When I was in college a new restaurant opened up. It was called Olga's Kitchen and I loved its food and the picture of the Mediterranean-looking lady who spearheaded the place. Who knew that Greek food could be so yummy?! I mentioned this to a classmate who snarled back that it wasn't real Greek food and it would never fly anywhere in Greece. Olga did well because she adapted Greek cuisine to the American palate.
Just like every other national cuisine adapts to the palate of its new home.
And that goes for "American" food in Australia. And we are not talking about McDonald's here but the staples that appeared on plates in just about every dining room in America--and in every American movie or TV show with a dining table in it. You knew Mom loved you when she served up meatloaf and mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, turkey with gravy/stuffing/yams/cranberry sauce, Jell-o with fruit in it, etc. You get the picture. So when I go to events here in Perth that have an American theme, my hopes rise high for a nostalgic meal. I should know better.
Yesterday's tourism industry event had a western hoe-down theme. Too hot for cowboy wear, we were OK'd for cooler clothing--I did wear my cowboy earrings, bolo tie and best John Wayne accent to get in the spirit of things. There was a mechanical bull to ride (no, thanks) and a real horse too spooked by its surroundings to oblige the promised rides (drats). Then there was the food: Old El Paso salsa with domestic corn chips, mac and cheese (inedible in any country), cracker crust pizza with either pulled pork or tuna on it (Really? Can someone look up Chicago-style pizza recipes and attempt that, please?), some kind of meat pie (totally Australian), pulled beef on a bun (not tooooo bad) and some nasty mess I cannot name nor could swallow. And all of it was served in miniature (an act of mercy.) The desserts were from a Swedish bakery named Miss Maud's and were a welcome--if not overly American--sight. The mini cherry pies had no solid fruit and too much crust but very edible, the brownies were more fluffy cake than dense treat (a common mistake) and the mini jam filled doughnuts were yummy and disappeared quickly. I softened my critiques (when asked) by mentioning how foreign foods are adapted to the local palate as I put my unfinished whatever on a passing tray. The above menu has pretty much appeared at other American themed events--with slightly better success. The menu is right, its execution....Australian.
For a moment I thought I should change vocations and go into catering real American food. But, would anyone eat it...?
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Sunday, April 28, 2013
American Food : It's NOT what you think.
Today my church held an International Food Fete. Many different types of food were there: Chinese, Malaysian, Italian, Burmese, more Italian...and American. Yes, American. O.K., I'll wait for you to stop laughing and cracking wise. Finished? Good.
I get this reaction often. Those golden arch folks are so good at branding and marketing that the world over believes hamburgers and super-sized fries are the entirety of the American diet. So when the idea was broached to hold a food fete [ pronounced in 'Strine as 'food fight' ] at my church I quickly raised my hand to make my contribution. After the laughter over such an absurd notion subsided, I officially started my campaign to educate the public on the real classic American menu. I was going to offer up complete meals, iconic holiday meals, that they may have only heard about in movies but now would get to try them in real life.
The menu:
Thanksgiving Dinner - roasted turkey with gravy, bread stuffing, yams (sweetened with real maple syrup), green beans almondine (skip the canned mushroom soup casserole) and cranberry sauce.
St Patrick's Day - corned beef, cabbage, potato, onion and carrot. Green beer is on their own.
Comfort Food - meatloaf , mashed potatoes, green beans and apple crisp. The very stuff Mom makes to say she loves you.
Snack Time - homemade jam and bread slices. Well, this is a bit of bragging over my illustrious, award-winning jam career (ahem) and a way to clear out my pantry while offering an inexpensive snack option.
Despite only preparing 15 servings of each category, this proved to be a behemoth task beyond roasting a stuffed 10-pound bird. The menu planning and costings weren't difficult but Kev refused to even mash a few potatoes so I was a one person culinary machine. It took several days to get it all prepared, measured, properly and appealingly arranged in carryout containers and frozen. Hey, what could be more American than a frozen dinner? People could take it home or microwave it in the hall right away...it was the protocol for all vendors.
Every good teacher goes into class prepared. I had menu sheets describing the offerings and their significance. Large signs saying, "American Food. It's NOT what you think." An American flag to drape in front of the table as a come-on and a handmade sign of two yellow arches inside a red NO circle. For added effect, I wore my Betty Crocker apron. And, as a nod to our good neighbors to the north, I had some Canadian maple leaf cookies to give away. Open the doors and let the hordes in!
Sigh. Apparently my large signs weren't large enough. Too many people glanced at the flag, muttered 'ha ha, American food' and moved on to the curried rice dishes three tables over. Get serious, people. Curries and laksa can be found on every street corner in Perth, this is unique. Well, there was some interest in the Thanksgiving meal. People who had been to the U.S. or worked with Americans/Canadians had heard about this incredible meal and were eager to try it. I had a couple of amused Irishmen willing to try what counts as Irish food on the other side of the Atlantic and the old church dears selected the cheaper snack option (with the brandied marmalade, thank you.) I sold half of what I brought. Re-educating the masses simply was not going to be a one shot success story.
We all had the first timers learning curve and are reassessing our p's [publicity, pricing, placement, protocols] and our q's [give me a minute, I'll think of something here.] Some of us vendors started to swap leftovers. After donating the required 20% [people 'paid' us with coupons and vendors redeemed them at the end of the day from the church purse] I managed to just come out in the black. I'll call that a success.
I'll call it convenient that I won't have to cook supper for the next two weeks. It's all in the freezer.
I get this reaction often. Those golden arch folks are so good at branding and marketing that the world over believes hamburgers and super-sized fries are the entirety of the American diet. So when the idea was broached to hold a food fete [ pronounced in 'Strine as 'food fight' ] at my church I quickly raised my hand to make my contribution. After the laughter over such an absurd notion subsided, I officially started my campaign to educate the public on the real classic American menu. I was going to offer up complete meals, iconic holiday meals, that they may have only heard about in movies but now would get to try them in real life.
The menu:
Thanksgiving Dinner - roasted turkey with gravy, bread stuffing, yams (sweetened with real maple syrup), green beans almondine (skip the canned mushroom soup casserole) and cranberry sauce.
St Patrick's Day - corned beef, cabbage, potato, onion and carrot. Green beer is on their own.
Comfort Food - meatloaf , mashed potatoes, green beans and apple crisp. The very stuff Mom makes to say she loves you.
Snack Time - homemade jam and bread slices. Well, this is a bit of bragging over my illustrious, award-winning jam career (ahem) and a way to clear out my pantry while offering an inexpensive snack option.
Despite only preparing 15 servings of each category, this proved to be a behemoth task beyond roasting a stuffed 10-pound bird. The menu planning and costings weren't difficult but Kev refused to even mash a few potatoes so I was a one person culinary machine. It took several days to get it all prepared, measured, properly and appealingly arranged in carryout containers and frozen. Hey, what could be more American than a frozen dinner? People could take it home or microwave it in the hall right away...it was the protocol for all vendors.
Every good teacher goes into class prepared. I had menu sheets describing the offerings and their significance. Large signs saying, "American Food. It's NOT what you think." An American flag to drape in front of the table as a come-on and a handmade sign of two yellow arches inside a red NO circle. For added effect, I wore my Betty Crocker apron. And, as a nod to our good neighbors to the north, I had some Canadian maple leaf cookies to give away. Open the doors and let the hordes in!
Sigh. Apparently my large signs weren't large enough. Too many people glanced at the flag, muttered 'ha ha, American food' and moved on to the curried rice dishes three tables over. Get serious, people. Curries and laksa can be found on every street corner in Perth, this is unique. Well, there was some interest in the Thanksgiving meal. People who had been to the U.S. or worked with Americans/Canadians had heard about this incredible meal and were eager to try it. I had a couple of amused Irishmen willing to try what counts as Irish food on the other side of the Atlantic and the old church dears selected the cheaper snack option (with the brandied marmalade, thank you.) I sold half of what I brought. Re-educating the masses simply was not going to be a one shot success story.
We all had the first timers learning curve and are reassessing our p's [publicity, pricing, placement, protocols] and our q's [give me a minute, I'll think of something here.] Some of us vendors started to swap leftovers. After donating the required 20% [people 'paid' us with coupons and vendors redeemed them at the end of the day from the church purse] I managed to just come out in the black. I'll call that a success.
I'll call it convenient that I won't have to cook supper for the next two weeks. It's all in the freezer.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
15th Annual Croatian Food Festival
Dobre dan, my friends. Let me take you to the 15th Annual Croatian Food Festival held at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle. We went to it last year and eagerly awaited last night's opening. Hope you're hungry...
The fun starts as soon as you approach the Atrium. Oh look, costumed cgagnin smiling with welcoming trays of figs, bread and glasses of slivice (slivovic)- a seriously strong brandy. Our table is right next to the VIP table where the mayor, Croatian Consul-General and other dignitaries are seated on opening night. The decorations of posters, costumes, flags and banners add to the festive atmosphere.
Stop gawking already. It's time to eat. The spread is fantastic: three bars of salad, seafood and greens. An extended table of hot entrees and soup with a carving station off to the side. And a dessert table....but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a three hour supper, slow and steady does it. Start with the salad bar where each premade salad, like everything else, has an ethnic appropriate name in English above its name in Croatian.
Every recipe seems to start with "Croatian", "Dalmatian", "Slovanja" or the name of a city like Hvar. Hey, it makes the coleslaw extra special. After a few trips to the salad bar, hit the seafood bar. Some people don't get much farther than this. Last year, we watched the twig-thin, 20 year-old daughter of the Croatian Consul-General eat three plates of crab. Kev only had two. Those king prawns are a hit also. The salted fish takes some getting used to.
My family is going to ask, "But do they have pigs-in-a-blanket?" This is what our Grandma called cabbage rolls. Yes, but these are made with cinnamon or nutmeg. UGH! New offerings this year included: Dalmatian Tripe, Isterian Roast Duck...or was the Rabbit from Isteria?, Penne Veal, some dolled up Chicken, Sauerkraut & Bacon plus the usual Roast Beef. Zucchini thrown in for yuks. Yes, brothers mine, I did eat some of the tripe in memory of your sacrifice so many years ago. 
All this food doesn't just magically appear. Celebrity chef Dennis Valcich is brought in from Sydney every year to oversee this feast. There was a video crew out last night shooting footage for an in-house project or future advertisement. This shot was the only time Chef got his hands dirty publicly in the name of food. He was there to take the accolades and, with great concession, insist he can't compete with anyone's grandmother. Bless him.
I must mention that the first thing one walks up to on the dessert table is a bowl of fresh fruit-- largely ignored. Three tables of cakes, cookies and other confections just winked a whole lot harder. I chose only that which I cannot get easily at home...which means only the orange Jell-o was a miss.
Some singing, some dancing, some music, a few speeches (that Vice-Consul was so uncomfortable making a speech--mostly in Croatian-- and when you add his colorless waxy skin, thin lips, bad haircut and worse suit, he looked like a Russian spy in a 1940's movie) and a little more music. Add a little more food and you have a full evening.Literally.
We staggered out making the usual oaths ["I'm never eating again. Ever. "] and wondering if Gluttony has been reduced to a misdemeanor. More wheezing and grunts when we finally managed to get to the car. Dawg, it takes a lot of energy to turn the key in the ignition. The ride home is spent reliving the experience and seeing if we 'got our money's worth.' It's not a cheap night. But we wouldn't miss it.
Schivilli!
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