Theirjuiceis boiledslowlyat 80degrees,fermentedfor 500 days
in theonggioutback,thenagedforanother 18 monthstoreduce
andbecomeglossyandthick.Goodvinegartakesplentyoftime.
Gilmoretakesanotherspoonful,theliquidgoldenandhoney-like.
Helikesit. Wealldreamthatnightofglazedpork.
There’ssomuchforGilmoretotasteandseeonthistour.On
JindoIsland,wevisittheproducerofthelaverseaweedhe’sbeen
usingforyears.“Mostchefsthinklavergrowsin squaresheets,”
saysLee,“andthat’stheonlywayPetehasseenit. Butit growslike
this,in longcurlystrandsin thewater.”Hegesturestothe
seaweed,whichis smoothandglassyin texturewhenfresh,witha
slightchewiness.“Heusessomuchofit, andnowhe’llneverthink
aboutit thesameway.I wantedhimtoseeit in theelements.I
wantedhimtoseewhatthewaterwaslike,whogrewit, tofeelit.”
Extravirgin,singleorigin,organicsesameoilis a prized
ingredientontheTable 181 productlist,andwhenwearriveat the
source– a humblefarmdowntheroadintoGyeongsangbukwe’re
greetedby 10 hectaresofthestuff,growingtallthankstofarmers
KiHoNamandhiswife,OkRyeJung.Pesticideshaven’tbeen
sprayedonthislandin over 35 yearsandit showsin thelushrows
ofparilla,ancientgreenriceandmungbeans.Aswestrollthrough
thefarm’sprocessingshed,Gilmorepeersintotubsoftinyblack
soybeanssmallerthana fingernail,greenriceandtoastedsesame
foroil,allpickedandprocessedbyhand,transfixed.“Paul,why
haven’tI seenthis!”hesays,openinga door,revealingrowsof
puffedgrains.Leescribblesin hisbookofnotes,andGilmore
opensa bagofpuffedsorghum(broomcorn),itspainterlypattern
mimickingquaileggs,andturnsthemoverin hispalm.“Thisis
whywecamehere,thisis sogood,Paul.”Thechefis beaming,his
mindin overdrive.Potentiallythelittlepuffedgrainscouldbe
sautéedin kojibutterandaddedasa crunchycomponenttoa
dishatBennelong...Ortheycouldbemixedthroughriceor
noodles.“I’llhavetoexperimentwhenI gethome,”hesays.
Wegrillchickenandwrapit in perillaleaves,anddiscusswhya
triplikethishasbeenspecial,whatit meansfora cheftojourney
toorigin.“AsI getolder,themoreI wanttogettotheessenceof
whata productis,”saysGilmore.“Tounderstandthepassion
that’sgoneintoproducingsomethinginspiresme,andmakesme
wanttohonourthatproductevenmore.”Thechefturnsa chicken
thighoverthecoalsandcontinues:“Goodproduceis about
integrity.SomethingI noticedwiththeproducerswe’vemetis the
pridetheyhave.It’snotjusttheirproduct;it’stheirlife.I watched
thefarmerwhileI waseatinghisfood,andthesmileonhisface
waspriceless.”Leeconsidersthisandsays,“Thatfarmerhasspent
30 yearsgettinghissoilrighttogrowthosegrainsyouloveso
much.Wewantedyoutoseethat.”
Author’s note: As this story went to print, Paul Lee, founder of
Table 181, suffered a heart attack, and subsequently passed
away on April 26, 2020. As a respected and much-loved member
of the Australian hospitality industry, losing Paul is a devastating
blow. Our food landscape without Paul and his ingredients and
knowledge is one that is markedly less delicious. Our thoughts
are with his loving wife, Idylle, with whom he shared everything.
PETER GILMORE.
126 delicious.com.au