Story: Melissa Palinkas' WA Akoya with Black Garlic Butter, Confit Onion and Puff Pastry
Episode: 13
Presenter:Melissa Palinkas
Air Date: 10th September

Chef Melissa Palinkas of Young George shows how professionals plate up Akoya in their beautiful pastry tart.

• Young George is a unique neighbourhood bar with a serious focus on food. The historic venue itself feels like it has graced George Street forever and the cellar downstairs is a timeless reflection of this.
• Store bought puff pastry is more than usable for most recipes, including the Akoya dish made at Young George, though they make their puff pastry in house. Scoring the pastry and cooking it in the oven at 200°c for 10 minutes is all that’s needed. When it's cooked, simply peel off the lid and fill.
• Confit is a method of slowly cooking something in oil, though traditionally done in duck fat. Diced red onion is a wonderful thing to confit, giving you a soft, sweeter finished product.
• Combining garlic butter with black garlic will bring garlic flavour to the next level. Black garlic is the product of aging regular garlic bulbs over the course of weeks or months. It requires strictly regulated temperature and humidity to achieve its sticky consistency.
• Akoya are grown in the Southern ocean off the coast of Albany to create a clean, crisp flavour profile, described as having a flavour reminiscent of abalone with the brininess and minerality of an oyster. Akoya are a delicious sustainable choice for both chefs and diners and are widely versatile.