WHO WE ARE: The national pick-me-up

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

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A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald 1/2/2009
Adopting and adapting: That's Australia's specialty. We may not initiate many big ideas that change the world, but we're brilliant at borrowing small ideas and making them our own - for example, the bikini, barbecues, Vegemite, thongs and the poker machine. In that context, I want to examine this question today: what is Australian's national dish?

Last year this column answered the question with spaghetti bolognese, which Australians make at home as often they order it when they're out. But now I want to put up a different candidate: tiramisu.

I spent a week in Paris just after Christmas, and I was fascinated to observe that tiramisu is the latest craze there. It's on the dessert menu of every modest-priced restaurant (along with the Paris cliches of creme caramel and rice pudding), and a packaged version is prominently displayed in every supermarket under the title "Tiramisu Italien". So the culinary capital of the world has finally discovered a dish that Australians had the good taste to embrace nearly 30 years ago.

Yes, it's another Aussie claim to fame: In its relentless conquest of the planet, tiramisu reached us first. It was brought here in 1977 by Giuseppe Zuzza, an immigrant from north east Italy. He had been lucky enough to be working as a waiter in the town of Treviso (near Venice) -- the area where tiramisu was invented in 1972 as a way of using up old coffee

(Some scholars claim the dish was actually invented in the town of Trieste in the 1950s, and was only given its name -- which translates as "pick me up" -- in Treviso. That's uncannily similar to the dispute between Australia and New Zealand over the origins of the pavlova, which was invented there and named here.)

Giuseppe Zuzza first served it in a Sydney restaurant called Darcy's, and it became his signature dish when he opened his own place, The Mixing Pot in the Sydney suburb of Glebe, in 1980. Customers responded instantly to the layers of coffee-soaked sponge covered with mascarpone, other restaurants rushed to copy it, and the fad began.

Tiramisu's next victim was America. In 1993, screenwriter Nora Ephron used it as a sociological signifier in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Tom Hanks plays a widower about to go on a date for the first time in 13 years.

His friend, played by Rob Reiner, tells him dating is now a different process from when he was last "out there" because, for example, the woman will pay for her own meal, and in the unlikely event they end up having sex, he'll have to use a condom. And, of course, there is now tiramisu ...

"Hanks: What is tiramisu? Reiner: You'll find out. Hanks: Well, what is it? Reiner: You'll see! Hanks: You better tell me. Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her and I'm not gonna know what it is."

Millions of Australians had no trouble getting the joke because we'd been doing it to each other for 13 years by then. And it was another 15 years before the Parisians got around to sharing our pleasure.

If tiramisu symbolises the way Australian foodies are decades ahead of the French, then I'd say it -- along with Giusepe Zuzza -- is a prime candidate for national recognition. What do you think?

Go to Comments to tell us what should be the national dish

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

COMMENTS

I have been making this dessert for 50 years in the U.K. Someone is having a laugh surely.
The National dish of Oz is pie and chips

by G.A.GILMARTIN on February 01, 2009 at 02:19 AM

Oh Grow up, I had this in while I was backpacking in Europe & the UK 30 years ago - don't you think that since France is next door to Italy it might just have made it over the border once or twice before now?

by Anne on February 01, 2009 at 06:28 AM

That is silly talk, we have had Tiramisu in France for at least as long as you guys. My mother has been making it for as long as I can remember. To me, the national dishes would be pies and Pavlova.

by Froggy on February 01, 2009 at 07:11 AM

This is definitely a laugh. First of all the tiramisu in Australia tastes nothing like the mouthwatering ones you get in Italy.Whats the point of "adapting and adopting" dishes when there was nothing wrong with how they were traditionally made in the first place?

by Mel on February 01, 2009 at 07:12 AM

Forget Tiramapseudo, what about the Chiko Roll?

DD replies: If we were still in the 1960s, that would be it. But we're talking about what Australians eat now.

by John Hooper on February 01, 2009 at 07:22 AM

We are not and will never get there....once you start travelling a bit more Dave..you will find this out...

by Ranners on February 01, 2009 at 07:32 AM

Tiramisu will probably be off Paris menus again before long, but just because it's stayed popular in Australia doesn't mean it should be adopted or that Australians have better taste than the French.
Maybe is simply says Aussie tastes haven't changed much in three decades.
Also, I would bet a large amount of money that once you left the bigger cities that have a strong Italian community, tiramisu would be hard to find and probably not even heard of.

by Mark T on February 01, 2009 at 07:33 AM

what a joke! Having spent 6 weeks in Italy in September-October where we tried tiramisu on every possible occasion, in the north, middle and south, what is served here in restaurants is, for the most part rubbish. As a kid growing up in Melbourne my Italian friends mothers and grand mothers always tiramisu and it always tastsed better than any restaurant. Almost as good as in Italy.

by graeme on February 01, 2009 at 07:52 AM

Tiramisu is my signature dish that is requested by the males in my family for every special occassion. I use a lasagne dish to ensure everyone gets a bit. I made it 3 times over Xmas/January and still I know the next birthday it will be requested yet again.

by Miss Ann on February 01, 2009 at 07:56 AM

Having lived across the border from France I've got to agree with the other commenters that tirasmisu has been around for ages in Europe. They even sold it at the supermarket alongside yogurt and rice pudding in the early 80s (maybe even before but that's when I lived there).

by T Ramisu on February 01, 2009 at 08:33 AM

Frankly it doesn't surprise me that the French wouldn't have "discovered" Tiramisu until recently. The French seem to think that they have the best cuisine in the world. Coming from that attitude it's pretty hard to shift to a way of thinking which easily accepts something from another food culture. Thus it may take a good 30 years for the Tiramisu to become a craze there. I think a lot of Europeans have the same problem - including the Italians. They think the way they do it is the right way, so any other way is wrong. Just look at Italians and coffee. Gee, you'd think it was them and not the Ethiopians who discovered it.

by Mike on February 01, 2009 at 09:22 AM

I suppose this article goes part way to answering the age old question - Why is the food in Australia so bad? The answer is the mixture of ignorance and comically misplaced confidence we have about food. In a food oriented country, articles like this would not reach print.

by gav on February 01, 2009 at 09:35 AM

As many others, this article makes me laugh. I have been buying tiramisu in French supermarket and restaurants for the last 15 years
It is just an old cliche to try to attract reader attention. A poor one.

DD remarks: If it made you laugh, it has achieved its purpose.

by Matthieu on February 01, 2009 at 10:11 AM

Not only have Australians been stealing national dishes from their neighbours and calling it OZ national dish - you have now started to steal dishes from further a field! P.S I've tried pies in other countries, the soggy gravy non-filling ones you get here is an embarrassment if its Australia's national dish.

by silly_aussies on February 01, 2009 at 10:53 AM

This article is probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Was that the first time the writer went to France? I had Tiramisu in France in the 80's. If it is still on the menu in some restaurants, it is simply because it is very good quality/price desert. As for making it a national dish here in Australia, I think there is nothing more silly. Why not pasta or pizza while you're there???

DD replies: So you'd go for spaghetti bolognese as the national dish rather than tiramisu?

by Vincent on February 01, 2009 at 11:31 AM

I vote for the flat white coffee as Australia's national dish. Nowhere else has espresso topped with hot milk reached such perfection.
I disagree with the person who said Australian food is bad. Cafe and restaurant food in Australia is far more adventurous and interesting than most food you would get at your average restaurant in North America.

by aussie_in_canada on February 01, 2009 at 12:17 PM

I remember the first time I ever ate Tiramisu, and it was at The Mixing Pot. I agree with David Dale - that would be about 29 years ago! It was an instant obsession. I think I got the Mixing Pot's recipe pretty soon after from Gourmet Traveller magazine. The Mixing Pot recipe included Strega Liqueur as well as espresso coffee. It was my first introduction to mascarpone - as rare as hen's teeth, and as difficult to buy, back then. I have been reading David Dale for years and I agree that Australia's embrace of the best from many different international cuisines makes eating out here a constant process of discovery. Let's face it, in France or Italy for example, you can soon get tired of eating in restaurants because their menus are often so similar and traditional.

by David on February 01, 2009 at 01:18 PM

Coming from a French/Australian household I can honestly say - How adventurous of the French to condescend to adopt a dish from another country's cuisine! They can serve it all they want but they'll never accept it as being as good as a true French dessert. And I might add that the Italians will always think that they themselves would always make it better anyway. That's old world Europe for you. I think Australia deserves more credit for even trying other cuisines and taking them seriously - it's what you get from a young culture, a new world culture. Really they are so different we shouldn't compare them but appreciate them all for what they are.
As for an Australian national dish? What about a national menu?
and Gav! Learn to cook! You'll change your mind.

by Melissa Manican on February 01, 2009 at 03:46 PM

"Another 15 years before the Parisians got around to sharing our pleasure".....and "Australian foodies decades ahead of the French" are laughable claims. Life here revolves around food. The French are educated in food and wine as children - much like they are educated in knowing the difference between a Monet and a Manet. A Frenchman will be able to tell you where the best baguette is in your "quartier" or what potatoes are best for mashing. At soir�es they'll argue over how to pick the best camembert at the dedicated cheese shop. And the Italians are the same.
Tiramisu the "latest craze"? Piffle. It's gone in and out of fashion for the last twenty or more years here. Much like crumble, which you see on bistro menus everywhere.

by lambe, paris on February 01, 2009 at 06:28 PM

"Not only have Australians been stealing national dishes from their neighbours and calling it OZ national dish - you have now started to steal dishes from further a field! P.S I've tried pies in other countries, the soggy gravy non-filling ones you get here is an embarrassment if its Australia's national dish.
by silly_aussies on February 01"
Oh, them's fighting words they are.
So many of the responders reply with a sneering dislike of the way a dish is prepared in Australia. I had it in Italy and it was so much better, I had it in France and you Australians don't know what your talking about blah blah blah....
How about this, when I tried something in another country the food was different from Australian style and I preferred the European way (mainly because I am an out and out wanker who couldn't be seen to ever give praise to the country where most of the rest of the world wants to live).
Food is international, the Italians learned of pasta from the Chinese and liked it so much it has become their national dish. Why can't a young country like Australia adopt another countries cuisine, stylize it to local conditions and produce and if loved by most in Australia it becomes a national dish?
Wankers, wankers, wankers, the majority respondents to these articles are such wankers it makes my teeth hurt.

by bad advice on February 01, 2009 at 06:32 PM

I vote for yum cha as the national dish of Australia, seriously I read an article somewhere that Australian's most favourite food is Chinese and at work, most of my Caucasian workmates have stir fried noodles or rice for lunch.

by Chinaman on February 01, 2009 at 07:40 PM

yes,how obvious,the poor backward cave dwelling french have at last been exposed to the glorious culinary contributions from the antipodeans, dear david, can you recommend places to buy an ignorantometer? a funny thing i saw exposing local pig ignorance was an upstart interviewer asking andre rieu weather melbourne had a lot in common with his hometown, my hometown,he replied,was established by the romans,was melbourne also established by the romans? CUT SCENE.

by robert on February 01, 2009 at 10:37 PM

The national dish of Australia is toast.

by HongKonger on February 02, 2009 at 02:31 AM

Sigh. Tiramisu style desserts have been around a very long time as others have pointed out. If you're going to say that Australian taste out performs that of Paris tell me where I can find the following in Australia (all things one would want to eat on a Parisian holiday): Chapon (for Christmas), fresh chanterelles, ham made from boar meat, veal cooked sous-vide, c�te de boeuf, t�te de veau, rillettes, edible duck (not Asian), fresh whole milk cheeses/butters/creams, croissants that don't taste like bread, lobe de foie gras (from a duck or goose, not a tin) ... Fairly standard fare in Paris.

by Gavin on February 02, 2009 at 03:34 AM

National dish? honestly, as a multicultural country with a short history we ought to pride ourselves on the diversity of our food. I've lived in Italy, China, England & Scotland and none of those countries have the range of food at high quality for reasonable prices. Italians and Chinese are too arrogant about their foods being the best to have good quality foreign restaurants while in the UK, the good stuff is pricey and the cheap stuff is terrible. i love the fact that in the last two weeks in Sydney I've eaten foods from more than 10 different countries and all for under $20 per person. National food? whatever you feel like today.

by Bloke on February 02, 2009 at 03:59 AM

Cher lambe, vous avez raison! But all the knowledge and obsession lies STRICTLY within French cuisine. You have to go to a back street health food shop to find a bottle of soy sauce.

by La Petite Puce on February 02, 2009 at 05:45 AM

Tiramisu is much older than that. In the 1980s, a friend gave us a recipe her grandmather had taught her.
According to wikipedia, some sources claim it was presented to Cosimo III, who lived from 1642 to 1723.

by i bokor on February 02, 2009 at 07:57 AM

I'm laughing to death here..so you think Australia is ahead France in terms of food? Not bad for a country whose national food is Thai cuisine.

by Felipe on February 02, 2009 at 08:04 AM

"Italians learned of pasta from the Chinese" When will this myth die? It is perhaps the most ridiculous historical myth going around.

by ron on February 02, 2009 at 10:08 AM

I agree with HongKonger - the national dish is toast, especially in Winter ... you can't walk into an office lift in the mornings without smelling someone's raisin toast or vegemite on Turkish.
But Tiramisu is definitely a tasty dish - I've been going through a Tiramisu phase since I saw a good recipe for it on SBS's Food Safari last year and we had it for dessert for Xmas lunch.

by Ally on February 02, 2009 at 10:13 AM

I though Lyon was the culinary capital of France. Also, wasn't North African desserts the trend a few years ago in France?

by canoli on February 02, 2009 at 10:38 AM

I think the national dish should be Paella. Oz is blessed with fresh seafood which can be used in a variety of ways in Paella, the yummiest way to enjoy seafood - thanks to the Spanish.
Nothing tastes or feels like the seaside like Paella al fresco with friends on a Sydney summers day. Bon apetite!

by Nigel on February 02, 2009 at 10:49 AM

Mines's bigger than yours! My ancestors gave me the recipe over 900 years ago... yes that's right.
Is anyone going to actually comment on David Bale's point of "what is our national food"?
He made a suggestion about tiramisu to inspire some food for thought and all there is on this page is trailing nonsense about how everyone's grandmother cooked it better and how France is cullinarily (if that's a word - but you get my point) better than Australia.
Every blogger here has a point that Tiramisu is absolutely undoubtedly not the Australian dish, but there is no-one suggesting an alternative. How about that eh? I'm surprised no-one has brought up the topic of the white versus red wine.
Sticking to the point of the arcticle, there is some credit thinking that anti-pasto platters are in high demand nowadays -but that's my humble and relative opinion.
As for the rest of you, what's the price of sushi in Japan got to do with it?

by jason on February 02, 2009 at 10:53 AM

Can't stand Tiramisu anyhow.
Frankly, Australia doesn't have a national dish. Sure, no one really eats beef pies or beef sausages the same way we do (the British use pork in both most commonly, for example), but our big strength is the variety and quality of food we have.
Wankers will dribble on about the French and the Italians until the cows come home, and they do -their- cuisine very well. Try and get something that isn't their cuisine (excepting North African in France, but they have a large North African community in Paris these days so it's a given), though, and you're going to have a lot of trouble.
Australia, as a young and culturally diverse country, has the benefit of not needing a national dish; we'll take in everyone and adapt to the best they have to offer.
People who waffle on about how you can't get X or Y in Australia, you're either living in Adelaide or plainly aren't looking the right places.
Oh, and yes, the thing about the Italians getting pasta from the Chinese is a myth. There's plenty of evidence it was being eaten long before trade contact with Asia.

by Sunder on February 02, 2009 at 11:13 AM

Why can't tiramisu be the Australian dish? Meat pies weren't invented in Australia but everyone considers meat pies the national food.
Australia's cuisine is well beyond meat pies and chicko rolls anyway, get out of the 80's. Australia's cuisine is much like Australia's young culture, borrowed from different parts to create something unique. Yeah we are taking from Italian, French, Spanish, Thai, Japanese, Malaysian, Greek, Korean etc, but what are you going to do about it? While the French and Italians cry, we will be eating the best from everyone cuisines, just like any trully evolved species we are taking the best parts and making them ours. Thanks world.

by Drew on February 02, 2009 at 11:44 AM

This is ridiculous:
The article,
The comments,
the comments within the article, and the articles within the comments
Australia, particularly Sydney has more fresh produce available year round than most other cities in the world. Australia does not have a national dish as we have not developed out own cuisine over 1000's of years. We do, though, eat regularly from a whole range of international cuisine types unlike most other nations who tend to prmarily eat their "own" cuisine. In the 50's and 60's Italian food was the newest thing. It brought vegetables such as capsicum into our realm. There is a lot of bad and good food everywhere but at least Australia has a large variety

by richosti on February 02, 2009 at 11:54 AM

It has to be toast. We have it (with variations) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vegemite on toast, eggs on toast, jaffles, toast with soup, toasted samdwiches etc etc....

by Claire on February 02, 2009 at 01:39 PM

Love Tiramisu, my favorite desert. But I really dont think Oz has a national food and it doesn't matter. We don't need one. We have a huge diversity of food here, more so than many countries and that is enough to be proud of. Not to mention how fantastic our wines are.
So our national dish should be anything we want on any given day. We are so damn lucky to be living in a place where we can eat practically anything we want , whenever we want. How many countries can say that?
And BTW, our coffee is fantastic too, at least superior to the rubbish that they pass off as coffee in North America. I have never had a decent coffee there, ever. And barely a Tiramisu to be had.

by em on February 02, 2009 at 02:58 PM

"Australia does not have a national dish as we have not developed out own cuisine over 1000's of years." * by richosti on February 02, 2009 at 11:54 AM

Does that mean the Aboriginals lived in a culinary and ingredient poor environment?
Sure... if we're talking about post colonisation cuisine, it's fair to say that the 'tastes' of Australians is reflective of a move away from simplistic "English" style menus, to menus that draw from many of the cultures that have found Australia a place to call 'home'...
Sadly; we've been so loathe to eat the tucker that kept the Aboriginals healthy and sustained for 35,000yrs and more, that any "national dish" that's proposed is always going to (in my view) be some rip-off or adjusted variant of a foreign derived original - despite how marvelous they may taste.
If only Les Hiddins could have presented "Bush Tucker" in the style of a Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver, we might actually be discussing the French fad for saute kangaroo or strawberry gum sorbet.
Hopefully the greater interest in (and acceptance of) the indigenous populace and culture might just help our native produce/ingredients become more fashionable and accepted than they currently are by 'mainstream' Australia.
Who knows... given a chance they might just help redress the current imbalance between imported favourites and local exports.

by Steve C on February 02, 2009 at 11:54 PM

I think 'Nigel' is on to something. Paella is basically rice. Depending upon which ingredients are used it could easily be asian (S,SE,N), middle eastern or medit'n. Every restuarant and food court has some variant.

by canoli on February 04, 2009 at 03:52 PM

David, from what the media would have us believe we will be facing in this economic crisis, people will stop eating altogether - except for maybe baked beans on toast; that's all we will be able to afford, after we have been evicted from our mortgaged/rental homes, lost our jobs, our superannuation, our savings, and unable to be the recipients of the welfare system because it too has been bankrupted. Tiramusu.......you used to eat tiramusu?

by Judy on February 08, 2009 at 08:01 AM

Tiramisu? Fail!!

by Renato Martins on February 09, 2009 at 06:27 AM

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WHO WE ARE: The national pick-me-up

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