As Australia’s leading chefs came together to showcase their culinary skills over the weekend, we reveal the top food trends for 2015 as seen at Taste of Sydney.
Chefs such as Colin Fassnidge of Four in Hand, Shaun Presland of Saké and Massimo Mele of La Scala on Jersey share their exclusive insights and observations from behind-the-scenes at the Electrolux Taste Theatre.
1. Flavours
This year it was all about bringing good quality food back to basics and letting the flavours speak for themselves. As Colin Fassnidge of Four In Hand said, “People want to see real food cooked properly. They don’t want molecular anymore. They just want flavour.” This year’s Taste menu was hugely flavour driven with Brent Savage of Bentley/Yellow/Monopole revealing his tips for creating your own mint oil as featured in his Smoked Salt Cod. By blanching mint leaves and blitzing with half olive oil and vegetable oil, you achieve a simple yet delicious dressing with a wonderfully minty aroma.
2. Fresh, seasonal produce
Richard Ptacnik of Otto Ristorante identified one of the biggest trends as being the use of seasonal produce. Ingredients are the heart of cooking and this commitment to sourcing fresh, sustainable, even home-grown produce was widely recognised by chefs in the Electrolux Taste Theatre. Often picking ingredients from the kitchen garden and working closely with local farmers, Biota Dining was awarded ‘Best in Taste’ for its dish of Smoked Taramasalata with picked lettuce and charcoal cracker. Autumn is the perfect time to incorporate fresh greens into your cooking with kale being one of the best ingredients, as recommended by Massimo Mele of La Scala on Jersey.
3. Using the whole animal
Colin Fassnidge and Carla Jones of Four in Hand and 4Fourteen showcased how to carve a whole pig from the nose to tail in the Electrolux Taste Theatre. Colin and Carla also explained the different cuts of meat and best cooking techniques for achieving moist, tender meat that melts in your mouth.
4. Cooking over charcoal
We saw it from the likes of MoVida, Porteño and 4Fourteen, cooking over charcoal was the latest trend for cooking meat. From Frank’s Pinchitos Morunos to Carla’s slow roast pig, foodies were greeted with mouthwatering aromas of the succulent meat rotating over an open fire pit. 4Fourteen’s Carla Jones said, “It’s one of our favourite things to do especially at an event like this, it really draws a crowd.” So what’s the secret to cooking great tasting meat? According to the guys at Porteño just use “good produce, smoke and heaps of salt.”
5. Lean cuisine
The new wave of healthy eating trends, as Shaun Presland of Saké puts it, is lean cuisine. Drawing influence from Europe and the Peruvian regions, ceviche is the perfect example. Demonstrating how to make kingfish ceviche, foodies were shown how to correctly fillet a fish and plate up using lime juice, sea salt and jalapeño chilli in the Electrolux Taste Theatre. Shaun summarises its benefits in a sentence; “It’s the ultimate protein one-hit course, it’s good for you, it’s healthy, it’s lean cuisine.”
Massimo Mele’s Nonna’s Boiled Octopus With Almond Puree, Garlic, Chilli & Olive Oil
What are some of your predicted taste trends for 2015? Tell us below…