For Australia Day (January 26, 2013) two
Australia-inspired chefs, John Placko (by birth) and Luke
Hayes-Alexander (By extensive traveling) put on a special 8 course
dinner series (3 nights: Jan. 24-26) to shine a light on the
food/cuisine of Australia paired with a number of Aussie wines.
Described by John as an “Epicurean Walkabout” here’s how the evening
went:
Opening wine was a pleasant Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay / Pinot Noir – nice up front fruit
Course 1: Beet It
“Beet in textures, goat cheese, hazelnut powder”
Wine: Served with a lackluster Sauvignon Blanc
Course 2: Coffee & Biscuit
“Warm coffee with biscuit broth, garnishes”
Wine: No specific wine for this course
Course 3: Queensland Revisited
“Barramundi, cauliflower with dill, horseradish jelly, frozen pickled cucumber”
Wine: Pewsey Vale Riesling – nice pear, green apple, candied lemon peel (*** ½+)
Course 4: Blinman
“Lamb, beets, lemon myrtle, brown butter, wattle seed”
Wine: Ringbolt 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon – raspberry, smoky, white pepper, strawberry and chalky; complex and flavourful (****+)
Course 5: Red Centre
“Kangaroo, pepperberry, vegemite, akudjura, Buderim ginger, potato with macadamia, wild hibiscus gel, onion fluid gel”
Wine: A Shiraz/Viognier that added nothing to the meal
Course 6: Sydney
“Aussie meat pie in two course; traditional and modern”
Wine: A simple Cabernet Sauvignon
Course 7: Pavlova, deconstructed
“Mudgee
honey meringue and wafers, mango cured and ice cream pearls,
freeze-dried banana, carbonated strawberries, passion fruit fluid gel,
berry powder”
Course 8: The Blue Mountains
“Orange, Granny Smith apple, eucalyptus olida, chocolate, jasmine, musk”
Wine: There were surprisingly no dessert wines served, which is too bad because Australia makes some brilliant ones.
Coup-de-Gras: The Tim Tam Slam
A hot beverage, a popular biscuit and a lot of fun.
These
biscuits have been part of Australian culture since their launch in
1964 and are consumed at a rate of 400 million per year.
Other Pictures from the Evening ...
 |
| The Table is Set - 40 people in the room total |
 |
| The wines of the evening |
 |
| Chefs preparing the apps and for the evening ahead |
 |
| App 1 |
 |
| App 2 |
 |
| Say hello to the chefs: Luke (left) and John (right) |
 |
| This hard little pill on the plate ... just add water to it ... |
 |
| And voila, it puffed up ... it ultimately unrolled to be a napkin |
No comments:
Post a Comment