Page 18 - Food Service Magazine March 2019

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“Sometimes it is about softening an ingredient, not turning it into a smooth paste. No one has ever made a killer papaya salad without using a mortar and pestle.” – Thi Le, head chef at Anchovy in Melbourne.
TOM SARAFIAN'S GRANDFATHER'S BAYONET FORK
Head chef at Melbourne's Bar Saracen
It’s an old wooden-handle Sabatier bayonet fork my grandpa Zareh bought in Paris in 1982. He was a
chef for many years in French restaurants around Melbourne, so it’s nice to think of all the beautiful food the fork has served. It’s used for holding big pieces of meat in place when carving, and I like using it on the grill at Bar Saracen. It’s perfect for quickly turning over small pieces of meat and vegetables. It’s also handy for checking the internal temperature of meat – the same way you’d use a digital probe, but combined with a bit of Jedi skill. I also love using the fork for plating up, for gently picking up fish and meat or longer vegetables like whole barbequed peppers and eggplants. It's way more fun than a spatula.
DANIEL FLATT’S DEBA FILLETING KNIFE
Head chef at Canberra’s Monster
Hands down, I can’t cook without my Deba filleting knife. This is a handmade Japanese-style, carbon-steel filleting blade that’s only bevelled on one side. They are quite different to most European filleting knives as they are substantially shorter, thicker and firmer than the long, thin and flexible filleting knives I was taught with. At Monster we receive all our fish untouched, so having the strength and accuracy that comes with a sharp Deba is essential. It’s strong enough to go through the thick bones of barramundi, while still holding a good sharp edge even when receiving a lot of punishment. I have two of these knives: the large knife is used for firmer fish like snapper and mulloway, and the smaller knife is used for smaller more delicate fish like mackerel, tommy ruff and sardines. The ease of use of these knives is so good I’ve never looked back.
THI LE'S TRADITIONAL LAO MORTAR AND PESTLE
Head chef at Melbourne's Anchovy
I have a Lao-style bench-top mortar and pestle that we use at the restaurant to build sauces. As a kitchen tool, it makes us think about how we cut ingredients and order in which ingredients are used, so the focus is on the balance of flavours and textures in the end product. It takes away the mechanised nature of cooking and teaches us to cook more intuitively. There is a lot of literature comparing blenders with mortars and pestles; however, it is not just about the cutting or the crushing of an ingredient to release flavour. Sometimes it is also about softening an ingredient, not turning it into a smooth paste. No one has ever made a killer papaya salad without using a mortar and pestle.
3. TOM SARAFIAN
4. DANIEL FLATT
5. THI LE