We have just published our new Function Packages for the 2019/2020 Festive season! Click HERE to check them out now!
AHA NT Awards for Excellence 2018 || Hot Tamale Finalist
It is now time for the Australian Hotels Association NT Awards for Excellence again! Last year we took out the award for Best Training Initiative & Anneliese Grazioli was awarded Bartender of the Year.
The 2018 AHA NT Awards for Excellence will see multiple of our staff as finalist and we are wishing them the best.
Hot Tamale’s Team Awards
Best Chef/Cook Award
Martin Bouchier, Executive Chef
Chef Martin has been working at Hot Tamale for the past year as our Executive Chef. Martin has worked all around the world and with his varied experience including a stint in Spain he has brought experience & passion into our kitchen. Martin has a strong passion for all his food but also in the training of staff, he enjoys teaching our apprentices new skills and loves to see his team thrive.
Excellence in Service (Front of House)
Rebecca Steel, Waiter Supervisor
Originally from Scotland, Becca moved to Australia to continue to grow her career in hospitality and has fallen in love with the Australian Hospitality Scene. She has been part of our front of house team since September 2016. Becca enjoys giving every guest an individually catered experience and loves to see them leave the venue happy. Her personality is definitely contagious and we have seen her train our trainee waitstaff to become solid members of our team with the same ideals.
Apprentice of the Year
Anthony Porrovecchio, Apprentice Chef
Anthony is from Darwin and grew up here, he was always very passionate about food and made the decision to become an apprentice chef a few years ago. He started at Hot Tamale two years ago as a first year apprentice and has enjoying it ever since. He choose to apply at Hot Tamale due to his love of Mexican food and was excited to make dishes, sauces, etc from scratch.
Bartender of the Year
To win Bartender of the Year, the bartenders go through rounds of the competition to claim the top spot. Today (Monday the 28th of May) they will sit for a blind tasting of whisk(e)ys and a written exam on all things bartending; cocktails, spirits, beer, wine & service.
The top four scoring from these will be chosen to create an original cocktail and present it at the AHA NT Trade Show in front of the whole Darwin Hospitality Industry and three judges. The highest scoring will be announced AHA NT Bartender of the Year at the awards night on Wednesday the 30th held on the lawns of Skycity Casino.
We have two of our bar team as finalist who will be competing against the rest of Darwin’s best in this competition.
Matthew Zarimis, Bartender
Matty has been part of our team since day one, he is a Darwin local and loves the bartending scene up here. For the past 5 and a half years we have watched him grow and become passionate about customer service, cocktails and definitely tequila. Matty loves to talk about all things agave, so if you catch him behind the bar get ready for a lesson in why we all love tequila!
Alexander Johnston, Bar Supervisor
Alex has worked at Hot Tamale for just over two years, originally from London but has found his home in Australia. He has a strong passion for bartending and has a knack for winning all the local bartending competitions. He loves his tequila but enjoys the art of mixing cocktails.
We are wishing the best of luck to all our team! Comment on the post to give them support.
Australian Chef of the Year 2018 || Hot Tamale Darwin
Australian Chef of the Year competition has selected our very own Chef Martin Bouchier for the top 32 chefs in Australia to compete in Sydney for the top spot; Chef of the Year 2018.
Chef Martin will be heading down next week from the 27th to the 29th of May to compete against the other 31 top chefs in Australia. To win he is given a box of ingredients & has an hour to create a three course meal to impress the judges.
We are all wishing him the best of luck & are excited to see what he prepares!
Read below a written interview with him & Chef of the Year.
Martin Bouchier comes from a long line of chefs in the north of England and has almost 40 years’ experience in UK, Europe, USA and Australia. In that time he has worked his way up from junior dishwasher at 14 to his present position as BevCo’s Group Executive Chef at Hot Tamale.
Martin enjoys being a mentor to young chefs and is NT President of the Australian Culinary Federation.
Why have you entered Chef of the Year?
I’ve spent the last 20 years telling students and apprentices to enter competitions for their development and knowledge of culinary arts, however it’s nearly 30 years since I last competed. Currently I have two apprentices in one of my kitchens, both whom I’ve mentored for comp. I thought it was time to put my money where my mouth is and challenge myself. I’ve been burning stuff for nearly 40 years, I like to learn new things.
What excites you in cooking?
Natural flavours, artistry, innovation and provenance. I adore a perfectly cooked piece of fresh fish caught off the jetty, or a steak from a boutique producer, presented well, not masked with non-complimenting flavours. I will always seek out a local producer over mass production. I enjoy food with a story to tell, yet I love dining out where my senses are distorted through a chef’s artistry
What do you think of the new format where you order the product you need, instead of a mystery box?
I would love the “off the cuff” of not knowing until the last minute. Sometimes as chefs we overthink a dish, over complicate it and cause ourselves a little extra heartache in an industry that already has a lot, but I must admit it’s given me a bit of time to come up with a couple of ideas.
What do you like about working with Australian Pork?
I am a massive fan of pork; its taste can be bold or subtle depending on cut or provenance. I’ve been using some of Jason Stephenson’s produce from Boston Bay in S.A. His black pigs are awesome and it’s some of the best Pata Negra I’ve come across since my days in Andalucía, Spain.
What’s your favourite ingredient?
Really hard to answer as it changes with the seasons. At the moment I’ve been using a lot of Spanish Mackerel out of the Arafura Sea. We got hold of a 15kg beauty the other week that I used as a masterclass for my guys. I used it in an aguachile, ceviche, sashimi and deep fried. We even nicked one of Africola’s ideas and did a creamed corn with the head; but next month it could be something completely different!
How would you best describe your food?
Passionate.
What would it mean to you to win this competition?
Having worked all over the place for a crazy amount of years and still be on the pans, this would be an awesome top to a really interesting career. It would vindicate the work and hours I’ve put in. It would give a little notoriety to the Top End, a place I really enjoy living in and am passionate about promoting. But most of all it might just give a nudge to countless other chefs around the country to put themselves out there and pass it forward to the next and the next.
Taquitos de Pollo || Hot Tamale Special
Taquitos are lovingly rolled corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken, which are fried to be crispy & we have served mole coloradito on top with crumbled feta, cos lettuce & raddish.
The special ingredient in this dish is definitely the mole, pronounced [ MOLE-LAY ]. Mole is undisputed the dish of Mexico, but what is it? Puebla & Oaxaca have claimed the beginnings of this dish and where it is still most popular to this day.
“Puebla’s most famous mole is without a doubt its namesake mole poblano, the most internationally recognized mole and the variation that if classed as the official national dish. This dark-brown colored dish uses chocolate and chilies. Oaxaca, on the other hand, is often nicknamed the land of the seven moles; colorado, mole negro, mancha manteles, verde, amarillo, chichilo and coloradito. The most famed of Oaxaca’s moles is mole negro, a mole poblano-esque dish that also uses chocolate but throws in hoja santa too.” – Lauren Cocking
To be classified as a mole, the sauce needs to have chilli, fruit & nuts. Though there are many modern takes on the dish that show some evolution. The dish is usually served with rice & meat though you will see it on top of enchiladas, taquitos & even in tacos.
Coloradito is one of the Oaxacan style moles, considered to be the ‘red’ mole, The sauce is filled with tomato, tomattillo, fruit, cocoa & nuts.
Taquitos de Pollo
Crispy rolled corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken topped with an ancient Oaxacan rich spice blend made from 18 different ingredients included dried fruit & chilli, pepitas seed, tomato, tomattillo & cocoa.
Aguachile & Ceviche || Hot Tamale
Aguachile or Ceviche? We love both dishes here at Hot Tamale and want to tell you a bit more about them and why we love them.
Ceviche is a dish we have always had on our menu here. The fresh vibrancy of the dish is perfectly created for Darwin’s weather all year round. As the years have passed we have seen its popularity and understanding of the dish grow. They are usually fish though you can get prawn and other seafood. It has an unknown area of original creation, few different countries in South American will argue they created it first. Most people will agree that its origins is Peru. In the present ceviche is enjoyed all over the world and is created with different twists with flavour combinations and techniques.
Aguachile we have played around with from time to time as it is a traditional dish from Mexico in the Nayarit region. It shares some similar qualities to a ceviche though it is usually wetter and spicier. The juices it sits in are vibrant, fresh and tasty. We love our aguachile and are excited to have it available for you at the moment.
The Aguachile we have available is local snapper, cured in lime juice and served with fresh pineapple and pomegranate served on a base of verdita. Verdita is fresh pineapple, jalapeno, mint, coriander & citrus.
The most popular of our ceviches have been our simplest and most vibrant. See below some examples
NT Snapper Ceviche
Spicy Tropical Ceviche
To create a simple and delicious ceviche all you will need is;
Ingredients
1. Fresh Fish. We source ours from a local fish market; Mr Barra or Darwin Fish Market.
2. Citrus, we recommend lime.
3. Complimenting flavours; tomato, onion & coriander always work!
4. Salt and Pepper to taste!
You can always add chilli, fresh fruit, extra salad choices! The options are close to endless.
Method
1. Slice up fresh fish, one centimeter cubes work well
2. Leave fish to cure in fresh lime just for roughly fifteen minutes
3. Strain out citrus and add your compliments and salt and pepper
4. Toss then plate up and you have your ceviche.
Pastel de Moctazuma // Mexican Lasagna
This week the kitchen has created a traditional dish for you to enjoy; Pastel de Moctazuma. Also known more modernly as Mexican Lasagna. A traditional Aztec dish in which the popularity has kept it in the Mexican Culture.
Layered corn tortillas with chicken, capsicum, blended cheeses, crema, salsa roja baked then placed on a bed of fresh salsa verde. Available for $25 from the 1st of May until the 6th of May.
Hot Tamale’s Apprentice Wins Dishing Up Darwin!
Darwin City Council’s Youth Week hosted a multitude of events, one of them titled Dishing up Darwin. It entailed a multiple round cook off for ages 12 to 20.
Hot Tamale’s young apprentice Isabell Luck joined the ranks to test her abilities in a competition style event.
The first three rounds were held at Darwin High School’s kitchen.
First round was to create a dish using a ‘cyclone kit’ and was judge by our Chief Minister Michael Gunner. Isabell created a baked bean burger with tomato relish, flat bread stack, rosemary chips & aioli. She created all the sauces from scratch.
Second round was to create in indigenous influenced dish, Zach Green from Elijah’s Kitchen firstly hosted a masterclass. Isabell created a Crocodile ceviche with tomato salsa & a barramundi pan pizza.
Third round was to create a meal of Indian Cuisine. Selvam from Saffrron Restaurant in Parap held a masterclass and Isabell created a Kerala style fish curry with parathra.
For the final round the competitors had to head to Rapid Creek Markets to choose their produce. Isabell took the top spot with her Ginger, Chilli & Lime Udon Noodles and Honey Lime Crusted Barra Fillet with a coconut veil pancake.
Great job to Isabell & we are excited to see where she goes from here!
[ photos by Launch Darwin & Isabell Luck ]
HOLA MACKEREL!
Here at Hot Tamale we have snagged a 10.75KG Spanish Mackerel courtesy of Mr Barra. We use Mr Barra’s wild caught Spanish Mackerel in our Spicy Tropical Ceviche and our famous Fish Tacos.
Hot Tamale’s star apprentices Anthony Porrovecchio & Isabell Luck are pictured holding the fish.
