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Green machine
The humble Hass avocado has some competition. West Australian
growers Delroy Orchards are behind a new slow-grown avo, which is
said to possess a richer flavour, the result of maturing on trees for twice
the time of a typical Hass. They’re calling them Delcados (a riff on the
family name) and they are grown exclusively in the unique climate of
Pemberton, two hours south of Margaret River. The family-owned
orchard has also invested in an X-ray technology, which checks for
bruises and blemishes. They’ll be in season from October through
to February, available in supermarkets nationwide. delcado.com.auON THE PASS with KHANH NGUYEN, SUNDA
How are things going in Melbourne? We’ve found this new
normal and everyone’s accepted it – we can’t be negative.
I’m so proud of my team. Two of my chefs have launched their
own side projects. My sous chef Nabil Ansari is doing traditional
Indian takeaway, inspired by what his mum cooked him in
Mumbai. I personally think it’s the best Indian I’ve had in a long
time. Then John Rivera has launched an ice-cream business,
inspired by flavours from the Philippines, called Kariton Sorbetes.You’ve been experimenting with gluten-, egg- and nut-free
pastries and vegan pikelets. Is that the future of food? I think
it’s becoming increasingly important. I really do believe you can
get an amazing gluten-free product through experimenting, and
sometimes it’s better than the original.You’ve also whipped up a bánh mì pâté en croûte. How did
you come up with that idea? Doing Sunda Exp means I’ve had
the time to experiment and try dishes I wouldn’t have usually
been able to, discovering new techniques that will benefit
us when we reopen. I had the idea in my mind for a while. In
Vietnam there’s a dish called bánh pâté sô – it’s a puff pastry
with pâté in it. It was only natural for me to want to combine the
two. While it’s new and exciting, it really is just Vietnamese food
at its core. I’ve always been scared of making a pâté en croûte
because it looks so hard. Then bánh mì is one of those dishes,
even though it’s simple, you can really screw it up. It’s one of
the best sandwiches in the world. So I had to work out how to
combine the two while doing justice to both dishes. I think I did!Sunda Exp is available for pick up and delivery from The Hotel
Windsor, 111 Spring St, Melbourne; and via providoor.com.auGorman has re-purposed material offcuts to create a series of fun new fabric
face masks. Each mask is reusable and comes with single-use nano meltblown
fabric filter replacements and adjustable ear straps. $20, gormanshop.com.auGOURMET TRAVELLER 21