BISTRO

BISTRO is a magazine for chefs, restaurant owners and managers running a ‘bistro’ style food service business

Seriously South Australian

Bistro | Jul 31, 2010 | Comments 0

From our BISTRO interview with Dennis Leslie, the Executive Chef of the Adelaide Hilton Hotel, it’s easy to see that his heart is in the right place and there are always new challenges on the road to mastering one’s craft.

To the naked ear, the word ‘McDonald’s’ sounds incongruent with the word ‘cheffing’, but to anyone hiring in hospitality, ‘the golden arches’ sings a different tune: one of cleanliness, sections, teamwork and odd hours. Recruitment is often quick to nab young candidates possessing such disciplines, as appears to have been the case with Dennis Leslie. “I was studying at University and working at McDonald’s as a breakfast cook,” he explains, “I got sick of studying and tried for a hospitality traineeship at the Hilton Adelaide, got the job, and dropped out of Uni. I was in the last months of my traineeship as a steward (washing dishes), when the Executive Chef approached me and asked if I was interested in cooking after doing a ‘plate-up’ in a catering exercise. She organized for me to go to TAFE. I finished my studies and became a breakfast chef shortly after. Bethany Finn, the former Executive Chef of Hilton, was the person who started my career, and Simon Bryant (the Executive Chef after Beth) was the person who fostered my interest in cooking. Simon taught me pretty much everything I know about how to be an Executive Chef.”
Like many of Australia’s most talented chefs, Leslie found a trip to Europe to be the perfect challenge to putting his skills and discipline to the test, although it originally stemmed from a conflict of faith. “At the beginning, I was trying to wean myself out of cooking,” he explains, “I left Australia tired and quite disengaged with cooking. I was young and blasé, but thought I would give cooking one last crack before deciding my future. I thought the European cooking culture would definitely destroy every ounce of passion I had, but instead I got more hooked.”
“The passion for cooking over there is extreme. The lengths they go to for perfection is phenomenal. For the die-hard cooker it at first becomes daunting, then scary, but then comfortable, and finally addictive. By the end of my European cooking stint, I was exhausted but hungry to show off my skills. I found what I was looking for: it re-energized my passion for cooking.”
In Europe, Leslie worked at Seasons Restaurant in Dublin with Christophe Gravois; Le Petit Blanc in England and in Edinburgh with French-born British Chef Raymond Blanc; and Rick’s Restaurant in Edinburgh. “The restaurant that defined me as a chef and a manager,” he says, “would have to be Seasons at Four Seasons, Dublin. It was a culture shock for me and the rules were so definite it was intimidating. Their skill level and culture is magnificent. If we had their enthusiasm for perfection we would definitely be hard to beat in the food world. Although the ingredients we have, and the accessibility to those ingredients, are more accommodating here than over there. I think education about foods and how we can use them at their optimum (getting the most nutritional value out of them) is the next step. And developing a culture where food is not only known for is barest necessity— sustenance— but also as a means of enhancing relationships and creating memories. Italians do it so well!”
So what is Leslie’s definition of a great dish? “It doesn’t have to use the most outrageously expensive ingredients, or use the most technical cooking methods— or even be made by the best chef in the world. Just a balance in flavours, textures, ‘doneness’, nice presentation and using the freshest ingredients.”
With this in mind, we are keen to know more about the specials board at the Hilton’s Brasserie Restaurant, where there is a structured approach: “The Brasserie focuses on the six different regions of South Australia. For two months of the year, our specials board showcases dishes from a specific region such as Kangaroo Island, which means all the produce and wines are sourced from that region. Our specials change weekly to cater for the ‘long-stay’ hotel guests as well as to keep my Chefs inspired and challenged with new ingredients and produce each week.”
Leslie is described as having jointly spearheaded the ‘Seriously South Australian’® campaign with mentor Simon Bryant, so we ask him to explain his interest in this initiative. “We are lucky to have the support of all the local suppliers, growers and producers in South Australia. It’s such a great concept that a lot of people believe in and they are eager to play a role in the campaign. We get the first choice of the best produce in SA. There is hardly any travel time. For example, the lettuce we use is picked in the morning from a farm in the Adelaide Hills, and arrives at our doorstep before our afternoon Chefs walk in the door. We put a rainbow trout on the menu, the suppliers pluck the fish from the dams in the morning and I pick it up in an iced Esky by mid-morning. Add to that, Hilton Adelaide is right next door to Adelaide Central Markets, and it really does make it harder to choose produce rather than being hard-up for choice!”
If so, we wondered, would Leslie create new dishes around the market, or approach the market for specific ingredients he would like for a new dish? “There are different types of dining experiences: room service, catering, restaurant, bars, buffet service and short order menus. Every menu caters for different types of guests with different needs. In the restaurant for instance, it is dictated to what is available and in season— so nature is more our client there! We want to educate our diners too, about our food and what is available in this state.”
Where then, does Leslie find his inspiration for new dishes? Does he experiment? How does he stay innovative? “I love to eat out a lot and see what people are doing,” he says, “The biggest impact for me is cook books, especially photos. I don’t even look at recipes, sometimes photos are enough to spark an idea, more to the point of “yeah I could use that ingredient there” or “ I like how that was cooked” or simply “I like that plate!” Cooking is a subject too big to master, but you can become good at it, and by becoming good you have to learn by eating out, experimenting, reading and asking questions. I learn from everyday home cooks too. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy learning from home cooks.”
Does this approach, we wonder, fit into a specific Leslie style of cooking? “I’m more guided by the ingredients I cook with and what is available, the people I’m cooking for, and the type of evening or setting the meal is to be eaten in. My mother being a Filipino, I grew up eating Filipino food and cook more of those dishes at home. Then again, I love cooking pastas and I have no Italian in me!”
With such a proactive approach to his role, we ask what Leslie finds most challenging about being Executive Chef for the Hilton Adelaide, “Paper work and meetings!”, he says, “I’m not made to sit still for long periods discussing numbers and targets. For the last 15 years my head has been trained to think creatively about food, flavours, ingredients, dish compositions and menu engineering. Now I am being re-trained to become an accountant, counsellor, mediator, goal-setter and administrator too – among other things – but I am enjoying the challenge and developing new skills.”
As an employer, then, it seems pertinent to ask what qualities Leslie believes is a MUST requirement for hiring new staff? “Passion -,” is the appropriate first word answer, “cook with love because people can taste the bitterness that non-passionate people cook with. A lot of people’s good memories of food are cooked by their loved ones, mother, father or grandparents and they’re usually the best meals you have ever had. And resilience, because sometimes this industry knocks the passion right out of you, if you’re not on your toes!” Lastly, he explains, “Educate yourself about different cultures. Understand why – beyond cooking – some people love it so much, what food ‘truly means’ to some people, cultures, and more importantly, to you. If you don’t get the sense of joy or achievement from cooking up a perfect stock, or a perfectly baked bread, or even the perfect sandwich— or serving up the last dish after a grueling twelve hour day— then get out now, because cooking is not for you!”
Socrates, the Grecian father of all philosophy, said he knew nothing. Dennis Leslie, it appears, has a similar modesty. Whilst operating as an Executive Chef, he acknowledges that to be masterful is to be innovative, and to be innovative is to always be learning.