Category Archives: Qantas

A word or 2 we’d like to share with you, from a couple of our favourites – OzHarvest and Qantas. We look forward to seeing you on the night. 

CEO INVITATION: 

CEO CookOff – MONDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2012 

We would like to invite you to engage in a bold and exciting new initiative that will bring together 200 of Australia’s leading CEOs and 30 celebrity chefs from Australia’s top kitchens. Together, significant funds will be raised while sharing a unique cooking experience.

 On the evening of Monday 6 February 2012, OzHarvest, Australia’s favourite food rescue organisation, together with Qantas will host the CEO CookOff and feed 1000 people in need at Cathedral Square, in front of the beautiful St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. The event will create awareness about food security and homelessness and raise funds for OzHarvest and Mission Australia.

 Small groups of 10 CEOs will prepare a meal for Sydney’s disadvantaged mentored by a celebrity chef. We are pleased to announce that Neil Perry, Bill Granger, Guillaume and Poh Ling Yeow are some of the impressive chefs participating on the night. 

We are also extremely excited to have secured one of Australia’s most successful rock legends to perform on the night – a real “working class man”! 

Registrations are closing soon and we hope you can join us. The registration fee of $1500 is tax deductible. All donations made by your family, friends and colleagues in support of your cooking efforts are also tax deductible. To register, please visit the CEO CookOff website and click on the CEO REGISTER button.

Neil Perry

It’s a tough job, but someone had to do it. Neil Perry nominates the 10 best dishes of 2011.

Meat Fruit at Dinner By Heston Blumenthal
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park,
66 Knightsbridge, London, UK.
+44 2 07201 3833.
dinnerbyheston.com
Heston likes to have a bit of fun. So the parfait is encased in mandarin jelly in the shape of a mandarin, and we were asked not to eat the real stem and leaves – they wouldn’t have been as tasty as the rest. A magical, delicious starter.

Maccaronara with Ragu alla Napoletana at A16
2355 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, USA.
+1 415 771 2216.
a16sf.com
Simple, with a perfect balance of taste and texture. The springy, handmade pasta has a wonderful bite, the tomato sauce is enlivened by the complexity of pancetta and pork. Salty cheese provides the perfect finish. Heaven.

Oysters and Pearls at Per Se
Level 4, 10 Columbus Circle, New York, USA.
+1 212 823 9335.
perseny.com
Everything is incredible, from the service and wine list to the view over Central Park. And, the supreme cooking. Oysters are poached in a butter vermouth sauce and textured with tapioca before a great big dollop of caviar is spooned on top. An all-time favourite.

Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki at Azuma
Level 1 Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney, NSW.
+61 2 9222 9960.
azuma.com.au
The wagyu beef is so melt-in-the-mouth it could be eaten raw, but it’s lightly cooked in a broth seasoned with soy and mirin, then dipped in a beaten raw egg. Vegetables and noodles are added and the last of the stock can be drunk like soup.

Fillet of Sole Daumont at Next
953 West Fulton Market, Chicago, USA.
+1 312 226 0858.
nextrestaurant.com 
The menu of historically accurate cuisine changes every three months. I was there for its Escoffier-inspired Paris 1906 period and it was a knockout. The fish, rolled in a crayfish mousse, is served with various stuffed crayfish garnishes and a gratinated crayfish sauce.

Veal Sweetbreads at Noma
93 Strandgade, Copenhagen, Denmark.
+45 3296 3297.
noma.dk
Cooked to perfection and served with peas and gathered herbs. The sweetbread texture is nothing short of melting; perfect balance to the dressing’s deep herbaceous flavour.

Tranche of Turbot at The River Café
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London, UK.
+44 20 7386 4200.
rivercafe.co.uk
I order this every time I visit. Wood-fire roasted to perfection, the fish is succulent and gelatinous on the bone.

Pork Jowl with Liquorice Root at The Ledbury
127 Ledbury Road, London, UK.
+44 20 7792 9090.
www.theledbury.com
A fabulous tasting menu, and then the pork jowl came out stabbed with liquorice root and cooked until the flesh was melting and the skin crisp and shattering.

Mud Crab with Ginger and Egg Noodles at Flower Drum
17 Market Lane, Melbourne, Victoria.
+61 3 9662 3655.
flower-drum.com
One of the great Cantonese restaurants and it’s in Melbourne – how lucky are we? The breast meat is mixed in with the noodles while one of the claws is left whole to perch in all its glory on the side of the plate. The sauce is simple – ginger, spring onion, master stock – and the noodles freshly made.

Vacherin of Pandan Custard, Coconut Parfait, Jasmine Sorbet and Lime Granita at Rockpool
107 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW.
+61 2 9252 1888.
rockpool.com
My favourite dessert of last year, offering a complexity of flavours and textures. It also looks good – all those clean lines and light shades. It tastes like a very grown-up and wickedly delicious Pine Lime Splice.

Source Qantas The Australian Way January 2012

Neil Perry

Neil Perry dispenses with hale and hearty tradition to prepare a different kind of Australian Christmas lunch on the barbie.

It’s interesting how traditionally minded people become about Christmas lunch. Often they’ll plump for turkey with all the trimmings – stuffing, gravy and so on – roast pork, ham and, to finish, a steamed pudding with brandy butter sauce. If it were the middle of winter, as in Europe, I would understand the thinking behind it. But Christmas Day in Australia is, more often than not, beautiful, sunny and topping 30 degrees. A temperate climate and the lure of the water – ocean, river or pool – is at odds with hearty Northern Hemisphere fare.

I have been lucky in that some of my Christmases have been fairly traditional and some not. When I was a youngster, we would spend most Christmases at Wisemans Ferry, north of Sydney, as we loved water-skiing on the Hawkesbury River. That brought certain limitations when it came to Christmas lunch, so they generally revolved around the barbecue. It was the easiest and best way to cater for the 20 or so people who turned up.

Dad would cook a large piece of pork on the barbecue for three or four hours, making the crackling crisp and the meat juicy, smoky and delicate; generally accompanied by Mum’s salads. There were some years when Dad would barbecue a whole turkey and some when he’d cook a large whole fish. The latter type of lunch – perhaps finished with a pavlova or fruit salad – seemed more sensible, given the climate and the fact that all we really wanted was to get back in the water and spend the afternoon swimming. And, of course, no Christmas would have been complete without a huge bowl of cherries. For me, a big bowl of summer fruit and ice-cream is the quintessential Aussie Christmas dessert.

These days I love to cook Chinese or South-East Asian for Christmas – a few tasty salads to share, a braise of some kind, barbecued meat with a terrific dipping sauce and a steamed whole fish. This year, I think my Christmas lunch will go like this: a tomato salad with a little salted chilli dressing, a salad of roast crispy pork with nam jim dressing, some red-braised chicken, stir-fried bok choy, and a fillet or two of steamed blue-eye with black beans, all served with steamed jasmine rice. And to finish, a bowl of summer fruit salad with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. After all, some traditions should not be broken.

Steamed Blue-Eye With Black Beans

Serves 10 as part of a shared banquet

Ingredients
750g blue-eye fillet, cut into five pieces
5 tbsp fermented black beans, chopped
5 spring onions, trimmed and halved
2½ tbsp light soy sauce
2½ tsp sugar
1½ tsp sesame oil
5 tsp shaoxing cooking wine
3 tbsp peanut oil

Method
Put the spring onions in a large, shallow, heat-proof bowl and place the fish on top. Combine the black beans, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and shaoxing, and pour over the fish.

Put the bowl in a large bamboo steamer over a pot or a wok of rapidly boiling water, cover with the lid and steam for 7-8 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through. Carefully remove the bowl from the steamer.

Heat the peanut oil in a small pot until just smoking and douse the fish with the hot oil before serving.

Recipe from Balance & Harmony (Murdoch Books) by Neil Perry, photography by Earl Carter

Source Qantas The Australian Way December 2011

Summer’s on the way – it’s time to put down the porridge and change up your breakfasts! This is a recipe that we’ve served at our Qantas Lounges for a while, and is dead easy and delicious. There’s some great fruit available at the moment – strawberries and blueberries are plentiful, mangoes have begun and bananas – yes, bananas – are making a comeback, and prices are down and staying down (sorry, worst-commercial-ever reference). Any of these fruits would be delicious here… for another breakfast idea, you could try The Original Dr Bircher Muesli – personally endorsed by Neil himself!

Creamed Sago with Palm Sugar, Mango, Papaya and Mint

300g sago, rinsed well
60ml coconut cream (we use Kara brand), plus extra to serve
Pinch of sea salt
Ripe mango and papaya, cut into chunks
Handful mint leaves, finely sliced
Squeeze lime juice

Palm Sugar Syrup
100g palm sugar, crushed
80ml water

To make the palm sugar syrup, combine the palm sugar and water in small heavy based pot. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, then increase the heat and simmer for about 1 minute; set aside to cool. Any left-over will keep in the fridge indefinitely, but may set in the fridge.   

To cook the sago, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the sago and cook, whisking frequently for about 12-15 minutes, or until the granules are completely transparent. Drain through a fine sieve and then rinse under cold running water to remove any excess starch.

Combine the cooked sago with the 60ml coconut cream and salt and add as much of the palm sugar syrup as you like. Transfer to serving dishes, spoon over some more coconut cream, top with the mango and papaya and squeeze some lime over the top.

With the weather finally starting to warm up - at least here in Sydney – it’s out with the braises and in with the salads… This is one of our favourite Qantas First dishes – and is equally delicious with cooked prawns, or even poached or roast chicken…

Lobster and Burghul Salad with Harissa Mayonnaise

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cooked lobster tail, sliced into medallions
100g fine burghul (cracked wheat)
1 vine-ripened tomato, seeds removed, cut into 1cm dice
300g baby spinach leaves, thinly sliced
2 roasted red capsicums, peeled and cut into 1cm slices
Handful coriander leaves
1 preserved lemon, skin only, finely sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Lemon Dressing
240ml extra virgin olive oil
80ml lemon juice
½t Dijon mustard
½t caster sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Harissa Mayonnaise
15g harissa (can be bought from good delicatessens)
85g mayonnaise

Method

To make the lemon dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard and sugar in a bowl and whisk together to combine. Pour in the oil whilst whisking continuously and season with salt and pepper. 

To make the harissa mayonnaise, combine the harissa and mayonnaise and check the taste – it should be spicy without being too aggressive. If it seems too thick add a little water.

For the salad, place the burghul in a bowl. Bring 200ml of water to the boil and pour over the burghul and set aside for 30 minutes. Tip into a strainer to drain off any excess water.

Combine the burghul in a bowl with the remaining salad ingredients, season with salt and pepper and add enough dressing to just coat all the salad ingredients.

To serve, divide the dressed salad among 4 plates. Top each salad with lobster medallions, then spoon over some harissa mayonnaise.

Download Printable Recipe (PDF)

Neil Perry

In Chicago, a new restaurant turns dining conventions upside-down while playing musical chairs with the tastebuds.

A culinary time machine has sprung up in Chicago and it could well revolutionise the world of fine dining. At the helm is molecular gastronomy whiz Grant Achatz, whose first restaurant, Alinea, was named America’s best in 2006 by Gourmet magazine and is one of only two in the Windy City to enjoy Michelin three-star status. His second venture, Next, is something else again, a radically new kind of eating house in both philosophy and function.

Instead of making a reservation by phone, diners buy a ticket online, much as they would for a concert. The cost includes food, drinks and tip, all rolled into one. From a diner’s point of view, there are no hidden extras, and from the restaurateur’s point of view, no late cancellations or no-shows. Having been open only since April, Next has already proved a huge hit – it sold its second season of tickets in just 90 minutes. This is partly because Achatz has a formidable reputation and partly because Next is very, very good. I say “season” because the restaurant moves from one cuisine to the next. From French to Thai, for example, every three months. 

Not only that, but it also shifts time periods, from past to present to future. So it’s difficult to recommend one dish or another, because the landscape is constantly changing. It’s a huge challenge for the chefs and service staff, but they manage beautifully. When I ate there a couple of months ago the menu was Paris, 1906, and the inspiration was Auguste Escoffier at The Ritz. A plate of hors d’oeuvres included truffled egg custard, an intense mushroom duxelle tart and quail eggs topped with anchovy. A turtle consommé was matched with a glass of 2005 Domaine de Montbourgeau l’Etoile Cuvée Spéciale from the Jura, which had just the right amount of oxidation for the soup. But my favourite dish was a gratin of sole served with stuffed crayfish and washed down with a glass of 2009 Olivier Merlin Mâcon La Roche Vineuse.

Even the palate cleansers were incredible. Achatz’s very modern interpretation of sorbet entailed mixing Noble One Semillon with liquid nitrogen to freeze the alcohol at -212°C. What resulted was a creamy sorbet that almost burnt my tongue upon contact, before melting away to become a glass of very cold dessert wine. It was just one surprise in an evening crammed with memorable moments.

Speaking of memorable, the service is as good as the food and wine. The staff are proud of the restaurant and their enthusiasm is infectious. Add period-authentic interiors and tableware to the equation and you can see why this 62-seat restaurant is unique in bringing food destinations to glorious life. Scarcity of tickets notwithstanding, Next is definitely worth crafting a trip to the US around.

Source: Qantas The Australian Way October 2011

By Kate Barker, Menu Planning Consultant for Qantas

Last week we had a wonderful opportunity to take part in a Master Class with Will Studd, Maitre Fromager (basically someone that knows an awful lot about cheese). He selects the cheese that go on our restaurant menus as well as the cheese we offer to out First and Business Class passengers in-flight on Qantas (and the First Class lounge in Sydney and Melbourne). When you meet Will, you recognise the same passion and respect for food and producers that Neil has, as well as having a wealth of knowledge on cheese. Today’s presentation was all about understanding good cheese, what it should look like, smell like and most importantly taste like. As well as the Rockpool Consulting team, there were also chefs and floor staff from across all three restaurants. It was held upstairs in one of the private dining rooms at Bar and Grill, and you could smell the room a mile off!

Will started the presentation by reminding us that ‘Cheese is just preserved milk’. The base product, milk, can differ in many ways. It can come from different animals – cow, sheep, goat, buffalo, or a mixture. Its composition can vary which lends itself to different styles of cheese – buffalo milk is thick and fatty, cow’s milk is thin, goat’s milk is very thin and sheep milk very fatty. The milk quality changes throughout the year according to the seasons, the natural lactation cycle of the animal, as well as what it is eating.

After this introduction Will went on to talk us through all the various categories that cheese falls into: fresh, surface mould ripened, washed rind, blue, semi hard and hard cheeses (along with lots of samples of each!). Some of the varieties of cheese we looked at included fresh mozzarella, feta, haloumi, Camembert, Brillat Savarin, Brie De Meaux, Pont L’evque, Tallegio, Beaufort, Comte and farmhouse Cheddar. We compared traditionally hand made cheeses next to more industrially made cheeses and discussed their qualities and difference in flavour and texture. I was surprised at how much texture many of the washed rind cheese had. We got to try the same cheese at different ages too, it’s amazing how a few more months can change the overall structure of a cheese.

Will also delved into the world of raw milk cheese, which he has plenty of experience with, being the main champion in getting Roquefort into the country (yay!). For more information about Will and his wonderful world of cheese check out his website:  http://www.cheeseslices.com/

Kate Barker, Will Studd and Gerard Tuck, GM of Calendar Cheese

So we’ve teased you with a few photos here and there, now we’re giving you the complete package! One of Neil’s classic dishes, I don’t even know when this first hit the Rockpool menu (we can at least verify that it was on the menu from 1996). Like most great Chinese dishes, this dish is all about beautiful textures… the crispy exterior of the egg, the soft crab meat and the crunch of the sprouts and chives. This great photo comes from our recent Qantas photo shoot - if you find yourself up the pointy end there’s a chance this will be on your menu.

Now, as with all stir-fry dishes, the trick with this is to work veeery quickly. Have all your ingredients and utensils at hand – there’s nothing worse than looking for your fish slice while your omelette is turning to carbon in the wok. You want the oil to be smoking hot so that the egg doesn’t stick to the bottom of the wok, so be careful not to burn your kitchen down. And remember, practice makes perfect. 

Stir Fried Spanner Crab Omelette

Serve as part of a shared banquet

 ___

2 cups vegetable oil
3 small free range eggs, gently whisked
100g cooked spanner crab meat
1 cup bean sprouts
Small handful snow pea sprouts
¼ bunch garlic chives, cut into 5cm lengths
Steamed Jasmine rice, to serve
Oyster sauce, to serve

Broth
150ml chicken stock
1 tsp palm sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
Two drops of sesame oil

___

To make the broth, combine all ingredients except the sesame oil in a pot. Bring to boil, making sure that the palm sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and add the sesame oil.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat. When the oil begins to smoke pour in the whisked egg mixture – the egg will puff up and bubble immediately.

Using a fish slice, knock out some of the air from the egg whilst gently shaking the wok to ensure that the egg hasn’t stuck to the bottom. Cook for 15-30 seconds or until the base is golden (you can use the fish slice to lift the sides and peek at the base).

Remove from the heat and gently drain the oil from the wok. To do this, lift the omelette from one side and carefully pour the oil into a dry metal or glass container.

Place the cooked crab meat in the centre of the omelette and top with the sprouts and chives. Roll one side of the egg over the filling and roll omelette over to form a cigar shape. Pour in some of the broth and place the wok back onto the heat. Allow to simmer for a minute to heat through the crab and vegetables.

Remove the omelette from the wok with an egg lifter and place onto a board.  Trim off the ends and transfer to a bowl, pour the remaining broth around the omelette and finish with a spoonful of oyster sauce over the omelette.

Download Printable Recipe

Neil Perry 

From powdered duck and tipsy cake to terrines and turbot, Neil Perry steps up to the plate.

Neil Perry 

 

René Redzepi’s famed Noma in Copenhagen has been named world’s best restaurant for two years running. But as I found on a recent visit, it’s not flying solo. Redzepi has had a significant effect on the city’s burgeoning dining scene, with several of his former chefs and front-of-house staff opening restaurants of note.  

You need to book well in advance to secure a table at Noma. Redzepi’s restaurant is all about a sense of place. It belongs on the harbour in Christianshavn, and the food, many of the ingredients for which are sourced from the nearby beach and forest, is an astute interpretation of traditional Danish cuisine. The dining room is simple but sophisticated, with exposed beams and beautiful Danish furniture.

Redzepi’s kitchen is small but immaculate, crammed with toiling staff. It’s obvious this is a restaurant with someone who cares about food at the helm. Manager James Spreadbury, from Adelaide, does a fine job with service and wines, and many of the courses are delivered by kitchen staff who explain each dish. Everyone ensures diners have a memorable experience. At 10 canapés and 12 courses plus wine matches, it’s not the sort of meal you’d want to eat every day, but that’s the point. This will be one of the great food memories of your life.

Neil Perry’s Copenhagen dining tips

Relæ
41 Jægersborggade.
+45 3696 6609.
www.restaurant-relæ.dk  

Noma
93 Strandgade.
+45 3296 3297.
www.noma.dk