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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.

Alex Bartkowiak ALH Executive Chef Queensland & Northern Territory

Alex Bartkowiak ALH Executive Chef Queensland & Northern Territory

ALH: PROUDLY SERVING THE STEAK STATE

 
 

ALH Hotels is Australia’s largest pub group with a portfolio encompassing more than 350 venues across the country. Employing upwards of 15,000 people, the group serves over 60,000 meals a day to customers from Cairns to Canberra, Darwin to Dubbo and everywhere in between.

 
 
Alex Bartkowiak is Executive Chef for ALH Queensland and Northern Territory – overseeing the operation of 140 venues in Queensland and four in the Northern Territory. He started his career at just 14, working in London and Europe before coming to Australia in 2015 and joining ALH in 2020.

“I’ve been with ALH for three years and it’s a great role where I get to work across all regions of Queensland and also Darwin. Working in different communities across a range of pub styles with a diverse group of chefs and pivoting the different food styles in each region is a really good thing to do.”
Steaks are a top seller in QLD with the 250g rump clocking 20,000 sales a week

Steaks are a top seller in QLD with the 250g rump clocking 20,000 sales a week

“When it comes to red meat, the Queensland operations reflect the states’ love of beef with around 40,000 red meat dishes sold on a weekly basis. The humble 250g rump is our biggest seller and we sell around 20,000 each week in Queensland,” Bartkowiak said.
 
One of the oldest pubs on the ALH roster is also one of its busiest, the bustling Breakfast Creek Hotel in Brisbane is steeped in history and strong on steaks.
 
“Breakfast Creek Hotel is a special venue to me because it is where I started my journey with ALH. It’s one of our busiest venues and churns out around 1,000 steak dishes a week- from a team of 35-40 chefs spread out across two kitchens.”

Rib on the bone - dry aged in-house at Breakfast Creek Hotel

Rib on the bone – dry aged in-house at Breakfast Creek Hotel

“Our signature dish here is the rib on the bone, it is dry aged in-house for 60 days before we trim, cut and portion it. It is one of our biggest sellers and we go through about 100kg a week. We are also famous for our beer off the wood – a daily tapped beer from the wooden keg and I believe it is one of the only places in QLD that does it.”

 
 
Also on show at the Breakfast Creek Hotel is its custom built smoker which is used to prepare cuts like brisket and short ribs – an opportunity to grow awareness and showcase secondary cuts.
 
“Our smoked meats are becoming quite a popular part of the Creek offering, skillfully prepared by our resident pitmaster Butch. Our wagyu brisket is smoked for 12 hours and we go through about 200kg of brisket a week alongside around 100kg of smoked short ribs,” Bartkowiak said.

Wagyu brisket smoked for 12 hours at the Breakfast Creek Hotel

Wagyu brisket smoked for 12 hours at the Breakfast Creek Hotel

ALH is focused on the community and many of its pubs and clubs function as the ‘clubhouse’ for a huge number of sporting teams across the nation. The group partners with more than 800 local sporting teams and organisations while also collecting and donating over $2 million every year to local and national charities.
 
“Our goal at ALH is ‘moments that matter and people’ and we believe if we get that right the hard part is done. We are very sports and events focused and we want to be the go to venue for the region or suburb for people to come in and enjoy various sporting games and events.”
 
Queenslanders love their steak and they love their footy – two big reasons ALH has implemented a Footy Season Special to align with the National Rugby League (NRL) season.

The Broncos Rump glazed with a XXXX BBQ sauce - a footy season special at participating QLD venues

The Broncos Rump glazed with a XXXX BBQ sauce – a footy season special at participating QLD venues

“The Footy Season Special is a Broncos Rump, a black angus MB2 rump glazed with a XXXX barbecue sauce and served with humble chips and salad. The special will be rolled out across participating venues in Queensland to help drive the ‘moments that matter’ sentiment. Sport fans can celebrate with a beer and a steak, to sit down as a group and enjoy the footy,” Bartkowiak said.

 
 

Big Business

Back to contents

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.

HOWZAT?!
 
AUSSIE LAMB GETS A HAT TRICK AT THE MCG

 
 

This summer Australian Lamb takes centre stage at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) with the launch of The Lamb Paddock at the Boxing Day Test. Brought to you by Australian Lamb, the dedicated lamb venue will be serving three custom developed lamb dishes through summer and beyond.

 
 
The MCG is the largest stadium in the southern hemisphere with a whopping 100,000 capacity. Established in 1853 the MCG has been home to Australian Football since 1859, was the birthplace of test cricket in 1877; and one day international cricket in 1971.
 
Game days such as the Boxing Day Test and the AFL Grand Final draw crowds upwards of 90,000. How do you feed 90,000 people – we went to find out.

Delaware North Culinary Director Marcus Werner at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Delaware North Culinary Director Marcus Werner at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

In February 2022, Delaware North took over as hospitality partner at the MCG managing all hospitality services across event days, non-event days and all corporate suites and functions.
 
Delaware North Culinary Director Marcus Werner says a mix of locally recognised brands complement fan favourites and enhance the guest and member experience at the stadium.
 
“On game days at the MCG we can be feeding 85,000 people in one day. Corporate wise we have 130 super boxes or suites plus function facilities that cater for around 7,000 guests. Then there are all the venues and retail outlets along with some pop up venues too – so it’s big.”
 
“We took over operations at the MCG in February 2022 and were lucky to get some celebrity chefs coming along with us. We have the Committee Room restaurant which is now done by Guy Grossi and also the Long Room by Alejandro Savaria. We also brought in Royal Stack Burgers at a retail level which is quite well known here,” Werner said.

MCG chef Luke Bowden prepares lamb burgers for The Lamb Paddock

MCG chef Luke Bowden prepares lamb burgers for The Lamb Paddock

With operations on four continents and more than 40,000 staff; Delaware North serves half a billion guests a year and is ranked as one of the world’s largest privately held companies by Forbes magazine.
 
The MCG is one of 60 sports and entertainment stadiums managed by the group worldwide amongst the likes of Wembley Stadium in London, TD Garden in Boston, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – and, closer to home, Melbourne Olympic Park and Marvel Stadium.
 
 
 

“Delaware North started in America with a single contract and 102 years later that contract still stands. The business is very family driven and prides itself on its long term contracts including locally 15 years at Marvel Stadium and 20 years at Melbourne Olympic Park. We consider ourselves a hospitality partner rather than just a catering company.”

 
 
 
Werner says that since joining the MCG, the focus has been on bringing in more local and fresh produce and making sure things are getting made onsite as much as possible.

The Lamb Burger - available at The Lamb Paddock pop up venue at the MCG

The Lamb Burger – available at The Lamb Paddock pop up venue at the MCG

“We introduced Great Aussie BBQ where we have a beautiful big steak sandwich on offer and we have a massive smoker onsite now so we are doing a lot of smoked products. At the Butcher’s Block we do a beef brisket and go through 250kg a game.”
 
“In general you could say that red meat in a bun is always a big seller. You’re never going to have trouble selling red meat whether it is smoked or slow cooked beef, a beautiful steak, or lamb, everybody loves lamb,” Werner said.

Lamb Souvlaki - smoked lamb shoulder on soft pita at The Lamb Paddock

Lamb Souvlaki – smoked lamb shoulder on soft pita at The Lamb Paddock

The Lamb Paddock is Werner’s opportunity to test that theory and the dedicated pop up venue will serve hungry punters three lamb options.
 
“We wanted to trial The Lamb Paddock as a pop-up but we are thinking that it is going to be much more than that. We really want to promote lamb and make it the hero with three fantastic dishes that showcase its quality and diversity.”
 
First up is a classic Aussie lamb burger with grilled lamb patty, MCG slaw, cheese, pickled beetroot and barbecue sauce on a potato bun.
 
Next, lamb souvlaki. Lamb shoulder is marinated for two days in garlic and fresh herbs then smoked and finished in the oven. Smokey, shredded lamb is piled on soft pita bread and topped with lettuce, Greek salad and garlic aioli.
 
Finally, the HSP (halal snack pack) where hot chips are topped with the same shredded lamb, garlic sauce, barbecue sauce, Sriracha and parsley.
 
Now that is what you call a hat trick.

“I’m very excited to have The Lamb Paddock here and to be working with Australian lamb – it is such a great product that makes some incredible dishes. We are really proud to use local lamb that is sustainable and also of fantastic quality. Lamb is a favourite of everyone and I think there is a great future for it here at the MCG,” Werner said.
The HSP - a halal snack pack of golden fries topped with lamb at The Lamb Paddock

The HSP – a halal snack pack of golden fries topped with lamb at The Lamb Paddock

 
 

Big Business

Back to contents

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.

ANY CHANCE
TO CELEBRATE

 
 

Finding a reason to celebrate these days is almost too easy, and our calendars are packed with more and more occasions to do so.

 
 
There’s cultural holidays and celebrations like Easter, Eid, Christmas and Diwali; and colourful festivities such as Chinese New Year, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Then come the commercial celebrations like Valentines’ Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day – nestled amongst things like Halloween, Christmas in July, Cinque de Mayo, St Patrick’s Day and Grand Final Day.
 
Which brings us to the ‘day of’ days – the brainchildren of marketers everywhere – if you Google it, you’ll probably find it. There’s International Taco Day; International Meatball Day; World Sourdough Day, International Grilled Cheese Day; International Spaghetti Day; International Margarita Day; International Hummus Day; International Hamburger Day; National Vegemite Day; World BBQ Day; International French Fries Day; World Pasta Day and International Sandwich Day – and the list goes on.

Goatober raises awareness of and familiarity with goat meat during the month of October – here Ibrahim Kasif prepares a goat pide

Goatober raises awareness of and familiarity with goat meat during the month of October – here Ibrahim Kasif prepares a goat pide

Some find themselves thinking that a mere day won’t do justice – and so we start leaking into weeks and months – take for example International Curry Week; Australian Gin Week; World Iron Awareness Week; National Beef Steak Month; Oktoberfest – and my personal favourite, Goatober.
 
While much of this marketing melee may seem like a bit of a gimmick – there are real opportunities for foodservice operators to identify relevant days, weeks or even months to leverage consumer awareness and drive sales through venue and menu specials.
 
Casual Australian dining chain Rashay’s was founded in 1998 by Rami Ykmour and Shannon Smith. From humble beginnings in Liverpool, the business now operates 35 venues across Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales, serving 120,000 customers a week.
 
The company is passionate about produce and uses only MSA-Graded Australian beef and lamb – utilising up to 10 tonnes weekly across their outlets. A dedicated team of six butchers inspects all meat coming into the business to guarantee quality with top menu sellers including the MSA 120-day-grain-fed sirloin and 450-day-grain-fed Black Label wagyu scotch fillet.

Rashay’s veal schnitzel promotion for National Schnitzel Day

Rashay’s veal schnitzel promotion for National Schnitzel Day

This year, Rashay’s partnered with Australian Veal to leverage National Schnitzel Day on 9 September and feature a veal schnitzel on its national menu for the month of September.
 
 
 

“The Rashay’s veal schnitzel promotion was an opportunity for us to introduce a new cut to our menu and more importantly to support Australian farmers – we went through a tonne of veal over the three-week period of the promotion.”

 
 
 
“The promotion utilised veal leg that was freshly prepared and crumbed to order in each venue and served with chips and signature mushroom sauce,” said Ykmour.

The Brisbane Broncos Burger promotion ran at 112 ALH venues during NRL finals

The Brisbane Broncos Burger promotion ran at 112 ALH venues during NRL finals

The Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL) finals are played across two adjacent long weekends in Victoria and New South Wales in late September and early October – and are another opportunity worth considering when contemplating menu specials and promotions.
 
Whilst the Brisbane Broncos didn’t make this year’s NRL Grand Final, it didn’t stop hotel group ALH from leveraging footy finals fever and fan sub-culture in the state of Queensland. In partnership with the Brisbane Broncos and Australian Beef, ALH ran a promotion exclusively through their 112 Queensland venues during the month of NRL Finals from 1st September to 2nd October.
 
The promotion consisted of a $20 Brisbane Broncos Beef Burger comprising an 100 percent Australian beef pattie, cheese, beetroot, pickles, tomato, fried egg, lettuce, mustard and mayo – and sold almost 25,000 units over the promotional period.

Some 2022 Summer Lamb venue promotions - Ribs & Burgers lamb burger and the 6-Head lamb flatbread
Some 2022 Summer Lamb venue promotions - Meat & Wine Co lamb tomahawk and the Pegasus Group grilled lamb salad

Something venues Australia wide can get on board with is the Summer Lamb Campaign – the release of the award-winning lamb advertisement every January is hotly anticipated, its provocation and satire seeing it reach millions while ultimately driving lamb sales for Australian lamb farmers over the summer period.
 
The Summer Lamb Campaign is an opportune time for foodservice businesses to harness the momentum of a nationwide media campaign designed to drive awareness of lamb as our national meat – with their own in venue specials and promotions using Australian lamb.
 
What’s your plan for 2023 Summer Lamb?

 
 

Big Business

Back to contents

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.

 

RECREATING THE COMFORT OF HOME

 
 

Estia Health is a provider of residential aged care with 68 homes caring for 8,000 residents per year across Australia. I caught up with Head of Hospitality and Lifestyle Justin Wilshaw to learn more about Estia Health’s foodservice program and discovered an uncompromising level of care, compassion and comfort.

 
 
“They are not patients, they are residents, and they are not facilities, they are homes. Our goal is to make sure our residents have the same food here that they have had their whole lives – our food is just that, a very nostalgic type of food,” Wilshaw said.

Justin Wilshaw – Estia Health’s Head of Hospitality and Lifestyle.

Justin Wilshaw – Estia Health’s Head of Hospitality and Lifestyle.

Wilshaw grew up in a family of fourth generation chefs where comfort food was always on the menu. His career in corporate catering has included stints at Delaware North and Alliance Catering (Spotless) before an opportunity arose in aged care.
 
 
 

“I wasn’t happy with the food in aged care, it was constantly shown to be unappealing. An opportunity came up in aged care where the company position was very clear that they wanted the food to be the level and style of a gastro pub. It was a fantastic opportunity to serve older Australians. About three years ago I came to Estia Health where our CEO Ian Thorley provided a similar brief – he wanted good honest food and that’s what it’s been all about.”

 
 
 
“It’s about changing perceptions and it starts with qualified chefs in our kitchens. It’s not a requirement in aged care to have a qualified chef in the kitchen – but for us it is. There are also no minimum standards around the calories or protein you serve or fresh cooking – which are core to what we do here. It has been my mission in aged care to get rid of reheated food and procure only the best produce which older Australians deserve and I’m fortunate my employers have allowed me to pursue that.”
 
“We are a chef lead model and our kitchens are run by head chefs which is key to delivering an amazing product. Our residents demand the chef has a breadth of experience, most of our chefs do not come from aged care backgrounds, they come from gastro style pubs or hotels or have restaurant experience on multiple continents,” Wilshaw said.

Classic corned beef – a comfort food favourite amongst aged care residents.

Classic corned beef – a comfort food favourite amongst aged care residents.

With a huge diversity of home locations and demographics, Wilshaw says that resident population data is essential to menu development and ensuring the satisfaction of the broad taste profiles and preferences of his customers.
 
“I must keep across the resident data because we are so diverse. I think we are the only aged care provider in the country that features goat regularly because we have several homes with high Middle Eastern and south Asian populations. We now have seven or eight goat dishes on the menu in those homes because our residents wanted dishes that were familiar,” Wilshaw said.
 
At Estia Health, menu development is centred around meeting the nutritional requirements of residents and delivering to their taste profiles. Surprisingly, budget plays little part in the creation of a dish or menu.
 

“We run off the principle that if we provide good honest comfort food, the budget works itself out. When you talk aged care comfort food, it’s foods like corned beef, roasts, meatloaf, lamb cutlets and fish like barramundi and salmon. There’s such a broad range of dishes so you might put meatloaf on the plate which is relatively inexpensive per serve and a piece of barramundi the next day, which is expensive per serve, so they balance each other out.”

 
 
 
“Just like at home, some days we will have ‘takeaway day’ when residents have pizzas and burgers or Chinese night where we offer beef and black bean, Mongolian lamb and honey chicken – those classic dishes from the eighties and nineties Chinese restaurants in Australia that are nostalgic and bring back memories for our residents.”
 
“Every week our menus must feature a ‘wow dish’ – something premium like barramundi, prawns, salmon, lamb shanks, lamb cutlets, an MSA graded steak or a lamb roast. We try to replicate what happens at home – you might have spaghetti bolognese tonight but it is so you can afford that nice piece of steak tomorrow,” Wilshaw said.

Mongolian lamb – a nostalgic favourite regularly on the menu.

Mongolian lamb – a nostalgic favourite regularly on the menu.

One of the biggest ongoing challenges in developing food menus for aged care customers is around nutrition and weight loss – which can be a significant problem in the elderly.
 
“Maintaining resident weights and ensuring they are getting enough of the right type of food is important because most of our residents can’t eat a lot, so the food must be really nutrient dense, that’s where fresh food becomes so important.”
 
“The levels of iron and protein in red meat are vital in aged care diets. Without sufficient protein our residents lose muscle mass which leads to falls and fractures, so protein is exceptionally important in the diets that we cater to.”
 
 
 

“Red meat also plays a key role in enjoyment and nostalgia in the aged care diet. There’s that old saying ‘Australia was built on the sheep’s back’ and a lot of our residents grew up eating a significant amount of lamb, so it is featured on our menu at least twice a week. It must, we’ll have a riot if it’s not.”

 
 
 
“We serve our lamb roasts various ways, it may be Middle Eastern using the shoulder, or traditional leg roast studded with garlic and rosemary, or Greek lamb marinated for an extend period in lemon and olive oil. We try and serve our weekend roasts in different ways so it’s not just another roast, it’s a different lamb roast that takes you somewhere.”

Slow roasted lamb shoulder – different versions of the classic roast keep weekends interesting.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder – different versions of the classic roast keep weekends interesting.

“Lamb shanks are one of our most popular dishes because they are full of flavour but easy to eat; steak and kidney pie is incredibly popular and meatloaf, they love it. Lamb’s fry and bacon is incredibly popular in the regional areas where that whole of carcase view really resonates, and they don’t like to see anything wasted.”
 
The kitchens work off a database of about 150 tightly controlled dishes with new dishes developed and added based on population needs. New recipes are developed and then followed with rigorous testing for palatability, trialling in relevant homes, adapting and finessing, and finally chef training.
 
 
 

“We run a tight group of dishes to ensure they are executed perfectly with each home picking the dishes they want to feature on the menu. Every day at lunch there are two hot choices and at dinner there is one hot choice with a variety of salads and sandwiches – on any given week, in any given home the total number of hot dishes is 21 with no dish repeated in the same week.”

 
 
 
“Our Persian Goat tagine is a good example of how a dish comes to fruition. We had a need in some homes where we had significant populations from South America and the Middle East so we looked at different dishes that could be on the menu and ways to cook them to be suitable for our residents.”
 
“We put together a recipe that was tested internally, then different variations were trialled in our Bankstown home. For the goat tagine it was how many dates and apricots to add because whilst some residents love them, we have to balance that with the residents that don’t. We then partnered with Meat & Livestock Australia to refine the dish before training our chefs and cooks. No dish goes on the menu until all our chefs have been trained on it.”

Persian goat tagine – tested, trialled and trained for Estia Health homes.

Persian goat tagine – tested, trialled and trained for Estia Health homes.

For Wilshaw, the most important and rewarding part of what he does is understanding his residents, where they’ve come from, and providing them comfort and moments of nostalgia through food.
 
 

“A resident who was living in one of my regional homes passed away and his son rang me and said, ‘I just wanted you to know that Dad really appreciated that you’d go to the butcher and get him a T-bone steak and cook it for him personally when you visited’ – and that’s why I do this, I love it.”

 
 
“A resident who lives in one of our Sunshine Coast homes, had a restaurant in Darwin in the sixties and seventies. She still had a copy of the old menu, so we arranged for her to visit the home’s kitchen with the chef. We picked a couple of dishes off her menu to prepare a lunch for everybody based on her Darwin restaurant – she even taught the chef how to cook the steak dish the way she used to.”
 
“You try to make those connections and deliver those wow moments. It’s that nostalgia and engagement with residents; that care for where they’ve come from. That is really what we’re about,” Wilshaw said.

 
 

Big Business

Back to contents

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.

PADDOCK TO PLANE

 
 

Part of the Emirates Group, dnata is one of the largest airline service providers in the world. Servicing the aviation industry at 126 airports in 35 countries across six continents, the company handles over 1,800 flights and upwards of 250,000 meals every day.

 
 
At home in Australia, dnata catering is our largest inflight caterer, employing more than 2,000 people at 15 locations across nine cities to create an incredible 64 million meals served on approximately 250,000 flights a year.
 
With clients like Air New Zealand, Qantas, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Jetstar, Qatar, Malaysian Airlines and many more – it’s likely that you’ve sampled a dnata catering meal while miles high in the sky. But how do these meals get from the paddock to the plane? We went to find out.

Inflight meals being prepared at dnata catering Melbourne.

Inflight meals being prepared at dnata catering Melbourne.

 
dnata catering’s head of culinary, Robert Smithson, acknowledges that there are a lot of misconceptions about airline food – and he’s passionate about proving them wrong.
 
“Airline food comes with a lot of stigmas – that it is not fresh, that it is boring. Actually, that is not the case and in fact, it is fresher than most restaurants. We are pulling in fresh produce every day, turning it around in a day or two, and sending it out on a flight – it is far from not fresh.”
 
“Airlines are so dynamic and unique; you are adapting day on day. I am lucky to work with many international chefs and customers so that no day, no flight and no dish is ever the same. We see trends from all over the world every day of the week, and the knowledge base is just phenomenal – we are far from boring,” Smithson said.
 
Smithson started his apprenticeship at just 15 in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region where the abundance of produce and the opportunity to see it firsthand on farms, ignited his passion for provenance.

dnata catering’s Head of Culinary Robert Smithson in the Melbourne Innovation Kitchen.

dnata catering’s Head of Culinary Robert Smithson in the Melbourne Innovation Kitchen.

“I always wanted to be a chef, that’s all I ever wanted to do. I started out in Northern New South Wales, then moved to Sydney to work on the boats before joining the Hilton team in Brisbane. From there I worked at a few other places before landing with what is now dnata catering.”

 
 
 
“There has been a cultural shift in recent times and diners want to know where their food comes from, and the paddock to plate philosophy is one I am committed to. dnata catering is very focussed on provenance and where we select our product from. We work with the supply chain, with producers and farmers to design something unique for our business and our customers,” Smithson said.
 
When you are responsible for developing and rolling out 64 million meals a year, relationships with the supply chain and understanding the importance of seasonality are paramount.
 
“Our relationships define us and without them we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. We go through about 600 tonnes of beef and lamb per year – that’s around 1.6 tonnes a day. Our suppliers portion control our meat and pack it to our specific requirements. That comes in daily, just due to the sheer volume that our business uses.”
 
“We maintain and hold that in our cold chain, before it moves into production where the chefs prepare it and cook it. It is then chilled back down and moved into the assembly process, where it is put together in either the meal kits or the dishes like a casserole, before being put into the respective meal carts and loaded onto the truck to be loaded onto our customer’s aircrafts, ready to serve their passengers.”

dnata catering uses around 600 tonnes of beef and lamb annually across their flight network.

dnata catering uses around 600 tonnes of beef and lamb annually across their flight network.

“Part of the challenge that I have set to our corporate chefs and customers, is using secondary cuts. We don’t always have to lean on the traditional primals, it doesn’t have to be a tenderloin, it can be something that’s a little bit softer, lower, slower – a little less traditional but those good, homely flavours that work perfectly on board an aircraft in the sky.”

 
 
 
When it comes to menu development, the process differs by customer. Smithson explains that some customers come ready with the dishes they want on the menu and others provide parameters around minor details and leave the rest to the corporate culinary team. Either way, dishes are developed and meticulously tested before hitting the skies.
 
“The dish development process is no different to any other restaurant. We design the recipes, source the materials and test every recipe rigorously. The next step in this environment is to be able to scale it – we have to take that one dish and work out how to multiply it by tens, hundreds, thousands. Some of the techniques will change a bit to accommodate for that volume, but the development process doesn’t change too much,” Smithson said.

Airline catering dish development is similar to restaurants - the difference comes in the scaling, packaging and preparation of that dish.

Airline catering dish development is similar to restaurants – the difference comes in the scaling, packaging and preparation of that dish.

“Part of the process is the transfer of knowledge from what the corporate chef has designed in the innovation kitchen, to the chefs cooking it every day on the floor. We do a lot of training, whether it is face to face or via video or virtual platform, and also work hands on in the kitchen with the assembly team to make sure everything is done 100 percent the same way, day after day.”

 
 
 
Where the process begins to differ is in the packaging, preparation and serving of airline meals – which changes between airlines and classes from economy through to business to and first-class.
 
“One of the unique challenges is that hot food is not cooked on board – it’s cooked on the ground, packed and chilled down, then reheated on board. When we kit up meals, some components are packed in a specific foil for heating, and anything that doesn’t get heated is packed separately ready for the crew to plate. This is managed by the cabin crew and again requires a lot of knowledge transfer and training of how to reheat, handle, present and plate – particularly in a business or first-class setting.”

A business or first-class lamb backstrap dish in development.
How the lamb backstrap dish would be kitted to go onboard.
A business or first-class beef brisket dish in development.
How the beef brisket dish would be kitted to go onboard.
“Our Victorian lamb backstrap is sous vide and served on a truffle cauliflower puree with crushed peas and lemon oil, Yarra Valley Persian feta, smoked beetroots and dehydrated zucchini flowers. While our berbere spiced short rib, has been pressed overnight so it is nice and firm, then served on a spiced carrot puree with blanched beans, roasted buckwheat, smoked potato fondant, and finished with jus and jus glass.”

 
 
 
They may not sound like airline dishes, but we’ve designed these one hundred percent with airline catering in mind – they could quite comfortably feature on any first or business class menu on an international aircraft,” Smithson said.

 
 

Big Business

Back to contents

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.

AVC operates 170 venues across the country including the landmark Regatta Hotel in Brisbane.

AVC operates 170 venues across the country including the landmark Regatta Hotel in Brisbane.

AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO

Queensland

 

Words: Mary-Jane Morse. Photography: Supplied

 
 

Australian Venue Co is Australia’s second largest pub group – operating 170 pubs, bars and venues across the country and employing more than 5,000 people at its iconic landmarks and well-loved locals.

 
 
The company aims to deliver excellence at scale but is adamant about avoiding a ‘copy-and-paste’ approach with each individual venue given the freedom to customise their offering to suit the local community. This ‘local’ approach reflects the needs of each unique location with the advantage of the procurement savings and administrative efficiencies of a large scale operation. When it’s 40 tonnes of beef a month – it’s certainly large scale.

Executive chef Justin Wise prepares Macka’s beef on location near Gloucester NSW.

Executive chef Justin Wise prepares Macka’s beef on location near Gloucester NSW.

We caught up with Queensland Venue Co – a state based subsidiary of AVC serving approximately 16,500 meals a day at 87 venues spanning the sunshine state from Palm Cove in the Far North to Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
 
Executive Chef Justin Wise’s career includes accolades such as The Age Good Food Guide’s young chef of the year alongside roles like head chef at two-hatted The Press Club, senior-sous at Gordan Ramsay’s Maze and executive chef at The Point.
 
Moving on from the world of fine dining, Justin consulted with Open Door pub group which led to the position of executive chef when the group was purchased by Dixon Hospitality in 2015. Rebranded as Australian Venue Co in 2018, Wise has seen the group grow from 18 hotels to 170 and personally oversees the foodservice operations of the 87 Queensland venues.

All AVC Queensland venues have at least three cuts of steak on offer.

All AVC Queensland venues have at least three cuts of steak on offer.

“A local pub is a meeting place for everyone in the community, so it is really important to us that our pubs are places where everyone feels welcome. Each of our venues is tailored to the local community and while you will find similar essentials, each menu is designed with local produce and the local community in mind.”

“We are customer obsessed which is evident in the way we write our menus and design our pubs. Our team spends a lot of time listening to customer feedback and making sure we design for the local customer – we don’t copy and paste across our venues,” Wise said.
 
With a primarily pub populated portfolio, AVC Queensland delivers customised customer experiences through the gamut of pub hospitality – from accommodation to sports bars; events and live music; and quality food and beverage.
Queenslanders love their beef. In fact, the northern state produces almost half of the country’s beef and runs approximately 11.3 million head of cattle, by far the largest herd in Australia.
 
Accordingly, AVC’s stable of Queensland venues ensure beef takes pride and place on the menu. Each month the company goes through 1.4 tonnes of rump, 3.5 tonnes of primal beef like eye fillet, striploin, rib eye and T-bone, and 1 tonne combined of brisket, top side, diced, mince and burger patties.
 
Beef on menu includes a range of national and local brands including JBS, Macka’s Certified Black Angus, Jack’s Creek, Tey’s, Bass Strait Reserve, Flinders Natural, Stanbroke Beef and Signature Beef and is sourced primarily through Thomas Foods.
 

The Regatta Hotel’s open kitchen, two metre flame-grill and dry age cabinet.

The Regatta Hotel’s open kitchen, two metre flame-grill and dry age cabinet.

“All of our venues have at least three cuts of steak on offer but many have even more – the Regatta for example has more than 20 options. We also use beef in roasts, pulled beef dishes, burgers and briskets, especially at venues that have a strong barbecue offering,” Wise said.

One of AVC Queensland’s most iconic pubs, the Regatta, has been serving the community for more than 140 years. Located on the Brisbane River, it has one of the most diverse steak menus in Australia with an in-house dry ageing program with a holding value of over $40,000.
 
The Boatshed is the Regatta’s stylish gastro-pub restaurant with views out across the Brisbane River and an open central kitchen featuring a two-metre long flame grill. Steaks range from a 180g eye fillet to a 1.2kg tomahawk with provenance and production details specified on the menu.
 
“At the Regatta we age in the Boatshed meat cellar for up to 40 days. This time honoured process produces a rounder, sweeter flavour of remarkable intensity – much like a good red wine does over time in the cellar.”
 

Dry aged beef on show at the Regatta Hotel.

Dry aged beef on show at the Regatta Hotel.

“We try to work with producers directly and are also in the process of working with our butcher to move more towards whole carcase utilisation. This will be a huge project for us due to our high use of primal cuts and our ability to value-add to the product,” Wise said.

As a company, AVC values ownership and encourages everyone to be accountable for their roles and responsibilities. This sentiment rolls back through the supply chain and highlights the importance of connecting the customer with the role the producer has played in getting the steak to the plate.
 
In addition to clearly identifying the producers, locations and specifics of each cut on the menu, the Regatta also hosts regular producer events like winemaker dinners and steak showcases to close the gap and put a face to the farmer.
 
“Recently we had a Beef Off event at The Regatta – our annual steak showdown that featured five competing beef producers who fired up the grill to serve the perfect dry aged sirloin. Guests had a blind tasting and then the winner, Stanbroke, was named at the end of the night,” Wise said.
 
Despite its large-scale operational footprint – AVC takes a small-scale approach in each of its locations and values knowing the people that support its business from the producers through to the patrons.
 
“At all of our pubs we have a core group of passionate locals and everyone behind the bar knows their name. We are in constant conversation with our customers, and I think it shows in our venues.”

The packed out Beef Off event at the Regatta Hotel.

The packed out Beef Off event at the Regatta Hotel.

“Hospitality means making people feel welcome and bringing them together. It is the combination of food and beverage, atmosphere and service – but you can’t have it without the human connection bringing it all together,” Wise said.

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IF THE SHOE FITZ

Anna Ugarte

 
 

Anna in the upstairs brasserie at The Old Fitz.

Talking to Anna Ugarte, you get the impression that she is a girl on a mission. The accomplished young chef has taken up her first head chef role at The Old Fitz in Woolloomooloo where she is rolling with the punches of global pandemics, people management and figuring out who she is as a leader.

“My first head chef role has been a wild ride. It’s a lot of responsibility and learning how to manage the cooking part – which is what you’ve spent years doing – and the management part of looking after staff and working a lot more closely with front of house.”
 
 
 

“It has been a very steep learning curve, more like a cliff than a curve and the first two months were definitely the hardest of my career. At the same time it’s been really fruitful and I feel like I’ve come out the other side in the past few weeks. I feel a lot more collected and that I can actually do it. We are doing it,” she said.

 

Anna says her first head chef role has been more like a cliff than a curve of learning.

Anna says her first head chef role has been more like a cliff than a curve of learning.

Anna was awarded the prestigious Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year in 2020 – an award that always loomed large in her periphery and yet, in winning it, she remains graciously humble.
 
 
 

“I always thought that’s the award you win and you can say – I’m a good chef now. It has given me the confidence to know that I can do this. It’s such an important award and it feels really good to be recognised but at the same time it doesn’t make me think that I am a better chef than everyone else.”

 
 
 
Anna didn’t start her cooking career until 22, which she considers quite late for a chef – but it certainly didn’t hold her back. Her impressive resume has seen her working alongside some of the world’s best chefs at acclaimed restaurants both at home and abroad.

Anna’s resume includes Firedoor, Hubert, Lyle’s, Noma, Relae and Momofuku Seiobo.

Anna’s resume includes Firedoor, Hubert, Lyle’s, Noma, Relae and Momofuku Seiobo.

“I got pretty lucky, my first chef job I worked for Matt Stone and Jo Barrett and that put me in the right direction. I then worked at Firedoor and Hubert before going overseas where I staged at Lyle’s in London then Noma and Relae in Copenhagen.”
 
 
 

“That staging period of my life was probably a pinnacle in my career because it really opened my mind to what the rest of the world is like in kitchens. You can travel and eat in all these amazing restaurants but seeing how the kitchens actually work on a day to day level was pretty amazing. I also got to be at Noma for the opening of Noma 2.0 which was incredible,” she said.

 
 
 
On her return to Australia, Anna worked for three years as a junior sous chef at the now closed Momofuku Seiobo – which cemented everything into place for her.
 
“Every head chef you work for, you take something with you and everyone I’ve worked for has been really important in their own right. I learnt so much from Lennox and Dan and Paul but it’s also the people that I worked with on a day to day level that taught me so much. I’ve really loved working with and learning from so many talented individuals over the years,” she said.

The Old Fitz has a reputation for pub food - but not as you know it.

The Old Fitz has a reputation for pub food – but not as you know it.

The Old Fitz has been feeding, watering and entertaining the community for anywhere between 150 to 200 years. It has had many people pass through its doors and head up its kitchen and in recent times was brought back into repute as a destination for serious pub food under chef Nicholas Hill.
 
With Anna now at the helm, the venue continues to offer elevated pub dining along with a more formal brasserie upstairs. Its linen draped tables, chandeliers and eclectic collection of crookedly hung artwork adorning the walls – makes you feel immediately at home while impatiently anticipating the good things to come. As the bell rings out to call theatregoers back to their seats and the buzz of pub patrons creeps up the stairs – the afternoon sunlight filters through the windows. You feel an overwhelming sense of community and the comfortable weight of history. You know it’s a place that caters to many – and, quite literally it does with lunch and dinner service seven days. In Anna’s words it is ‘quite an undertaking’.

Steak frites – hanger steak with a choice of herb butter or liver butter and plenty of fries to go around.

Steak frites – hanger steak with a choice of herb butter or liver butter and plenty of fries to go around.

The menu changes often but sticks to a classic European style – with influences from French, Italian and Spanish – without focusing too much on any one in particular. Upstairs is classic brasserie style with entrees, mains and desserts lending from the classics but still managing to feel fresh. Downstairs is more of a bar menu with all sorts of snacks to satisfy – it’s pub food but not your classic parmy.
 
 
 

“Me and the chefs all know what we like to eat and we kind of just spitball as to what we want to put on the menu. When we opened we weren’t too sure of the exact direction we were going to go but what we did know is that it would change based on what felt right.”

 
 
 
“I often think of a meal centering around a steak and we’re always going to have steak on the menu here. At the moment I am enjoying working with several smaller butchers that are working closely with producers and finding some really interesting cuts and different styles of preparation and ageing.”

Anna works closely with butchers to find interesting cuts or preparations.

Anna works closely with butchers to find interesting cuts or preparations.

“When it comes down to it – food needs to be delicious. If people don’t enjoy eating it then what’s the point? As a chef, I am interested in the classics and classical cooking – I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel but I am interested in pulling ideas from the past. I’m just trying to make sure the food is delicious, everyone is enjoying it and that I’m enjoying cooking it,” she said.

 
 
 
Anna doesn’t necessarily believe in always having something that she is aiming for. For her, the drive is to always be learning – always striving to be better. Her advice for young chefs is to figure out what you want to learn and then find the people that can teach you.

Lamb ribs glazed with salted plum in the upstairs brasserie.

Lamb ribs glazed with salted plum in the upstairs brasserie.

“As time goes on, the things that you are interested in change and the things you want to do in your career change. I would like to go and work at a really crazy restaurant overseas and go through another really steep learning curve of becoming a better chef – but that might change. All I know is that I want to keep learning how to be better.”
 
 
 

“It’s important to know what you like and to eat out as much as you can. As time went on, I made a few decisions about who I wanted to work for based on what I wanted to learn. It is a really good time at the moment where you can get jobs at really great restaurants as a junior and there are a lot of great people to work for. Find the right fit for you and learn as much as you can,” she said.
18 month old Angus sirloin dry aged for 4 weeks and served on the bone.

18 month old Angus sirloin dry aged for 4 weeks and served on the bone.

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KAUL OF THE WILD

 
 
 

Rosheen Kaul is turning heads for all the right reasons in her first head chef role at Etta as she navigates the challenges of running her own kitchen and basks humbly in the acclaim rolling in.

 

Rosheen at Etta.

Rosheen at Etta.

The young chef followed a convoluted path to get where she is today. She finished high school then attended university where she was never really inspired because she still hadn’t figured out what she wanted to do. Eventually, she gave up the study and took a kitchen hand job where she immediately realised that the kitchen was exactly where she was supposed to be.
 
 
 

“I only ever truly cared about food. I have been a really greedy person my whole life so it just made sense. It also really suited my lifestyle in that I stay up late at night and I can’t wake up in the morning – being a night person, it all just worked out for me.”

 
 
 
She started her apprenticeship at Lee Ho Fook in its original Smith Street set up and then in the city location for 18 months. After that, she moved on to Ezard where she got a taste for fine dining before landing a spot in the kitchen at Dinner by Heston where she stayed for three and a half years until they closed.

Rosheen says she only ever truly cared about food.

Rosheen says she only ever truly cared about food.

Covid-19 changed the world and it transformed everything for Rosheen. She was lucky to secure a gig in the pastry section at Smith and Deli with Shannon Martinez – one of Rosheen’s greatest inspirations. During that time, she also collaborated with an illustrator friend to produce three zine-style isolation cookbooks. The Isol(Asian) books showed how to use simple pantry ingredients to create tasty dishes following the fundamentals of Asian cooking – and sold out in no time.
 
Next thing she knew, Rosheen found herself doing a trial cook for Etta owner Hannah Green and she was quickly thrown head first into a whole new world.
 
 
 

“Etta is my first head chef job and it has been incredibly daunting. I haven’t run a kitchen before and I haven’t been accountable for a team before so there are a lot of things that have popped up that have been beyond my current skill set. Every day is a learning curve and I have had such incredible support from the team, Hannah and the industry which has been truly amazing.”

 
 
 
“I’ve got a great team which makes all the difference – we’re all very single minded in what we are trying to achieve and everyone is really passionate about this restaurant and what we are cooking. The whole team is absolutely bang-on, knowledgeable and fantastic at their jobs, any difficulty that I have had has always been buffered by how good our team is.”

Four months into her first head chef role, Rosheen says her style of food is still developing.

Four months into her first head chef role, Rosheen says her style of food is still developing.

Rosheen is incredibly humble in the success she has already managed to achieve amongst a myriad of challenges – from restaurant closures due to Covid-19 to navigating the journey of discovering her own style of food.
 
 
 

“My style of food is still developing because I’m only four months in and before that I was always cooking someone else’s food. I’ve always cooked at home a lot but once I was put into a position where I had to write my own menu, I ended up always using flavours that were really comforting and familiar to me.”

 
 
 
“I haven’t felt yet that I am at a point to start changing the game or pushing boundaries. I am just going to use what I know is delicious to me, to be clever about it and back it up with some skill and a bit of finesse. I’m just cooking food that I have found to be delicious through my long culinary journey of just being me.”

Rosheen cooks using flavours that are comforting and familiar to her.

Rosheen cooks using flavours that are comforting and familiar to her.

“I also look to food historians and anthropologists; I’m really interested more in the culture of food than just plain skill. I am very much into studying my own culture in food – and looking into Kashmiri food which is not really documented. That is how I am progressing as a chef, where I am looking backwards as opposed to looking at just pure culinary skill.”
 
“I am using it as a way to find my identity because I am of so many different cultures so it has always been difficult to align them all. I am sort of figuring it out as I am cooking and also developing this whole new skill set which is pretty awesome.”

Kabargah - Kashmiri style goat ribs inspired by Rosheen’s family and Kashmiri heritage.

Kabargah – Kashmiri style goat ribs inspired by Rosheen’s family and Kashmiri heritage.

When we visit, Rosheen takes us along on this journey of culinary discovery with two dishes – a Kashmiri style dish of goat rib called kabargah and her interpretation of an Adana kebab.
 
 
 

“I’ve never really seen kabargah made by anyone outside my family or within my culture so it’s a really important dish to me and pretty cool to cook it. Traditionally, the dish uses lamb but it lends itself beautifully to goat. Any gamier flavours are sweetened by cooking it in milk and yoghurt with some lovely hard spices. A lot of goat preparations, like curries, are really heavily spiced and one of the things I like best about this application is that you can still taste the meat – it’s just really beautifully elevated and rounded.”

 
 
 
“The lamb dish was a great excuse to make something really tasty on the woodfire and I just love kebabs. It’s an amalgamation of Turkish and North African flavours – I used harissa instead of the traditional Turkish chilli paste usually used in this Adana kebab shape and style. It is simply marinated lamb mince that crisps up nicely on the grill, pickled chillies, some raw onion, parsley, sumac and Aleppo pepper. Really bright, really clean and my favourite way to eat lamb – on a stick!”

Rose harissa-spiced lamb kebab, raw onion and pickled chillies.

Rose harissa-spiced lamb kebab, raw onion and pickled chillies.

Rosheen’s maturity belies her young age and she talks openly about her mental health being one of the biggest challenges she has faced as a chef. Having worked in kitchens that demanded 80-90 hour weeks with no breaks, she saw a lot of people buckle under the immense pressure.
 
“I actually had an underlying mental health condition and because of the type of pressure I was under it exacerbated it and I ended up being diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. On the flipside, because of the environment I was in, I managed to get a diagnosis and now I am treatable, happy and stable. I can step back a bit and remember the situation that I was in that was so detrimental and make sure in my kitchen that will never be the case.”
 
 
 

“The head chef I am trying to be is built very much on the things I know are really bad for you and the positions I’ve been in where my mental health was so deteriorated. There are so many small things that could have stopped that. Being able to put your hand up and say ‘I’m not alright’ and me being able to say ‘what can we do’? I don’t want anyone in my team to be struggling or in anything aside from tip top shape.”

 
 
 
“We keep our hours as low as we can – the goal is always 45 hours – so we have as much downtime as possible to have hobbies, to see friends, to never feel that this drains you. When you are at work at Etta, you want to be here – I feel like that and I think the other chefs feel like that as well. It’s such a lovely, positive vibe in this restaurant that is being fed by everyone’s happy, positive mental health.”

As a head chef, Rosheen is focused on ensuring her team’s happy, positive mental health.

As a head chef, Rosheen is focused on ensuring her team’s happy, positive mental health.

Rosheen says it is a little too early for her to pinpoint what the dream is – but admits that initially she was dreaming a little bit too small.
 
 
 

“My two year plan last year has now completely changed, in a good way, had Covid not happened, I wouldn’t have had Etta. I’m not going to look too much forward right now because there is enough for me to do presently.”

 
 
 
When it comes to advice for others keen to follow in her footsteps – Rosheen says it’s personal but the best advice she can give at the point that she is at.
 
“Keep learning and spend more time perfecting the small things than trying to change the game. At the end of the day you can have the biggest dreams in the world and do all this amazing stuff with food but if you don’t have the basic skill then there is only so much you can do.”

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Professional butcher and former chef Bonnie Ewan.

Professional butcher and former chef Bonnie Ewan.

CARVING HER CAREER

Bonnie Ewan

 
 
 

Bonnie Ewan is a young woman carving her way, without hesitation, through not one but two traditionally male dominated industries. The 25 year old professional butcher is 2IC at Lucas Meats in Bronte and in September 2020 was named Apprentice Butcher of the Year.

 

“Lucas Meats is one of the longest held family run businesses in the Eastern Suburbs and I am the first woman butcher to ever work here. When I started people would come in and be like ‘oh there’s a woman in here’ – they weren’t sure whether I was a butcher and just assumed I was a counter girl.”
 
 
 

“I don’t find a lot of challenges with it, I personally think women butchers have a really good eye for detail and we just seem to be a little bit more precise with things and creatively that really helps with the job. I love the customers – we have a lot of lovely locals and nice staff and it’s a very family friendly environment. I just enjoy coming to work, I find it very social.”

 
 
 
Previously a chef for seven years, Bonnie felt like she needed a change from the long hours and high stress environment. “I thought maybe since I had the knife skills that I should try something different. I met my manager at a barbecue and he asked if I wanted to come in and do a trial. So I went in at 9am the next day and I wanted to sign up immediately. I had previous skills from cheffing and just felt that it came naturally to me – and I was very good at it.”

Knife skills from cheffing were a natural fit for butchery.

Knife skills from cheffing were a natural fit for butchery.

“I’ve always worked in a male dominated industry but I found that butcher work was a lot harder for me. It’s a lot more heavy lifting, a lot more repetitive work and it just seemed to be a lot harder when I first started. But I really wanted to push through it and prove to myself that I was capable.”
 
And she has certainly proven that – and more.
 
“The Apprentice Butcher of the Year competition consisted of winning the state title against 16 other competitors before moving to the next stage to compete against all the state winners over a weekend in Terrigal. I placed first in all categories across precision cutting, theory and a live demonstration in front of 500 of the industry’s best butchers – which was nerve wracking but I was really proud of myself.”

Bonnie says that the combination of skills from cheffing and butchery gives her confidence in the creativity space while helping her better serve her customers.
 
“The thing I love about being a chef and a butcher is that I understand how to break down and cut the muscle structure and how to cook it – and why it needs to be cooked that way. It’s very helpful for me when I’m serving customers, I can recommend different cuts of meat and explain to them how to cook it and why. It’s really good for pricing options as well – you can go from a cheaper cut to a more expensive cut and I just want them to have the best result with either.”

Knowing how to cut and cook the carcase helps Bonnie better serve her customers.

Knowing how to cut and cook the carcase helps Bonnie better serve her customers.

Bonnie believes that butchery has become a lot more creative recently, something she believes that women can leverage – and that’s what she and the team at Lucas Meats are focusing on.
 
 
 

“Butchery has been around for hundreds of years but I just like to be creative and start my own ideas and recipes and to try and look at it from that perspective. I think a lot of women can be butchers, it’s a very creative and fun job and I think if you give it a go, it is just such a good experience.”

 
 
 
“Working in a butcher shop and becoming a professional butcher, it’s not for everybody but if you try it and you like it, you’d be amazed at what you can do. If you are thinking of being a butcher, don’t hesitate, just give it a go. You’d be surprised at how fun the industry actually is.”

Bonnie thinks a lot of women can be butchers - could you?

Bonnie thinks a lot of women can be butchers – could you?

For The Love Of Lamb

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In celebration of summer – we’ve collated 10 of our favourite lamb dishes cooked over fire by chefs at all types of venues.

 
From lamb neck tacos and charcoal lamb pitas to spit roasted forequarter and rotisserie loin chops – there is just something about lamb cooked over fire in summer.

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Tim Eyes on one of the properties he manages on the NSW Central Coast.

Tim Eyes on one of the properties he manages on the NSW Central Coast.

FARMING FOR THE FUTURE

Tim Eyes

 
 
 

Tim Eyes is not your average farmer. In fact, this young trailblazer is far from average. He is on a journey to teach and nourish people through agriculture and demonstrate that farming for the environment has the potential to mitigate climate change – and that you can do it all without owning your own land.

Tim’s number one priority in his farming enterprise is the environment.

Tim’s number one priority in his farming enterprise is the environment.

Listen to MJ’s audio reading of this story.

 

Based on the NSW Central Coast, Tim and his partner Hannah manage The Food Farm, an agricultural business with a difference – they are farmers without a farm. They manage 250 cattle – 50 of which they own themselves – on 1,200 acres of leased land across eight properties.
 
“When people think about the Central Coast they usually think of surfers not farmers and certainly not farming land. We don’t own a property and we may never own a property but we see an incredible opportunity to farm on the fringe of Sydney and keep a close connection between our urban counterparts and agriculture.”
 
“The Central Coast serves up six million people within an hour of us that we have the opportunity to teach and nourish. There are not many farming areas that can claim that and we also get 1.5 metres of rain each year – so to not farm here would be madness.”
 
The Food Farm’s philosophy is to mimic nature. Its number one priority is the environment and working with the cattle to continually improve the environment – a shift occurring across many agricultural businesses in Australia.

"We think of ourselves as environmentalists – acknowledging that we are in a life cycle instead of just being land and animal managers. It is a huge shift from the way we used to farm when it was all about the animal instead of the environment that we are living in and how we can improve that. We truly believe that if our environment is healthy than our cattle will be too – by concentrating on soil health, that in turn reflects on animal health."
High density mobs are moved off land as quickly as possible to mimic nature.

High density mobs are moved off land as quickly as possible to mimic nature.

Cattle on Tim’s farms are moved into a new paddock every three days providing not only fresh pasture for them to graze but mimicking the natural migratory nature of animals and facilitating an essential recovery period for the land and pasture.
 
“When we reflect on nature in the past, a lot of animals and humans were quite migratory and they had a respect for what they took from the land and what they left as well. By moving our cattle so often we are attempting to mimic nature – where cattle would naturally move off land and not return there until a new season. We have fences and boundaries so we manage the cattle in high-density mobs that are moved off the land as quickly as possible to give it plenty of time to recover and allow the plants to live their full life cycle as well.”

“It’s really important to understand the plants that we are managing so we can manage the animals better and something we’ve been experimenting and trying to grow on is diverse pasture. We are working towards 12 species in a paddock because like us, cattle don’t like to eat just one thing and we are trying to give them a broad diet which they really enjoy. All these plants have natural benefits to keep them healthy and that reflects into the soil as well – so every year we are planting new species.”
 
“We have also seen the cattle become quite picky because their gut microbiome and the bacteria in it needs to change. They will come in and eat all the sweet stuff first and then later in the day you’ll see them eat more stalky grass so their rumen will work with that and it’s just great to step back and watch the cattle just be cattle, how they are meant to be.

Pasture diversity gives cattle a broad diet while also improving soils and groundcover.

Pasture diversity gives cattle a broad diet while also improving soils and groundcover.

The Australian red meat industry’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions has more than halved from 21% in 2005 to 10% in 2017 through research, development and adoption of emissions avoidance, carbon storage, integrated management and leadership. The industry’s unique ability to sequester and capture carbon through the carbon cycle is something that Tim, and in fact many Australian farmers, work hard to facilitate through environmental management.
 

“One of our biggest journeys is trying to capture and store carbon in the soil and that’s something we’re really trying to get better at and it is constant. If we capture carbon in the soil, we capture nutrients, which means less fertilisation. We capture more moisture and store all that rain so we don’t need to irrigate and it just helps our environment so much more.”

With a focus on providing a healthy and harmonic environment that has the ability to grow nourishing pasture all year round and produce nutrient dense beef – the Food Farm is direct marketing beef that is both grass fed and grass finished.
 
“We get asked all the time what grass finished means – basically ‘finished’ means when the animal is ready to be killed. Here we are able to grow cattle on grass for their whole life up to and including their finishing – and if we aren’t able to finish them on grass then we are not doing the right thing. We are at a level now where we grow good enough grass so those animals can finish and get enough fat on them to be the perfect product for our customers.”
 
The Food Farm team started their direct marketing journey with what Tim calls a ‘fairly archaic website’ offering direct sales to the consumer. They are now doing two farmers markets a month and their online market is growing every day with social media a significant driver of growth.
 
“Going to the farmers market has been great, we used to shun them and didn’t want to be slaves to the markets but having face to face communication and interaction with consumers is so rewarding. It is challenging as well – everyone is an expert and we get some serious feedback straight to our face about what we could do better. But we really appreciate that because we are all individuals and it is so hard to cater for everyone but we do find a way to do that.”

The Food Farm beef is grass fed and grass finished.

The Food Farm beef is grass fed and grass finished.

Collaborating with his butcher has helped minimise wastage and bring value to the carcase with products like jerky and offal mince.

Collaborating with his butcher has helped minimise wastage and bring value to the carcase with products like jerky and offal mince.

One of the most interesting things Tim has found in processing his own cattle has been addressing the use of the whole carcase and minimising waste. Building a collaborative relationship with his butcher has helped to make some new products that have not only minimised carcase waste but also increased its value.
 
“Working with our butcher has been great and we’ve been able to make some new products like our jerky which has been really exciting. It is smoked for 12 hours instead of just being dehydrated and has allowed us to turn a $20 per kilogram cut like round into a $75 per kilogram cut.”
 
“Getting back our offal has also been really interesting and it is quite amazing to see how many people are intrigued by offal but cannot quite bring themselves to cook a whole liver. One of the big things that we have done is our Offally Good Mince that has 30 percent beef heart and liver and 70% mince.
 
Being able to offer the nutritional density of organ meat with its iron and trace elements in a more approachable product has been really rewarding.”
 

“Figuring out how to use 60kgs of bones has been another challenge of processing our own cattle and so we are doing a bone broth. If we can find a way to pastuerise the bones, we actually want to bring them back onto the farm as a fertiliser. Every time we take a beast off the farm, we have got to think of that as energy being taken off the farm. We’ve taken the energy out of the soil and out of the plants and into the animal then removed it from the farm – so we want to get as much energy back to the farm as possible.”

Tim says there are many challenges in being a young farmer – including the fact that in Australia, the average age of farmers in 2020 is 63. It is a scary fact for the world but, as bleak as it is, Tim says it also means that in the next thirty years that the majority of farms, farm equipment and cattle will have to change hands. He sees this as a huge opportunity for young farmers to farm, bring new ideas, address environmental and social challenges and connect the consumer.
 
“We have more connection in this world than we have ever had as young farmers and as an industry. Social media and the capacity to tell our story and the ability to do good is incredible. We are saturated with information and what is very challenging for agriculture is misinformation – owning our story and being brave enough to tell it is a huge opportunity.”
 
“I think a key problem with society is our disconnection to death and I find that we really struggle with the whole concept. The connection back to farms is vital in being able to see life cycles and show that a good life is a good death in many ways. These animals are living their ultimate life under the correct management and care and love – that’s such an integral part for young farmers and it’s a story worth telling.”

Tim believes there is a huge opportunity for young farmers in Australia.

Tim believes there is a huge opportunity for young farmers in Australia.

Tim says that agriculture can mitigate climate change and that young farmers need to farm for our environment.

Tim says that agriculture can mitigate climate change and that young farmers need to farm for our environment.

“As young farmers it is vital that we really stand up and farm for our environment. I want to show that agriculture can mitigate climate change and that we can change the face of the earth by using animal land impact and sequestering as much carbon as we possibly can. We just need to do the right thing and we just need to be honest about it.”

Young Guns

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HEARTS-YARD

Jarrod Walsh
& Dorothy Lee

 
 
 

The charming young team behind Hartsyard – an inner west institution nestled snugly amongst the hustle and bustle of Enmore Road – Jarrod and Dorothy’s infectious enthusiasm for hospitality and community centric business model makes them the perfect pairing for this issue’s Young Guns.

American chef Gregory Llewellyn and his wife Naomi Hart launched Hartsyard in 2012 where it quickly became a hub for the community and built a cult following for its fried chicken. By 2017, it was time for a change and Hartsyard 2.0 emerged with a more modern Australian offering and Jarrod at the helm as head chef. By January 2019, Jarrod and Dorothy were the proud new owners.
 

Barely more than 12 months in, Covid-19 hit and the young couple faced a raft of unprecedented challenges as restaurateurs. We caught up with them in their second week of reopening, and despite the stress and uncertainty, their tenacity, genuine warmth and drive reminded us what hospitality is all about.

 

So, how did you guys meet?

 

JW: Dorothy was working as a pastry chef at the Intercontinental and it was in an elevator – she hit on me and said she liked my tattoos. Then we met again a few weeks later at the Ship Inn and that was it, we’ve been together ever since.

Tell us about your careers so far.

 

JW: I started my apprenticeship at 15 in Port Macquarie in an RSL club. I did four years and decided it wasn’t what I wanted as a chef so I moved to Sydney. I worked my way up to sous chef at the Intercontinental then when I felt I wasn’t really learning anymore I headed on to Automata just after they opened. Clayton had a real influence on me, particularly his approach to produce and that was really the turning point and when I wanted to take being a chef seriously.
 
I then went to QT Hotel, which was a massive operation and cemented for me that that style of cooking was not where I wanted to be. Greg at Hartsyard was looking for a head chef to help him reinvent the concept and not too long into that, he started talking about wanting to sell, and here we are.

Working at Automata was a turning point for Jarrod where he was inspired by Clayton’s approach to using produce.

Originally a student of Political History before working as a chef at some of Sydney’s best restaurants – Dorothy has hit her stride managing front of house at Hartsyard.

DL: I came to Sydney to study Political History and soon realised I am really not good at studying. I really liked baking so enrolled at TAFE doing pastry but didn’t have the patience so moved to commercial cookery which I loved. I started at the Intercontinental as an intern while door knocking all over Newtown at little restaurants and bakeries – I ended up at Hartsyard asking Greg for a job.

 

I had no idea what I was doing but he was so happy to teach me and he had a huge influence on me with the way that he wanted young people to learn. Next I went to help Saga open and then on to Ms G’s for a little bit and then on to Momofuku Seiobo. Paul took me on even though I didn’t have Michelin experience and taught me that if you are passionate enough, you can do anything regardless of your experience.

What was the decision process for you in deciding to buy Hartsyard?

 

DL: Hartsyard means so much to us and to the community as well. We’ve lived in Newtown most of our lives and when Greg said he was selling we realised how much we didn’t want it to go. At the same time, we also wanted a playground for our own ideas and so we thought let’s do it. We had both worked there and Jarrod was the current head chef so we pretty much knew how it ran and could just jump in and get on with it.

Jarrod has evolved the Hartsyard menu to a set five course in the dining room and a separate bar menu.

As an already established venue, how did you make Hartsyard your own?

 

JW: It took a lot of time. Breaking away from having an established name and putting our own stamp on it really just took time and sticking to what we want to do. It is probably one of the biggest struggles we have had.

 

DL: Honestly, everybody has been so supportive of us and the locals pretty much knew we were taking over and were great. It was more diners that weren’t from the area that would come back and be disappointed they couldn’t get the fried chicken – but they ended up having a great time. I think focusing on those positives makes it worth it.

What advice would you give other young restaurateurs looking to start their own businesses?

 

JW: You have to focus on finding the right people because we are nothing without good staff.

 

DL: Yes, and when you find the right people, you have to look after them because they are building your dreams for you. Also, you really can’t do everything by yourself so you need to learn how to pass things on to others who can.

Dry aged lamb tartare is salted and served on toast with black lime butter, anchovies, fermented chillies and pickled onions.

What do you love about owning your own restaurant?

 

JW: I love the freedom and being able to do whatever we want to do. If we get bored with something, we change it. We work with quite small producers and that’s vital to keep that consistency going and build our relationships. If you look after your supplier, they are going to look after you, we have each other’s backs and I love that.

 

DL: I love the freedom too, it keeps it interesting and nothing is ever the same. We want to feel comfortable but once we do, we know it is time to start something new. For me, I love building connections with winemakers and being able to tell the story of each wine to customers. I’d never done front-of-house and it keeps me excited every day, it gives me more of a sense of what a restaurant is, the people and connections makes us appreciate what we do and gives us a sense of achievement.

Quality produce is at the core of the Hartsyard philosophy – Westholme oyster blade with mushroom ketchup and new season truffle.

How do you think COVID-19 will change the restaurant scene?

 

DL: I hope people understand that there is a price to everything. We carefully choose our produce and that means we are helping feed someone else’s children and supporting another human being. I think people will start to understand more the importance of supporting Australian community and I really hope they understand the connection between everything. People already seem genuinely more respectful and appreciative and I hope that continues.

 

JW: I agree. I think people will care more about the quality and the story behind food and wine. When we were doing takeaway, we couldn’t charge restaurant prices but we still used the same quality produce. The margin was lower but continuing to support those suppliers and their products was what was important. Initially we were going to stick with takeaway but after the first few nights of service and takeaway – it just wasn’t working for us. Our menu is now a five course $88 set menu with two snacks which will change seasonally. From an operational perspective, having the set menu makes it easier for us to plan while minimising waste. It also gives us a clearer picture of turnover each night. I think a lot of restaurants will start to take this approach. We’ve also launched a bar only menu which will be completely separate, it will change regularly and gives us a creative outlet.

Who are your biggest influences?

 

DL: I know it’s cliché but Kylie from Momofuku. She gets so much credit already but she is actually a really wonderful human being. Her advice to me was that I have to look after myself before I can look after others and I truly stand by that. I need to be authentic to myself and then I can pass that energy on to customers genuinely.

 

JW: For me it is Ben Shewry. I just love everything about the way he is. The way he treats his staff, his creativity, supporting the community – just everything. His cookbook was mind blowing and made me think this is how you need to think when you are coming up with things and using Australian ingredients.

Westholme chuck tail flap is marinated in tamari soy and sesame and served with Mexican cucumber pickles.

Tell us about red meat at Hartsyard.

 

JW: We use Westholme, it is so consistent and such a great product. Their whole style of farming is important to me – the way they support the community and their approach to sustainability. I am always straight up for secondary cuts before anything else. You need to put a bit more effort into preparing them but they’ve got so much more flavour and they give you a bit more of a challenge in the kitchen.

 

DL: When we have different cuts on the menu, the customer is always interested in what they are. We explain where they come from, the characteristics and how they are prepared and they are genuinely interested in that. Also being able to tell the whole story about where and how that meat is produced is a very good conversation starter. People are so interested in what they are eating especially after Covid – they want the information and to understand the process.