T
he question rings out into
cyberspace: “What are your
favourite focaccia fillings –
either those you buy or make
yourself?” I’m deep in archived Vogue
Australia forums. I expect no responses,
or maybe some light ridicule.
But the answers fly back: pesto and
lemon; chicken, avocado and Swiss
cheese; char-grilled eggplant, sundried
tomatoes, feta. Four pages, all positive.
Then, on 20 April 2005, it goes silent.
And I think to myself, I’ve pinpointed
when focaccia died in Australia.
Died? Maybe not. You can still have it
the way you used to: at Tropicana Caffe in
Sydney’s Darlinghurst focaccia service runs
till four; Brunetti in Melbourne still kicks
it how it always has. Take a turn through
little Italy and focaccia won’t be very far.
We know focaccia. We’re familiar with
its Roman roots, its pitted surface, the
liberal use of olive oil. We know it because
it was everywhere, packed with char-grilled
vegetables and grilled in sandwich presses.
For a time it represented the height of
cosmopolitan café culture here, but for
something that was at every corner café,
somehow it went wrong. Was it Atkins?
Sourdough? And why, over a decade after
the trail went dead, is it back on menus?Is the decade-defining
bread of the ’90s
back on the rise?
DAVID MATTHEWS
checks the country’s
bread baskets.
Foc accia
Focaccia is dead. Long live focaccia.
92 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY WILL HORNER