Executive chef Telina Menzies is a self-confessed onion fan.   

“I use onions in everything. I absolutely love them,” said Telina Menzies.   

“I love the smell of onions. It’s so nostalgic. A Bunnings sausage sizzle is one of my favourite things, but do you know why? It’s not the smell of the sausages cooking, it’s the onions!” 

 Since starting an apprenticeship at age 17, Telina’s career has soared. Telina has won multiple awards, cooked for the Royal Family and is now Executive Chef at the Hotel Esplanade and mentors chefs cross 28 venues.  

Telina has supported the Hort Innovation Onion nutrition education program for health professionals and the food service industry (VN20002) program, working with program delivery partner Straight To The Source to showcase Australian Onions at Fine Food Australia in 2022.  

 Telina is ready to take to The Source Kitchen stage again and inspire food service professionals at the upcoming Australian Onions masterclass, at Fine Food Australia this September.  

“I want to challenge food service professionals to look at onions in different ways and think creatively,” said Telina.  “We need to look at onions in a different way, because they are such a good price and such a versatile ingredient. Rather than using them as a base, we need to treat them as a star, like on a barbeque, roasting them and steaming them and using as them fillings for things like dumplings.” 

“Onions can be used in everything and not just savoury dishes, but sweet ones too. You can use pastry as a vessel and use them to make something like a delicious tarte tartin.  

“They can be fried, used in sauces, like a soubise, or used for their sweetness. They can be cooked low and slow in milk and salt. You’ll be amazed at the flavour you get out of the onions – they have many layers, no pun intended!”   

At September’s Fine Food Australia, Telina will join the talented team from the Hotel Esplanade’s Mya Tiger and the Garden State Hotel’s Tippy Tay for the ‘Anything Goes…with Onions’ masterclass.   

The amazing culinary line-up will be creating their take on a French dip sandwich, French onion toastie, Xiao-Long Bao dumplings filled with onion and onion ox dipping sauce as well as pasta made from onions.   

The session showcasing brown, red, and white Australian Onions will be hosted by Straight To The Source. It will also include nutrition tips from dietitian Teri Lichtenstein and farm-to-plate grower insights from John Tselekidis from Mitolo Family Farms.    

“Support from Telina, and fellow chefs, has been invaluable,” said Straight To The Source’s Tawnya Bahr. “They have shared amazingly creative and delicious ways to hero onions, helping us deliver sessions that are impactful, highly inspirational and educational as well.”   

The Hort Innovation Onion nutrition education program for health professionals and the food service industry (VN20002) program has helped to revitalise healthcare and food service professional interest in onions and inspire recommendation and usage.  

Survey results, from the end of year three, showed two thirds of food service respondents (66%) included onions daily in recipes or menu items, up from 30% at the start of the program. While more than a third (39%) always included onion as a key ingredient in a meal or menu item, up from 22% at the start of the program.  

Based on its success, the three-year program has been extended until February 2025. The extension activities include the upcoming Fine Food Australia masterclass, a food service workshop in Sydney, and an interactive exhibition at the Dietitian’s Australia conference.   

The extension will also include maintaining the Australian Onions foodservice and health professional website hubs, ongoing digital communication program and reviewing the latest published health and nutrition science about onions. 

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the onion research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture. 

Project VN20002