Greek Australian chef John Stamatakis has been getting creative with fermented food products, launching his own business called Mould Farmer.
Having just released his first batch of shoyu, which was 18 months in the making, John emphasises the importance of patience required in his craft.
“It is a slow process, you’re mixing it every week at least, or more often,” John told CityMag.
“Probably less than one per cent of soy sauce in Japan is still made this way. This is not the fastest or the most economical way to produce it.”
Although it may not be the ideal process for the sauce, John prefers this traditional approach.
“I am a bit of a sucker for tradition. If there’s an old school way, that’s kind of what I’m drawn to,” he said. “I’d rather lean that way than shortcut way.”
John has been plating up plates of fermented vegetables and proteins at several food stalls in Adelaide, since the brand’s debut last year.
He received mixed responses from the crowds he’s served at Tasting Australia and the Royal Adelaide Show, but they’ve mainly been positive.
“I think fear and curiosity, and then overwhelmingly positive from a flavour perspective,” John said.
“Even at the Royal Adelaide pop-up, there was koji all through that menu, it just wasn’t written on the menu, and people were saying ‘That’s the best steak I’ve ever had, that’s the best chicken I’ve ever had,’ and it’s because everything was marinated in koji in some way.”
Mould Farmer sells Shoyu, Hon Mirin, Beef Garum and Shoyu salt, with John currently working on a gluten-free version made using buckwheat.
He is hoping to release a new batch of Shoyu every six months and will also add other fermented products as his business grows.
John plans on visiting Osaka, Japan, in March next year to learn how to brew Sake, which will be a future Mould Farmer project.
Source: CityMag
