Frank Burger
Executive Chef
Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre’s (MECC)
The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre’s (MECC) Executive Chef, Frank Burger, combines his innovative style with passionate approach to create some of the most stunning menus.
German born, Frank was excited by food and ingredients at a young age. He helped his parents in their Stuttgart delicatessen and honed his culinary skills at some of Europe’s finest hotel restaurants including The Garden at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich; Graf Zeppelin at the Hotel Steigenberger, Stuttgart and the Hotel Intercontinental in London, Geneva and Stuttgart.
Since coming to Melbourne in 1996, Frank’s creativity has expanded and today he is influenced by Asian cuisine – a style of cooking he happily admits to preferring over traditional European dishes.
In his position at the centre, Frank is responsible for a catering operation that produces around 450,000 meals annually for a range of events that can range in size from 20 to 3,500 people.
Frank finds his inspiration for his menu at small cafes and restaurants of Box Hill, Victoria Street Richmond, Carlton and Brunswick.
The authentic cuisines that are served up, gives Frank plenty of ideas.
One of Frank’s favourite dishes is the Malay braised ginger short rib of Angus beef on sautéed rice noodles. Originally made with duck legs, Frank has varied this dish that was one of the first Asian influenced dishes he had the opportunity to try at the Grange restaurant in Adelaide.
However, the beef version has quickly become the MECC’s signature dish and it’s easy to taste why. It’s fresh with fragrant flavours, combined with the crispness of the rice wine makes this dish a welcome alternative to traditional braised beef.
Malay braised ginger short rib of Angus beef on sautéed rice noodles
Ingredients (makes six serves)
2.5 kg Short rib of Angus beef (aprox. 6 ribs)
4 table spoons Groundnut oil
8 slices Ginger, 5cm long x 3mm thick
8 cloves Garlic, lightly crushed
8 each spring onions cut into 8cm lengths
2 each dried chillies split in half
6 table spoons fermented red bean curd
6 table spoons Hoi sin sauce
4 each Star anise
For the sauce
2 litre Chicken stock
6 table spoons Chinese rock sugar, crushed
4 table spoons Light soy sauce
6 table spoons Dark soy sauce
8 table spoons Shaoxing rice wine
2 table spoons Salt
1 table spoons freshly milled black pepper
Method
Blanch the beef in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain well and discard the water.
Heat a large pan or wok, add ground nut oil and seal the short ribs until golden brown.
Add ginger, garlic, spring onions and chilly, continue to fry for up to three minutes, not allowing the garlic to get brown. Add fermented bean curd, hoi sin sauce and star anis and stir well.
Add all sauce ingredients, slowly bring to the boil and simmer on a slow heat covered with a lid for at least 2.5 hours. The meat will be very tender when the bones can be easily removed.
Serve with sautéed Kailan or choy sum and fried sticky rice noodles.
This dish is incredibly popular with events at the MECC. Frank works closely with MECC clients to create a menu that will suit individual events drawing on his years of experience internationally.
Frank and his team recently catered for the Melbourne Exhibition Centre’s 10 year anniversary dinner with a special menu that captured the celebratory mood.
On a larger scale, Frank and his entire department catered around the clock for a month during the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. From public catering to special lunches and dinners, the team produced some of the most stunning menus.
Now Frank can look forward to preparing specific menus for upcoming events at the centre that include:
White chocolate and boysenberry mousse
Ingredients (20 dessert sized serves)
4 ea Whole eggs
8 ea Egg yolks
180g Icing sugar
15 ea Galantine sheets
500g White covertures chocolate
250ml Thickened cream (unwhipped)
1 lt Thickened cream (semi-whipped)
3 pnt Fresh boysenberry
Method
- Whip eggs, yolks & icing sugar together till light & fluffy (sabayon)
- Semi whip 1 lt of cream
- Soften the sheets of gelatine in cold water & drain off any excess water
- Boil the cream and add the chocolate to make a ganache
- Add the gelatine to the ganache
- Pour in the ganache to egg mix (sabayon) mix till combined
- Fold in the cream
- Keep some berries for garnishing
- Add fresh boysenberries berries and put into moulds
- Refrigerate overnight
Chocolate for Garnishing
For best results use dark couverture chocolate
If you are using couverture chocolate you will need to temper the chocolate using this method.
- Melt chocolate over baine marie to 48 C
- Cool down to 26 C
- Then warm to 32 C
- Cut a shape out of an acetate sheet to any shape
- Let the chocolate set out of the fridge ad shape around a empty wine bottle
The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) is a world-class facility that hosts
national and international conventions, large scale public and trade exhibitions, corporate meetings
and specialised events. Encompassing a state-of-the-art convention centre with Australia's largest
exhibition space, the MECC has won a number of awards that reflect its philosophy of providing the highest
standards of personal service and event facilities. The MECC's commitment to excellence extends to food
and beverage services and audio visual. The MECC is conveniently located close to Melbourne's
CBD and within walking distance to major entertainment venues, restaurants and sporting complexes.
The centre is also close to 19,000 hotel rooms.
Contact details:
Name: Mr. Frank Burger
Postion: Executive Chef
Address: Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre
Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, Vic, 3205
Phone: +61 03 9235 8758
Facsimile: +61 03 9235 8201
Email: fburger@mecc.com.au
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