It’s Vintage time in the Barossa!
It’s Vintage time in the Barossa! And despite the frantic pace it sets, I always revel in its timing for reasons beyond just a (hopefully) bountiful harvest; it’s when our long, hot Summers finally give way to the crispness of Autumn nights – a wonderful time to be in the Valley. By happy coincidence, it is also the time for glorious produce that begs to be made into heartier fare as the temperature drops – mushrooms, fennel, pomegranates and quinces to name a few of my favourites.
Golden Harvest
This year the Barossa Vintage Festival commemorated its 60th Anniversary – making it the longest and oldest wine event in Australia!
The Festival has come a long way since its humble beginnings back in 1947. In its first year the celebrations comprised of a single event only – the Festival Ball. This event is still one of the Festival highlights but it is now joined by over 200 other opportunities to celebrate Vintage.
This year’s theme “Celebrate the Blend” encapsulated much of what the Festival represents; a blend of the region’s wonderful wines, the ever evolving food culture and the hospitality of Barossans themselves.
With this in mind the scene was set for the DECADEnce Dinner that I helped to create with my daughters, Saskia and Elli, and chefs Gill Radford and William Wood, amongst others. We barbequed, poached, pressed and preserved our way through 60 years of local food inspiration to come up with a new take on old Barossa favourites. It was a fantastic night as we ‘celebrated the blend’. There will be more to share about this in the next newsletter when I get some photos from Elli!
Prize Producers
After spending more than 12 months tracking down and tasting a whole variety of superb Australian produce, the winners of the 2007 Vogue Entertaining Travel Audi Produce Awards were announced at a stylish awards ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday night.
Now in its third year, the Produce Awards are dedicated to discovering and celebrating the finest food suppliers in the country. As the honorary patron I was asked to select the winner of the Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Australian Food and although it was quite a task to finalize my decision, I found a very worthy recipient in Jane Adams. Jane travelled to the States on a grant to study the rapidly expanding farmer’s market community back in 1997, when no one here was even familiar with the concept. Her work introduced a whole new way of putting small producers in touch with their customers. For anyone who loves being able to chat to the person who has grown the fresh produce they are about to buy, they have much to thank Jane for. Bravo Jane!
Foundation Enterprise
I recently had a wonderful night helping my good friend Stephanie Alexander create an Autumn Harvest Dinner as part of her Kitchen Garden Foundation Scheme. The dinner was a six course autumn feast hosted by Stephanie and myself to help raise funds for her foundation which exists to develop healthier and happier eating habits in kids by engaging them in growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing delicious and healthy food at primary school.
On the menu – Pheasant Farm Pate with Mushroom Toasts and Anchovy Cigars, Heirloom Tomato Salad with my Single Estate Olive Oil, Roasted Spring Bay Scallops on Leeks with Verjuice, Saffron, Capers and Parsley Crumbs, Seared Venison with Crushed Myrtle, Mushrooms and Chestnuts and a cheese course of Organic Roquefort with Vino Cotto.
I thought I’d share the recipe for the dessert we did of my Verjuice Custard that would be wonderful served with quinces so you can get into the spirit of Autumn too. After all it’s not just kids who need to relish delicious seasonal food!
It was such an amazing night. Held at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne the dining hall transformed there was such good will in the room it was palpable.
Perhaps most remarkable of all were the army of volunteers and the 'products' donated for the auction on the night. Stephanie is held in such high regard that all she needs to do is 'pick up the phone' and ask and without exception help was given. Whilst it was nominally Stephanie and myself doing the dinner, I can tell you that all the work was in Stephanie's corner. I am continually amazed at her energy and commitment to the Foundation. It is now her life's work and of course all voluntary.
Letters from America
From where I left off last issue…
I’m not sure if I mentioned that I was in the States at the request of the Department of Tourism? I was part of the challenge of South Australian versus Californian cuisine, at a 10,000 acre ranch a few hours from Los Angeles called Alisal, near Solvang. It’s always difficult to measure those kinds of affairs but I can assure you I think I held up my end and though I spent a lot more time in the kitchen than I had imagined, given their large team, there was lots of good humoured jostling between Pascale’s food and mine. It was quite an experience and in the most beautiful countryside. Of all the food Pascale and his team cooked that weekend, a Colorado Rack of Lamb was probably the best lamb I’ve ever eaten anywhere and wait for it; the dessert I loved the most was a peanut butter and chocolate tart. I couldn’t resist it and went back for seconds it was so fantastic!
From there we journeyed to San Francisco by road, via the Big Sur, and were fortunate enough to spend a night at the most amazing place we have ever stayed.
We were lucky to have an introduction and were given champagne tastes on our beer income but I have to say that if you have a special occasion and really deserve to indulge your self then stay at Post Ranch.
I can’t imagine where in the world you could do better than this.
The accommodation was individual buildings. There was an open fireplace, already lit of course, a balcony the whole length of the ‘chalet’ looking out to the mountains of redwoods. The bed so high it needed a step to get into it; the mountain air so invigorating that we threw open all the doors to the balcony while we kept the fire raging.
At sunset we walked down to the spa; just a bit of a stroll with a glass of chardonnay in hand, protected by the thickest fluffiest bathrobes I’ve ever spied. The spa jutting out over the cliff - 1200 feet high with cliffs coming up straight from the sea - watching the sun go down, with our bodies (in cossies of course) immersed in the warmth of chin high water.
Such a starry, starry night with the quarter moon and the ‘big dipper’ upside down we walked down to the restaurant built into the side of the cliff with its own star-viewing platform.
We had an amazing meal; to give you a glimpse, we had a taster of Foie Gras with a ‘cider gastric’ and quince marmalade that my notes record as ‘unbelievable’.
Truly absolutely, absolutely, an experience to remember for everywhere the total was even greater than the sum of the incredible parts.
Off to San Francisco, only having to check out at the very reasonable time of 1 p.m. we motored to San Francisco to arrive in time for the Fancy Food show.
So this was the work part too. Attending the trade show; looking at what was on offer in this market and appointments with senior buyers of exciting American companies. Yet in between we managed to eat incredibly well and thankfully walk lots to keep all that good food in check.
Many of you will personally know what a beautiful city San Francisco and yes, it has so many wonderful eateries. It is a very sophisticated food city though like any city in the world you need to know where to go.
A Moroccan meal at Aziza (5800 Geary Blvd ,Cross Street and 22nd Avenue) of such interest and so many courses that we thought we’d not want to eat for the next 24 hours! Ideas from this meal will come through in my next product development I think.
Not even a 9.30 p.m. booking could put us off a great meal Delfina (3621 18th Street) a very buzzy, quite cramped Italian restaurant that we knew from our last visit to San Francisco. A Dungenes Crab salad with pink grapefruit and fennel with champagne vinegar as an amazingly fresh starter and Colin’s gnocchi with rabbit ragu, so perfect I hated him for it as my choice sadly didn’t match it.
Any time you are in San Fran make a booking in advance at Quince Restaurant (1701 Octavia St). Mind you, they are so popular you either get offered a 6 p.m. sitting or an 8.30 or 9.30 p.m. This is seriously good food and in fact sits as my favourite restaurant in San Francisco. They make the finest pasta I’ve eaten in America. This night it was a paparadelle with black trumpet mushrooms and parmigiano - as light as a cloud. Kid tenderloin with pickled artichokes, extra virgin olive oil and radiccio and to finish, an Amaretti flan, which was really a bitter almond crème caramel in a pastry case. Exceptional! It was our second visit to Quince and the chef Michael Tusk asked me if I would do a dinner with him next year, if I can fit in a trip to California. I couldn’t think of anything better, yet said it would have to wait for their Autumn as I thought I should cook Pheasant and Quinces! I hope I can make this come off.
Another tip. Everyone but everyone should visit the Ferry Plaza, particularly on Saturday morning for the grower’s market, but if wandering around on an evening when you haven’t booked anywhere then there is the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants. It’s very casual, you sit on stools amid a wine shop. It closes at 9 p.m. and the only food is a platter of cheese or one of sausage or something similar – both with great bread, as you’d expect, and amazing wines by the glass at the most reasonable prices we saw in the whole of California. Incredibly knowledgable, enthusiastic young waiters and barmen.
I can’t believe its months ago now but if you’ll bear with me I’ll continue this in the next newsletter and perhaps give you a blow by blow account of our first ever meal at the French Laundry at Yountville. Another experience I’ll never forget….
