Chris Bond, owner and chef at Pomodoras Fine Foods sheds a little light on his not-so-secret ingredient.
“As a kid growing up in Dorset, England, I always ate my fish and chips with vinegar, and I would come home from school and make myself a vinegar sandwich.
As an 18-year-old commis chef at the exclusive Goring Hotel, London, directly behind Buckingham Palace, I was introduced to exquisite, 25-year-old aged balsamic vinegar – smooth, delicate, yet dark and rich in flavour with a syrupy density that meant you could drizzle it over salads, roasted vegetables, lamb or pork.
A far cry from the Sarsons vinegar I splashed over my food as a child, the aged vinegar was a world apart and turned a normal salad into a dish fit for Royalty.
In my mid-twenties, and now a sous chef in a hotel in Cornwall, I began experimenting with my own dressings as I didn’t have access to the stunning aged balsamics I had at the Goring Hotel. Not quite the same budget.
One of my first creations was a straight caramelised balsamic, sweet and rich, the acidity and sweetness enhancing the flavour of a slice of tomato or grilled eggplant, making the simple, sublime.
Moving to Australia in 2005, I continued cheffing and exploring the wealth of new ingredients available. When my wife and I began working for ourselves, running our own café, I explored how to make Mediterranean cuisine even more interesting through my love of Balsamics.
https://pomodoras.com.au/