Food Innovation – New Farm Food Stories

Glass Half Full Award

August 20, 2012 by New Farm Food Stories, posted in Food Innovation

Those avid followers of New Farm Food Stories will know we are running a campaign to cement the service of half glasses of wine in all our favourite restaurants. It is civilised, allows you to stay under the limit and gives greater choice in matching wines with courses. However, this simple adjustment to pouring has not caught on with the majority of restaurants. Recent refusniks include ecco, The Survey Co and Bucci. All fine restaurants which could be just that little bit finer if they offered half glasses of wine.

However, there is a new star in our half glass firmament. This week’s glass half full award goes to Gerard’s Bistro. The bistro is all class with knowledgeable wait staff and great service. Our waiter not only provided half glasses when requested but also asked who was driving so she wouldn’t do a top up.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Gerard’s Bistro

The Glass Half full campaign continues, so send in any restaurant you think is deserving of the Glass Half Full Award.

Glass Not Half Full

July 23, 2012July 25, 2012 by New Farm Food Stories, posted in Food Innovation

When I go out for dinner I like a glass of wine. Or a glass and a half to be precise. Yet in Brisbane it is very hard to find restaurants happy to serve a half glass of wine. For me, the advantages are clear why the half glass should feature on all good wine lists.

For the restaurateur it adds to the average wine spend, and for for diners, a glass and a half is a comfortable amount to drink and remain under the limit. It also allows you to try different wines and to match your wine to your course. I like to have a full glass of wine when I arrive and then order a half glass to match my main course.

New Farm Food operatives eat out often and always ask the question ‘can I have a half glass of wine?’. The recent strike rate is not good. So in the spirit of accentuating the positive, New Farm Food Stories initial Glass Half Full Award goes to – The Continental Cafe.

They’re French, they have a loyal clientele and they serve a half glass.

The campaign to embed the half glass starts today. Next time you are dining out, ask the question and begin to implant the idea in the minds of more restaurants. To kick along the campaign from next week we will start to name some of the refusniks. And please, send through your nominations for the Glass Half Full Award.

Food Innovation – the Demi Degustation

July 13, 2012July 14, 2012 by New Farm Food Stories, posted in Food Innovation

My friend Bronwyn is a woman of a thousand ideas. Here is one of them.

The Demi Degustation

Degustation menus are increasingly popular with more and more restaurants. They allow the restaurant to showcase their best dishes, and for the diner, it is an opportunity to increase their food and wine knowledge through the matching recommended by the restaurant. The downside is that degustation menus are often quite expensive and the amount of food can be overwhelming.

Enter the demi degustation (or DD). The principles of the demi degustation menu are the same but on a smaller scale. The menu would be the equivalent of a two and a half course meal spread over four smaller courses and matched with four half glasses of wine. The DD has many advantages:

tourists would find it easy to order and to be educated about Australian food and wine
it allows younger diners to become knowledgeable about food and wine without the social awkwardness of not knowing how to order
diners will know at the start of the evening how much their dinner will cost and it allows diners of all budgets to experience degustation, not just the high end of the market
wine knowledge and consumption is increased as diners get the chance to expand their experience by trying new matches such as dessert wine.

The DD is perfectly suited for food tourism areas such as the Barossa Valley. It would allow visitors to experience the best of the district. In the long term, participating restaurants could have a DD symbol on their door to alert patrons to the availability of the Demi Degustation.

If you would like to support the Demi Degustation, please talk to local restaurateurs about the idea and let us get some momentum behind this innovative idea..