It's time to get the hell out of Oz

If you asked most apprentices what they want to do when they get qualified, most say the same thing; "I want to go and work overseas."

Being a chef is a wonderful job to travel with, you can go to almost any country and find work very quickly and the basic skills and techniques that you learn in your workplace here will translate very easily into international workplaces.

Australian chefs are well regarded internationally, we have a well structured apprenticeship system coupled with great training facilities and quality trainers.

But all that being said, the question still remains, how do you find a job in a country that you have never been to before? How do you know if the pay and conditions are correct? Do you need to have a job before you get there? Will there be language barriers? Do I have the right Visas and how do I go about sorting things like tax numbers and all of the other questions that might come up. I will attempt to answer what I can, with some answers from the personal experiences of Shana and I and also some links to helpful websites.

So lets start at the start:

Your apprenticeship is over and your feet are getting itchy, you have decided that it is time to get out there, broaden your horizons, see the world and take a working holiday.
 The first thing you might want to think about is this, what sort of experience do you want? Would you like to gain some experience in a leading restaurant or is your main focus to travel and see as much as possible? As with Australia, the better the venue you work in, the longer the hours and the more devoted they will expect you to be with your work. It might be worth considering working in a simple pub/cafe when you first arrive, settle in and travel a bit and then spend your final 6 months grafting hard in an amazing restaurant.

Next, who will you go with? This decision might be easy, you might have a partner or a close friend who wants to do the same thing. For some people, you might be facing the daunting decision of if you should just go by yourself. This is a question that only you can answer, it must be said though that when you travel, you tend to make friends very quickly. You will come across other travellers and locals who understand the situation that you are in and you will be amazed by their generosity and willingness to open their lives to you. Our advice? Don't miss out on the trip of a lifetime just because you can't find anyone to come along.

Visas! Plan early, some visas can take a very long time to process. Make sure you have read the working visa requirements well (some require you to have a certain amount of savings in the bank and a return flight home paid for). Be very thorough in your application, some Visa applications require you to fly to Melbourne or Sydney to finalise your Visa. Adhere to the conditions of your Visa, things like overstaying your visa or breaching your visa conditions can mean that getting a visa in the future (even to a different country) can be more difficult.

To get a job first or wait until you get there? This is a big question and one that a lot of people get very nervous about. The first piece of advice I have is never pay a recruiter/ anyone to help you find work.  For six months before you leave, have a good look at the jobs that come up in the area that you are planning on going to. Pay attention to things like the wages that are being offered, hours and responsibility levels. Also have a think about if there are any well known restaurants in that area that you aspire to work in, send your resume to these places first. Most recruitment companies will want to speak with you in person before they put you up for jobs but you can certainly phone them from Australia and get a feeling for what they are after and book an interview with them in the first few days of your arrival. Mostly, don’t stress too much, chefs are very highly sought after, if you really search for it, you will find work in your first couple of weeks.

Bank Accounts! These can be a bit of a nightmare to set up, especially since you will often be trying to set it up before you have a fixed address. Companies like first contact can assist you with setting up an account before you leave Australia if you think you will need it.

In many of the biggest cities like London, a lot of employers will pay for a recruitment company to help them find workers, the recruitment company will advertise and you will be applying for jobs through recruitment companies. Often these companies will have 10-15 different jobs going at any one time. These companies will tell you exactly what you will need and how to get things like Tax numbers etc.  Don’t be daunted or feel pushed around by these companies, you are an asset to them so ask any questions that you may have and remember that you are the customer, not vice versa.

What about when you actually get into the kitchens, will there be language and cultural barriers? Of course there will, you are going to another country to immerse yourself in another culture so don’t get annoyed when you find it is also in your workplace. Be patient and understanding of the many cultures that you will come in contact with in the workplace and learn a little bit from each. Language barriers can be hard but in the kitchen, a lot of terminology is universal and basic gestures will get you a long way.

Workplace laws and rights. The UK and USA especially tend to have much more modern and rigorous workplace protocols and laws. Try to learn what you can and ask for the companies guidelines/ workplace protocols. The rules in the UK especially represent what Australian standards will be like in the next 5 years. Things like temperature logging and WHS laws that we are only just seeing implemented here have been operational in the UK for near on 10 years. If your workplace offers any courses or information sessions, do them, they will give you a far more sound understanding of best practise and your obligations in the workplace.


Lastly, have an amazing time. Working overseas is an amazing opportunity and travelling and working in another country can really shape you and your career in a short time. If you want to work somewhere amazing while you are there, keep trying, you will find something good. Or if you are finding your job too stressful and aren’t enjoying the experience, then take a break and go and see some of the amazing sites.

Chef Josh Dorset makes a raw avocado and citrus tarte

It's time to go native.

We are in a time where people are constantly looking for the next new angle or selling point for their restaurants and food. New niche markets are opening up so quickly and old trends are quickly becoming yesterdays news. So why in this ever changing Asuatralian restaurant scene, have we never really given native ingredients a go. Certainly a few restaurants have made it their speciality, but it is yet to become a real food trend or for the ingredients to even be utilised in regular cooking and recipes. Last week, we had native food expert and renowned chef Andrew Fielke lead a group of us around the Central Markets in Adelaide. He talked about native ingredients, sustainability and the diversity of uses that the ingredients have. One thing that became incresingly clear was that despite the ingredients that we were looking for being native, they were very hard to find and often expensive. Buzz words like organic and local adorn every label in sight but as for native... no where to be seen. Only two ingredients were readily commercially available, Kangaroo meat and Macadamias. In the search for native produce, two stalls stood out as having a reasonable range of native produce, here they are including some things that they had in stock: Something Wild crocodile meat Karkalla (a native coastal succulent) Saltbush Warrigal Greens Jaggers Native Pate's (emu, kangaroo, crocodile) native pepper berries lemon myrtle paperbark wattle seeds Quandong jam Rosella flowers Putting more native foods on our menus will slowly bring the prices down and will give our food an identity that is uniquely Australian.

Dinner and a show (Chef tour of the Limestone Coast)

As a chef, the kitchen can be a small place, a place that consumes all of our time and energy and sometimes, it also consumes our passion, creativity and motivation. Long, hot, busy days where your main contact with new and inspiring techniques and products is through food sales representatives who show you glossy brochures that give you a brief insight into the magical place that your produce comes from.

 Sometimes, we need to realise that those magical places aren't actually all that far away. You can go and visit them and speak to the producer or grower about the products that you use and new ways to use them. Rebuild the passion and creativity and be inspired by the amazing produce on our doorstep.

 With this in mind, The Hospitality Mentor Program gathered a group of 25 chefs and apprentice chefs from around South Australia, ripped them from their kitchens and took them out on the open road; Destination - The Limestone Coast.

 The Limestone Coast has a great reputation for amazing produce, from Coonawarra Wines, padthaway olive oils, limestone coast lamb, cheese, the largest fresh herb producer in Australia and one of Australias only full blood Wagyu Beef farms. This amazing regional food bowl was our destination and wow did it deliver!

 The morning of the trip was taken up with driving, we left the morning fog and traffic of the city behind us and broke into the rich green fields and tall trees of the agricultural region. Cows, sheep and endless rows of vines gave us a tantalising insight into the produce that we were about to see and taste. We arrived at our accomodation for the night, everyone freshened up and we embarked on the first visit in the tour, it was Wagyu time!

 Mayura Station is one of the only full blood Wagyu farms in Australia and it is located at Millicent, a small town about 30 minutes drive from Mount Gambier.
Wagyu beef has long been heralded as the king of beef, stories abound of the rock star lifestyles of these cattle, massages, beer drinking and comfortable beds are all indicators of the lengths that some farmers will go to to ensure they are producing some of the best beef on the planet. Wagyu steaks can cost upwards of $200 per kg on the wholesale market.
 Experts from the station explained to the chefs and apprentices how the cattle was bred, fed and raised. 500
days of grain feeding and rigorous quality checks and scrutiny of procedures, ensure that the wagyu produced at Mayura is amongst the finest beef in the world.

 Next was a real treat, Mayura Station not only produces some amazing beef, they also have a restaurant and chef on the actual farm. Meat and Livestock Australia had organised for our chefs and apprentices to partake in one of their famous Rare - Medium paddock to plate dinners at Mayura's restaurant to see the link from the paddock to the
 First the chef Mark Wright from Mayura demonstrated how to seam a full Wagyu D-rump out and segment all of the muscles. The participants then were all seated and dinner unfolded.

  First Course:Mayura Wagyu Carpaccio with ash salt, shaved reggiano and a nettle, wild rocket and nasturtium salad.

The Wagyu carpaccio was tender and flavoursome, the heavy marbling gave the meat a texture of butter and the depth of flavour was mindblowing. The nettle and rocket salad added a great spice to the carpaccio and the reggiano and ash salt rounded out the flavours with a sharp and salty kick. This was accompanied with a Serafino, Goose Island Rose. It perfectly accentuated the dish and kept the palate light and fresh.

  Second Course: Hay Smoked, Milk Fed Suffolk Lamb Rillette on a parsnip puree with burnt

leek, herb oil and borage flowers.
Chef Mark Wright had taken the Milk Fed Lamb Shoulders (supplied by Feast fine foods) out into the paddock and smoked them over some fresh hay, then braised them and shredded them to form a tightly packed rillette. He then crumbed them with a light panko crumb and shallow fried them in clarified butter. The result was a slightly smoky and sweet lamb rillette that nourished the soul in the way that only french inspired food can. The parsnip puree imparted an earthy base to the dish that married well with the lamb. 2010 Katnook Estate Merlot was paired with the dish and its complex pepper and oaky hues served to further highlight and confirm the amazing reputation of the region.


 Third Course: Mayura Wagyu Rost Biff on pumpkin puree with Bernaise Sauce and a medley of local winter vegetables.

The rost biff is an individual muscle within the rump. The chef had formed it and rolled it tightly so that it fomed tight medallions. A rich bernaise covered the top of the steak and paired with the sweetness of the pumpkin and the winter root vegetables, the dish was near faultless. It keenly highlighted how underutilised this portion of the rump is. The simplicity yet perfect execution of the final dish was a true testament of the skill that Mayura's chef has, he did not feel the need to over complicate it and let the products send the final message.. Wagyu is king!



 The night was finished off with more amazing wines from Serafino and Katnook Estate and Cheeses from The Limestone Coast Cheese Company and Alexandrina Cheese.

 Heads full of ideas and hearts filled with inspiration, the chefs went back to their kitchens. Memories from the night before conjuring dreams of new dishes and recipes to try and the amazing produce to go into their next menus.

Winter Menus; Comfort food and the newest secondary cuts

Winter is fast approaching and the menus (if not already) are about to change. Gather your bay leaves and mirepoix, give your brasing dishes a dust off and order in your hard herbs. But the question remains, what will be the next "rebirth" in secondary cuts to be used. Shanks, Oxtail, beef cheeks and now pulled pork shoulder have all had their time in the sun but what will be next? Maybe we will move towards the roasted pork knee of the Czech Republic or the hunter style braised rabbit from Europe, or maybe we will continue on the Americana theme and push brisket and thick smoky sauces ? Several restaurants around Adelaide are focussing much more on Offal and off cuts, for examples have a look at the menu at the Daniel O'Connell or see the pig's head terrine at Elbow Room. The meats are the driving force behind winter menus and I can't wait to see what is brought into the spotlight next and what will be the winning vegetables that will accompany it! In the past years Celeriac, parsnips, beetroot and heirloom vegetables have all featured heavily on winter menus. Kale, cavalo nero and brussel sprouts have been trying to push their way in and I wonder if this will be their year. I am a great fan of broccoli rabe and would love to see it more widely used. What are your favourite winter ingredients and what are your predictions for this years big winter breakthroughs!

To all pastry Kings, Queens & sweet tooths!!

To all pastry Kings, Queens & sweet tooths!! Check out the latest fad, which may go the distance! Who is sick of the pre- made Pavlova, Ice cream sundae or sticky date pudding options on the menu in every location you go? Chefs are time poor and don’t have the patience these days to perfect recipes. If you have a sweet tooth you must be in Heaven in SA right now with a huge array of sweet s and dessert cafes opening up. Now the selection is broader, from house made pastries, marshmallow covered sorbet sticks, bombe Alaska and frangipane tart you can really blow your mind with more traditional desserts done well. Talented patisserie Kings and Queens now specialising in almost every apprentice’s dream- to do desserts! It takes time, patience and skill to create master pieces of the patisserie food world. Key techniques are learnt over many years to perfect these hundred year old recipes with the skills to make these amazing treats. It is Vital these skills be passed on to the future workers of the industry. It is amazing to see, let this be said- everyplace needs an apprentice!! do us a favour please! pass on these amazing skills to the next-gen! South Australia has really taken off with many dessert only venues popping up. Devour Dessert Bar on Prospect Rd, Chocolateria San Churro on Rundle St, Astonish Patisserie on King William Rd, Eggless on Goodwood Rd, Dolce & Co Gilbert St, Dough Central Markets & Onyx Dessert Lounge in O’Connell St just to name a few. Let us not forget the Regional Fav’s that I have been to on my travels- hidden gems and highly acclaimed Patisserie Van Leuven Cullinare in Naracoorte, and the Metro Bakery & Café in Mount Gambier. Both selling exceptional handcrafted cakes/pastries to their lucky locals & travellers from a far. You can of course be inspired to attempt these delicious treats yourselves with a little help from some great SA producers and specialist equipment. Carême Pastry is a family run business located in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. They specialise in making a range of handcrafted, high quality, ready-to-use pastry dough. It is an amazing product, with many different uses, flavours and really does take the stress out of making your own home baked sweets. Using the finest local ingredients and seasonal produce will enhance your chances of creating exceptional dishes and let all of these places be your inspiration to become a pastry King or Queen!!

To market, to market, jiggity jig.

Markets, where else can you go and get such inspiration and instant information about the current produce and trends. The wealth of interesting fruits and vegetables from all corners of the world are sure to have you salivating over all the food possibilities. A place where you can get bok choy, olives and moroccan spices all in one place. Most kitchens that I have worked in have some kind of fruit and vegetable seasonal availability poster, but is there really a better way to find out what is available than getting out there and seeing it for yourself?

Why not grab a few kitchen staff and head down to your local markets. See, touch and smell the produce, look at the prices and talk about new and interesting products. By having a greater interest in these sort of things you can get greater job satisfaction, better creativity and a broader knowledge. So get out there!