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| Martin Ferguson, Minister of Resources, Energy adn Tourism |
The minister was inaugurating the 3-week long Australian Seafood and Wine Festival in India, which kicked off at the Hotel Oberoi in Delhi last Wednesday with an impressive array of sea foods from Australia and not-yet-exported wines to match.
Geoff Buckley, Managing Director of Tourism Australia, the Oz equivalent of our Indian Tourism Development Corporation, having the Indian base in Mumbai was also present. The minister also expressed the importance of promoting tourism through gastronomy which had become an Australian strength.
The Festival is slated to run in Delhi from 5th to 15th November at Three Sixty Restaurant before moving on to the Oberoi properties in Bangalore and Mumbai.
The Festival has been organised by Austrade, with the Trade Commissioner, Michael Carter. Welcoming 'passionately' a select gathering at the Ballroom, Michael said that the objective of this campaign was to create awareness of the quality, taste & range of uniquely Australian seafood matched to Australian wines to create a premium taste experience.
This event is part of a series of trade & consumer initiatives chalked out as brand strategy to enter the Indian food space, especially seafood products Australia prides of, under the banner of 'Utsav Australia'.
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| Peter-Linford, Senior Trade Commisioner at the Chancery |
The engine driving the food and wine promotion in India has been Peter Linford, the Senior Trade Commissioner who has been in India barely for a few months and has already dreamt up many innovative projects which shall soon unfold.
'We have so much to offer India in food, including sea food and dairy products. Wine is of course, a central part of the strategy and I believe the whole wine market should be expanded by all the wine producing nations. Once the market expands, only then we should be talking about increasing the share of each country.' Although a fan of Australian wines, 'I am happy if Indians drink wine from any country-preferably Australian, of course,' he says.
In an earlier interview with delWine, he had commended the neutral and universal wine approach adopted by the Indian Wine Academy to promote wine culture. Australia has also been actively watching the EU and US cases in the WTO. He is also working for an FTA with India- perhaps a distant dream at this stage but a target nonetheless.
Peter is actively working to soon open a restaurant in the chancery where Australian foods and wines can be showcased to the Indian opinion makers on a frequent basis, once the procedural difficulties are sorted out with the government.
'I am lucky to have a colleague like Michael Carter who is extremely capable of execution such plans meticulously as he is an old hat at F*B management,' he commented.
Food & Wine
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| Chef Sunny De Campo- Star of the Evening |
Chef Sunny De Campo, the young Philippino consultant chef settled in Western Australia, who is in India as part of the campaign and will also train the local staff , was truly a star of the evening. His preparations using fresh ingredients from Australia were testimonials of the food quality as well as his cooking capabilities. Each dish, though perhaps not the best match for the wines of the evening was superb in taste, texture, flavours and presentation.
Napoleon de Indiana, a combo of West Australian Crab, Tasmanian Salmon and Lobster medallion was an excellent appetiser and paired well with the quaffable Henley Hill 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from Margaret River.
Kataifi scallop with lemon aspen cream, Seared scallop with spiced bush tomato salsa
and Fresh shucked South Australia oyster with salmon pearls were truly the trio of pearls of Australian Bay that were delectable even without wine but the synergy with the Yarraman Estate 2004 Classic Hunter Range Chardonnay from Hunter Valley gave it an extra boost. The Chardonnay was medium to full bodied; oaked but just- and the perfect balance, made the crisp wine a natural match. Proper food pairing definitely enhanced the palate experience.
Food and Wine Mismatch
Those who thought that the first two dishes at the sit-down dinner were the best of the evening were in for a pleasant surprise. The main course was a Blackened sweet tamarind Barramundi fillet, an Australian specialty fish. Served with spiced tiger prawn, roasted kumera sweet potato, macadamia nut and spinach puree and rosella coulis, the dish with sweet and sour flavour was universally acclaimed as the prize dish of the evening.
Unfortunately, it also stole the limelight from the Henley Hill 2006 Shiraz- Viognier from Yarra Valley. The lighter- textured Rhone blend might have benefitted from the 4% spicy Viognier white grape, but the mismatch was noticeable. Perhaps it made a better fit with the alternative dish- Viognier honey orange quandong Chicken with braised endive, sautéed baby vegetables- yet another example for the non-conformists that a mismatched wine can clash with the most delicious of dishes.
Ironically the Barramundi pared extremely well with the Yarraman Estate Chardonnay, re-enforcing the premise of wine adding synergy to food.
Nick Peterson of Henley Hills Vineyards who would love to see Indians drink his wines seemed to appreciate the problem. 'We were told that the cuisine had to be seafood; perhaps another meat dish would have been more suitable', he lamented.
If Hungerford Hill 2008 Fishcage Sweetlip is an Australian 'sticky' it was time for yet another disappointment. Macadamia tartlet was too sweet and powerful a dessert for the Verdelho white with a touch of Viognier. The wine was off-dry, but it would have been a better fit for say, a sweet and sour or slightly spicy fish made in thick gravy. The fresh, crisp and lively wine needed a different spot in the food line-up.
What the dish needed was a late harvest or Botrytis Semillon which would have done wonders for the concluding part of an excellent dinner where wine played second fiddle to food.
Visionary Oberoi
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| Sunny and the Chefs |
It is heartening but not surprising to see the Oberoi take a pro-active interest in the promotion. 'It is natural for us,' says Reuben Kataria, F&B Service Manager, 'we are all about good food and wine in our restaurants and are always looking for innovations. We liked the idea of seafood from Australia. We are even bearing the wine label registration charges for all the three cities and are importing all the non-vegetarian foods and bush spices (typical Australian spices) fresh from Southern Trading Australia Pty Ltd for the promotion.' The prices on the Menu have been apparently kept in line with the existing range to encourage clients try these foods.
Importers Prepare
Austrade hopes that the programme is successful enough for some food importers to supply these products in India. One such potential importer is Epicure who has been importing cheese, chocolates and other food products primarily from Europe but has now stared with the Australian imports as well. Says partner Odile Patour, a French national, 'we have found Australian food producers to be much easier to deal with. They have excellent products that sell well here. We have now taken a decision to focus on that nation for our food imports in a big way.'
The 'Taste of Freshness' as Chef Sunny likes to refer, may well become a taste of the upper middle class Indian seafood lovers, if the cold storage chain is well in place.
Subhash Arora
November 8, 2008 |