Remember when 'cavolo nero', 'nameko' mushrooms and 'mesclun' were impossible to find (assuming you knew what they were)? It’s hard to believe now but only thirty years ago top Aussie chefs travelled to Europe and Japan to discover and taste these ingredients for themselves.

"We had to go to France to taste oak leaf and frisee lettuce," says Peter Doyle of 'est', one of Sydney’s leading chefs. "In the early 1980's I remember driving to the Darling Harbour railway yards to pick up golden shallots from interstate - they were rare as hen's teeth. Back then we were all influenced by 'nouvelle cuisine' and desperately needed the produce to make it work."

Around that time Doyle was also introduced to white asparagus by Serge Dansereau, then head chef of The Regent (now Four Seasons) Hotel Sydney. "I remember visiting Peter Doyle with white asparagus, a vegetable that most Australian chefs had never seen in its fresh form," says Dansereau in his autobiography 'For The Love of Good Food' (ABC Books).

Dansereau had also just started using wild mushrooms and ocean trout and was keen to share his bounty with other chefs. "I did this to help develop a larger market for my small producers or to share the joy of new finds like wild mushrooms, zucchini flowers, new lettuces, baby vegetables or anything unusual."

During the 1980's-90's, Dansereau's position as executive chef of The Regent was a big plus because it meant he could ensure volume and purchasing power. These were the heady early days when we were just beginning to acknowledge ourselves as a nation of superb food producers and innovative chefs.

A quarter of a century later we not only export top quality specialty vegetables like 'cavolo nero' (Tuscan cabbage), broccolini, 'mesclun' and grape tomatoes to the royal family of Dubai, we also export many of our leading chefs. Some, like Peter Doyle and Melbourne chef Geoff Lindsay, travel to showcase our produce. Others (Matthew Crabbe at The New York Grill, Park Hyatt, Tokyo and Lucas Glanville at Mezza9, Grand Hyatt, Singapore) are working in top echelon hotels throughout the world while a handful have opened their own signature restaurants in London: David Thompson at Nahm and Chris Manfield at East@West are a couple who spring to mind.

Earlier this year Doyle visited Dubai, party capital of the Persian Gulf, as part of a promotion organised by the NFIS (National Food Industry Strategy), an industry-led organisation funded by the federal government set up two years ago to encourage export opportunities for small to medium niche food and wine producers.

In April he conducted a week long masterclass for top Dubai chefs showing them how to cook Australian seafood like scallops, barramundi, mud crab and octopus. "It’s a great five star market," he remarked, "The locals there can afford anything and the hotels are all busy with European tourists. We have such good clean produce and it’s not just our seafood they’re interested in. They also want our premium beef, lamb and veal and our fruit and vegetables."

Doyle was back again in September with four other prominent Aussie chefs for another week of gala dinners at a number of five star hotels (Royal Mirage, Shangri La, Intercontinental and the iconic Burj Al Arab). This time the meals were designed for senior management of the hotels, regular clientele and local Dubai people.

Doyle's light modern Australian dishes included Sydney rock oysters, lime and dashi jelly with ponzu dressing; King George whiting and sand crab, tomatoes, chive and iceberg froth; pan-Roasted rib eye of lamb, shallot puree, nameko mushrooms, jerusalem artichokes and cavolo nero. For dessert, a sour cream sorbet with citrus strawberry salad and lime sauce.

Guillaume Brahimi (Guillaume at Bennelong, Sydney), Geoff Lindsay (Pearl, Melbourne), Phillip Johnson (E'cco, Brisbane) also travelled to Dubai to join Lew Kathreptis (ex Adelaide, consultant chef at the Royal Mirage for past five years) for the promotional week. They were all excited about working with top quality Aussie produce in Dubai, pointing to the potential there for the market to expand.

"They are trying to create the Monaco of the Middle East there," commented Brahimi who is negotiating with two hotels for a return visit next year. "Everything is over the top. The facilities are amazing." With 160 four and five-star hotels and another 50 five-star venues being planned or built, Dubai is a tourist hub for wealthy visitors from the Middle East and Europe. It also boasts the iconic seven star hotel, the Burj Al Arab.

Currently we export top quality produce worth $130 million to these hotels and it’s estimated this will increase by 15 per cent annually. Dubai was first targeted by the NFIS two years ago. "It's the perfect destination for our boutique food and wine," said communications manager Bonita Mersiades. "While we can’t compete on price, we can compete on quality and the five-star market in Dubai will pay a premium for quality. The key issue is how to deliver it as quickly and as fresh as possible".

Last year the NFIS extended invitations to a number of Dubai chefs to visit Australia and sample our gourmet produce. First to visit was Paul Lenz, executive chef of Royal Mirage Hotel in Dubai, who was "blown away" by the quality of our seafood, meat, horticulture, dairy and confectionery products. While here, he also reminded Australian producers and manufacturers that the Dubai market had very high service expectations.

Lenz' visit was followed in June this year by eight top chefs from Dubai and Abu Dhabi who then nominated 110 possible Australian food suppliers. "I think Australia has the potential to be the new France – known the world over for your fine food and wine and for sophisticated, innovative, creative cuisine," remarked Raman Khanna, executive chef at the seven star Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi (opening January 2005).

"The only thing holding Australian food producers and suppliers back is the famous 'see you later' attitude. Unfortunately, Australians have a reputation in the Middle East for thinking that if the product is good enough the first time, then that’s all they need to worry about. But it doesn’t work like that. Product has to be consistently high quality, delivered on time or better."

Problems with some producers who claim to be export-ready but then can’t deliver the requisite quantity on time or with Halal certification have caused consternation in the past. But for Lew Kathreptis of The Royal Mirage in Dubai, consistency and attitude are no longer a problem. "There’s been huge interest but it doesn't just happen overnight," he said. "We're still organising orders and it takes time for relationships to develop. Aussie produce is more expensive than European and we are cost conscious." Kathreptis was particularly impressed with the certified Angus beef, the squab pigeon (which, in a taste test, was superior to the French), the seafood and the fruit and vegetables.

 

 

One success story is Perfection Fresh of Flemington Markets Sydney which has been exporting fresh niche produce to Dubai for just over a year. Their branded products include baby red capsicums, micro herbs, Tuscan cabbages, Treviso radicchio, Minicabs (mini cabbages), broccolini (baby broccoli) and original red and gold grape tomatoes. They also supply the royal family with baby red apples the size of a fifty cent piece. "It's been worth $500,000 to us in sales," said Michael Simonetta of Perfection Fresh. "And there’s great potential for growth."
His company has also had success in the UK with Sainsbury’s and Hong Kong's City Super with a variety of produce. "We're looking to do more export into Hong Kong and into other large supermarkets in Singapore, Japan and Malaysia," he said.

For Martins Seafoods in Sydney the Dubai promotion was their first real export venture (most of the seafood was sent via Martins because they specialise in premium seafood for foodservice). Included on the list were King George Whiting, farmed Bluefin tuna and kingfish from South Australia, Humpty Doo farmed barramundi, W.A. marrons and yabbies, Queensland scallops, bug tails and crab meat, worth about $65,000.

"It's pretty scary when so much of it is wild because we can’t control the weather conditions," commented Martin Palmer. "Also it’s a 15-hour plane trip to Dubai and we need to be sure it’s kept at the right temperature. I know a lot of medium size producers who have been burnt by export. We got involved because the initiative was driven and supported by the NFIS."

Food ambassador Maggie Beer stressed the importance of showing the Dubai chefs that Australia can offer counter-seasonal produce and also a point of difference. "They can get produce from Paris within five hours so we need to show them something different," she said. "Dubai is the gateway to the Middle East. The potential is huge." Beer took her pastes (Quince, Cabernet, Blood Plum, Fig) and new non-alcoholic Verjuice soft drink to ascertain interest. "The feedback was fantastic though we need to do more work yet on the soft drink."

Ice cream queen Sarah Mandelson of Serendipity Ice Cream in Sydney is another specialty producer keen to break into the Dubai market. She took five different ice creams with her (wattle seed, rose, vanilla, chocolate, espresso) and three sorbets (apple and rose, passionfruit, blood orange) for the Friday brunches, a popular event in Dubai. "It would mean doubling our output if we get in there," she said. "The NFIS has been very pro-active and the distributor there is very interested."

Mandelson’s ice creams have halal certification and the factory is A-rated, a necessary requirement for export. Her company has just picked up First and Business class orders from Malaysia Airlines.

Melbourne chef Geoff Lindsay, internationally renowned for his fabulous fresh pearl meat dishes, was disappointed he couldn’t take any of the delicate Aussie seafood with him. "Fresh pearl meat is a luxury item in the same league as foie gras, caviar and truffles but unfortunately my supplier doesn’t have an export licence."

However he still managed to make good use of local seafood including Tasmanian oysters, yarra valley salmon caviar, barramundi and kingfish on his stylish modern menu.

After Dubai, the jet-setting Lindsay was off to Hong Kong for further promotions at Mezz, then to the Spirit of Hospitality food and wine festival in Toronto, Canada, then onto New York for a promotional dinner at the James Beard Foundation, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary institutions. Like the specialist producers, top Aussie chefs relish international opportunities.

West Australian chef Don Hancey is another Aussie who was invited to cook at James Beard in October. He joins a list of other luminaries like Tetsuya, Neil Perry, Cheong Liew and Luke Mangan. His five course menu titled Wine Connoisseur Dinner included an inspiring selection of fresh Australian produce featuring Australian lobster, prawns, barramundi and lamb, teamed with a stunning collection of Australian boutique wines.

"To rock up with foods from a foreign land, do prep and cook on unfamiliar turf is always a challenge," he commented. "My aim was not only to showcase our 'njoi' range of premium Australian olive oils, but also to design and cook an inspirational menu to a distinguished guest list which reflects Australia's finest quality produce." Feedback from the dinner was very positive. Even the kitchen staff were swooning. "They really liked our spontaneity," said Hancey. "Aussies, wherever they are, have a different attitude. We're not boxed in by rigid structures, and New Yorkers appreciate our friendliness and no bullshit manner."

While in New York, Hancey showed how to barbecue fresh yabbies in a segment on prime time Fox News. "It was huge exposure," he said. "There's a really exciting groundswell of interest in New York at present. The media wants to know what Aussie chefs are up to. It reminds me of London a decade ago." Hancey is hoping to return to New York soon to do more cooking demos.

According to Mersiades, NFIS' next target is the east coast of the United States (New York, Washington, Boston) early next year. "We really want to get our seafood, beef, lamb and fruit and vegetables in to higher end retail and restaurants there," she said. In the words of Frank Sinatra,"If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere."

return to current Postcard