Sydney, Australia, dazzled us when it welcomed the new millennium. The whole world will be watching again when the city hosts the Olympic Games from September 15 to October 1. There’s still time and good reason to take advantage of this event with special Australian promotions.

Down Under opportunities

Americans are intrigued by the Land Down Under. They love watching Crocodile Dundee, singing "Waltzing Matilda" and drinking Australian wines. Some 46 percent of them would like to visit Australia, according to a survey conducted for the Australian Trade Commission, based in Los Angeles. The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games will give everyone a chance to learn more about Australia and its culture.

Through its 588 units in the United States, Outback Steakhouse, Inc., headquartered in Miami, gets credit for introducing many Americans to hospitality Australian-style. "We serve basically American food. But an Australian theme is the essence of the fun at Outback," says Nancy Schneid, vice president of marketing. "We believe the heightened visibility in America of Australia will heighten our visibility, too."

That heightened visibility also should be good for business at New York City's Eight Mile Creek and Baltimore’s Boomerang Pub. Both are owned by Australians and serve authentic Australian dishes.

Brothers Will and Frank Ford opened Eight Mile Creek about nine months ago. Since then, "business has been pretty good," says Will Ford. While the Fords avoid using Australian decorations, their popular marinated and pan-fried kangaroo and other menu items — such as emu and yabbies, a freshwater crayfish — are unmistakably Australian. In conjunction with the Olympics, they'll have a special event nearly every day. "We'll use different foods and themes and have some wine tastings. We have a magnificent Australian wine list and will create dishes to pair with our wines," he says.

"We're gearing up to make The Boomerang Pub Baltimore’s Olympic headquarters," says Stephen Huppaty, Australian expatriot and co-owner of the sports bar and restaurant. Plans include an opening-ceremonies celebration and events keyed to Olympic events, Australian animals and other themes. The Boomerang also will cater Aussie parties at homes and businesses.

Boomerang Pub customers don't doubt for a minute that they are in an Australian restaurant. A 40-foot-high-by-140-foot-long mural of the Australian Outback and a smaller mural of the Great Barrier Reef are the decor centerpieces. Aboriginal artwork on the walls and four 15-foot-long boomerangs coming out of the floor complete the backdrop for a menu that offers cocktails such as the "Great White Shark's Tooth," "Crocodile Hunter" and "Banana Boomerang," along with a wide variety of Australian dishes.

Boomerang's menu has two parts. "On one side, we have classic Aussie dishes like fish and chips, and roasted meats and vegetables. The other part of the menu is more upscale and includes modern entrees like you'd find in Sydney or Melbourne," says Gregory Box, the operation's Australian-born chef. Among these modern Australian dishes are "Warm Salad of Crispy Duck With Marinated Cucumber and Poached Pear," "Filet of Mahi-Mahi With Bok Choy, Black Mussels, Bell Pepper Coulis and Dill Olive Oil" and a recent special, "Char-Grilled Sirloin of Kangaroo Sliced Over Sesame Polenta," which was served with wilted greens and a compote of onions and rhubarb. Box also serves grilled kangaroo in tortillas with garlic yogurt sauce and tomato salsa. "We also serve a lot of lamb. It's one food that really says Australia," he adds.

Australia's culinary melting pot

Box's eclectic menu may seem unusual, but it's right in step with what's cooking today in Australia. An island nation with deserts, mountains and jungles, Australia has an abundance of culinary resources. Farmers produce a cornucopia of top-quality fruits and vegetables and raise lamb, beef, poultry and other meats. Seafood and freshwater fish are found in abundance. Rural areas offer kangaroo, emu, ostrich, crocodile and other exotic species of game. A growing dairy industry produces 200 varieties of cheese. Since there is practically nothing that can't be raised or grown somewhere in the country, all the ingredients for a rich and varied cuisine are in place.

Equally important to Australian cooking are the Australian people. "We're truly a multicultural society," explains Michelle Silberman of the Australian Trade Commission.

In fact, more than half of Australia's nearly 19 million residents were born elsewhere or have parents who were. The British were the first to arrive, bringing their traditional shepherd's pie, scones, and roasted meat and vegetable dishes. After World War II, Italians, Greeks, Spaniards, Yugoslavians, Turks and Germans arrived with their native dishes and cooking techniques. In the 1970s, the country welcomed an influx of new residents from Asia and Africa. "There are a million Asians living in Australia. They are buying land and growing everything from bok choy to daikon and have introduced a lot of new vegetables which chefs are mixing and matching to create interesting combinations," says Box.

Mixing and matching is what Australian food is all about, and it's a nationwide practice. Fusion food is an apt description of Australian food or "tucker" as the Aussies call it. That fusion is especially evident in restaurants where chefs use the seasonings of one ethnic cuisine and the techniques of another to create dishes that are fresh, innovative, spontaneous and bursting with flavor. This modern cuisine is inspired by foods found in the native environment or bush — those rural areas away from major cities.

"Bush tucker" sustained the Aborigines who lived in Australia long before Europeans arrived. It includes herbs, spices, fruits, edible flowers, vegetables, animals, birds, insects, seeds and nuts — all of which are part of Australia's evolving cuisine.

Although Australian food has yet to make a significant impact in this country, Australian wine certainly has. "The growth of Australian wine in the U.S. over the last 10 years has been phenomenal. In 1989 to 1990, Australia exported just over 500,000 cases to the U.S. In 1999 to 2000, that number increased to 5.5 million cases," says Damon Ross-Walker of the Australian Wine Bureau in New York City.

Importers are hoping that the Olympics will further strengthen sales. "We saw a push in sales leading up to and after the millennium celebrations. It's our hope and our gut feel that there will be a huge rise in Australian wine sales surrounding the Olympics," says Megghen Driscol, public relations director for Monterey, California—based Southcorp Wines, which imports Lindemans, Seaview, Penfolds and other Australian wines.

Kangaroos are OK — Olympic rings are not

Operators who are considering running Olympic-related promotions should take note of the strict laws regarding the use of all things Olympic.

Foster's beer, for example, should benefit from the Games in spite of the fact that the Olympics cannot be used to promote it in the United States. Foster's beer brewed and headquartered in Australia is the official beer of the Sydney Games, but Foster's brewed in Canada and distributed in the United States by Miller Brewing is not a part of the Olympics. In the United States, Budweiser has the Olympic affiliation. "We don't have the rights to the Olympics," says Jeff Waalkes, sales communications manager for Miller.

Lindemans is in a similar situation. "We are the official wine of the Summer Olympics in Australia, Great Britain and Canada, but obtaining that right in this country was just too expensive," says Driscol. Even Outback must avoid any Olympic tie-ins. As an Olympic sponsor, "McDonald's has exclusive restaurant rights to the Olympics. And those rights are very strong," says Schneid.

The official Web site of the 2000 Summer Games makes that very clear. It warns that "Only official sponsors approved by the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) can use Olympic words, symbols, including logos, the rings and Sydney 2000."

Nevertheless, Foster's, Lindemans and others have found ways to provide promotional materials and support for their restaurant customers and still follow the rules. Earlier this summer, "Foster's Team 2000" promotion offered consumers the opportunity to win a trip for two to Sydney in September. It was supported by commercials, ads and point-of-sale materials, including table tents depicting kangaroos and other animals native to Australia wearing boxing gloves, throwing a javelin and participating in other sports-related settings. Its current campaign, "Party Like An Aussie," also provides support materials and a sweepstakes prize of "an Aussie-style party for 50, including a home-theater system and a barbecue grill," says Waalkes.

Lindeman’s "Medal Winner 2000" campaign never mentions the Olympics either. Instead, it promotes Australia and Australian wines through colorful "Take Home the Gold" posters, coasters and napkins emblazoned in gold with the map of Australia and other POS materials.

BRL Hardy, which owns and imports Hardys, Chateau Reynella, Leasingham, Barossa Valley Estate and Banrock Station wines, views the Olympics as a great opportunity to educte consumers about Australian wine. "We will encourage the enjoyment of Australian wines during the Games, most prominently through Australian-themed material," says Ben Dollard, vice president of marketing for BRL Hardy, which has its U.S. operations in Chantilly, Virginia.

Let Aussie wines be your centerpiece

Michael Bennett, executive chef of The Left Bank in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, didn't wait for the Olympics to begin to do an Australian wine dinner. For three evenings in late June, the Mediterranean restaurant was draped in heavy mosquito netting and decorated with plastic kangaroos, lizards and other animals native to Australia. The staff dressed in bush outfits — "khaki shorts and shirts, like you see in the movies," he says.

Bennett served the sell-out crowds a multicourse meal pairing each course with an appropriate Australian wine. For an appetizer, Bennett stuffed Maytag blue cheese mousseline inside a vol-au-vent placed on top of sun-dried cranberry relish. The dish was topped with slices of smoked duck breast and garnished with Belgian endive and frisee.

The main course paired Australian lamb chops, seasoned with a stone-ground mustard, rosemary and sage rub, with mango barbecued blue-water prawns. He sauced the dish with pan-roasted rosemary demi-glace studded with cherimoya. Garnished with fried, sliced lotus root to hold the prawns, garlic blossoms, rosemary sprigs and a deep-fried udon noodle, the dish was presented on a bed of "rocket"-flavored mashed potatoes. "In Australia, rocket is what we call dandelion greens. They grow wild and some people cultivate them to eat," says Bennett.

Australian wines are also integral to the "Catch the Taste of Pacific Rim" promotion running through mid-October in all Wyndham Hotels and Resorts in the United States. "Australian wines are very high-quality and their increased popularity will drive an interest in the food," says Eric Sieb, president and CEO of The Sieb Organization in Phoenix. The hospitality consulting and marketing firm creates short-term menu promotions for Wyndham. The current one features Pan-Asian dishes and Penfolds and Lindemans wines by the glass.

Guests at Marriotts, Holiday Inns and other properties managed by Interstate Hotels of Pittsburgh currently can enjoy a "Summer Down Under" menu of Australian starters, such as "Roasted Greenlip Mussels," "Shrimp on the Barbie With Mango-Green Peppercorn Sauce" and "Field Greens With Beets and Goat Cheese." Main courses include "Herb-rubbed Australian Lamb" and Bouillabaisse. "We took a tongue-in-cheek approach to desserts," says Don Stanczak, vice president for food and beverage. "For example, we're serving 'Bananas Foster' because Foster's beer — as well as wines from Lindemans and Penfolds — are part of the promotion." Supported by table tents in guest rooms and posters in elevators and lobbies, the promotion "was designed to take advantage of the interest in Australia and encourage guests to stay in the hotels for dinner," explains Stanczak.

Authentic Aussie

Huppaty also plans to take full advantage of Americans' interest in his homeland during the Olympics. Other restaurateurs who want to do the same should "offer a very casual, fun and happy atmosphere combined with good food and large portions," he says. "That's how we do it in Australia."

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