We had the great pleasure of meeting Chef Rick Tarantino, a famous TV chef and entrepreneur specialising in developing food, recipes and kitchen products, on his brief visit from the USA. Chef Rick, as he’s known in the media, has more experience than most chefs and has travelled the world, inspiring amateur and professional chefs alike, with delicious recipes and endless knowledge at his disposable. With a degree in food science and 10 years working as an executive and professor at the Johnson & Wales University, he has since developed a number of businesses and has years of catering equipment expertise, combined with an immense understanding of the food industry. He was keen to see our growing national operations, and we were excited for him to share some of his wisdom with us.

Chef Rick’s visit to the Nisbets head office in in South-West Sydney, which is the largest catering equipment distribution centre in the country, coincided with some local TV and promotional work he was undertaking in Sydney. During his time in Campbelltown, he shared some of his culinary insights with some of our 85 staff, toured our extensive 15,000 square metre warehouse, and spent time in our huge showroom and trade counter perusing some of the 4,500 products that Nisbets sell locally and nationally. We look forward to welcoming Chef Rick back again the next time he is in Australia!


‘Just a 3 minute ride from the train to Nisbets, and I was standing in the most impressive showroom I have seen in a long time! From chef coats to stoves and thousands of items in between, it was all there on display...’

‘Then the fun began...touring around the facility I met the staff and learnt about the inventory control systems...I was so excited I asked if I could join in and share my knowledge and recipes with their customers. So now I am hooked on Nisbets... I even got a pair of new Birkenstock chef shoes to wear home!’


Below is one of Chef Rick’s sumptuous Spring recipes you can add to the menu, make for your next dinner party or as a special treat for family or friends...

Chef Rick's Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce

With a preparation and cooking time of less than 20 minutes, this gorgeous grilled salmon dish serves up to 4 people...

Ingredients: 

• 4-6oz.(170g) portions of salmon fillets (Boneless, Skin On)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
• ½ teaspoon (2.5ml) salt
• ¼ teaspoon (1.25ml) ground black Pepper
• 2-3 fresh lemons

For lemon butter sauce:

• 1 fresh shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoon (30ml)lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons(90g) butter, (unsalted)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh parsley, minced
• ¼ cup(60ml) white wine

Preparation:

• Rinse and ensure all bones are removed from salmon fillets
• Wash and slice 1 lemon into 1/8 inch (3mm) thin slices
• Wash and juice remaining lemons and reserve juice (put through strainer to remove any seeds) you should have roughly 1/3 cup (80ml) of lemon juice
• Wash and chop parsley
• Combine all ingredients in butter sauce
• Peel and mince fresh shallot

    Cooking Instructions:      
                                                       

1. Pre-heat oven top or outdoor grill on medium heat
2. Brush salmon fillets with olive oil using a pastry brush, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place salmon flesh side (top) down into your grill. Let grill for 3 minutes.
3. Using a spatula, carefully remove salmon fillets from grill and place (2 pieces each) on a piece of aluminum foil folded into a pouch, but large enough to wrap fillets. Then pour butter sauce mixture into pouches, add shallots, and fold over foil to seal pouches closed. Place back on your grill for 4 minutes to infuse the flavors.
4. Salmon should be pink, to test use a meat thermometer and insert it into the center of the fillets they should read 62℃.
5. Remove salmon fillets and let rest for 1 minute. Open pouches and serve on plate garnished with parsley.
6. For extra flavor top with butter sauce by using a spoon drizzle over your salmon fillets and serve.

Twist this dish with orange infusion instead of lemon.
Replace sliced lemons with peeled and sliced oranges (Mandarin, Tangerine) and substitute white wine and lemon juice with Grand Marnier Liquor.

Fore more information on Chef Rick, visit his website.

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