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Super
Suppliers
New Asian Cuisine Scene March/April 98
Australia's new cuisine scene has been providing great publicity opportunities to the many chefs who are developing the food and styles which are sweeping across not only this country but the world. As it is only right that these chefs get all the kudos owed them, the focus must also be given to the producers and suppliers who have forged a niche market of supply and production of some of the finest produce found anywhere in the world.
Two people who come immediately to mind are Barry McDonald and Simon Johnson of Sydney.
McDonald began his career in 1976 as Hotel Trainee Manager with Hotel Intercontinental, Auckland New Zealand. He completed the course and worked at Hotel Intercontinental as Assistant Food & Beverage Manager. He then left the hotel trade to pursue his interest in smaller up market restaurants in Australia and worked in establishments such as the Berowra Waters Inn and Claudes Restaurant.
In 1985 `Blue Cockatoo Foods', a wholesale business was set up to promote the use of Australian cheese in hotels and dining rooms throughout NSW. This business was extremely successful and led the way in the marketing and development of Australia's leading cheeses including King Island Dairy, Gippsland Blue, Kervella Goats Cheese, Heidi Tasmania, Jindi and Timboon. `Blue Cockatoo Foods' was sold in 1988 to King Island Dairy and changed it's name to `Butterfields' NSW.
In 1988 McDonald and Johnson established a smallgoods and dairy wholesale business (McDonald and Johnson) which was responsible for the first marketing of high quality Italian olive oils in Australia with the distribution business supplying the top end of the market, 5 star hotels, restaurants and corporate caterers.
In 1990, Toby Tyler joined the company, having come from King Island Dairies. With his strong background in farmhouse cheeses he started to work closely with producers and secure exclusive distribution rights for Highland, Jannei and Pyengana. The business outgrew Tamarama and moved to Pyrmont, which was closer to the CBD where most of the trade was. A retail showroom was set up to run alongside the wholesale distribution. The retails business was previously known as Enoteca Sileno, with a focus on educating the consumer about the quality of products, their origins, production and use.
`B&J Lizard', a fruit and vegetable wholesale business was established in 1989 between Barry and his brother Jamie (hence the `B' and `J'), at the Paddington fruit market. `B&J Lizard' raised industry standards and customer expectations of specialist fruit and vegetables throughout Australia. This business, now located in the old Pyrmont area of Sydney has continued to grow and now counts amongst its customers most of NSW five star hotels and up market restaurants.
Future growth is expected to come through export to leading dining rooms throughout Asia. Whilst this export program is only twelve months old, already `B&J Lizard's' reputation for quality and service is well known in Hong Kong and Singapore. Some of these export customers include Raffles, Singapore - Four Seasons, Singapore - Mandarin, Hong Kong - The Peninsula, Hong Kong.
1992 saw the publishing of the first McDonald and Johnson retail catalogue which today is printed twice yearly and with a data base of more than 30,000 people.
In 1995 both the wholesale (McDonald and Johnson) and retail (Enoteca Sileno) became known as Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods - eliminating the confusion of having two names They were supplying the best available produce to leading hotels, restaurants and corporate caterers.
In March 1996 an office and retail showroom opened in Melbourne, spearheaded by Allison Stewart formerly of the Sydney office. In April the point of distribution was relocated to a purpose built warehouse at Waterloo and a sixty person capacity seminar room and fully equipped kitchen were built onto the showroom in Pyrmont.
Today McDonald's and Johnson's emphasis is, as always, on quality. The range of produce has continued to expand and diversify, due to Simon and Barry's commitment to meeting with and sourcing directly from producers. The producers they select from, in both Australia and overseas, are from family run and operated businesses and share the same passion for excellence and detail as themselves.
Chefs all over Australia are fortunate to have committed suppliers like this who care about the food we place on our plates and it is to these `unsung heroes' we should all take our hats off to!!
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