The green craze has made its way into Australian restaurants and cafes, as the country struggles with a drought that is expected to keep rising, and has become a popular tourist attraction.
The food and drink industry has long been criticised for being over-regulation and heavy-handed, and many critics are also worried about the impact the new climate change measures could have on the health of Australians.
However, one key ingredient that’s been missing from many restaurant menus is a simple, simple, clean menu.
The new menu concept from chef Paul Puddifoot is an attempt to address this and bring more fresh, local ingredients to Australian plates.
In a new book, Mr Puddiferoot has written about how his Green Restaurant, which he founded in Melbourne, has changed the way people enjoy food and drinks in Australia.
He has created a menu that he believes is more inclusive and accessible to a wider audience, and in doing so he has also helped his local food and beverage industry.
“The menus are the first step to make sure that people can enjoy the food and beverages that they want to eat, regardless of where they live in the country,” Mr Pudiferoot told the ABC.
The restaurant is currently open for business, and will open its doors to the public on Monday, October 14.
“The menu is the first of its kind in Australia,” he said.
“It’s the first restaurant in the world that has been completely green and has been fully open for the public to enjoy.”
Mr Puddiferes book The Green Restaurant is about how chefs in Australia have taken the food, drinks and cooking out of the kitchen and into the public realm.
It is the result of a collaboration between him and his Australian partner, chef Simon Puddi, and is being published by the author in a new, limited edition edition of 300.
“I think a lot of chefs have been really slow to realise that this was an opportunity to really start creating a restaurant, a food court, that people could go to and be part of,” Mr Dutton said.
Mr Pudifoot’s menu is based on a recipe he developed, called The Vegetable Stew, which is used by many Australians, including himself.
It’s made from a simple stew of vegetables, beans and rice, and includes a choice of chicken, lamb, pork or lamb veggie, along with the usual salad.
“People who have been in kitchens for a long time, have a lot to say about what they like,” Mr Hensch said.”[I] have to be open to what other people want to cook and to make it a bit more accessible to more people.”
The menu features dishes from across the world, from Chinese to Thai, to the popular Malaysian dish, the Malaysian Vegetable Curry.
The Vegetable Stove is a staple in many Malaysian restaurants and is made from the meat of the pig, chicken or duck that the restaurant uses for its stews.
“We used to be all about meat,” Mr Jang said.
The idea for the vegetarian stove came about while he was in Malaysia, Mr Jamphe said.
He said it was a very important ingredient for his restaurant to be vegan, as he had to use all of his own meats and seafood in his dishes.
“If I wasn’t using meat, then I would be making rice or noodles or fish or fish dishes, so it’s very important to make a dish that is not animal-derived,” he explained.
“That was one of the reasons we chose the vegetable stove, it was just an easy way to get a vegetarian cooking environment in a Malaysian restaurant.”
He said the dishes that are featured in the book were inspired by traditional Malaysian dishes, and have also been influenced by Australian dishes.
Mr Jamphere said he was very inspired by the recipes that were used to cook the meat and vegetables in his family.
“When I started cooking in Malaysia in the 1970s, my family had an extensive cooking experience,” he told the Breakfast program.
“My grandfather had a lot more experience than I did, and I just loved to cook with his cooking.”
In Malaysia, if you have a dish, it has to be from that family, it can’t be a foreign dish.
It’s got to be a traditional dish.
“Mr Jang has since expanded his family’s cooking experience to include the cooking of seafood.
He says he was inspired by a dish he used to make in Malaysia called the “Prawn Rolls”.”
When you cook it, you have to give it to people, because they don’t have time to cook it,” he revealed.”
You have to make them wait until they are ready to eat it and then give them the dish, so they can have it.
“So I started making the Prawn Rolls as a way of giving people a way to enjoy the dishes without having to wait.”
The Prawn Roll is one of Mr Jangs favourites