Burger it!

The classic pub fare of a patty, sandwiched between two buns, has never looked so good, with the burger undergoing a modern twist.

The humble burger is a staple of Aussie pub fare. It has a diverse appeal, with variations now ranging from the traditional hamburger style to bacon, fish, chicken and even tofu burgers.
Although it’s generally an inexpensive item on the menu, the staple can also do up-market, with top eateries like Rockpool Bar and Grill dishing up Wagyu burgers.
We asked chefs from two pubs – known for their tasty burgers – to provide their take on the quintessential pub food.

Wide appeal
Sean Donovan is a co-owner and Head Chef of The Station Hotel in Footscray, Melbourne. Having worked in some of the best kitchens around, including the Michelin-starred La Tante Claire in London and Georges Blanc in France, he knows a thing or two about how to sate people’s appetites.
Donovan says classic staples, like burgers, help venues cater to a broad demographic – his heartland, Footscray, particularly, attracts a diverse clientele, traditionally being an industrial area, with a migrant population, and now, having young professionals and families pouring in.
“Most of our customers represent the newer community of the inner West and seek a relaxed, more accessible, affordable place to dine, without compromising on the quality of produce or cooking technique,” Donovan says.
The hotel’s menu is modern European in style, with a heavy focus on steak, oysters and premium seafood. Then there’s the popular Station burger. “The burger is the most inexpensive main course on the menu, yet all the components are made in-house,” Donovan enthuses. “It is a classic combination of beef, bacon, fried egg, red pepper and mustard seed relish, and aioli, garnished with a little salad, hand-cut chips and fried, beer-battered onion rings.”
Donovan makes the brioche and sesame seed bun himself and seasons the beef mince with Dijon mustard, tomato sauce, cooked onions, garlic and a blend of herbs, including parsley, tarragon and rosemary. Yum!
The chef says mains dishes at pubs, like the Station burger, should be able to satisfy a patron’s appetite in one course. And, Donovan advises, “make sure the quality of produce and cooking technique is the best it can be”.
Going local
Adam Hodge is the Head Chef at The Bellum Hotel – a traditional country pub, surrounded by lush farmland in South Australia’s Limestone Coast region.
The clientele is largely farmers from surrounding towns, like Mount Gambier and Port MacDonnell. And, Hodge says: “They get a thrill when they see their produce on our menu and that’s one of the reasons (behind the hotel’s) success in the past year.”
Not that the farming clientele is afraid of straying from the traditional. “Although our lamb burger is seen as quite conventional, we still incorporate items not usually seen on a pub burger, such as goat cheese aioli, pancetta and caramelised onion. It is something a little different,” Hodge says. Indeed.
Award-winning taste
The modern tweaking of the pub staple has obviously worked well for the hotel, with it winning the AHA SA’s ‘best pub burger’ gong last year.
On the concept behind the burger, Hodge says: “I wanted to use something local and, with the (hotel) owner’s family having an adjacent sheep and cattle farm, lamb was the obvious choice.”
Hodge says the local lamb is just fantastic. “We have prime farming land all around our hotel and you can taste the difference. I went for (burger) flavours that naturally go together and, as I’m a fan of Mediterranean cooking, it was easy to find ingredients that blend together.”
In designing such fare, Hodge says: “I learned that there needs to be three or four main components, but they must come together as a whole.” Burger-licious, really.

BISTRO, May 2010

Popularity: 3% [?]