Spain’stapasbarshavebeeninfluencingAustralian
menusfora whilenow,takingthesnackbatonfromthe
previous,formalFrench-styleofamuse-bouche,hors
d’œuvresandcanapés.ButmodernAustraliansnacks
taketheircuesfromallover,fromthestreetfoodofplaces
likeIndia,MexicoandVietnamtothetraditionsofmeze
andaperitivo.Theoneortwo-bitemorselsaredesigned
forpalateimpact,playfulnessandasa wayofscenesetting
fortherestofthemeal.
AlannaSapwell’sEsmaypop-ups,mostrecentlyin
NoosaandBrisbane,havebecomerenownedforthe
intricateandfinelycalibratedsnacksshecreates.Finessed
mini-masterpieceslikea smokedeelpainperdutopped
withpickledshallots,barbecuedceleriacandfermented
celeryleavesmightbegoneina bite-and-a-halfbutit’s
a memorableandtone-settingmouthful.
“It’sa funandinteractivewaytokickoffa dining
experienceandbeingabletouseyourhandsaddstoyour
sensesandalsoencouragespeopletolettheirguarddown
andrelax,”saysSapwell.“Youcanbebolderinflavours
withsmallerportionsandsoit’sa waypeoplecan
experiencea lotmorewithoutjustfilling up.”
Turnerlikesthelight-hearted
natureofsnacks.
“I lovetheideaofbringingall
thesesnacksforpeopletostart
withbecausesometimeseatingin
a restaurantcanbea littleawkward,
especiallyif you’renota restaurant
goer.Butassoonasthetable’sfull
ofsnacks,there’sjoyat alltheselittle
things.It’slikeanicebreaker.”
ThiLe’ssuperbVietnamesebloodpuddingcradledin
a lettuceleafhasbeena one-bitestapleofherMelbourne
restaurantAnchovysinceit opened.Lesaysthatbecause
the“Vietnameseethosis thatyousnackallday”shewas
alwaysgoingtohavesomesnacksonhermenubut
she’sbumpedupthenumberovertheyears.
“Itmakesbusinesssensebecausethesnackspush
thespendup,”shesays.“ButI alsoseeit asa greatway
toshowcasetherestaurantinoneortwobitesandit gets
peopleintrigued.Peoplelikevarietyandwhenwehave
a loadofsnackstheytendtoeatmoreadventurouslytoo,
ratherthanstickingtotheentrée-main-dessertformat,
becausetheycantrydifferentthingswithouthavingto
committoa largeportionoffood.”
MattMoranhasbeenthinkinga lotaboutsnacks
recently,aheadofthenewbarhe’sopeningnexttohis
SydneyrestaurantAriainthefirsthalfoftheyearthat
willconcentratealmostexclusivelyonsmallone-ortwo-bite
snacks.He’shada coupleof“activations”inthespace,
collaborating with the crew from Maybe Sammy cocktail
bar,andservingupsnackslikeprawnsandabalonetoast
andfriedduckdumplings.
“Agoodsnackis somethingyouputinyourmouthand
immediatelygo,‘I wantmore’.Butthere’snothingleft,and
that’sthepoint,”hesays.“It’sa waytogetpeopleexcited.
It canbedelicateorhardybutyoumustbeabletoeatit with
yourhandsandsoit shouldonlybeoneorone-and-a-half
bitesat themost.Youwanttobeelegantaboutit – nobody
shouldbefeelingtheyhavetocramthewholethinginone
bite,especiallyif theyhavea smallmouth.”
AtHobart’sFico,FedericaAndrisaniandOskarRossi’s
snackgameis basedaroundtheirItalianheritage.
“Whenwethinkofsnacks,wealwaysthinkofsomething
thatgoes withbubblesoranaperitivo,usinglocalproducts
inanItalianway”saysAndrisani.“It’sthebeginningofthe
mealsothereneedstobebalance,betweensaltyandcrunchy
withsomeaciditytogetthesalivaglandsgoing.It should
leaveyouwantingmore.”
“Itshouldalsofeelplayful,”addsRossi.“Whenyou
seeallthosesnackslandonthetableat placeslikeIgni
orat LuMi,youfeellikeyou’rea kidina candystorewith
all those flavours toplaywith.”
Sohowwillsnacksfaregivenallthe
associateddistancingandnon-sharing
rulesimposedbythepandemic?
“Itwasa consciousdecisionwhen
constructingEsmayinCovidtimesto
makeit snack-focusedtobeginwith,”
explainsSapwell.“Thisgavea way
tokeepthefeelingof‘sharing’by
breakingthebarriersandinteracting
yetkeepingit individual;providing
anelevatedyetapproachableeatingexperience.I alsowanted
it tobeanaccessiblepricepointasI’msureeveryonehas
beenhitinsomewaythisyear.Thiswasourwayofgiving
anabundanceoffoodwithoutit blowingoutofcontrol.”
Snacksarealsolabour-intensive,particularlywhen
servingbetweeneightand 18 ofthemtoeverytable,like
at Igni,andthisleadstoitsownconundruminthetime
ofCovid.
“Weusedtohaveonepersonwhojustworkedonthe
snacks,”saysTurner.“Butwecan’taffordthatnowwith
limitsonthenumberofpeopleallowedintherestaurant.
So,untilwecanservemorepeople,we’vealteredthesnack
portion,servinglessbutmorefillingmorsels,likea pippi
doughnutwithsourcream.”
Snacksseemideallysuitedtothisstrangeandparticular
momentinmodernAustraliandining.It’snotjusttheir
individual,single-servenaturebutalsothewelcomesense
offun,playfulnessandversatilitytheybring.It maybethat
snacksaremakinga play for a more permanent place on
modern menus.●“Agoodsnackissomething
youputinyourmouth and
immediatelygo,‘I want
more’.Butthere’snothing
left, and that’s the point.”