Chefs have been levelling up the quality – and quantity – of butter they serve. What’s inspiring this trend and what happens to the leftover spread?
At Melbourne restaurant Etta, Rosheen Kaul browns rich Jersey milk butter until it resembles caramel. After smoking it over a red gum fire for hours, the chef chills it, whips it and presents the spread with smoked salt alongside the restaurant’s sourdough bread. “In the past, we’ve done a wild garlic butter, a white soy and garlic butter and a few other iterations – a favourite being our roast chicken fat and maple syrup butter with chives, lemon and crispy chicken skin.” But smoked brown butter remains the biggest hit and backs up trend watchers’ claims that “butter’s appeal is eternal”.
Kaul thinks butter is having a moment because restaurants are devoting as much thought to their bread course as the rest of the menu. “Where butter has often played second fiddle to bread, it’s become a really wonderful creative outlet for chefs where every single bite is considered,” she says.
