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Lessons from the masters

Terry Durack, Roslyn Grundy, Lisa Hudson and Janne Apelgren

Fully booked: (from left) Karen Martini, Martin Boetz, Bertrand Grebaut, Matthew Evans, Raymond Capaldi, Michael Stadtlander, Benjamin Cooper, Oliver Gould (back), Massimo Spigaroli, Andrew McConnell, Magnus Nilsson, Virgilio Martinez, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Daniel Wilson, Sean Brock, Annabel Langbein, Dan Lepard, Nicky Riemer, Enrique Olvera.
Fully booked: (from left) Karen Martini, Martin Boetz, Bertrand Grebaut, Matthew Evans, Raymond Capaldi, Michael Stadtlander, Benjamin Cooper, Oliver Gould (back), Massimo Spigaroli, Andrew McConnell, Magnus Nilsson, Virgilio Martinez, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Daniel Wilson, Sean Brock, Annabel Langbein, Dan Lepard, Nicky Riemer, Enrique Olvera.Jason South

When the world's best give cooking classes, the results can be wise and wonderful. Students at the 2013 Melbourne Food & Wine MasterClass would have observed some common thoughts from the experts who came to guide their culinary endeavours: use everything of an ingredient, waste nothing, and get to know your indigenous food - it might just be the most exciting and rewarding produce you can use.

Bertrand Grebaut
Septime, Paris

■ Don't throw away the skin. Whether it's from a tomato, a potato or a fish, you can put it to use. And if you know the produce is clean and pesticide-free, don't wash it. There's flavour in the skin.

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■ Make a friend called herb. For freshness and flavour contrast, and even bitterness on cooked dishes, top with fresh, raw herbs such as shiso, red amaranth and wild sorrel.

■ Fresh is best. ''I'd rather have mackerel that is fresh out of the water than any other fish that isn't.''

Magnus Nilsson
Faviken, Sweden

We all eat with our eyes.

■ Vegemite, or might not. Though admitting he found Vegemite on toast disgusting, Nilsson noted it was rich in amino acids and great as a seasoning, especially in savoury broths.

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■ Grass over grain. Beef that's fattened quickly with grain lacks texture, becoming over-tender and with a bland flavour.

Karen Martini
chef and columnist

■ Zip it. Store nuts in resealable plastic bags in the freezer to prevent them becoming rancid.

■ Dress warmly. Toss grains, lentils etc for salads in the dressing while they're hot. Don't rinse them to cool them down first.

■ Sweeten the harsh stuff. Rub sliced onion for salad in a little sugar and salt before adding to the salad. It draws out the harsh, raw flavour.

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■ Choose your fish. Farmed kingfish has more fat than wild-caught fish, making it better for roasting.

■ Buy local. Local garlic doesn't have the harsh, burning quality of imported varieties.

■ Work on the presentation. ''We all eat with our eyes.''

Dan Lepard
baker, London and Melbourne

■ Half is better than double. Most bread recipes recommend allowing dough to double in size, then knocking it down, shaping it and letting it double again before baking. But this over-proves the dough. Instead, let it rise by half, knock back, shape and rise by half again. It will rise more in the oven, resulting in a better loaf.

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■ Flavour your dough. When making dough, add more flavour by substituting liquids such as the whey from mozzarella or diluted pickling brine from olives for half the water.

■ Boost your buns. Substitute freshly pressed apple juice for half the water in a hot cross bun recipe. It adds flavour and produces a more tender bun.

■ Keep sweet with your yeast. In a sweet dough, it's better to add flavour by using sweet-tasting ingredients such as zest or dried fruit rather than sugar, which inhibits the yeast.

■ Get a rise. Fresh yeast is becoming harder to find as more bakeries buy par-baked dough. Use dried fast-acting yeast in the same proportions as fresh yeast, so if the recipe calls for one teaspoon fresh yeast, use one teaspoon of dried yeast. Avoid dried ''pellets'' because most of the yeast is dead.

■ Flavouring gluten-free. When baking gluten-free bread, add flavour with linseeds, brown rice and other GF seeds/grains, because cornflour has no flavour.

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■ Be patient. The longer a dough is left to rise, the better the final flavour will be. If you can, leave it to prove in the fridge overnight in a cloth-lined basket and bake from cold.

■ Smaller is better. When baking, don't use a tray that covers the whole oven rack, a 10-centimetre space around your baking tray will help heat circulate and change the results of your baking.

■ Stop stirring and leave well enough alone. Don't feel you need to stir caramel. You can if you want to, but you don't have to.

■ Recycle. Reuse baking paper. Fold it up and keep it in a drawer.

Annabel Langbein
New Zealand

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■ For lighter fritters, thin the batter with soda water or sparkling water.

Matthew Evans
Author and presenter of SBS' Gourmet Farmer, Tasmania

■ Try coq au vin blanc. Traditionally, coq au vin is made with red wine but because Australian chicken is so bland, white wine is a better match as it doesn't overpower the meat.

Enrique Olvera
Pujol, Mexico City

■ Value of the pound. Enrique Olvera is a fan of pounding ingredients with mortar and pestle rather than using modern tools. ''My grandmother said when you make something in a blender, it tastes like electricity.''

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■ Good food starts with the produce. Buy the best you can. Even chefs are not magicians.

■ Soak it up. Soak dried black beans and cook them in the same water for better flavour.

■ All Mexican food isn't spicy. Much of the heat comes from salsas, served separately.

■ Make corn salt. Put salt crystals in totomoxtle (dried corn husks) and grill or barbecue to char.

■ Avocado leaves are really tasty. Olvera uses them to flavour black-bean dip and black-bean filling for tamales. They can be used fresh or toasted in a dry pan.

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Andrew McConnell
Cumulus Inc

■ Maximum fluff factor. When making meringue, let the egg whites fluff up before adding the sugar.

■ Be on trend. ''We don't make coulis anymore. This is crushed raspberries.''

More: 10 things to digest from the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, by Jill Dupleix

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Terry DurackTerry Durack is the chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food.
Roslyn GrundyRoslyn Grundy is Good Food's deputy editor and the former editor of The Age Good Food Guide.

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