Omnivore Sydney Masterclasses 2014

Gourmantic is an official media partner of Omnivore Wold Tour Sydney 2014.

Omnivore World Tour kicked off in Sydney with a series of masterclasses held on two consecutive days at the Australian Maritime Museum.

Hosted by Simon Thomsen, thirteen chefs presented 35 minute masterclasses which involved cooking demonstrations and provided insights of their respective restaurants and food philosophy.

Below are the highlights of some of the masterclasses which Gourmantic attended.

Photography © by Kevin Burke for Gourmantic – Copyright: All rights reserved.

Hamish Ingham of Bar H in Sydney kicked off the series with wok-fried calamari with a variety of Asian mushrooms. The key ingredient he used as Shio Koji which is fermented malted rice, a by-product of sake which gives a sweet, sour and umami taste. He also used sea banana and buckwheat for texture and topped with a 64 degree egg.

Pierre Sang-Boyer of Pierre Sang in Oberkampf in Paris brings his Korean heritage and French upbringing to his approach to food. The first dish he prepared was Oyster with Omija and Pomegranate, omija being a type of berry that is bright red in colour. Next, he prepared his signature dish, a take on Surf and Turf, Tempura Andouille, Tuna and Béarnaise Sauce. He used Badoit water to make the tempura batter. The sausage was lightly dusted with icing sugar to caramelise it. The tuna was lightly salted to bring out the water and concentrate the flavour. Pierre Sang in Oberkampf is located in the 11^th arrondissement in Paris and seats 46 persons. The menu includes six courses for 49 euro and changes daily.

Mike Eggert & Jemma Whiteman of Pinbone in Sydney prepared Ducks Heart with Kumquat Mustard, and Leather Jacket with Snow Peas and Konbu which was previewed at their restaurant during the launch of Omnivore.

Julien Burlat from Dôme, Dôme Sur Mer, Antwerpen, Belgium brought to Omnivore his family recipe of boudin noir, a blood sausage which he prepared on stage. He uses 1 kilo of pigs blood, 350g of cream, cooked onions, his own mix of spices, rum and Madeira. He cooked the sausage in boiling water at 90 degrees C. He also prepared a Beef Tartare with a raspberry sauce.

Josh Niland of Fish Face in Sydney regaled the audience with stories of his time at Heston’s kitchen while he prepared a dish of Yellowfin Tuna with Radicchio and Bulgur Crackers.

Gita Seaton of Nouveau Palais in Montreal prepared Hush Puppies, a classic Southern dish which is in essence corn fritters made with creamed corn, eggs, butter and beer, deep fried and served with a spicy tomato sauce. From the other end of the scale, she also prepared an elegant dish of Sake-cured kingfish, with Kaffir lime that was finished with what she termed as ‘Sexy Oil’.

The Omnivore Masterclasses were held on Friday 3 October and Saturday 4 October 2014 at the Australian Maritime Museum.

More in the Omnivore Sydney 2014… Omnivore Pop-Up Dinner and Omnivorious Party.