DSICA Column – Our Hotel – November 2006
Counter-meal: An Aussie Tradition
By Gordon Broderick
Last month a colleague and I dropped into a pub for that great Aussie tradition – a counter-lunch. We arrived quite early and ordered a couple of drinks and our meals. A few moments later two groups of about twenty people arrived. The kitchen was clearly going hammer and tong, but during the rush our orders must have been misplaced. I had a 1:30pm appointment and time was becoming quite tight. Our meals eventually arrived and while they were delicious we were constantly watching the clock. When we came to settle the account the owner said, “Apologies gentlemen, no one should wait that long for lunch - the meals are on us”. I tendered some money for our drinks, but that too was refused. I hasten to add that the owner had no idea that I worked for the drinks industry.
I have waited far longer for meals at other establishments without so much as an apology. I made it to my meeting by a whisker, but couldn’t help recounting the excellent customer service I had just been given at the pub – the late meal notwithstanding. It got me thinking more broadly about the countermeal and why they have survived into the 21st century, not least because in today’s multi-cultural society there are literally thousands of eating options.
It may surprise some readers to learn that the counter-lunch is a uniquely Australian innovation. It should stand next to the stump-jump plough, Hills Hoist and lamington.
Around the 1860s hotels in Australia began supplying bread and cheese for a small charge. This practice spread rapidly across Australia and by the 1870s the bread and cheese was supplemented with pressed tongue, sandwiches and biscuits. Competition was so fierce that around this time counter-lunches were provided free of charge. By the booming 1880s extravagant spreads of roast lamb, roast beef, turkey, goose, fried fish, salads, bread and cheeses were scatter across the counters of pubs across Australia at lunch time – all free of charge.
Just before the First World War, however, the counter-lunch all but disappeared. The interests of temperance advocates, restaurateurs and publicans aligned. The teetotallers who had adopted the slogan ‘We only want social evils remedied’ – or WOWSER – wanted the counter-lunch banned because they claimed it drew good citizens to licensed establishments. Restaurateurs wanted to see them end because counter-lunches were diverting business, and publicans were only too happy to save on the exorbitant costs.
During the 1920s and 1930s the counter-lunch began to creep back only to be halted by the Second World War. Following the war, counter-lunches were re-established, but this time in a different form. They were no longer free, but were still reasonably priced, and the menu offered a wider variety. Through-out the 1950s, 60s and 70s the ‘counter-meal’, as it was now generally known, cemented its place as a part of the Aussie culinary tradition.
Throughout the 1980s to the present time the counter-meal adapted itself to reflect our tastes for multi-cultural cuisine, while keeping one foot firmly in the camp of tradition. It’s nothing to see Thai chilli prawns on the same menu as steak & eggs, or quail on polenta competing with the ‘Roast of the Day’. Counter-meals also continue to be good value for money.
As I was rushing to my meeting the pub owner said “I hope we see you back”. I certainly will be back. I enjoy the personalised service, good food and informal environment that only a pub counter-meal can provide. If my recent experience of excellent customer service is the norm rather than the exception, then I expect that we’ll hear “number 32, number 32 … your veal parma is ready” for many years to come.
