Newsletter #46 – Accommodation Ratings in Australia – Paella

My interest in food and accommodation can be traced back to travels and holidays with my family in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. Early caravan park visits on New South Wale’s Central Coast probably didn’t offer much in the way of inspiration, except for tasty fish and chips, but the locations were great. Caravan parks gave way to motel trips and the opportunity to ‘eat out’ every day. Waiting in the room for the knock on the door of the magical ‘breakfast hatch’ and finding a local restaurant after our daily adventures are fond memories.

The 1960’s saw the Harris’s fall in love with the cruise industry.

Cruising in Australia was very different to today’s industry. Dining was generally limited to one or two options throughout the cruise and we generally ate breakfast and dinner in the dining room at our set table. I was in the junior club but most of the time I ate with mum and dad. The choices I thought were vast and the quality very good. I don’t think I was a fussy eater and while I have likes and dislikes now, 60 years ago I would try most foods.

This exposure to eating out, which was uncommon at the time, led me into the hospitality industry in 1971. After one year in a restaurant, I moved to the Hyatt Hotel in King’s Cross. It was there that I became reacquainted with the N.R.M.A’s accommodation directory and I started looking up places that we had stayed and how they were ranked.

The Ratings system

A printed accommodation directory in Australia had been around since the 1950’s and its associated booking service and star rating system was owned and operated by the individual motoring services of most states of Australia as well as the Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RAC).

The directories offered information on individual properties such as location, number of rooms and facilities available in a paperback style book.  Of primary importance was the rating system – ‘stars’ for hotels (both international and pub style) and ‘diamonds’ for motels, with 5 solid stars or diamonds being the best and lesser establishments attracting fewer stars or diamonds. Blank stars and diamonds meant a half star, but the highest rank then was 5. While no stars generally indicated something you should avoid, it could also have meant that it hadn’t been reviewed.

Naturally the ratings system didn’t take the word of the hotel proprietor and stars were awarded based on physical visits, reviews and the dreaded (for many) mystery guest stays. Perhaps no other industry was subjected to so much scrutiny which could make or break the reputation of an establishment.

You may recall a TV advertisement for M.F.A  (motels) where Arthur Daley (from ‘Minder’ TV series) tried to circumvent the rating system.

Many of the facilities that we now take for granted were not commonplace in the 1950’s. While a hot shower and a comfortable bed was something that you would hope for after a day’s travelling, most mod-cons were a rarity. The advent of television saw T.V’s in hotel and motel rooms and for two schillings (to cover the license fee) in the slot you could view all three T.V. stations. Meanwhile the motel down the road offered free T.V. Damn! You have to love competition – out-door pools lost out to heated pools which were gazumped by indoor pools. The list goes on.

It was possible to slip in the rankings due to mismanagement in a number of areas including cleanliness, poor food and indifferent service. Upgrading to achieve another star or diamond in your establishment was not that easy and generally a very costly exercise. Gradually standards changed and some establishments found they were stuck with rooms that didn’t meet the criteria and couldn’t be changed or perhaps 24-hour room service was impossible to supply, among other reasons.

Most of the larger Sydney hotels of the 1970’s were at least 4 stars with the Wentworth sitting on 5 stars along with the Sydney Hilton. The Menzies, the Boulevard Hotel and the Hyatt Kingsgate were probably 4.5 stars.  But the booming industry and the internet only accelerated change.

Eventually the motoring organisations exited the rating system and AAA Tourism was the peak body before settling down to the current brand ‘Star Ratings Australia’ under the management of the ‘Australian Tourism Industry Council’ which runs the ‘Quality Tourism Accreditation Program’ which reviews standards and awards ratings. This body does not operate a booking service but is a licensed system where establishments can opt out of participation.

It should be noted that the current rating system is separate to the ratings given on the many different booking sites which relies on posts and feedback from guests of hotels, motels, caravan parks, apartments and homes.

While I miss the printed version of the 60’s and 70’s, the advent of the internet gave people greater access to most properties not only in Australia but also worldwide. However at the end of the day it is still possible to make poor choices regardless of how up to date information is.

In 2005, following the success of various cooking shows, reality TV in England presented the first episode of a series, which is still running after 20 seasons. It’s called The Hotel Inspector and it’s hosted by Alex Polizzi. Each episode features a struggling pub, hotel or guest house and the venues proprietors trying to pursue their dream of being awarded a star rating for their establishment.

One cannot watch that show without being reminded of a TV show which aired 30 years before The Hotel Inspector. It’s called Fawlty Towers. Interestingly one of the episodes is called The Hotel Inspectors. That episode and a later episode called Basil the Rat compounded the fear into the already paranoid proprietor, Basil.

Most episodes featured something happening in the dining room of FawltyTowers and occasionally the plot revolved around foods such as Roast Duck, Bombe Alaska and Waldorf Salad.  Which brings me to today’s recipe – Paella. This traditional Spanish dish, was actually never served in the episode titled The Anniversary.

Paella

True Paella is one of the original ‘one pan meals’, put together almost casually by workers tending the rice paddies south of the Spanish city of Valencia in the 15^th century. Originally local ingredients were used including snails, rabbit, eels , butter beans, aquatic birds and naturally the locally grown ‘Bomba’ rice which is a short grain rice, slightly similar the Italian rice ‘Arborio’.

The word paella refers to the large steel pan associated with the dish. The cooking method 500 years ago was over an open fire and using a wooden spoon to stir the dish while cooking.

While authentic interpretations of the dish ‘Paella’ are most likely to be found in Spain and traditional restaurants, in Australia, the abundance of local ingredients (along with the unpopularity of snails, rabbit and eel) have led to the inclusion of prawns, calamari, chicken and even chorizo. I am unsure why chorizo is included outside of Spain, but perhaps the word reinforced the dishes Spanish origins.

In preparing this dish at home, it is important to remember that Arborio rice will give a different result than Bomba rice. Bomba is harder to break down than Arborio, hence you can add more stock or liquid to Bomba while Arborio will release more starch earlier and create a creamy texture. It’s your choice what you use.

Also remember that the seafood will also release liquid, when it is cooked, but always have some backup stock if you feel the finished product needs thinning. Alternatively use boiling water.

Both paprika and tomato paste will add colour and some flavour to the paella and are optional.

You may see recipes that use fish stock but I think a good flavoured chicken stock provides a better flavour profile.

Finally, as you know, I am not a proponent of purchasing cooking equipment I only use occasionally, and a paella pan falls into that category.