Food for thought

Leading restaurant identities gathered in Sydney for the Gourmet Traveller Food Forum. The verdict? Today’s chefs are innovating like never before, writes Maggie Scardifield.

Leading restaurant identities gathered in Sydney for a Gourmet Traveller Food Forum.

Values, innovation and community were the buzzwords at Gourmet Traveller’s round-table Food Forum in November. Over a casual lunch at Mike McEnearney’s No 1 Bent Street in Sydney, presented in association with Nespresso, 25 of Australia’s top chefs and restaurateurs sat down to discuss Australian dining circa 2017. What defines the restaurant scene today? And what does the future hold for diners, for ingredients, for cooks?

It was clear, even before McEnearney’s famous roast chook hit the table, that the restaurant game has changed and that it continues to move fast.

Ross Lusted, of The Bridge Room, observed that in his 20-plus years in restaurants, he has never seen the trade change as much as it has in the past five years. “If you open a restaurant today, you have to be flexible,” he said. “The customer won’t wait for you to change, they will push the change.”

It was an afternoon of open and engaging discussion – and the flavours were just as robust as the conversation thanks to Bent Street’s chicken liver pâté, kingfish lazy sushi and Nespresso-spiked Paris-Brest. From 457 visas, education and Australia’s work ethic to the joys and challenges in identifying kitchen talent, sourcing ingredients, operating multiple restaurants and embracing technology, nothing was off limits.

Vue de Monde chef and Nespresso culinary ambassador Shannon Bennett argued that to keep up and evolve, restaurateurs and chefs need to embrace and support their local communities.

“There was a lot of ego when I started, but now there’s a nice camaraderie Australia-wide,” he said. Josh Niland, of Sydney fish eatery Saint Peter, spoke of the role social media now plays in growing a business. Astrid McCormack and Josh Lewis, from Fleet in Brunswick Heads, highlighted the importance now placed on the provenance of ingredients and sustainability. Palisa Anderson, director of Chat Thai, said that education and training staff properly help ensure longevity, as does rewarding loyal workers with shares in the business.

Despite the many challenges discussed, as the day wrapped up it was clear the future of Australia’s restaurant scene is bright.

“While it’s no doubt a challenging market, it’s also the most interesting it’s ever been,” concluded GT’s Pat Nourse.

So are we better off as diners in 2017 than we were in 1997? “Absolutely,” said McEnearney. “We have a more informed diner than we did 20 years ago. It’s refreshing to serve food to people who really care.”