Creaming Soda Spaghetto

Amazing colour .. cool texture .. easy to make .. and most of all so fun to create.

Made with agar. Which is a gelatinous powder made from red algae. It can be used as a vegetarian substitute for gelatine, thickening soups, jellies, ice creams and clarification of liquids. Oh and of course making all sorts of liquids into spaghetto. Agar will melt at 80'C and sets at 40 - 32'C making it a perfect substitute for gelatine when using it in hot dishes.

Nutella Soil

When given to my girl friends flat mate she asked what it was ... as i put the spoon in her mouth i told her it was dirt ... her face was gold! As she realised it was in fact the most tasty dirt she had in-counted her face began to lighten ... made for the recipe in khymos.com hydrocolloid recipe collection and maltodextrin from red spoon company. The texture is soft and fluffy and melts in your mouth ... I loved making this recipe after a few fails trying to use maltodextrin it was nice getting a successful product ... will be making a dessert with this one for sure ...

Jesse

Japanese Steel

This is my knife. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My knife is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. My knife, without me, is useless. Without my knife, i am useless. I must hold my knife true. I must cut any food i come across. I must cut it while it is fresh. I will... My knife and myself know that what counts in this world is not the price of the food, the words of the critics, nor the trends that come and go . We know that it is the flavour that counts. we will taste... My knife is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its spine and its edge. I will keep my knife clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will.... Before God I swear this creed. My knife and myself are the creators of this kitchen. We are the masters of our food. We are the saviours of my life. So be it, until service has ended and there is no customer unsatisfied.

I love my new knifes purchased in japan and brought back with me. Made with outer layers of iron protecting a inner core of shiro-steel. Cost me a arm and a leg but it was completely worth it ... for more info on them you can go to korin.com.

Mochi making in Matsuyama

Recently I got to go to Japan for a culinary exchange with the local TAFE in Townsville and the Matsuyama culinary arts collage. While i was attending classes my Australian peers and me were invited to a ceremony called mochitsuki. At this traditional ceremony we made Mochi. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and moulded into shape. We also learned while also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year, boiled in a broth making a thick and gloopie soup and is commonly sold and eaten during that time.

(OOPS) While pounding the rice i broke the kine (traditional wooden hammer). I was very embarrassed but Japanese are very polite and didnt make me feel bad.

Well when i got back to Australia i tried making my own mochi and was successful. Although my pounding equipment was quite smaller i got alot of mochi balls out of it. 

ps. I ive made mochi again since then and its a lot easier to put the rice in to a mixer with a dough hook attached and let it do all the work. The end product is a lot softer and its much quicker.

Welcome to my world

I started cooking when I was 9 years old. I didn't know it then but I had fallen in love with the thrill of creating and consuming. I remember always wanting to try new things and constantly thinking 'how do they make that?'.

Well, 4 years later and i was working in my first kitchen, in a restaurant called ShelCaf owned by my cousin. It was a small venue probably only seating 40 or so people and a kitchen the size of a bathroom. It was here that i first tasted the adrenaline of service and the great enjoyment of feeding people. And that enjoyment and a ever growing passion for food running strong through me keeps me thinking about food