.

Research by the CSIRO shows Australian sheep meat is climate neutral.

Research by the CSIRO shows Australian sheep meat is climate neutral.

This achievement is not in isolation and has come from the continued commitment of the Australian sheep industry to improve the sustainability of operational practices through the supply chain.
 
In April of this year, Sheep Producers Australia and WoolProducers Australia, released the world first Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework (SSF). The role of the framework is to demonstrate sustainable practices, identify areas for improvement, and better communicate with customers and consumers through improved transparency and evidence-based reporting.
 
The Framework addresses 21 priorities across four themes – caring for our sheep; enhancing the environment and climate; looking after our people, our customers and the community; and ensuring a financially resilient industry.
 
Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework Steering Group Chair and Holbrook wool and prime lamb producer, Professor Bruce Allworth, said that the vision of the framework is to sustainably produce the world’s best sheep meat and wool, now and into the future – but acknowledges opportunity is not without challenge.
 
 
 

“For the industry to seize opportunities, we need to ensure we address challenges such as ensuring businesses are financially sustainable, avoiding land degradation and biodiversity loss, managing climate risk and water scarcity, meeting expectations on animal welfare, and protecting human rights in the global supply chain.”
The world first Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework seeks to demonstrate and improve sustainability.

The world first Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework seeks to demonstrate and improve sustainability.

“Across the 21 priorities, there are relevant indicators and metrics so we can measure and track industry performance year on year. This evidence base will help ensure continued access to markets for Australian sheep businesses. It will also support continuous improvement across the industry,” Allworth said.
 
 
 

By balancing environment, animal welfare, people and long-term financial sustainability, the Sheep Sustainability Framework shines a light on the crucial work of producers and supply chains, while cementing Australia’s position as sustainable producers of the worlds’ best sheep meat and wool, now and into the future.

 
 
 
Elsewhere in the supply chain, these ideals of conscious production and consumption are being reflected – and now recognised with the launch in October 2020 of the Eat Easy Awards that seek to find and reward producers, restaurants and chefs making a difference through good food and responsible practice.
 
The inaugural winner of the Eat Easy Best Red Meat Producer was Cherry Tree Downs, located 165 kilometres from Melbourne in picturesque South Gippsland.
 
As one of Australia’s earliest organic meat producers, the Blundy family transitioned Cherry Tree Downs to organic farming in the early 1990s and have been organically certified for the last 25 years.

Shane Blundy from Cherry Tree Downs Organics and his grandson Charlie.

Shane Blundy from Cherry Tree Downs Organics and his grandson Charlie.

Shane Blundy said his ‘light bulb’ moment came while ploughing a paddock, he looked behind at the soil and realised it was no longer like it used to be when he was a child growing up on the farm in the 1960s. “Back then when you ploughed, there would be birds everywhere consuming the life you had just exposed in the soil,” he said.
 
Blundy explains that his approach is to farm with nature and to intervene as little as possible in natural grazing habits.
 
“Sometimes we’re shifting the animals three times a day, which in nature is what they would do naturally, just constantly moving to fresh pasture. We try not to graze the grass too short, we take the top third for the animal, the second third for the photosynthesis, and then the last third for the soil bacteria and microbes.”
 
 
 

“We try and only graze the one paddock three to four times a year depending on the season, resting the soil and giving the natural microbial diversity time to multiply and do its work. We’ve got a huge capacity to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but you must have a healthy soil.”

 
 
 
Cherry Tree Organics are expecting in January 2022 to be completely carbon neutral. This achievement will be reached through an Emissions Management Plan created by working with Carbon Farmers Australia since 2017. Blundy says the approach is to promote a deeper root structure in pasture grasses as well as promoting genetic diversity in the grasses which is beneficial for the soil.

Cherry Tree Organics control organic certification through the supply chain with their own butcher shop in Beaconsfield.

Cherry Tree Organics control organic certification through the supply chain with their own butcher shop in Beaconsfield.

“We were one of the first farmers to put down a carbon base. In January we will be tested again and then we’ll be able to see where we sit and how much carbon we’ve sequestered, and I believe we will be carbon neutral. When you’ve got healthy soils and a good plant structure, that will take the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. If we all farmed in that manner, the carbon dioxide wouldn’t be a problem,” Blundy said.
 
12 years ago, the family purchased a butcher shop in outer suburban Beaconsfield to control organic certification through the entire supply chain – guaranteeing organically certified beef and lamb from paddock to plate. They send beef and lamb off twice a week from the farm to Radfords, a local organically certified abattoir in Warragul VIC. After processing it is transported to Cherry Tree Organics Butcher Shop where the carcases are further processed.
 
Cherry Tree Organics have direct sales to the public from the butcher shop and from there they also cut, pack and supply numerous organic outlets and other shops. General turnover is about 2,000 lamb and 750 beef carcases a year which Blundy says isn’t without its challenges.
 
“We’re trying to breed low maintenance animals that are adept to being grass fed and finished. It’s not an easy ask to have product ready to go 52 weeks of the year but we’re getting there, and we feel we’re getting better over time,” he said.

Shane Blundy is farming for the future - leaving the land in better shape than he found it for the next generation.

Shane Blundy is farming for the future – leaving the land in better shape than he found it for the next generation.

Blundy says that he would like to “live to 140” but is knowledgeable enough about the laws of nature to realise that what he has built is for the generations that follow.
 
 
 

“We’re only here for a short time so I’m hoping that I’m leaving the place in a far better condition than what I found it. I don’t think there’s many people in the world can get up every morning and go to work and say that they are enhancing their life, their family’s life and other people’s lives,” Blundy said.

What’s Good in the Hood

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BLUE MOUNTAINS

 

A couple of hours drive from Sydney and a world away in environs, the Blue Mountains has always held a certain allure.

 
And not just for the lush, fern-filled gullies, sweeping plateaus, craggy cliff faces and low-hanging, occasionally blinding mist that makes you feel like you’re standing by on a Nordic noir film. Or the naturalist, free-form hippy energy it attracts.
 
It’s also, thanks to some exciting new restaurant additions and the proud maintenance of a few much-loved stalwarts, a pretty wonderful place to eat. On the precipice of a bit of a boom, the upper mountains are starting to enjoy the kind of attention they’ve always deserved.
 
Pack your hiking sandals, your waterproof ponchos, and a healthy attitude to multiple lunches. Here’s what’s Good in the Blue Mountains Hood.

Myffy and the Three Sisters.

Myffy and the Three Sisters.

LEURA GARAGE

 
The French dip sambo has made its way up the mountains and found a home in this old garage-cum-casual diner, set at the top of Leura village. Flattened spanners, wrenches and other fix-it paraphernalia are set into the polished concrete floors, local honey and apple juice are on display at the front of the restaurant, and on the plate is a sandwich of epic, drippy proportions, available at lunchtime only.

Lunch at Leura Garage? Check.

Lunch at Leura Garage? Check.

We’re talking about a chewy hoagie roll lined with melted cheese, stuffed with shavings of roast beef with a side of horseradish cream and a little bowl of beef broth for dipping. It’s a two napkin job, and possibly even a two-person job with a side order of crunchy polenta chips.

The mountainous French Dip sandwich.

The mountainous French Dip sandwich.

ATES

 
Say it with us: Artesshhhh. The pronunciation of this hearth restaurant might be hard to wrap your mouth around (try pretending you have a mouth full of live bees when you say it), but the cooking certainly isn’t. The old woodfired bakery oven is reignited at this much-loved restaurant property, once home to chef Philip Searle’s legendary fine diner Vulcans. It’s still run on the same principles of spare presentation belying smart technique, only with slightly different flavour profiles thanks to chefs Will Cowan-Lunn (ex Rockpool and Rockpool Bar & Grill) and Max Forbes-Mackinnon (ex-Porteno).

Chef Will Cowper-Lunn at Ates.

Chef Will Cowper-Lunn at Ates.

Here you’ll find a tasting menu that might range from anchovies on buttered toast to potato chips with radish halves and wood-fired focaccia with house-made jersey milk ricotta. Blushing slices of Jack’s Creek sirloin slow roasted in the woodfire and finished on the hibachi are served with harissa, salsa verde, creamed spinach and a squeeze of lemon. Word on the street is Blackheath natural winemakers Frankly This Wine Is Made By Bob are opening a bar across the street in the new year, too.

Jack’s Creek Sirloin - part of the Ates tasting menu.

Jack’s Creek Sirloin – part of the Ates tasting menu.

MOUNTAIN CULTURE

 
The best craft beer in the country (or at least NSW) can be found in an old Video Ezy shop in Katoomba. Yes, it’s true. The brainchild of American-born craft brewer DJ McCready and his Aussie journalist wife Harriet, this is some of the softest, purest tasting beer around. It’s also the Blue Mountains’ very first brew pub, with excellent American-style burgers (there’s a weekly special but our money, and mouths, are on the OG – beef patty, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onion and house-made pickles on a super-soft bun).

An OG Burger and a beer. It’s a yes from us.

An OG Burger and a beer. It’s a yes from us.

Can’t decide what to drink? We’d suggest a bit of everything. Get a tasting paddle and settle out on the deck to observe that infamous four-seasons-in-one-day Katoomba weather.

Myffy getting cultured with Mountain Culture’s DJ McCready.

Myffy getting cultured with Mountain Culture’s DJ McCready.

BOOTLEGGER

Cocktails and BBQ? Absolutely.

Cocktails and BBQ? Absolutely.

There is no shortage of pubs in these here mountains, but craft cocktail bars? Few and far between. In fact, this might be the only one. Here’s Bootlegger – a Katoomba newbie, not just bringing the noise with their mezcal negronis and extra-smoky penicillin cocktails but also with their American style barbecue.

Check that soft, yielding Rangers Valley black onyx beef cheek and heavily rubbed brisket, both served with coleslaw, pickles and corn and a range of house-made sauces. It’ll have to be a return trip for the brisket burger and a whisky flight up on their brand new rooftop/courtyard, just in time for summer.

BBQ brisket and beef cheek with all the trimmings.

BBQ brisket and beef cheek with all the trimmings.

YELLOW DELI

 
True, it’s a cafe owned and run by Twelve Tribes – a fundamentalist religious sect started in the US in the 1970s – but the sandwich work at this Katoomba Street mainstay is exceptional. There’s the classic reuben on rye bread with corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, mayo and mustard. And then there’s the ‘deli lamb’ – a lamb sandwich (when we asked what cut of lamb it was, our richly-bearded server flatly told us ‘deli lamb’ – we didn’t push it) on a wholemeal roll with onions, lettuce, tomato and cucumber dressed with honey garlic sauce. Cult-status sandwiches? Undoubtedly.

The infamous Yellow Deli - cult sandwiches. Literally.

The infamous Yellow Deli – cult sandwiches. Literally.

The Deli Lamb.

The Deli Lamb.

CEDAR KEBAB

 
Speak to anyone worth their salt in hospitality up in the mountains and they’ll point you to Josh Ireland’s kebab shop. Not too long ago, the former private chef of the Rolling Stones and U2 packed in road life in search of something quieter, moving his young family to the Blue Mountains. On the outside, it’s nothing flash, just an old kebab shop (he even kept the same name) halfway down Katoomba Street.
 
But back of house, there’s something pretty exceptional going on from the crunchy house-made falafels to a dizzying list of sauces and pickles to go on a beef kebab worth hopping the country train for. Ireland refuses to open on weekends or at night and there’s a queue a mile long at lunch. Worth it.

Beef kebab - turns out you can get satisfaction.

Beef kebab – turns out you can get satisfaction.

When the Rolling Stone’s personal chef rolls into town and opens a kebab shop. Winning.

When the Rolling Stone’s personal chef rolls into town and opens a kebab shop. Winning.

HOMINY

 
A mainstay of Katoomba street since 1998 (and before that, Blackheath), Hominy is the bakery that brought sourdough to the Blue Mountains, and it’s still a must for their baked goods. It’s all about patience when it comes to the process of baking here – at the ripe age of 18 years, their sourdough starter is old enough to vote. It takes days to create the fine layers of puff pastry used for their chunky beef pie, made to Vulcans chef Philip Searle’s original recipe, the tomato-rich gravy perfumed with star anise.

Road trip pies are always a good idea.

Road trip pies are always a good idea.

Many of the ingredients in the cakes, pies and pasties are grown locally, made with time and care. Highlights include the flourless orange cake, individual bread and butter puddings and, of course, that sourdough with its bittersweet tang.

Good things come to those who bake.

Good things come to those who bake.

 

Cut Two Ways

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CHUMP ON LEG

Butcher, Tony Mandaliti

Global Meats

 
 

Master butcher Tony Mandaliti opened his first butcher shop at just 18 years of age – Rocky’s Meats in North Melbourne with his friend Rocky Mesiano. By the age of 21 he had opened his second and in 1981, alongside three business partners, he started wholesale business Top Cut that grew to be the largest foodservice meat company in Australia.

 
 
Alongside his brother Frank, Tony now runs Global Meats based in Reservoir in Melbourne. With a primary focus on foodservice clients, Global Meats services restaurants, hotels, cafes and aged care facilities around the country. The company aims to supply quality product at a cost effective price and stocks quality Australian beef and lamb with the exclusive distribution of brands like Mayura Station, Southern Highlands and Collinson & Co.

Tony Mandaliti from Global Meats with a dry aged chump on lamb leg.

Tony Mandaliti from Global Meats with a dry aged chump on lamb leg.

Tony prepares the lamb leg.

Tony prepares the lamb leg.

For our lamb focused Cut Two Ways, Tony chose to showcase chump on lamb leg from new season spring lamb and dry-aged on the bone for two weeks. Tony chose two cuts from the leg – cap on lamb rump and lamb osso bucco.
 
“The lamb osso bucco is actually a lamb leg chop but the boys liked the sound of this better. It’s quite tasty and can be cooked slowly or quickly unlike other osso bucco cuts as it’s from a smaller and more tender muscle.”

Two very different cuts derived from the leg - the lamb rump and osso bucco.

Two very different cuts derived from the leg – the lamb rump and osso bucco.

“I like the cap on lamb rump because it is very versatile. The outside fat caramelises easily and crisps up beautifully - I think it’s one of the best parts of the lamb,” Tony said.

CHEF ONE

Scott Greve – Head Chef

6HEAD

 

Dry aged lamb rump, pickled white asparagus, lamb jus, spinach and pea puree

Harbourside fine dining steakhouse 6HEAD specialises in dry ageing where multiple trials have found the ‘sweet spot’ across a range of beef and lamb cuts. Head chef Scott uses a variety of cuts across his menu and for him, the versatility of the lamb rump makes it a winner while the dry ageing process assists in the additional tenderisation of already succulent new season lamb.

Scott prepares the lamb rump.

Scott prepares the lamb rump.

Using bones and trim from the lamb, Scott made a lamb jus with the addition of vegetables, red wine and water – reducing it down over several hours then adding shallots and mint stalks and finishing with vinegar.
 

The lamb rump was marinated in wholegrain mustard, salt and anchovy oil then sous vide to 50 degrees celsius then finished by basting with pomegranate over the hibachi. White asparagus was cooked until al dente then chilled and vacuum packed with pickle brine.

The lamb rump is sous vide with dijon mustard, lamb jus, thyme and rosemary.

The lamb rump is sous vide with dijon mustard, lamb jus, thyme and rosemary.

Sliced onions were fried until soft then spinach, frozen peas, mint and parsley were added and sweated down. The mixture was then blended with ice and passed through a sieve.

Lamb jus is added to the final dish.

Lamb jus is added to the final dish.

To serve, the vibrant green puree is topped with warmed asparagus and sliced lamb rump then finished with the lamb jus, pea powder and garlic flowers.

CHEF TWO

Thomas Godfrey – Senior Head Chef

Meat & Wine Co

 

Dry aged lamb osso bucco bianco, spring vegetables, salsa verde, hazelnut oil

Inspired by his background in Italian cooking, Thomas’ dish is a riff on vignole – an Italian spring vegetable stew with the addition of tender osso bucco and loads of colourful spring herbs.

"As a working muscle, the osso bucco takes well to slow cooking which gives time to build flavours into the lamb - however given that this particular cut of osso bucco has been dry aged, it already has the benefit of additional tenderness,” Thomas said.
Thomas prepares the vignole - spring vegetable stew.

Thomas prepares the vignole – spring vegetable stew.

The osso bucco was floured then pan-fried to a golden-brown crust. Diced celery, onion, leek, garlic and anchovies were added to the pan along with cider vinegar and white wine – then thyme, rosemary and mint stalks. The osso bucco was added back into the pan along with chicken stock and slowly cooked for 6-8 hours at 90 degrees celsius.

Stock is added to the osso bucco.

Stock is added to the osso bucco.

Once tender and unctuous, the osso bucco was removed from the cooking liquid along with the stalks and the cooking liquid reduced by half then blended and seasoned to form the base of the vegetable broth. Fresh peas, broad beans, julienne kale and baby gem hearts, artichokes, parsley, tarragon, mint and white beans flesh out the broth with a gloss finish from a knob of butter.
 
To serve, salsa verde forms the base of the dish and is topped with the osso bucco, vegetable stew and finished with the broth reduction.

Rich reduced broth is poured to finish the dish.

Rich reduced broth is poured to finish the dish.

 

Young Guns

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LACHY KERR

 

CLEAVER & CO QUALITY MEATS

 

 
 
Lachy Kerr is a classic example of the idea that if you want something done right then do it yourself. The young butcher runs Cleaver & Co Quality Meats in Wollongong where all meat is purchased as whole animals from NSW farmers that Lachy has personally met and formed relationships with based on shared values.

Lachy Kerr of Cleaver & Co Quality Meats.

“Cleaver and Co sources meat from small independently owned farms. We buy the whole animal, we hang it up in our coolrooms and we butcher it onsite. Everything is free-range, grass-fed and grass-finished where we can.”
Cleaver & Co sources whole animals from NSW farmers.

Cleaver & Co sources whole animals from NSW farmers.

The Wollongong local finished year 12 and was attracted to the ‘old world’ appeal of the butchery craft along with the community connections founded in being a local butcher. After a four year apprenticeship and working at a few shops around town, Lachy found himself at Cleaver & Co with its previous owner when the opportunity to purchase the business arose. 24 at the time and newly married, he took the plunge and has never looked back.
 
“I was attracted to the community aspect of being a butcher – getting to know people, being known around town and that basic simplicity of it. I was at a crossroads of my life and decided to double down and go all in and buy the butchery.”
 
“I didn’t really know how I was going to do it, but I knew that I wanted to get meat into the shop that was coming straight from the farm. There’s quite a big divide between the customer and the farmer and a lot of the time the butcher doesn’t have the answer that the customer really wants.”
 

“I wanted to be able to look someone in the eye and say this is from here, this is the farmer and this is what it’s been fed. That’s the ethos of the shop, having that direct line of sight from the consumer to the producer and having as little environmental impact – if not a positive environmental impact – in the way that we are sourcing the meat.”

When he first started out, the plan was to have one producer for each of the proteins – but Lachy soon realised that it simply was not practical in terms of supply of his preference for grass-fed, grass-finished product.
 
Over time I realised that I needed a range of different producers; the state and the country are so vast that different places have different microclimates and seasons and over the years we’ve ended up with 20 plus farms that we source from. It’s only the last 6-12 months that we’ve been able to consolidate our supply chain so that when one is low we have backups from other guys.”
 
“I look for free-range as a minimum; grass-fed and grass-finished where we can. Some of our producers are certified organic, some are certified demeter (biodynamic) and some just run off a really strict set of personal principles. It’s about finding like-minded people that are keen to also have that vision of dealing directly with customers and knowing where their beef and lamb is going.”

Lachy breaks down a whole lamb carcase at the shop.

Lachy breaks down a whole lamb carcase at the shop.

When Lachy first took over the shop it was just him – no mean feat for a 24-year-old who had just purchased his first business. Through vision and determination, he has grown the business to now support a team of six young butchers.
 
 
 

“Starting out it was just me at the shop and then over time I tried to find a few butchers but found a bit of push back against the things I was trying to do. I needed the freedom to do things my way and I found that putting apprentices on was the easiest way because I could train them up the way I want them.”

 
 
 
“They can get behind the vision, get behind the movement. Our first employee was my brother who is an ex-chef followed by my first apprentice Hayden who started in 2016. I generally look for young guys that I’m able to teach the vision and get them in the saddle from day one learning the way I want them to learn and getting behind things.”

The Cleaver & Co team.

The Cleaver & Co team.

When he reflects on the future of the butchery trade in Australia, Lachy wants to see more shops like Cleaver & Co popping up. He wants people to think about doing things the right way – which isn’t always the easy way.
 
 
 

“I want to see more butchers sourcing farm-direct meats and people thinking more about how they’re eating meat and not necessarily seeing meat as bad for the environment but realising that it’s not as simple as that. I want butchers educating themselves on that too.”

 
 
 
“I want to see more people in the trade. The last couple of years with COVID, people say they don’t have work but when we advertise for jobs it’s hard to get people in. Everyone wants to eat but no one wants to hunt. It’s pretty cold and messy work at times but it’s super fulfilling, it’s meaningful and I just want more people to be attracted to it.”

Lachy seeks young apprentices who are willing to share the vision.

Lachy seeks young apprentices who are willing to share the vision.

“The crux of the business is nothing new, it’s how butcher shops used to be. I love the traditional aspect of butchery, there’s a bit of romanticism, a bit of nostalgia, just similar to how it’s always been done. I love talking to customers, knowing people’s names, their orders and what their usual thing is – just chewing the fat and hanging out with the boys, it’s just a good trade.”
Whole carcases in the cool room at Cleaver & Co.

Whole carcases in the cool room at Cleaver & Co.

Big Business

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In this section, we explore some of the country’s biggest foodservice operators – plating up thousands of meals every day from the seas to the skies and everywhere in between.

FOR THE LOVE OF LAMB

 
 

The Australian Lamb ad has played a role in our cultural identity for years – eagerly awaited each January, it’s our very own Super Bowl moment. The award-winning 2021 Australian lamb campaign, poking fun at Covid border closures, had over 10 million views on YouTube and drove a 17.8 percent sales uplift in lamb.

 
 
Savvy foodservice operators know that summer is the perfect time to promote lamb on menus – with a nationwide marketing campaign putting lamb front and centre of the minds, hearts and mouths of Australians.
 
To align with the 2022 Summer Lamb campaign, Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group created a range of new lamb dishes to promote across their 46 venues during January. From a special lamb degustation dinner at harbourside fine diner 6HEAD, to a juicy lamb burger at Ribs & Burgers, the group is leveraging the campaign to drive sales across its suite of venues.

Iconic views from Seagrass’ premium harbourside steakhouse 6HEAD.

Iconic views from Seagrass’ premium harbourside steakhouse 6HEAD.

Seagrass started in Australia with the launch of the first Meat & Wine Co in Darling Harbour in 2001 and now incorporates 42 venues across nine hospitality brands including cult US burger chain 5 Guys which opened its first location in Sydney in 2021. The group has also expanded into international markets with Hunter & Barrel in the UK and Ribs & Burgers in Dubai.
 
Ranging from fine dining to fast food, the Seagrass group is focused on delivering quality, taste and presentation across its suite of brands. Food Analyst Wayne Solomon says that regardless of venue type, Seagrass is committed to optimum guest experience.
 
 
 

“While each brand has its own unique proposition and market positioning, we are highly focused on giving guests the best possible food experience at all venues. This takes into account ingredients and where they are sourced, recipes, cooking methods and techniques as well as the final plated presentation.”

 
 
 
“Seagrass also aims to deliver generosity and value through portion sizes, abundance on plate and the sense that the guest is delighted with what they receive. We also adapt menus to account for food, industry and guest preferences and trends across ingredients, flavours, techniques and seasonal availability,” Solomon said.

The group employs approximately 1,600 workers to drive its high volume turnover – with Ribs & Burgers alone generating around 22,000 transactions every week. Annually, the group sells over one million burgers, 520,000 steaks and 260,000kg ribs equating to approximately 130,000kg of beef and lamb.
 
It’s not only high volumes that the group is generating but also premium quality and bespoke in-house preparations. Group executive chef Sean Hall says the group is committed to excellence from paddock to plate.
 
“Our dedicated supplier Global Meats collaborates with and sources Australia’s finest grass and grain-fed meats from farms around Australia. Part of the process is ensuring the highest standards of sustainability of the farms and suppliers.”

“6HEAD is our premium steakhouse where we run our own in-house dry-aged meat program including the use of chocolate and wagyu fat in the process. Steaks are brought to the table and cut in front of the diner to bring a theatrical element to the experience. At Meat & Wine Co we offer the AGED steak program where dry-aged steak is encased in wagyu butter infused with ingredients like porcini, truffle or manuka honey,” Hall said.

 
 
 
With such a diverse brand portfolio, the group has the opportunity to cater to a range of markets and price points while appealing to local communities through a range of culinary flavours and options. Lamb specials to align with the Summer Lamb campaign demonstrate this scope with January specials being implemented across five of the group’s brands.

At Italian Street Kitchen, with six locations in Sydney and Brisbane, summer diners can enjoy a braised lamb shoulder pizza.
Meat & Wine Co, the steak house venue with 11 venues across the country, will offer two special lamb dishes during January.

 
A braised lamb rump with summer vignole and zesty salsa verde (below left); and a lamb tomahawk with chimichurri, pickled red onion and burnt peppers (below right).

Hunter & Barrel where coal roasted meats and craft beer are the order of the day.

 
On offer is a special summer lamb skewer of dry-aged lamb marinated in herbs and cooked over charcoal.

At 6HEAD, head chef Scott Greve and group executive chef Sean Hall have curated a special lamb degustation dinner to celebrate summer and share the love of lamb.

 
Dishes include a dry-aged lamb tartare with condiments, cured egg yolk and garlic crostini (above left); a braised lamb sourdough flatbread with lamb nduja and fresh summer herbs (above right); and lamb rack with sweetbreads, summer veggies and herb butter (right).

With 20 venues all over Australia, Ribs & Burgers will offer a special January lamb burger with feta, beetroot, tomato and special sauce.
With 13 pub and club venues across Victoria, Pegasus Leisure Group will also run a suite of special lamb dishes to align with the Summer Lamb activity.

 
Embracing Australia’s richly diverse food culture, the Pegasus lamb specials are a celebration of cuisines with Indian, Greek, Chinese and Italian influences.

Satay lamb skewers with slaw.
Tandori lamb burger with yoghurt dressing and chips.
Grilled lamb burger with chips.
Slow roasted lamb shoulder with greek salad, pita and chips.
Glazed lamb san choy bow.
Braised lamb ragu with gnocchi.
Grilled lamb salad with spinach, pine nuts and feta.

Get on board with your own Summer Lamb specials this January to bring diners together and celebrate summer with iconic Australian lamb.

 

Next Issue

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Next Issue

 
 

Issue 18 will be making its way to a device near you in April 2022.

 
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