Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Q&A - Donato Toce from Gelato Messina


  1. 1. Give us a brief history of your career up until working with Gelato Messina?

Before working at Gelato Messina, I worked at A Tavola (renowned Sydney pasta restaurant) for 1.5 years as a senior Sous Chef. Before that, I worked as Head Chef at Pizza E Birra in Surry Hills.

  1. 2. What do you see as your career highlight?

Meeting Danny Palumbo! (part-owner of Gelato Messina and brother of gelato master Nick Palumbo)

  1. You are moving from being a chef to a gelato maker – how do you think this will be different? In what ways do you think this will be the same?

It is a whole new adventure! In saying that, there are still the same mechanics and formulas in creating something that gels beautifully, and I will still be called upon to use my creativity to introduce new flavours and combinations that work. I can easily transfer the skills I have acquired from previous jobs into the skills I will require as a gelato chef. My previous experience in food undoubtedly helps me in this job.

  1. How did you come to work at Gelato Messina?

I was approached by Nick to come and help him in the kitchen and to lend my creativity to help him devise new flavours – they wanted to dedicate more time to flavour innovation and experimentation.

  1. What does your job at Gelato Messina involve?

I assist Danny and Nick in the kitchen, formulating new recipes and flavours – with me on board there is more time allocated to dream up new combinations. We are thinking of new flavours every day! Some of the recent creations I have helped to create include ‘Persian Saffron and Pistachio Praline’ and ‘Pecan Pie’. Between the three of us I think we will see some great new, innovative stuff coming out of Gelato Messina.

  1. What will we see more of now that you are working with Messina?

As we have more time now dedicated to dreaming up new flavours and testing our ideas out, you will see more flavours coming in more often. As Nick and Danny have been so busy, they have not had the opportunity to actually make the flavours we wanted to – now we will! And additionally, my creativity and previous experience will add to the Palumbo mix, all three of us are very creative!

  1. What makes Gelato Messina different from other gelaterias? How is the process Nick uses different to other Gelaterias?

It is completely different – at Messina everything is done from scratch. We use no bases, no pastes, no artificial flavours – everything is literally used in its purest and rawest form. For example, the hazelnut flavour begins with hazelnuts, which are then roasted, smashed, puréed into a paste, for apple we peel apples and bake them with cinnamon – it is like taking raw ingredients and turning them into ice cream. The banana flavour has such a high percentage of fresh banana because the colour darkens slightly in the tub across time, just as a banana itself would.

Naturally, there is a lot of trial and error in this process, and it is incredibly labour intensive, but ultimately that is why Messina produces such a superior product. I compare it to the way we made pasta at A Tavola, where we used eggs, flour, etc and put it together to create pasta, except here we use different raw ingredients to make this wonderful thing we call gelato!

  1. What are your favourite flavours?

I love trying to mix flavours to create a whole new taste, and trying to find new combinations that work, rather than having one specific flavour I love. At Messina, we are constantly searching for new, innovative blends that work together.

  1. What are some of the more innovative flavours you are planning to make?

At the moment, I am trying to work out a sherry combination, and perhaps try one with lavender – something pretty! We are a creative bunch, so you will definitely be seeing a lot more. As we are not limited by the ‘pastes’ or ‘flavours’ that are available, we can pretty much do whatever we want - once we figure out how to make it work! Essentially we are only limited by our imagination, because we start everything from its raw ingredients we can formulate it from scratch to make it work. It is like a science lab in here!!

  1. Why do you think that Nick’s gelato is so popular?

It is rare to see gelaterias that only have gelato these days – most seem to be morphing into cafes. But at Messina we only sell gelato and nothing else – gelato and gelato alone is Messina’s focus.

There is simply nothing like it that you can get from other gelaterias. Each flavour is just that little bit different each time it is churned, because it is an artisan product. It is so pure, natural and real – not to mention it tastes ridiculously good!!

Simple, yet a classic


Try this easy to make recipe from Gusto Bar and Kitchen in Watson's Bay.

Penne alla Siciliana

Ingredients:

Eggplants - 1

Garlic - ¼ of a clove sliced thinly

White Insolia wine - 60ml

Tomato sauce -200g

Penne - 150g

Baked ricotta - 100g

Capers - 1g

Chilli - just a touch - depends how hot you like it

Olive Oil - 30ml

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 5ml

Salt - pinch for the eggplants and to taste once the sauce is added

Fresh basil at the end before plating up

Process:

Shallow fry diced eggplants in olive oil with sliced garlic and chilli.

Deglaze with a splash of your Sicilian white Insolia Wine and add tomato sauce. Add capers and season to taste. Simmer at low heat until your sauce is about 2 minutes from being ready.

Meanwhile cook your penne in boiling water.

Strain and add to the sauce.

Blend all ingredients together and add basil then serve.

Crumble the baked ricotta on top and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

MUM’S EAT FOR FREE AT HELM BISTRO!


Stuck for Mother's Day ideas????

This Mother’s Day, spoil your mum to superb brasserie style food without breaking your budget at Cockle Bay Wharf’s Helm Bistro. To celebrate and honour this special day, Helm Bistro is offering mothers the opportunity to eat for free when they dine with a family of four or more.

NEW Bacchus Website


We have just completed the content for the new Bacchus website. Check it out! Also, don't miss the Chef 's new tantalising menu.

http://www.bacchusnewcastle.com.au/

Monday, March 8, 2010

Chocoholics anonymous


Here at chocoholics anonymous we like to divulge our chocolate obsessions and confessions. So here we go...

I was merely walking through Balmain on the weekend and could help but notice the chocolate Baklava at Efendy restaurant. I thought, what harm could one bite do - right? So I strolled in trying not to attract attention and placed my order. As the waitress handed it over, I was transfixed by it's luscious creamy chocolate covering. I was instantly in heaven - Turkish heaven. For a single moment the chocolate encased my body and ate ME all up. I couldn't help myself.... and to tell you the truth, I would do it again in a second.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

K-POW

Just in time for the release of Alice in Wonderland I thought, I would share with you a little something quirky of my own. Something different for the sweet-tooths: this whimsical dessert is a specialty at ATavola in Darlinghurst.

Known for it’s unusual appearance and exploding combination of flavours – the Bomba is a must try.

If your not ready to venture into this wee dessert journey, then I wish you happy watching for another piece of Tim Burton’s crazy mind.


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Recipe from Sydney's only Sicilian restaurant

Sometimes it is nice to try something new in the kitchen, so I thought I would leak you one of my favourites from Sicilian restaurant Gusto Bar and Kitchen in Watsons Bay.

Fighi e Prosciutto

Ingredients:

Fresh figs cut in quarters

Fresh sliced Parma Prosciutto

Shaved Pecorino cheese

1tbs natural honey

1tbs extra virgin olive oil

1tsp Fig Vincotto (reduced red port wine with figs)

Method:

Lay figs decoratively on the plate, then place prosciutto and chesse on top. Drizzle the honey, oil and fig vincotto lightly over the top.