Pears take pride of place

The focus is on pears at Andiamo Cafe this month as chefs do their best to impress patrons for a chance at the title of Australian Pear Month Restaurant of the Year.

The Rockingham restaurant is one of 100 across the nation creating dishes with pears to help support the pear industry.

“Buono” was the word chosen by Andiamo Cafe owner Andrea De Luca to describe the restaurant’s entered dish, porchetta arrosto alla pera — roast pork with a spiced pear chutney.

“It is to die for,” he said.

Mr De Luca said the Italian dish originated in Turin, but chef Daniel Calister had added a spicy twist.

“Where I come from in Turin, it is an area where there are a lot of vines, a lot of wine, but there are also a lot of orchards with pears and apples and that is where the recipe started,” he said.

“Daniel decided to put a little bit of spice into it and created a beautiful chutney.”

Creating delicious Italian food was only half the reason Mr De Luca said he decided to enter the competition.

“It is all about supporting the local economy, the pears we use come from the Perth hills,” he said.

“It is a product we like.”

Mr Calister said working with meat and fruit was always a balancing act.

“It is about marrying all the sugars and flavours with the correct meat,” he said. “It can be a challenge but when you get it right it is really good.”

Mr Calister said he was confident the dish would impress for Pear Month.

For diners with a sweet tooth, Mr De Luca said the restaurant was also offering belle Helene — poached pears in red wine.

Rockingham residents can help Andiamo Café win the title by voting at the Australian Pears Facebook page, www.facebook.com/australianpears.