Page 44 - foodservice magazine September 2018

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THE SWEET SPOT
SUPERSTAR PASTRY CHEFS ARE DISHING UP TASTY TREATS AROUND THE COUNTRY. ANITA CONNORS CHATS TO THREE – ANNA POLYVIOU, LAUREN ELDRIDGE,
AND JERRY LANGUDAS – TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY’RE CURRENTLY SERVING FOR DESSERT.
their diet and have it replaced with other things, like fruit,” she says. “Accordingly, desserts are not as sweet as they used to be because people are wanting less sugar. Fruit is a good alternative to processed sugar, and maybe people feel less guilty if they eat fruit in their dessert.”
Polyviou also sees chefs and diners alike enjoying “theatre and fun” in desserts. She sees this as an important avenue for interaction between back of house and the dining room. As such ‘Anna’s mess’, where she actually picks up and drops her creation, was designed to do just that.
For Jerry Langudas, ICC Sydney’s executive pastry chef, diners are noticeably being led by lifestyle dietary preferences and requirements such as veganism. “These dietary options are becoming increasingly popular and I believe will continue to do so,” he says. “As a pastry chef, my team and I are focused on creating dishes that can be enjoyed by all guests.”
Plus, Langudas sees a growing appetite among diners for uniquely Australian ingredients.
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Dessert menus across Australia are being restyled and overhauled. As diners’
tastes change and evolve, establishments are offering guests a variety of flavours and ingredients to cater to a growing assortment of palates and dietary requirements. On top of that, chefs are becoming increasingly aware about the environment and seasonality, and so are adding provenance to the mix, Lauren Eldridge. The former Josephine Pignolet Award recipient joined Melbourne’s Van Haandel Group last year, to help the hospitality group update its dessert menus across Stokehouse St Kilda and Q, Pontoon, and Fatto Bar & Cantina.
“There was a time when a dish wasn’t considered dessert unless it was laden with chocolate and sugar or had six to seven different techniques and elements on it,” says
Eldridge. “Now, I think Australians are really keen to eat food that has had less intervention by the chefs and is a bit more recognisable. It creates a real challenge as a chef to constantly push yourself to provide the customers with something that is simple yet innovative.”
While fuelled by this realisation, Eldridge has also remained “hyper-aware of reducing waste and using locally sourced, seasonal produce”. She sees this as having the added benefit of producing even more imaginative dishes as she and her team learn to create desserts from a restricted selection of produce and with minimal waste.
Celebrity chef and the executive pastry chef at Shangri- La Hotel Sydney, Anna Polyviou, has also observed a shift among diners in what they’re opting for in dessert.
“I think a lot of people are looking to remove sugar from
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PHOTOGRAPHY: MURDOCH BOOKS