Page 20 - foodservice magazine Feb 2019

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TPRAODFEILTEALK
A. B.
A. Cardi C French toast at Devon Cafe. Photography: Jacqui Morris. B. Poached eggs at Three Blue Ducks. Photography: Nikki To.
C. Nahm prik nuum sandwich at Boon Cafe. D. Naked bruschetta at Devon Cafe. Photography: Jacqui Morris.
C.
D.
pushing breakfast outside of its conventions from the get-go.
One classic, French toast,
is almost unrecognisable here, with cardamom diplomat, citrus fruits, yoghurt parfait, and sorrel and basil water. Another dish, comfortably named the “naked bruschetta”, is burrata draped with straps of raw and cooked zucchini, broad beans, peas, mint and topped with shaved parmesan, jamon and Spanish pickled chilli.
Harry Kolotas, head chef and co-owner of one-year-old Sydney cafe and restaurant Cavalier 2.0, believes that the evergreen-ness of typical breakfast food is equal parts habit and comfort. “If you go too crazy it puts people off,” he says.
“That's the challenge with
a good brekky menu,” adds Allen, “you have to toe the line
with a couple of the classics done really well, but you also need to continue progressing and evolving.”
Breakfast dishes on eat-in menus around the country are often segregated not only by sweet and savoury, but also health factor, catering to both those who want crisp, salty, saucy hits, and those who
want to start their days with vitamin-rich, palate-refreshing, Instagrammable chia seed puddings. Dishes usually sit in one of the two camps, with little ambiguity as to their allegiance.
Cavalier 2.0 aims to redefine the ubiquitous cafe menu. The all-day diner’s menu cuts down the walls between morning and night, and
casual and fine dining, with dishes like beef cheeks, and passionfruit tiramisu hitting
the tables in daylight hours. Kolotas says diners are generally quite shocked when
they read his menu, but it's written in a way that the more approachable elements are listed first, to gently introduce people to a less-conventional dish. While eggs are still the most-ordered, Kolotas hides his “crazy” cooking techniques in the guise of names like the “tradie roll”.
(After all, a successful menu under promises but over delivers.)
“Instead of frying bacon
we make a salt out of rendered pork belly and that is our bacon element of the egg-and-bacon roll, which is paired with our French-style dressing and pickles. It tastes better than the original,” he says.
While Allen says Australia “will never give up” eggs on toast, a new generation of diners seeking new experiences is giving chefs room to play.
The key, it seems, is to not
be didactic in your cooking. Introduce flair to your fare gently; experiment with techniques, non-western flavours and non-breakfast standards one dish at a time, and slowly the tide