The Secrets of Sous Vide

Australian restaurants are renowned for being at the forefront of food trends in the ever-growing food industry. Our kitchens are ripe with innovative recipes and techniques that challenge expectations and are now recognised on a global scale.

Our successes in the food industry corresponds with our ability to adapt and evolve. Technology has infiltrated most parts of contemporary society and restaurants are realising its potential and are embracing it. One method that is receiving exposure is ‘sous-vide’ style cooking, which is the French term for ‘under vacuum’.

Sous vide (pronounced soo-veed) incorporates two distinct processes. Firstly, food is prepared accordingly and vacuum sealed into plastic pouches using a vacuum packaging machine. The second step is to submerge the packaged food into perfectly controlled water tanks, cooking the food at a precise temperature, usually for an extended period of time. The results that sous vide cooking provides add incredible value to food businesses, including:

• Complete product consistency
• Accurate temperature control eliminates any human error
• Adheres to HACCP standards by reducing risk of contaminants including salmonella, listeria and E-coli
• Enhanced natural flavours of foods cooked
• Ability to include seasoning and marinade while less oils/fats/salts are needed to cook resulting in a healthier, natural product
• Impossible to overcook meat due to the lower cooking temperature. The consistent cooking results in better textures
• Improved productivity, timing and organisation. The quality control of sous vide allows food to be prepared hours in advance and even left to cook on its own

Sous vide’s versatility is a key indicator of its effectiveness. Restaurants cook all types of meat such as lamb shanks, beef tenderloins, chicken breast, pork belly and fish to perfection while fruit and vegetables are also sealed and cooked. Chefs are creating new signature dishes with unique flavours discovered inside the vacuum pouches. Gone are the days of undercooked or chewy steaks.

The precision and consistency of the sous vide method is a genuine game changer and Australian restaurants will increasingly profit from incorporating this technique into their kitchens.