Offaly close to the bone
The St Johns Heineken Hotel head chef says it was natural for his family to use every part of an animal when cooking and it’s a tradition he has continued to this day.
“When you don’t have a lot of money you have to use every cut,” Foe says.
“We had to spread it through the week and make it last so you didn’t have to spend much money, but you had to make it taste good. It was often a case of cook what you were given; now it is the focal point of the menu I am preparing for my Best of Wellington dish,” he says.
The feedback from his offal dishes has been so positive that the chef has added another day to his Offaly Good Dinner itinerary.
“I didn’t really think it would hit it off the way it has. This is the first time I’ve put on an offal dinner [in Wellington] and with the popularity and interest the dishes have generated it could become a bit of a ritual.”
Offal cuts attract negative associations, and movies like The Silence of the Lambs and Dawn of the Dead connecting offal with cannibalism, but Foe says people need to leave their prejudices at home when it comes to his dishes.
“Sometimes people can have a bad experience with a dish or a preconception, but if you have a good recipe and people like it word gets around and it entices others to try our dishes for themselves,” he says.
At the moment Foe uses pork trotters, pig heads, lamb tongues, sweetbread (bread made from thymus or pancreas), veal heart and duck liver that he makes into a pate.
“The pate is definitely one of the dishes we find is getting more popular,” Foe says.
Originally Foe was cautious about introducing offal to the St Johns menu, so served it on a trial basis.
“It’s the hot dish here at the moment. My aim is to come up with interesting dishes that our customers will enjoy – flavoursome and tasty.”
A favourite among Foes customers is pig’s head with prawns. He then turns it into a confit and adds sage, thyme, rosemary and hot English mustard before serving it with a crème fresh and garlic sauce.
Foe says New Zealand chefs should use offal more.
“Sometimes I find Kiwi chefs are not well educated when it comes to offal. They seem keener to stay safe and use simple easy cuts. Sometimes it’s a case that they don’t know how to use it properly so they stay clear. It’s a waste.”
Offaly Good Dinner, St. Johns Heineken Hotel, August 22.
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