The Caterer Blog

Rob Hartwell is the 2008 Acorn Scholar. As part of a year’s development activity, he has been given a sabbatical from his sous chef role with Peach Pub Company to take a four-month cooks tour.

In December 2007 my dream was made a reality when I was awarded the 2008 Acorn Scholarship. As a result, I have been able to embark on four months’ of travel which will take in Fiji, Australia, Thailand and Vietnam.

My goal is to experience flavours and food that are new to me and collect some recipes to bring back to the UK. So I’ll not only be eating but also actually cooking in all these countries. Fiji is my first stop and for this leg of the journey, I’m accompanied by my girlfriend Sophie.

Fiji
After two 12-hour flights, five hours waiting in airports and three hours on a boat, Sophie and I finally arrived at our first destination, Naviti Island, Fiji. This is a small island in the middle of the Fiji islands with a population of about 18 locals plus me and Sophie. We are staying in a “bure” which is a wood and straw hut, similar to a cabin.

There is no electricity apart from that generated by two solar panels which powers fans, lights and the fridges in the main kitchen.

From what I’d read and heard, I was not expecting the food to blow me away, but after talking with a few locals on the mainland I quickly gathered a vision of fresh, honest and totally authentic food.

On the first day we were asked if we would like fish for lunch. This sounded like a great idea, especially as the islanders call the sea their “farm”. I wanted to see what their catch would be. Having met with our friendly local on the beach, we saw another local man paddling out on a kayak, line fishing for our lunch - you really can’t get fresher than that. The Fijians export a lot of fish to Japan, the USA and Europe such as marlin, tuna and opah. That day they cooked our catch in coconut milk and then pan-fried it - a really simple dish but fresh, full of flavour and a great start to the tour.

Later on that week, we were invited to see a traditional feast called a “lovo” (pronounced lobo) being prepared and cooked. I had been expressing an interest in their food in the last few days and had become friends with more locals, who thought it would a great opportunity for me to see a completely different underground style of cooking and how they cooked traditionally.

Rob Hartwell is the 2008 Acorn Scholar. As part of a year’s development activity, he has been given a sabbatical from his sous chef role with Peach Pub Company to take a four-month cooks tour.

On leaving Fiji we shared a feeling of sadness to leave our own little island of paradise but this had been such a great start to the tour we can’t wait for stage two.

After a 10-hour flight, we arrived in Perth and then travelled down to Busselton, near the Margaret River, where my older brother lives.

The first night we were there, my brother laid on a traditional Aussie BBQ and I had the feeling that this would be the first of many.

The following day we headed off down the Margaret River, first to the chocolate factory where we watch the chocolate being made, so Sophie was over the moon for the rest of the day.

Second, we were off to the cheese shop where despite a wide selection, the produce is pretty average and the ones I tried were all a bit young and lacking in body. And all of this before breakfast!

After this very rich start to the day, we visited three superb vineyards; Hay Stack’s, Vasse Felix and Mad Fish, where the pinot noir was the highlight. It was exciting finding great new wines to drink, explore new flavours and continue to expand my palate.

Later on that week we went out fishing. This trip was not a success for us unfortunately, but a good day for the fish so on the way home we found a free-range organic spit roast chicken joint called ‘switch’. It was amazing and proved to me that the trend for fast-food places (like Leon in the UK) is also available in Australia. How wonderful to find fast food this healthy and also good for the environment.

At the weekend we set off on a bush camping and fishing trip to Pemberton, a little town in the Kerri forest where the second biggest trees in the world grow and it’s possible catch beautiful fresh water trout.

During our stay there, we managed to snag ourselves six of them for dinner. Our best catch of the weekend though was a 5ft striped Wobbegong shark off the beach during a night fish.

In the Australian tradition of accessing the best of Pacific Rim cuisine, this we marinated in a big plastic bag with lemon, herbs, garlic, chilli and soy sauce and grilled it over a wood fire – spectacular!

Rob Hartwell is the 2008 Acorn Scholar. As part of a year’s development activity, he has been given a sabbatical from his sous chef role with Peach Pub Company to take a four-month cooks tour.

Working in Sydney

For the last six weeks I have been having the time of my life; meeting new people and experiencing exciting new foods, lifestyles. I’ve even been getting into a normal sleep pattern, sleeping for at least eight hours and eating at regular times. I’m almost feeling human again.

Life is not a bit the way it was when I was cheffing. But I am here to learn and besides, I’ve had a real craving to cook again. Like a drug addict going cold turkey, I feel the same without my kitchen; my thoughts become clouded and I can’t switch off - I find my self analysing everything that passes my lips. I need to cook!

I arrived in Sydney alone as Sophie, my girlfriend and travelling partner, were staying in Melbourne.

I checked in to the Railway YHA, where as a lone traveller with an extensive knowledge of food, I refused to eat the regular diet of instant ‘super’ noodles which every one was shovelling inside themselves. If this wasn’t a sign that I should start cooking I don’t what was!

I quickly made friends with three Irish guys who were missing their home foods. That night I knocked up a really good Irish stew for the four of us. When the rest of the hostel saw this, our dinner parties grew rapidly and since then I and my range of willing helpers have been cooking every night for increasingly large numbers of diners. And the budget? The equivalent of £2.40 per head max! I’ve been so excited that I’ve managed to change so many people’s diets for the better. All of this simply compounded my craving to get back into a professional kitchen again.

I’d arranged a couple of stages in Sydney. The first is with working at Bill Granger’s restaurant called, imaginatively enough, Bill’s on Surry Hills. Originally from Melbourne, Bill has always had an interest in food. But it wasn't until he moved to Sydney to study fine art that he realised his real passion was cooking.

Rob Hartwell is the 2008 Acorn Scholar. As part of a year's development activity, he has been given a sabbatical from his sous chef role with Peach Pub Company to take a four-month cooks tour.

After finishing my stint at Bills, although I felt that I hadn't really learnt anything to further my cooking skills, I had discovered how people like to run their kitchens differently. I won't elaborate but I like the traditional way better.

The weekend before starting at Rockpool, Neil Perry's flagship Sydney eatery, I went up to Terrigal, a popular getaway for trendy Sydney folk.

I have to admit I'd been abusing my taste buds with a major onslaught of Sambuca and jugs of cold beer at an extended house party on the beach and was trying to find some food to kick them back into a state of high alert.

I'd been dreaming of the fresh tasty fusion food the Australians can do so well but instead was greeted with a half assed attempt of a Frito misto and aioli.

When I mentioned this to the owner and offered to tell him how to put it right, he threw me out. So not everyone wants to learn from their customer feedback.

Monday morning, with freshly ironed whites, I headed off to the 'Pool thinking 'This really needs to be better than Bill's' or Oz cooking is surely doomed.

As soon as I walked though the door though, I was amazed. I was instantly given a smell and taste of flavours that I never new existed, freshness that matched the fish in Fiji and an organised kitchen that could stand the test anywhere in the UK and beyond.

These guys really know what they're doing. I learnt a lot there: not only how to cook his signature stir-fried blue swimmer crab omelette and an incredible Chinese roast pidgeon, I learned about their fantastic relationships with the best suppliers and how they really respect the ingredients they cook with.

I learned how badly we fish our oceans; how we could do it better and how we consume fish.

 It helped working under such a passionate head chef, Michael, who is one of Neil's prodigies. He was so passionate about his kitchen and the food he produced; it was easy to see how the Rockpool is such a success.

There is a heavy Asian influence and an emphasis on the freshest possible seafood and produce. With his signature ponytail and line of Neil Perry Fresh food products, Perry is a Sydney cultural fixture.

Although the menu has changed over the years, some dishes, such as the China Roast Pigeon, remain time-honoured favourites.

I left the Rockpool in high spirits, thoroughly inspired, with a book full of recipes and ideas and filled with excitement for the next leg of my tour.

I'm now in Singapore, where it is very hot and sticky but exciting. Every street is filled with a clashing, though wonderful, mix of strange food, smells and languages. It feels like a place you could lose yourself for a few days and no one would notice.

On my first day there we asked our bus driver to drop us some where nice but cheap for dinner. We ended up at Frog Porridge Café, which far from being just a quirky name, was a description of their signature dish. It was tasty but not quite sure what was in there apart from the rice and the frog?!

Due to the heat and the time changes, time I have found it hard to sleep at night and I have got in to the habit of late night walks. It started in Sydney where I use to walk around for a late night snack, and now in Singapore to find that 'little restaurant' and ask for the chef's special and a few beers to wash it down with.

The food always seem to taste better when you don't know what's coming and the beer compliments the food - all together a great combo.

One night, I felt as though I was lost in no man's land and up for eating anything in the back of a small kitchen with an 70+ year old chef cooking up his best dish.

He was enthusiastic about giving me a good quantity to gorge myself on and happy to share his "secrets" (more notes for my book).

He and his team (aka family) watched me eat every mouthful. Occasionally you get "let's play with the westerner" that's when they put scuds (small chilies that could wipe out a huge population) in your food and watch you squirm.

I know I am not quite in reality at the moment but I feel I am learning lots about myself and food every day.

I am due to fly to Bangkok tomorrow but not before trying the chili crab from the east coast, supposedly the best in Singapore and wash it down with a Singapore Sling from Raffles - well it's got to be done!