The Third Wave

Where are we heading today with coffee service?
I believe we are entering a very exciting phase in the coffee world where the quest for quality is the new era in coffee procurement and presentation.I am very lucky to travel the globe experiencing all types of coffee making concepts both traditional and non traditional. What stands out in most parts of the world is the drive for perfection in espresso coffee service by a few high end businesses. This I believe is driven by passion for the perfect cup and it is not totally driven by money although it is definitely this unique group of people, the third wavers, that are reaping the rewards.Straight away you know you have discovered one of these third wave businesses when you enter a cafe and see a large line up of customers from all walks of life waiting patiently for their dedicated craftsperson to extract the perfectly controlled coffee from a state of the art espresso system. The third wavers are not happy with the traditional design of espresso machines.  They are striving for perfection with consistent temperature control at each group head specifically dialed in for that origin and roast profiled bean. They all use conical grinders to protect the subtle oils that exist in well roasted beans, not heating too much in the grinding process. This group of perfectionist all have a very close relationship with their roasters and want to know the full life cycle of the bean from the farm gate to the temperature profiling of the roasting, to the cupping notes of that bean.

Salvatore Malatesta of St Ali

Eight years ago whilst running my second Café Biz in Melbourne at William Angliss TAFE I had the pleasure of meeting a dynamic guy named Salvatore Malatesta. Salvatore at the time was spreading his gospel on how to succeed in the complicated world of hospitality in a mentor program he ran at William Angliss. Sal, as most know him is one of the most dynamic people in the Melbourne hospitality scene and this man is traveling on full speed all the time. He is very hard to pin down in one spot for two long as he normally has a list of projects on the run that would be enough stress for ten people in their lifetimes.Salvatore a former lawyer comes from an Italian migrant background steeped in the tradition of food, wine and coffee.  They were an integral part of any family get together.  His first part time job was as a pizza chef with the family pizzeria.  
Whilst Sal was a third year law student at the University of Melbourne he opened his first coffee outlet called “Caffeine” which changed the culinary landscape of campus life forever.  Caffeine was a success because Salvatore was his own target audience. The design and offerings at Caffeine were created to fulfill his own, and all the other students, desires.  That has been the success to all of Salvatore’s venues.  Each project is borne from the perspective of the end user, and he is generally the end user.

New Zealand in A Shot

If I could recommend a snow road trip anywhere, it is from Christchurch to Queenstown on NZ’s South Island. With budget airlines now offering regular flights, it now takes less time and money to get from Port Macquarie to Mt Hutt than to the ski fields in OZ.We arrived in Christchurch looking forward to what the snow season had in store for us. I felt like a stalker, looking at the ski reports every time I cranked up the computer before getting started in the daily grind of work commitments. I had been to CHCH numerous times before and had a pretty good idea where you could jag a good meal, sneaky beers and snappy little coffees. The old travellers rule of always going to the places that are full with people, still stands.
We stumbled across C1Espresso Bar in High Street, it has an ever changing fit out and passionate staff who are encouraged to be in the business (not just work in it.) At 3.30pm on a Friday afternoon the customers flowed through the door, opting for a cracking espresso from the various blends available, rather than an end of week slurp!

The Art of the Sandwich

A man opens his lunchbox at work every day and complains loudly “Cheese sandwiches, again!, I hate cheese sandwiches!” One day his co workers, exasperated by his constant moaning, ask him why he doesn’t get his wife to make him something different. “ Waddaya mean my wife?” he says, “I make my own lunch”
Yes, it’s easy to fall into a sandwich making (and eating) rut, we can all use a little inspiration from time to time.  Here are my top tips for creating a delicious offering:
The Bread: Okay, when I say sandwich, I really mean any kind of bread with a filling. The bread is the palette on which you can start creating your own sandwich magic. There are a multitude of styles to choose from but the key is freshness. Funk it up a little with a piadina (pan toasted wrap) or a chewy sourdough, or use a pitta bread or a crunchy French baguette. The ingredients will determine the type, firmness and thickness of bread you need.
If you can bake your own bread you will be on a winner. It’s hard to beat the aroma and just out of the oven crunchiness of freshly baked bread. Otherwise, there are more and more local artisan bakeries specializing in breads with great texture and character.

Max Brenner - Chocolate by the Bald Man