Obviously there’s not much happening in hospitality at the moment, at least not much to write about. The trade rave, Hospitality Directory, regurgitated a rubbish piece on defining an Australian cuisine and dragged out the usual suspects for their comments. It is as if these chefs define what we cook at home.

I have written on this topic many times as a frustrated Australian trying to promote the wider use of indigenous ingredients to anyone who eats and I do appreciate that indigenous foods are not high on the menu in Australian homes but it is happening.

Game meats (roo, emu, croc and seafood) are more available and one of our supermarkets has just contracted Heston Blumenthal to endorse a range of sausages enhanced with some Australian spices. Clearly, there are no Australian chefs who could have done this so it was a brave step to approach possibly the only British chef who researches food science rather than just follows traditional recipes.

Then there’s that other TV chef who is earning a motza from the other supermarket chain and who sticks with 6 ingredients for all dishes whether sweet or savoury.

In my humble opinion I believe that it should be Australian chefs who are teaching the Brits how to cook. After all, they lost their haute cuisine or even food worth eating at any level for generations. Somewhere between Robin Hood and his merry spit roasts in Sherwood Forest and Heston’s Shakespearean feast re-enactments the Brits learned to cook again and I bet it’s because they made the odd trip back to the colony to see how we do it.

Anyway, Heston’s fee must have been up in the high 6 if not 7 figures because we can now buy pepperberry or lemon myrtle sausages at more than a $1 each ($9 for 8 snags) and enjoy his highly creative and skillful addition of a pinch of the wild. Come on Heston, you can do better than snags even if they are the pinnacle of British cuisine. Alternatively, head on over to our on-line store and $9 will get you enough Alpine pepper (which includes pepperberry) or lemon myrtle to season 3kg of sausages you can buy for 40c each. You can even get some better quality sausages instead of the nasty, high fat trim that supermarkets pass off as food.

Haven’t we already been ripped off by the Poms in so many ways? The last whirlwind visit of Prince Whatsis-name and Kate cost us millions and don’t start me on the Parliamentary system.

If you want to waste 5 minutes on the trite article, you’ll find it here. I can’t recommend it.


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