Durian

IN SEASON: February - July

Durians originated from Malaysia and Borneo and are regarded as the ‘king of tropical fruit’. Described as ‘taste like heaven and stinking like hell’, the fruit is large golden greenish in colour and covered in spines. The flesh is divided into five segments, each containing one to four seeds. Maturity is indicated when the middle of the fruit exudes a strong smell and the flesh has a really rich creamy texture and tastes like cream cheese, garlic and onions.

After consuming fruit, pour water into skin cavity and drink from this to avoid burping. To remove odour from fingers, pour water over external surface of skin and wash hands in the runoff.

Durians are best eaten fresh but the flesh can also be used for making jams and cakes. The richness of the flesh also makes an excellent foil to hot, spicy foods like curries and chilli dishes. Durian seeds can be roasted and eaten like nuts. Great in mousses, drinks and desserts.


Durian flesh freezes and stores well, freshly thawed it is a welcome treat during the off season.

The Looongest Chef

Published 1st May 2010

Klaus Keller - Sheraton Mirage, Port Douglas

Hotel chefs don’t often stay in one place for very long, they usually move around from hotel to hotel, but for Klaus Keller; he seems to have made his home in Port Douglas.

For the past 17 years German born Klaus has been working for the Sheraton Mirage and is now the longest serving Executive Chef of the hotel. It’s at the hotel that Klaus met Rupa and they were married two years ago in Port Douglas; however last November they journeyed to India for a traditional Indian wedding with her family.

As Executive Chef, Klaus presides over three restaurants, a cafe, two bars and events throughout the large resort complex and some of the outstanding guest he has cooked for are US President Bill Clinton, Chinese president Hu Jintao, rock stars AC/DC, Guns and Roses to name a few. Klaus was president of Les Torque Blanches (TNQ) an association for professional chefs for two years 2005/6.

“The lush green environment, easy Australian lifestyle and the village community of Port Douglas was the attraction, as well as working with great local produce” says Klaus who chefed in several countries of Europe before coming to Port.

Klaus is very active in seeking out local food produce for his menus and this year’s Longest Lunch menu will be ‘very local’. Last year the Carnivale’s Longest Lunch event was hosted for the first time by Sheraton and the love-to-lunchers of Port Douglas along with the seasoned Southern visitors turned up with delight.

This year’s theme ‘Lunch like a Celebrity’ has promised there will be good reason to dress to impress and make it a very loooong lunch.

Custard Apple

IN SEASON: March - July

Native to South America and the West Indies, Custard Apple was developed in Hawaii in the early 1900s before findings its way to many Far North Queensland backyards.

This round to oval fruit has a scaly-like yellowish-green or tan skin with creamy white flesh that has a sweet and juicy aromatic flavour that lingers.

Choose a fruit without dark blemishes. Unripe fruit should be kept at room temperature until ripe. Custard Apples can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Fruit should be eaten fresh. Simply chill then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, removing the inedible seeds.

For a treat, add a dollop of fresh cream. It can be used in jellies and sorbets and mixed with water for a refreshing drink. It also makes an excellent fruit sauce when mixed with banana and cream.

The Chains of the Rotisserie

Published 24th April 2010

Last week I was invited to taste some 18 meals as one of the judges of the exclusive La Chaine De Rotisseurs Great Barrier Reef Bailliage 'Jeune Commis' Competition held at TAFE. Six local chefs where placed under the eagle eye of six professional kitchen judges to cook a three course meal for four persons within four hours using a mystery box of limited ingredient.

The competitors were given 1/2 hour to see the ingredients and then write a work plan and menu they would prepare in the allotted time before presenting their dishes to twelve tasting judges. In the kitchen they were judged on their professionalism, hygiene practice, culinary skills, product utilization, organizational skills, and cooking techniques and were deducted points for every minute late. The tasting judges had to judge the final plates, as if they were a restaurant customer, on taste, presentation and originality.

The six chefs competing were from restaurants and hotels around Cairns but also included an entry from Weipa. However there was only one winner and Kyle Must of the Rydges Esplanade Resort was presented with the Bronze Medal to go onto represent the Cairns Region in the National Competition in Brisbane in July for a silver medal.

Whoever wins silver in Brisbane competes in September in Helsinki, Finland for the Gold Medal.Congratulations to all the competitors who did a fine job and completed the tasks assigned. It was an excellent experience for them to better themselves and improve their professionalism.

Persimmon

INSEASON: March - April

The persimmon is native to China and Japan and was introduced into Queensland in the 1800s. In Japan it is the national fruit and called kaki which means “Food of the Gods”.

The round to heart-shaped fruit is bright orange when ripe, thin skinned with an orange flesh.There are two types of fruit, Astringent and Non-astringent. The astringent fruit has soft mushy flesh when ripe and is flatter in shape with distinct jelly-like segments. The non astringent variety has crisp flesh that is eaten like an apple and is more round in shape. In both varieties, the flesh is sweet tasting.

Choose firm, glossy plump fruit, free from blemishes. Ripen at room temperature and will store in refrigerator for up to a week.Best eaten fresh. Sliced in salads adds colour and crispness or made into jam and cakes and a good accompaniment to pork, lamb or chicken.

Classy Cooking Bounty

Published 10th April, 2010

When Dr Geraldine McGuire is not working on high calibre projects to balance sustainable economic, environmental and social solutions in Australia, Indonesia, PNG and Laos, she is busy cooking up indigenous rainforest fruit condiments under the Rainforest Bounty brand.

But later this month, Geraldine will commence the first of a series of Cooking Classes at her magical property nestled into the rainforest on the Tablelands, and overlooking Bartle Frere.A finalist in the recent RIRDC Rural Womens Awards, Geraldine is a local woman who has a passion for sustainable development, native foods and fusion cooking.

Rainforest Bounty consists of three partners who also grow native rainforest fruits using sustainable farming practices on the Atherton Tableland. Eleven products are currently produced by Rainforest Bounty. The most popular are the spicy condiments with an Asian flare such as the Rainforest Spicy Plum Sauce, Rainforest Lemon and Lime Pickle and Rainforest Fruits Chutney.These Australian rainforest fruit flavours are intense and unique, unlike any other fruits you may have tasted and with their truly stunning colour and flavour; they provide a unique and very pleasurable north Australian bush food experience.

When Geraldine and her husband launch the Rainforest Bounty Slow Food Experience at the end of April, the day will begin with a gentle stroll through their luxuriant native fruit orchards of Davidson Plum, Lemon Aspen, Finger lime, Native Tamarind, Atherton nut, Water Cherry and other Lillipillies.

Next stop, the kitchen gardens to harvest seasonal ingredients for the hands-on cooking class that shows you how to bring out the unique flavours of Australian rainforest fruits. It’s a very social event and the day culminating in a sumptuous lunch to share the results of your endeavours.

Mamey Sapote

IN SEASON: April

It may not look sexy but this underrated fruit is very versatile. Originating from Central America, Mamey Sapote can spend up to a year on the tree before it ripens. Leave at room temperature until soft then wait one more day for a great taste.

The fruit is large and oval to egg shaped with a leathery brown skin with reddish flesh, which encloses a single large seed. Mamey Sapote has a pleasant peach-apricot flavour.

To determine if ripe, scratch off the skin on the upper part of the fruit. If the skin below is orange to red, it is ripe. It should also give a little when pressed.

Pulp may be frozen. Fresh or frozen pulp is usually combined with other ingredients to make milkshakes or ice-cream.

To eat fresh, cut lengthwise and remove the seed. Small pieces can be mixed in a green salad or fruit salad. It makes excellent jellies, pastes, and conserves.

Feast of Easter

Published 3rd April 2010

Determined by the lunar calendar, Easter was originally an early spring feast day of pagan celebration of renewal and rebirth. The word Easter is believed to have evolved from Eastre, the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility and springtime.

The Greeks and Egyptians ate small cakes or buns in honour of the respective goddesses that they worshipped. Buns marked with a cross were eaten by the Saxons to honour their goddess Eastre - it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's quarters. To Christians, the cross symbolises the crucifixion.

However Easter was originally called Pascha a Hebrew word for Passover, a Jewish festival that happens at this time of year. When Pharaoh freed the Hebrews, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. So for the duration of Passover, Jewish people do not eat leavened bread, and celebrate with “The Festival of the Unleavened Bread".

A meal of lamb symbolises the lamb sacrificed before the commencement of Jewish Passover. The 40 days before Easter is the period of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday. For many Christians, this is a period of fasting and repentance in preparation for Easter, culminating in a feast of seasonal and symbolic foods. In the late 17th century, a rich fruit cake called simnel cake was baked for the fourth Sunday of Lent. The cake was decorated with 11 marzipan balls representing the 12 apostles minus Judas, who betrayed Christ.

Eggs have been a symbol of fertility and new beginnings since ancient times, but were adopted by Christians to represent Christ’s resurrection. The Easter bunny is derived from another traditional symbol as rabbit is also known for its fertility, it symbolises new life.