Only a few years ago the trendiest food to be found on a plate at the smartest eatery in town was something rare and expensive turned into foam. Now it seems the restaurant industry has done a U-turn, and dishes featuring natural flavours and textures are de rigeur.
Justin North’s Sydney restaurant Becasse has been consistently producing top quality food, according to both critics and punters, since it opened in 2001, and just this month he has released a book named after the popular establishment. The book demonstrates North’s passion for fine food along with his classic training, while also highlighting the importance of using quality ingredients in producing high-end cuisine. North visits producers in far flung locations around the country – including a salt processing plant near Mildura, a yabby farm near Perth, a truffle plantation in Tasmania and tuna fisheries off South Australia – and in doing so emphasises the importance of the relationship between growers, producers and chefs, and the trail from earth or sea to plate.
From North's point of view, it is worth it. North is at the vanguard of Australian cuisine, but his philosophy is grounded in age old traditions. 'It’s important to observe and respect the old, classical techniques that have been around for centuries,' says North, 'and then use them in a way that suits modern day food.'
This means keeping things light and fresh while emphasising the natural strengths of the ingredients used; not smothering them with additional flavours, but carefully using things like sauces, stocks, reductions and marinades to highlight the food’s natural taste.
'Some things you don’t need to do much to because they’ve got a beautiful natural taste,' he says, 'but there are other things that you need to work to bring out the intense, or true flavour. That can be through using different temperatures, marinating things or braising them, depending on what ingredients you’re using. And it comes down to not being lazy in the kitchen, and having a love and a passion for doing these things correctly.'
North is a Slow Food advocate. Slow Food began as an official 'movement' in Italy back in 1986, and has since spread its philosophical net wide, promoting several key ideas: the importance of maintaining old traditions in farming, agriculture and food preparation; preserving a strong relationship between producer and consumer; and the idea of sharing good food and good cheer. Originally founded as a response to increasingly industrialised methods of farming and food