Australian Gourmet Traveller – (02)February 2019 (1)

Going coastal

Cheryl Henderson spent every

summer on the Gold Coast

when she was a child, and

she’s now turned dreaming

about the beach into her job.

With Seascape Prints, she

creates vintage-style prints

depicting Australia’s shorelines

“I got married in Newport,

NSW, so the Newport print

is a favourite of mine.”

seascapeprints.com.au

Toby Angstmann, an IVF specialist

and robotics surgeon, isn’t your

typical distiller. His scientific mind

was right at home, though, when

creating the cryofiltration process

behind the award-winning

Underground Spirits he makes in

Canberra. The label’s design is

a nod to the city’s orderly nature,

and it’s an ethos consistent with his

methods, although caramel vodka,

and a shiraz and pepperberry gin

pointtoafunside.Underground

Spirits Canberra Gin, $80 for 700ml.

undergroundspirits.com.au

Jenny Dorsey’s previous experience in

tech involved going door-to-door in Silicon

Valley to spruik cold-pressed juice.Now,

the New York chef heads Studio ATAO,

a production studio that taps into virtual

and augmented reality to create unique

eating and drinking experiences.

The studio’s projects demand interaction

and encourage conversation.Ultimate First

Dateuses augmented reality to prompt

discussion on topics of escalating difficulty

with your date.Hidden, a collaboration

with choreographer Kate March, brings the

worlds of dance and food together through

virtual reality. AndAsian in America, which

is part-memoir, part-meal, uses virtual reality

and Google’s 3D Tilt Brush to build

meaning into dishes. “Guests watch

a brushstroke by brushstroke re-creation of

the dish they are about to eat with audio

explaining the symbolism of each ingredient

and cooking technique,” Dorsey says.

Put on the headset and you’ll learn

that “You Make Asian Food, Right?”, a dish

featuring rye noodles inspired by the Jewish

deli where Dorsey eats matzo ball soup, is

designed to question the limitations that

culinary schools, the media and society

can place on Asian-American cooks.

“Fancy Because It’s French”,

meanwhile, is a dish of red-bean mousse,

salted duck egg custard, oolong biscuit

and fresh soy milk that questions the

elevation of French cuisine over others

by reimagining a classic Chinese mooncake

made with French techniques.

Asian in Americahas toured North

America and Dorsey is interested in taking

it Down Under. “If there are museums

or art galleries in Australia that would be

interested, I would love to bring it there.”

jennydorsey.co

Reality bites

A chef mixes food and virtual

reality to create unforgettable

dining events.

Fancy Because It’s

French (inset) is from

Jenny Dorsey’sAsian

In Americamenu.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

News

GOURMET TRAVELLER 21

PHOTOGRAPHY LUISA BRIMBLE & ROB SHAW (UNDERGROUND SPIRITS).