Saturday Morning Outing

Today was one of "those" Saturday mornings... The alarm clock sounded at 6:15am & the 'off' button was pushed instead of the 'snooze' button. Subsequently & as you would expect, there was a rush to get out of the house!

At 9am after dropping my girlfriend to work I met up with an old friend for breakfast at her new pad in Paddington. She suggested we try one of the cafes near her house called Tiger Mottle. I'd recognised the name of the cafe from the Time Life Magazine & thought this would be a great opportunity to visit & see what the cafe has to offer as I don't usually frequent cafes in that end of Paddington.

Tiger Mottle uses all fresh ingredients, Free Range eggs & Golden Cobra coffee beans. Their Chef, Billy, is known for "squeezing the best flavours from the freshest produce". Most establishments have their own signature item on the menu & Tiger Mottle is no different. Their signature drink is the Maple Mottle. Very simply it's a Double ristretto, a shot of maple syrup & a dusting of chilli topped with cream.

Coffee at Tiger Mottle is made using the 'double ristretto technique'. The reason they make their coffees using this method is that they transform the flavours into a "rich and aromatic elixir with knock-your-socks-off flavour". Their description is fitting of their beverages & spot on in its accuracy.

Prices are very reasonable, service is quick, the cafe is presented beautifully & the staff are friendly & welcoming. Tiger Mottle is the perfect place to visit to start your weekend.

Visit them at 248 Glenmore Rd, Five Ways, Paddington NSW 2021 or www.tigermottle.com

Whats Cooking?

Welcome to the 1^st instalment of Menus’ from the Hospitality Boys, where every so often we will try to bring you new exciting menus’ (recipes if asked for) and tantalising dishes that you can create at home for little of the cost it would normally be when you buy take out.

The inspiration behind most of my dishes is simple; fewer ingredients = more flavour.

I’ve learnt so much from my family and from all the Chefs I have interacted with in my career.

Two tips you need to know; 1. Always cook with what you know, 2. Keep it simple... simple works.

Creating dishes/meals is a lot like making a cocktail at a bar; it’s a lot about experimenting with different ingredients. Some cocktails taste lovely & some dreadful.

That’s the same with food; by adding an extra ingredient or leaving one out can either ruin or make the dish.

These dishes I have placed on our 1^st Edition of Menus’ are all things I have made before and have had remarkable feedback on. I love cooking over & over again for my guests, family & friends.

The good thing about having a few choices under each meal is that you can ‘mix n match’ to satisfy your hunger needs and what your taste buds desire.

So have fun, go crazy and jot down some meals that you’ve made or have seen on TV , in magazines, recipe books etc... And give it a go!

I can guarantee there is no better feeling than sitting down to a meal you yourself have prepared, cooked and served! 

The satisfaction you get from tucking into it with friends and loved ones is immeasurable. 

You will get some great feedback along the way and the best one of all is an EMPTY PLATE.

Please enjoy these healthy, hearty dishes and if you require any information about recipes or drinks to match your meal, please jump on our wall or Blog and drop us a line.

Happy cooking,

Sample Menu 1

Breakfast

Eggs Benedict w Salmon, Chives ,Sourdough and Prosscutio 

Fresh fruit topped layered w Yoghurt, Muesli and Berry Compote

Buttermilk pancakes w Strawberries & Blueberries, topped w caramelised banana and icing sugar (side serve of golden syrup)

Lunch

Warm Thai beef Salad w mild chilli dressing accompanied by glass noodles & roasted almonds

Homemade Quiche Lorraine or Vegetarian w Parmesan & Rocket Balsamic salad

Lemon parmesan crumbed chicken schnitzel w seasonal Vegies/salad & Pesto Mash.

Dinner

Homemade Steak & Sweet Potato Pie w Vegies

Seafood Platter consisting of a Calamari Tower surrounded by Prawn Cocktails and Tuna skewers accompanied by Cocktail, Horseradish Aioli & Tartare sauces

Dessert

Chocolate Mousse w Strawberries & White Chocolate shavings

Lemon Tart w fresh Cream & Brandy sauce

Homemade Pavlova w Honey comb Ice cream

Please Enquire for recipes.

Jason King

Hospitality Boys.

A Good Coffee is Hard to Find

“By many accounts coffee is the most popular beverage on earth after water. According to the World Bank, as many as 500 million people are involved directly or indirectly in the global coffee trade. Coffee is the most actively traded commodity on the planet after petroleum…. Finding a good cup of coffee can be hard, and a great cup of coffee can be really elusive. The vast array of brands, styles, certification labels, and drink preparation methods make it all the more confusing.” (http://dethroner.com/2006/12/11/what-is-coffee/)

Taking the above comment into consideration, why is it that a good cup of coffee, let alone a GREAT cup of coffee, is so hard to find? To produce a good product, a relative amount of time, preparation & care needs to be taken. The Barista producing your coffee needs to be competent enough to know how to work with every aspect of the coffee making process. Basic principles that affect the out come of any coffee are as follows to produce a quality beverage:

• Freshness – Moisture, Oxygen, Light & Heat are the main factors that affect the freshness of the coffee.
• The Grind – Depending whether you are using an Espresso Machine, a coffee plunger/press or a drip coffee maker, different grinds will have a big affect on the end product & the type of beverage you are making. A shot of espresso will be ready in approximately 25-30 seconds, where as coffee made in a French press could take up to 4 or 5 minutes to brew as it is in direct contact with water.
• Proportion – Depending on the café you are going to & what coffee company they are with will determine the appropriate proportion of ground coffee to use in an espresso machine. A figure that some cafes/companies work with is approximately 7g-10g ground coffee = 1 x 30mL espresso shot.  
• Water – Purified water is the best kind of water a person should be drinking, but purified water is also ideal for a great tasting coffee as the filtration system eliminates the impurities that cause the beverage to take on a different taste, therefore hindering the finished product of the Barista. Water that is just off the boil will ensure the extraction of the all the right flavour elements of the coffee.

Café management & Baristas often ignore the fact that the grind of the coffee needs to be changed throughout the day. Depending on the location of the café, the time of day or even the season will impact on the type of grind a café should be using at any one time. The last thing that any paying customer wants to have served to them is a coffee that looks, smells & tastes like a used ashtray. “Unfortunately everyone and their dog does coffee these days, but not everyone does it great or does it great consistently” (http://www.espressoelements.com.au/about/).

In a lot of cafes around Sydney it is not uncommon for a Barista to ruin a coffee when they are texturing the milk that is needed for a milk-based beverage. Milk texturing, whether being made using an at home espresso machine or with an industrial machine is more often than not, an art form, not just technique. A drink is usually ruined when the milk either contains too much air (froth) or the milk is burnt & has a custard like smell to it. The perfect milk for any milk-based coffee should be around 65°C to 70°C as well as silky & smooth with a slight sheen.

No matter if you are a Barista working in a café or a customer ordering your coffee, always keep these few points in mind as they will affect the end result & that satisfaction that is derived from it.

Making Life a Little Easier

How many people out there visit their regular café & have their coffee card stamped? How many people out there collect coffee cards from numerous different cafes?

How many times have you bought as many coffees as you need to redeem your free coffee & only realised you’ve lost or forgotten the card when going to redeem your long awaited “FREE” coffee?

If like me, you have answered yes to any of the above questions, you will love this little idea from HopShopper.

How does HopShopper work?

Using your Smart Phone, such the iPhone, collect loyalty card stamps and browse nearby shops, restaurants and cafes. Reduce the amount of loyalty cards you carry to zero. This application is one of the easiest to use. Simply open the application & hold the Smart Phone’s camera up to the digital barcode provided by the café or shop that you are making your purchase from. The appropriate information is then sent to that retailer & the “stamp” is recorded. Think of this application as totally replacing the coffee /loyalty card.

This application from HopShopper now allows a retailer to “immediately reach many nearby consumers with promotional offers to attract consumers into store”. Retailers will then be able to see the return on this new way of mobile marketing by an increase in weekly sales.

For consumers, the advantage of down loading this free application from HopShopper, is that all your hard earned loyalty stamps will be collected & stored in one safe & secure place on your Smart Phone, with the ability to explore new places to shop or cafes to relax in.

Whether you are a consumer or a retailer, this application is certainly worth looking into. There are many applications out there related to the hospitality industry yet this is a prime example of a product that is beneficial to all parties & aims at making life a little easier through electronically stored loyalty card stamps & direct mobile marketing to the consumer.

For more information about this product, visit their web site;

www.HopShopper.com

The Little People Doing The Big Things

There’s an old saying, “Never forget the little people” and I’m not talking about people small in height! I’m talking about those people who help make the Hospitality Industry what it is which is no easy job. The Hospitality Industry is made up of many different people, each in their own sector, who do the countless unseen things to ensure the end result is perfect.

Today we're specifically talking about the back of house & what is needed to make it work.
Being a chef this is one example we come across many times when out. You hear people say things like; ‘’really, $25 for a steak, veggies and mash?!” The question we have to now ask is this; Do these customers understand that they’re not just paying for the chefs cooking skills, the piece of meat & the vegetables that get put on their plate? The simple answer is a resounding "No". Ignorance is bliss. Which paying customer have you ever come across that wants to know the whole back story of how their piece of steak landed on their plate? 

Whether it is in a restaurant, cafe or even a hotel, pretty much anywhere that serves you food you are paying for the following in reverse order:
* Service of the meal from wait staff
* Rent & upkeep of the premises
* Staffs wages (Labour costs) 
* Delivery of the raw products (supplier) 
* Suppliers wage / costs.

You should always keep in mind where the food comes from. It doesn’t miraculously come from a freezer or a spare cow out the back of the kitchen as we'd all like to think! There is a long & involved list of where the product is sourced from. Places include, but are not limited too farmers & growers etc. 

So next time you order food at any cafe, restaurant or any place that you are paying for your meal to be made for you, just think of the hard work done by 'the little people' to get you that meal. Your meal generally consists of more than just a chef turning your scotch fillet on the grill. Next time you place your order & you question the price, take a second to think about the many steps in the process, of the possible components involved & how many people it may have taken to prepare your meal. From raw produce, to a beautifully cooked steak with mouth watering roasted vegetables.

Another example, taking into consideration the many people involved, are the people in the Hotel & Restaurant industry who are the unsung heros. The managers, wait staff & cleaning staff. These people do copious amounts of work that is hardly ever seen. The customer only ever sees the finished product, never the work involved. 

The Hospitality Industry is by no means an easy industry to work in. For those who work within it know that although there is often hard work & many hours of standing on your feet, it is more often than not, a very rewarding industry to work in.