Submitted by Lauren Hollmann on the 2018 winter session program in Australia sponsored by the Department of Hospitality Business Management…
Being in Australia is so interesting because it is so similar to the United States, but it is also so different at the same time. The differences are so little and minimal, for example, the way we go out to eat. When you go out to a restaurant, the waiters pay attention to you a lot less (not in a bad way), but they come to get your order, bring you your food, but don’t check up on you nearly as much as restaurants at home. There is no rushing to get you out of restaurants, you almost always have to ask for the check, they never bring it over to you or ask if you want it on their own. The food here is a lot fresher because they care a lot about where their food comes from and how it is sourced. They care a lot about how their animals live and that they live as sustainably as possible which is so different than the United States where the concern is to mass produce food as much as possible.
We also went to the Sydney Fish Market this week where we received a tour and were able to see the fish sold that morning. Our tour guide told us that almost all of the fish were caught up until the night before or 3 days prior. He showed us all types of fish and the regions they came from in Australia and how they are caught to preserve the fish. After that, we had a cooking class at the Sydney Seafood School, where we cooked a delicious Moroccan Tajine. When going out to eat in Sydney, many of the restaurants are self-sufficient so every table has a caddy with utensils and napkins and if you were to ask for tap water you will be pointed to an area where there are cups and a fountain or bottles so you can bring a glass bottle of water over to your table. I have enjoyed dining out in Australia more than at home because you don’t feel rushed at all, it just takes some getting used to, to stop asking for things, but rather looking around and probably seeing that what you need is somewhere around you.