Setting record straight on Down Under dining

Wed., Jan. 30, 2008

Steven J. Austin King Features Syndicate

Is Australian cuisine in your future? Let’s hope so! Luke Mangan is an internationally recognized celebrity chef and restaurateur and a well-known broadcast personality in his homeland of Australia. Mangan owns and operates three international restaurants, including his latest venture, South Food & Wine Bar in San Francisco, the first restaurant to introduce Australian cuisine to the Bay area.

When he’s not in the kitchen, he can be seen on TV as host of “Appetizing Adventures with Luke Mangan,” which airs Wednesday nights on Ultra HD on the Dish Network. In this series, Mangan embarks on an exotic culinary road trip throughout Asia to find new dishes to add to the menus of his restaurants. To learn more: www.ultrahd.tv and www.lukemangan.com

• Mention Australian food to Americans, and they think of Outback restaurants. Set us straight and tell us what it’s really all about.

“To me, Australian cuisine combines some of the best food from all around the world, including Italian, French and Japanese, with everything from our local Aussie lamb and beef to barramunda, an Australian fish.”

• In your travels, was there a food or beverage item that required you to summon up some extra courage to try?

“We spent some time in Vietnam, and I was asked to drink snake wine, which tasted absolutely terrible! It’s definitely not something I would recommend.”

• How challenging is the hiring process for your restaurants?

“I believe that if you fill the key management positions properly, the other positions will fall into place. Because I’m a firm supporter of promoting from within the company, my staff remains aware of the direction I’m taking the company. I also encourage them to monitor my Web site to gauge our customers and offer feedback on a daily basis.”

• For people who don’t drink alcohol, is plain water always the best beverage to accompany a meal?

“If someone doesn’t drink, I would suggest a simple carbonated water. I’ve found that the sweeter beverages don’t mix very well.”

Lamb cutlets with mint pesto for a party of 20

20 lamb cutlets, trimmed

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pesto

2 bunches of mint

1/2 bunch of flat leaf parsley

4 1/2 teaspoons pine nuts

4 1/2 teaspoons grated Parmesan

Juice of 1 lemon

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Remove bulky stems from herbs. Lightly toast pine nuts for 3 minutes in a preheated 325 F oven, taking care not to let them burn. Blend the herbs with the nuts, cheese and lemon juice in a food processor and slowly add oil. Season if needed.

Season both sides of cutlets with salt and pepper and grill for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and let cooked cutlets stand for 4 minutes, then drizzle with pesto and serve with favorite side dish.

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