Horses for courses

I WAS invited to a media lunch recently at the trendy Universal restaurant in Surry Hills in Sydney. I know the chef was the incomparable Christine Manfield but, when one of the diners said, "God, I can't remember when everyone at a table ate all three courses", the remark struck a chord with everyone present. I've been choosing two starters and maybe a dessert for so long now that I couldn't remember the last time I'd ordered the standard menu trio of entree, main and dessert.
Food critics and chefs have been sounding the death knell of the three-course meal for some time now. I don't know about you but the feeling came over me years ago, principally because whatever I seemed to order I always regretted the choice when I looked over at someone else's plate. Not because I had made a mistake, but because just about every other selection in the restaurant looked great, too.

Part of the reason for this sea change in eating attitudes is that cuisines that have always been based on snacking and grazing - Greek, Lebanese, Spanish, Chinese and so on - have become so dominant in our national restaurant culture. It's hard to imagine the thoughts of a Thai confronted by a 500g slab of steak beyond that of horror at having to eat something so big which tasted the same from beginning to end.


In a recent survey in London, 86 per cent of diners revealed they preferred to order a combination of dishes and to share their meals in order to taste more dishes. While 79 per cent said they preferred to order a combination of dishes rather than limit themselves to a set entree, main and dessert. I think a similar survey in Australia would show even higher percentages of those who prefer to graze around the table.

One of the best meals of my life was a 15-course kaiseki meal in Osaka, the gourmet capital of Japan. The range of flavours, textures and even the look of each small, exquisitely arranged dish was startling and, best of all, you didn't feel as if your intestines would be over-burdened for the next week or so. I also savoured a similar meal at Sydney's Toko restaurant, where we were served four 'courses' comprising three small starter dishes - which proved again that this is truly a fantastic way to eat.
The health-conscious French, always ahead of the game, invented the menu degustation not merely to show off the skills of the chef. Smaller portions with more intense flavours mean you don't have to buy a single bottle of wine to go with each course, but can team a different glass of wine with each. Also, meals become more leisurely affairs because you aren't forced to eat quickly if the waiter has an 'eat it and beat it' policy.

Fusion food such as Chinese and South-East Asian influences mixing it with classic northern European tastes has also made smaller dishes - and a lot of them - the trademark of top-end dining. Even reading the names of some of the offerings is a pleasure in itself as you work your way through suggestions like beluga ravioli with herbed creme fraiche and roast venison with a sorrel and shiitake ragout.

Will the three-course meal ever die out, though? I don't think so. Meals aren't only about new tastes and discovery; they are also about tradition, nostalgia and - let's be honest - food preferences that were formed in childhood. For example, once a year a close friend and I book a table at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney to order the beer-battered fish and chips. It may be a five-star hotel but they wrap the chips in paper - top quality, of course - and use the freshest of fish. We start with a vegetable soup and finish with vanilla ice-cream. It's a highlight of our year.Indeed, it is meals such as this which brings me to another issue: Why are so many food critics so out of touch with regular diners? Sure, there are times when most people interested in food prefer only exquisitely arranged and artfully seasoned dishes. But show me any red-blooded Australian male who doesn't occasionally - or frequently - tuck into a caveman-size chunk of steak dripping with juices and accompanied by chips. I was reminded of this constant of everyday life recently when I was trawling through an online restaurant guide to Sydney. One of the links was Sydney's best restaurants - as reviewed by real people. Yes, the Tetsuyas and the Arias were there but so was a Greek restaurant around the corner from where I live. It's famous for slabs of moussaka large enough to satisfy a rugby forward and for Greek dancing, and you can't land a table here on weekends unless you book well ahead. People love it because it's got atmosphere and it's fun.The wheel has truly turned overseas, too. The Times of London recently ran an article devoted to the uniformly bad reviews local critics had given the newly opened Chicago Rib Shack in Knightsbridge. Unfortunately for the self-styled arbiters of taste, the public didn't agree with them and the American-style restaurant serves 1000 covers a night and is packed to the rafters all week. There is a nod to modernity in that the sizzling steaks and pork are organically certified but this is a traditional steakhouse and Londoners have taken it to their hearts, as witnessed by such heartfelt comments in the visitors book as, "Will definitely be back" and "Great vibe, great service, great portions". Chacun a son gout ("each to his or her own taste") is alive and well - thank heavens.