Star US chef grilled over controversial claim Australians ‘f ...-up’ hamburgers
Nick Sinesiou with the popular works burger, at Paul's Famous Hamburgers in Sylvania.
Picture: Bob Barker
Chef Neil Perry, whose new Burger Project in World Square has hungry diners queuing up out front, says David Chang is just a “crazy cat who likes to be controversial”.
In a profanity-littered “Burger Manifesto” rant on his Lucky Peach website, Chang said Australians had dared to commit crimes against the multi-layered or storeyed hamburger.
“You know who f ... s up burgers more than anyone else in the world? Australians. Australia has no idea what a burger is. They put a fried egg on their burger. They put canned beetroot on it, like a wedge of it. I am not joking you. This is how they eat their burger,” the web post said.
Momofuku chef David Chang has ignited controversy. Picture: Cassandra Giraldo
He added to the tirade by claiming that any leafy green — other than iceberg lettuce — is also off the menu, as is fried egg.
“Don’t give me mesclun or any of that shit,” he ranted.
And when it comes to condiments he was just as militant: “Mustard is too spicy. Get that shit out of there,” he said, adding that you should “save the truffles for a dish you can’t eat at a rest stop”.
Perry, who offers a Cape Grim burger with Aussie house-made pickled beetroot, didn’t mince his response.
“I’m not much of an egg man myself and he’s entitled to his opinion,” said Perry who grew up eating Paul’s Famous Hamburgers from Sylvania in the 1960s.
“But these are the sorts of burgers of Australia’s past.
“If you look at burgers in America, fast food burgers are ordinary and have a whole lot things on them as well. But there are American burgers that are shit as well.”
Paul’s Famous Burgers manager and co-owner Chris Sinesiou said the nearly 60-year-old venue, on the Tom Ugly’s Bridge, had won four awards for Australia’s best burgers.
Chris Sinesiou at Paul's Famous Hamburgers in Sylvania.
Neil Perry and Josephine Perry at the Burger Project in World Square, Sydney.
Picture Craig Greenhill
“When he can hang that up in his wall, then he can talk,” said the second-generation burger maker about chef Chang.
“We do though have a ‘beet or not to beet’ policy, where the customer decides.”
Chang says it’s only the majority of burgers he is unhappy with, not the country itself, and there are some “few notable exceptions” such as Mary’s in Newtown.
“Australians, I love your country and I love your food, even if your burgers are mostly terrible,” he said.
But Chang’s final golden rule is: Do as I say, not as I do.
“When you catch me eating one of these kinds of burgers that I have spoken against, please know that I am the ultimate hypocrite and that I am probably enjoying the shit out of it. Hamburgers are pretty much all good,” he said.
Amy Smith, marketing director for the Grill’d chain said Australian burgers had progressed way beyond what the New Yorker described saying that burgers here celebrated local produce.
“We in Australia are ahead of the curve in innovation,” she said. “There is a huge variety and great ingredients in Australia.”
She offered Chang an open invitation to try their products.
“Bring him and I’ll have dinner with him, a burger. At Grill’ we have a fairly extensive menu here you can also add whatever ingredients you like, he can build his own burger!”
Source: The Daily Telegraph, Grand Jones, July 16th 2015
