Page 30 - foodservice magazine June 2019

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TPRRAODFEILTEALK
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Barangaroo House executive chef Tom Haynes. Haynes’ spatchcocks are stuffed with green rice, rather than breadcrumbs. A25’s vegan pizza can also be made gluten free.
“I didn’t go down this path of the accreditation to gain more customers meaning more profit, I did this clearly to give coeliacs the reassurance that they won’t have any consequences by eating at our restaurants – a reassurance that my wife and I don’t get 99 per cent of the time we eat out.”
service and the ability to offer a broader menu to coeliacs and the gluten intolerant means customers leave happy and return happier.
Finding ways to include dietaries in your menu from the
outset is the only way a restaurant can cater to all while staying viable, says Lines. “Changing dishes is unfeasible financially as it’s much harder to keep costs in control, but it’s a part of the dining landscape now and one would be stupid not to adapt to it.”
So why do some chefs still resist?
The main deterrent is still cost. While gluten-free products
have become wildly more accessible and better in quality, quinoa, buckwheat and flaxseed meal are always going to be more expensive than regular old wheat, and when margins are razor-thin, looking to more expensive alternatives seems illogical.
But Remo Nicolini, co-owner of Melbourne pizza restaurant chain A25, says the added cost of ingredients is worth it as it attracts more business. In fact, he took the gluten-free offering one step further and acquired an accreditation from Coeliac Australia. After almost 10 years of service, Nicolini has spent the last three years extending the restaurant’s menu so that 95 per cent of it can now be made without gluten.
A25 is just one out of fewer than 20 accredited foodservice outlets in Victoria. The stamp means customers with coeliac disease or acute intolerances to gluten know they can not only dine here safely, but also enjoy a broad menu.
PHOTOGRAPHY: NIKKI TO.