Creating appealing desserts with fruit - contemporary approaches make your menu stand out from the crowd

Today’s smart foodservice operator recognises that it’s important to ensure your menu items are both eyecatching and on-trend to keep customers coming back. 

The latest trends in desserts include contrasting sweet with sour – hence the rise of such flavours as salted caramel – and quirky modern twists on traditional favourites, such as marrying beetroot with chocolate.

There’s also greater use of herbs and spices to add greater flavour complexity, in keeping with the increased diversity of today’s customer base. Another emerging dessert trend is the use of Asian style flavours and ingredients such as a green tea ice cream and sesame praline and ginger syrup.

You also need to bear in mind the growing demand among diners for healthier dessert options, and consequently you should be taking a close look at fats, sugar, sodium and kilojoules per serve

Fruit has always been a key ingredient in desserts and the current demand for plant-based meals is helping to drive more fruit onto the menu. Remember though that in creating desserts, presentation and taste is always key – and taste is not just about flavour, it’s also about texture. Customers are looking for contrasting textures in their desserts – crunchiness and smoothness go well together and help create a balance that delivers overall satisfaction. 

Fruit is the ideal ingredient to add both colour and texture to dessert dishes, while the syrup in packaged fruits makes a terrific flavour enhancer. And thanks to the extensive range of quality fruit available from SPC Food Solutions, you don’t have to worry about seasonal availability – you have your pick of the best fruit Australia has to offer all year round!

SPC fruit is expertly processed and packaged and comes from the Goulburn Valley – one of Australia’s most fertile areas with great sunlight and irrigation, ensuring superior quality. It’s hand-picked and handled with care, with all SPCs growers certified by a rigorous independently audited environmental assurance program.

As we begin to enter the warmer months, it’s time to look start preparing the spring and summer menus – and see what fruit can do to enhance your dessert dishes. From flavoursome fruit tartlets to a homestyle baked apple pie, peaches and plums served with cream and a tasty coulis, poached pears soaked in red wine or served with brown sugar syrup, a moist chocolate sour cream and pear cake or a fruit and yoghurt mousse, fruit is the perfect choice for contemporary dessert presentation.

For more information on the SPC foodservice product solutions range visit https://spc.com.au/food-service/

LEADING EDGE

ANDREAS GOBER: A career embracing new directions

Austrian-born chef Andreas Gober’s career has taken him all over the world – his early years were spent working in Austria and Switzerland, then he was bitten by the travel bug and joined Crystal Cruise lines for two years.

He moved here after marrying his Australian-born wife and along with working in Fenix, Crown and Etihad stadium in Melbourne has enjoyed stints in Fiji, Qatar and Bahrain. Since December Andreas has been heading up the team at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria), where he gets to produce “art on a plate” across its restaurant, cafes, tea room and numerous high end functions held throughout the galleries.

Looking back on his diverse career, Andreas believes the key to his success has been his willingness to constantly innovate and stay open to new experiences. “At each step of my journey I’ve tried to embrace new opportunities and go in new directions, and I’ve picked up new skills and new insights each time,” he says. “When you’re lucky enough to have had the opportunity to be mentored and advised by some inspiring leaders, that can expand your knowledge base and broaden your horizons. You’re then able to take those learnings with you to your next job.”

These lessons weren’t just learnt in the kitchen – Andreas explains he was originally knocked back from studying hospitality and tourism because he hadn’t learnt English at school, so he did three years of engineering instead. “That was helpful because it gave me a good understanding of linear thinking and the importance of having everything in order, which is imperative when you’re running a kitchen,” he says. “I also spent a few years in the Army which instilled a sense of duty: if you have to do something, you might as well give it 100 per cent and do it right.”

He was also fortunate enough to begin his apprenticeship at one of the best restaurants in his Austrian hometown – “The gentlemen who took me on was phenomenal, his flavours and combinations were just unreal for me and a great inspiration. He told me, don’t be afraid to put anything together – just follow your instincts and if you think it works, nine times out of ten it does. But try it first, don't serve it straight away to a guest! And that's stood me in good stead ever since.”

Andreas knew from the outset that he wanted to work in Michelin star restaurants with the best possible ingredients. “I’m all about matching quality produce with contemporary style dishes to deliver a total experience,” he says. “Where the ingredients originate is just as important as the finished product. 

His first opportunity to realise this goal came when he was on the opening team of the Crystal Serenity cruise ship – “the food was absolutely outstanding, at one stage it was rated six stars and was probably the best food on the seas at the time, 17 or 18 years ago now. It was also terrific training because on a cruise ship you really learn to work – you’re there for four months without a break and you work 13 or 14 hours a day! It’s gruelling but after a while you get used to it, because everyone around you is working as well.”

Upon marrying his Melbourne-born wife, Andreas relocated here and after a couple of years got to work with high end Australian cuisine for the first time under Gary Mehigan at Fenix. This was followed by a job at Crown as a sous chef under Michael Bannerman before he got his big break running Breezes at Crown. “That was the first time I got to do my own food and it worked out really well,” Andreas recalls. “Working at Crown was a terrific experience, it opened up a lot of networks for me in Australia and actually taught me how to run a business – even though it wasn’t my own restaurant, I learned how to make a success of any food venture.”

Andreas’ Crown contacts brought him overseas work opportunities – such as the chance to run the Westin and Sheraton villas in Fiji. “That was a real eye opener with regard to freshness of product, because we had our own garden – you pick your own vanilla, passionfruit, it was absolutely unbelievable.”

After two years in Fiji he moved to Qatar as executive sous chef of the St Regis which had been voted best business hotel in the world. “It was just a different world to be honest - if the cruise ship was six stars this was probably seven or even seven and a half. And it fell in exactly with what I wanted to do – no matter what the guest wants, you can get it for them. This is how I learnt that’s nothing impossible - if you work hard enough and have enough resources, you can achieve pretty much anything.

“We cooked for numerous heads of state, and what I took from that experience was that they’re only human, they appreciate good food as much as the rest of us. So now when I have someone high profile coming in, I know they’re just a person. Of course you still do your best, but because you don’t have that pressure or that anxiety about cooking for them, you don’t make mistakes and it’s easier to perform at your best.”

Upon coming back to Australia, Andreas worked at Etihad stadium where he was able to “do some amazing food and learn to execute four, five, six or seven functions at the same time while there’s a game of thirty or forty thousand going on behind you. That really teaches you to multitask and our GM was instrumental in showing how everything should be done.”

His current position at the NGV gives him the opportunity to showcase the best of Victoria’s produce. “We try to have 100 per cent Victorian sourced ingredients - unfortunately it’s not possible all the time but as long as it’s Australian and it doesn’t have to travel for long, that’s the main thing. When you’re using quality local produce you can actually taste the difference.

“I started on the 2nd December and we opened on the 15th and we had to build a brand new team because of Covid. The shorter lockdowns we’ve had since haven’t affected us too badly – I think as soon as you go into lockdown, people immediately want to get out, they start thinking about what they’re missing and what they want to experience, so as soon as lockdown finishes the business bounces back. After two or three days we were back up to the same amount of business again – though of course we’ve had to adjust for social distancing restrictions.”

His advice to younger chefs looking to build a career in high end cooking is “never be afraid to try new things, because each step gives you more knowledge. It’s funny - back home in Austria you have different breeds of chefs: restaurant, hotel, event chefs and the guys don't want to venture outside that. What I found is that if you try everything, you can pick up so much. Some people don’t want to do events, but learning to do events will only help you run your restaurant better - because you’ll know when you have a large table, this is how you can serve it and make it work.

“I’ve always thought with my large functions that I want to serve restaurant quality food, and that’s what we achieve now, because it is possible. And the other point is you have to be passionate: especially about your ingredients, because you can't really get good end product with crappy produce. That's the thing: you're only as good as your ingredients.

“That’s the focus for me, because it has to taste great. One thing I don't do is subtle flavours - if it’s supposed to taste like blackcurrant, it will taste like blackcurrant. That's one thing we always make sure about!”

SMART BUSINESS

Keeping your premises hygienic and safe - what you need to know

Regular cleaning is essential to good hygiene, and that’s never been more important than right now – with many customers seeking assurance that you’re maintaining strict standards, and exercising vigilance to maintain safety.

Remember too that a case of food poisoning can lead to bad publicity, negative online comments and a drop in patronage – and that’s something no foodservice business can afford in the current climate. So make sure your staff are aware of the importance of all the points below: 

• Start with the basics by making sure everyone is in the habit of washing their hands regularly. This should be second nature given the focus of hand hygiene over the past 18 months, but you can’t assume – make sure staff are washing hands thoroughly especially before and after handling raw food.

• Check for signs of pest infestation such as cockroaches and engage in pest control treatment as necessary. Protect food by storing it in sealed containers and keep windows, walls and doors secured and in good repair.

• Keep chilled foods at the correct temperature – and make sure your fridges and freezers are in good working order and their thermostats are accurate. And don’t overstock them – because the ambient temperature will rise if there’s not enough room for air to circulate.

• Food preparation surfaces not only need to be cleaned but sanitized – with suitable grade disinfectant. Wipe them down thoroughly and do the same to your cutting boards and grills.

• Any food implements which come in contact with the floor must be thoroughly cleaned/disinfected before re-use. Cracked or chipped implements or chopping boards must be replaced, not re-used.

• Minimise your cleaning workload by tidying up as you go. Clean up spills or messes as soon as practicable. Clean and wash surfaces after use.

•  Thoroughly clean your floors and ‘hidden’ surfaces such as shelves, alcoves, cupboards and garbage areas. Dirty floors are a safety risk as they can often get slippery.

•  Always keep your toilets clean as this not only presents a good impression, it reduces the risk of cross-contamination. Scrub toilet bowls and seats and the floor around the toilets, disinfect sink surfaces regularly along with taps and door handles, and ensure soap, towels and toilet roll dispensers are well stocked.

• You should have a daily, weekly and monthly cleaning schedule for both back and front of house. The once per week clean should be more comprehensive and focus on areas which may get overlooked during the daily procedure, such as behind/under fridges and freezers, cupboards and shelves, garbage bin storage areas and difficult to access nooks and crannies.