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Thank you very much for this award. I think
it goes without saying that to be recognized by your peers, who are the
leaders of our industry, is a tremendous and very humbling honour.
This year is the 10th anniversary of my involvement with Les Toques
Blanche. I have gained so much from my membership of this association –
greater knowledge, lasting and firm friendships and an enduring connection
to the industry. My involvement also enabled me to contribute to the
betterment of the industry - one of my most satisfying achievements was
developing the associate membership program so that our suppliers can
join, which has fostered stronger, more productive relationships between
us. I also enjoyed the honour of being Les Toques Blanches President from
2002-2004, and it was my privilege to help steer the association to become
the profitable and respected entity it is today.
Importantly, Les Toques Blanches is also a social organization, a club for
Executive chefs and food professionals to meet, to share their experiences
and, sometimes, their war stories. Some my fondest memories of LTB are of
community events such as the annual gala dinner and the more causal picnic
at Domaine Chandon. I also remember some amazing field trips, in
particular to New Zealand and Tasmania, trips that were not only enriching
professionally, but that were also damn good fun.
Today there was also another event that I am particularly proud of. I
personally oversaw the running of the Apprentice Cooking Competition for a
number of years when I was on the LTB Executive.[1] These apprentices
represent the future of the restaurant industry, and they are becoming an
increasingly rare commodity. Young cooks and apprentices deserting our
kitchens is a troubling problem and one that we need to address to ensure
continuing high standards and excellence in the industry.
Television and the media today makes stars of cooks, but I don’t need to
tell you all that the reality of working in and running a kitchen is far
removed from the glamour portrayed on the small screen. Television
romanticizes the kitchen, but it is suspiciously silent about the truth of
the cook’s life. I’m talking about the long hours. The daily cuts, burns
and bruises. The ache in your back after a busy Saturday night. The hours
of unpaid overtime. The split shifts that make the work day seem endless.
I don’t need to tell everyone here tonight that the restaurant industry
can be tough and unforgiving. We all know that because we’ve served our
time in kitchens. We also know that there is easier, cushier work out
there – jobs where you don’t risk accidental amputation daily, where you
get to spend quality time with your loved ones and families, and where you
don’t get slandered by irresponsible critics. But, no matter what the
hardships, the difficulties and the pain, for people like us, there’s no
other life.
I have to admit that as a young man, I felt no burning desire to cook.
Meals at home were wholesome and plentiful, but not spectacular. I fell
into the chef’s life - I started as a cook in the army when I was
conscripted back in 1966. That might not be the most auspicious beginning
for a chef, but it’s where I learned the basic cook’s skills – how to
roast, boil, bake and grill.
When I returned from my tour of duty, I had the cooking bug.
Unfortunately, one of my first jobs was at a city hotel that I won’t name
in case anyone here tonight once ate there. Let’s just say what I did in
that kitchen wasn’t so much cooking as disguising the spoilt meats and
produce provided by the owners, forming it into meals and sending it out
to unsuspecting patrons. It was truly disgusting – I lasted about three
days!
However, I soon ended up a Fanny’s - which really was an excellent
restaurant, very much a leader of the dining scene during it’s heyday –
and not long after that, with the help of two partners [2] – I was chef in
my first kitchen at the Hot Pot Shop in South Melbourne.
The Hot Pot Shop was a really an unusual and fresh concept for a
restaurant, and it’s one that I am very proud of. However, in the early
80s, when my wife Adriana returned from a European holiday raving about
the elegant, creative food being served by the top chefs of France, I was
inspired to take a new direction with my cooking. In 1983, Adriana and I
opened Rogalsky’s to showcase our interpretation of nouvelle cuisine with
the highest standards of service.
While I don’t want to look like I am blowing my own trumpet here, it
appeared that a lot of people enjoyed Rogalsky’s and I am humbled by the
awards and appreciation I received during the life of the restaurant.
When Rogalsky’s closed, I began what many who know my wife Adriana would
consider the brave task of cooking in the Northern Italian-style at our
next venture, Locanda Veneta. Adriana is from the Veneto region of Italy
and an exceptional cook in her own right. She is also my harshest critic
and is certainly not shy about telling me whether my food is to her tastes
or not. But I can honestly say that without Adriana’s support, which
includes her criticism, I would not have pushed myself, I would not have
opened Rogalsky’s and I would not be standing here as the recipient of the
Pioneer Award tonight. So, I would like to pay tribute to my wife, who I
have loved and worked side-by-side with for so many years.
I might no longer cook to the same level as in those heady days – in fact
I can’t even cook at home, because Adriana won’t let me – but I am still
connected to the business, supplying Gourmet food ingredients to the
hospitality industry. I’ve been involved with the industry for just on
forty years, and I’ve seen some remarkable changes in the produce and
products available. I can still remember how excited I was to get some of
the first Tasmanian salmon to cook with when I had Rogalsky’s. The more
mature among us will remember that at one time salmon was either imported
from Scotland or came in a tin. In Australia, we now have access to some
world-class food, some of which we import but some of which we are growing
and making ourselves, such as Australian truffles. I am proud to supply
some of the new generation of chefs with some of the best food from around
the world.
I’ve spent well over half my life in this industry and it still excites
me. I eat at new restaurants and old favorites regularly – and am about to
go on a trip to Europe where eating out and in the homes of family and
friends will be high on the agenda. I still read all the reviews, food
articles, recipes, and trade papers. I would like to say thank you again
to the Executive of the Les Toques Blanches for honouring me as a Pioneer
of the industry and thank you to every Chef and supplier here tonight for
striving for the highest standards of excellence and for making the
industry such a vibrant and incredible one to the last 40 years. Long may
our industry continue to prosper. - Thank you.
Tony Rogalsky - Recipient
of LTB Pioneer Award 2008
An Introduction Speech by Jeffrey Tan
In his book “The Consolations of Philosophy”, Alain De Botton said
Epicurus once observed:
“Of all the things that wisdom provides to help one live one’s entire life
in happiness, the greatest by far is the possession of friendship.”
Unquote.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight, I am standing before you precisely because of this friendship and
to introduce a good friend of mine, a wonderful mate and more importantly
a beautiful person who is about to be honored the LTB highest Award for
the recognition of his contribution to the industry.
So what do I know about this person from a personal perspective
I have known this person as a perfectionist in his culinary creation. He
is an innovator and who settles for nothing less than the best. Yet he is
never pretentious. He is well respected by his peers within and outside
the industry as a man of the highest integrity and conviction. He is
humble, sincere, ethical and totally firm in his commitment.
To me, he is one of the pioneers in the modernization of LTB into what it
is today, a progressive and a forward-looking 21st century organization.
Four years ago, he has the foresight to recommend me to be the first
Individual Associate member and with the support of LTB, my “Cooking for
Charity: Initiative which has now raised some A$200,000 for Charities
would not have happened. This is a man with a vision. To this beautiful
person and a friend, I say thank you.
So, who is this person, one may ask,
He is an Executive Chef, an Educator, a Manager and a Restaurateur.
For over three decades, he offered diners at his South Melbourne
restaurants a high level of excellence in all categories of food, wine and
service.
He opened his first popular restaurant called “Hot Pot Shop”. Then in
1983, after renovation to the restaurant, the name was changed. The
restaurant held a two hat rating since the inception and in 1989, it was
one of only ten restaurants ever awarded ‘Restaurant of the Decade Award”
by The Age Good Food Guide.
He was the President of LTB (Victoria Chapter) for two years 2002/03 and
2003/04,
He was a recipient of The Age Food Guide Highest Award, Ross Campbell Good
Life Award.
He is a great believer in giving back to the industry. He is dedicated to
training the next generation of talented young chefs through being
involved with a number of training provider institutions and organizing
competitions for apprentice cooks.
More recently he helped manage a Rotary Fund Raising dinner for Beyond
Blue held at The Windsor Hotel with five of Melbourne’s leading Chefs.
His name has become somewhat of an institution within the Melbourne
hospitality industry as he continues to set standards by which other
restaurants are judged. Of course, in ever-successful man, there’s always
a wonderful woman backing him up and tonight, we must acknowledge her
contribution too.
For every successful man, there is always a very supporting and capable
wife behind him, may I congratulate her too for her contribution to this
person’s success.
So,
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please join me to welcome
firstly his wonderful wife, Adriana.
Yes, now the Chef Extraordinary, a beautiful person and a true friend of
mine, and the recipient of 2008 LTB Pioneer of the Industry Award - Tony
Rogalsky. |
