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INDULGE How to perfect the chocolate cake

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 Chocolate
hazelnut
meringue cake

p 101

Food
TAKE WITH DISCO RULE THE RISING
THE CAKE THE GRAIN INFERNO ROAST SUN
Large or small, Grains form the The Pinbone Chef Brigitte Nancy Singleton
chocolate bakes heart and soul team share an Hafner cranks Hachisu shares
have all the star of wholesome Italian menu up the heat with recipes from her
power they need dishes, whether geared for good large-format new book that
to steal the show. it’s salads, soups, times from their roasts made for delves deep into
Brace for impact. cakes or kibbeh. latest pop-up. autumn comfort. Japanese cuisine.

98 106 114 124 132

Features
CROSS LIQUID NOMA A TOAST TO WILD AT RUMBLE IN REWORKING
PURPOSES ASSETS 2.0 VEGEMITE HEART THE JUNGLE A CLASSIC
ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. COVER: SALT & PEPPER PLATE FROM MYER. STOCKISTS P176

Hot cross buns Giselle René Redzepi Chefs are At Wildflower, Attica’s Ben Anzac fan Pat
PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY. STYLING AIMEE JONES. SALT & PEPPER FORKS FROM MYER.

are fragrant Weybrecht has takes GT on spreading Alexandra Carlton Shewry goes Nourse takes
with spices but sought out the an exclusive the love for discovers craft on a culinary a fresh look at
also loaded with world’s best hot tour of the new Vegemite as beer that doesn’t expedition in the the biscuit that
symbolism, writes chocolate, this restaurant in they explore hold your palate Yucatàn, with a won the hearts
Alicia Simmonds. is her story. Copenhagen. its possibilities. to ransom. surprise in store. of two nations.

40 45 82 86 88 90 92
Travel
RUSSIAN CORNISH PARAMOUNT
ENIGMA PASTICHE IMPORTANCE
Russia’s Legend, legacy With a new
character is and more than a hotel, Paramount
revealed in layers little whimsy House has all
on a cruise from converge in the temptations
Saint Petersburg Cornwall, writes of a permanent
to Moscow. Max Anderson. vacation.

142 152 162

 Cornish
pastiche

p 152

Regulars ON THE COVER

Salted chocolate layer cake with
whipped ganache (p104).
14 EDITOR’S LETTER 47 FIVE OF A KIND 94 SUBSCRIBE
A handful of chocolate Receive a set of
16 CONTRIBUTORS brownies to satisfy your gratin dishes.
sweet treat cravings.
18 FOUR DISHES 168 DESIGN
Our favourite plates 49 THE EXPLAINER Bali’s latest clifhanger.
this month. Kaya.
170 TRAVEL MEMOIR
21 NEWS 51 ANATOMY OF A DISH A wedding in India with
The latest from the food Black Forest cake. Bollywood moves.
and travel scenes.
52 PRODUCE 171 CITY HITLIST Recipe Emma Knowles
30 OBJECTS OF DESIRE Paulette Whitney Osaka boasts lively malls Photography Ben Dearnley
Tea-time essentials. is digging radishes. and superb street food. Styling Aimee Jones
Food Styling Lisa Featherby
32 HOW I EAT 54 DRINKS 172 STYLE Food preparation Max Adey
Singer-songwriter Seal on A raft of obscure Monochrome staples
veganism, his speakeasy reds explained. and red accents.
SUBSCRIBE
playlist, and being magshop.com.au/
addicted to popcorn. 56 MELBOURNE REVIEW 173 BEAUTY australian-gourmet-traveller
Smart operators and Autumnal shades.
34 HOW I TRAVEL chart-topping eats make
Comedian Kitty Flanagan Harley & Rose good 176 STOCKISTS
hits the road with her cat news for West Footscray. Plus our cook’s notes
and a crochet hook. and privacy notice. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
58 HOBART REVIEW OF COUNTRY
36 MASTERCLASS Hobart fine diner Franklin 177 RECIPE INDEX Gourmet Traveller acknowledges
the Gadigal people of the Eora
A step-by-step guide to has a new chef and a new
Nation as the traditional custodians
making ganache at home. lease on life. 178 FARE EXCHANGE of the place we now call Sydney,
Chefs’ recipes you’ve where this magazine is published.
38 CLEAN EATING 63 QUICK MEALS requested. Gourmet Traveller also pays
Chocolate bars. Midweek meals in no time. respects to Elders past and present.

10 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Editor Sarah Oakes
Managing Editor Pat Nourse
Creative Director Liz Elton
Travel Editor Helen Anderson
Food Director Lisa Featherby

Art
Art Director Brooke Donaldson
Junior Designer Laura Jacobs

Words
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 S O M E T I M E S O N LY A
CAPPUCCINO WIL L DO
The new Latissima One.
For the love of quality cofee moments.
Editor’s letter
Noma 2.0
p 82
T
here’s a theme of reinvention
throughout this issue. Taking
something that works, breaking
it down and reassembling it
to see if it can’t be improved. It starts
with René Redzepi’s Noma 2.0 in
Copenhagen. We spoke to Redzepi
in the manic few days before he threw
open the doors at the most anticipated
new restaurant in the world.
He took us on a tour of the
space that spans 11 buildings
joined by glass and steel walkways
and accented with Australian art.
Set on an urban farm next to
a man-made lake, it will become a
new restaurant every four months
as the season shifts focus from
seafood to vegetables to game.
It’s a wildly ambitious project
that encompasses three greenhouses,
tanks for live seafood, an ant farm,
a room for hanging game and spaces
for experimentation. All to service
a 40-seat restaurant and 80 staff. “It’s
all in – if it doesn’t work out there’s
nothing else,” Redzepi told us.
So, is the Noma reboot as good
as the original? Early reviews suggest
it might be even better. Redzepi and his
team seem to be effortlessly delivering
on giddy global expectations.
EMAIL ASKGOURMET@BAUER-MEDIA.COM.AU // FOLLOW @ GOURMETTRAVELLER // ONLINE GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU
14 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Where we’ve been
Sarah Oakes, editor; Robertson, NSW
Like stepping back in time, the Robertson
Show has country charm and community
spirit in spades. Come for the spud
races, stay for the CWA scones with
jam and cream. @sarahaliceoakes
Back at home, and on a more
modest scale, we look at the risks
and rewards of tampering with two
beloved culinary classics: the Anzac
biscuit and the hot cross bun. Both
rich in history, sweet in flavour and
with surprisingly complex religious Laura Jacobs, junior designer;
and legal histories. Boranup, WA
Can you improve on two such Going home to WA always includes
beloved baked goods? We can’t know a visit to our family property in Boranup.
for sure but I don’t think we should Part of the Margaret River wine region,
ever stop trying. It’s clear this month days start watching the sun rise over
that taking the time to reinvent the karri trees, and end with a glass of
Leeuwin Estate shiraz. @laurajanejacobs
something you love can have
extraordinary results.
Follow
@ SARAHALICEOAKES
PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA LANDSBERRY (PORTRAIT)
Liz Elton, creative director;
Forster, NSW
I’m not much of a camper, but call it
“glamping”, throw in a teepee, a real bed,
some Persian rugs and tell me I can bring
my dog and apparently I can be persuaded.
BYO Heston Blumenthal charcoal barbecue
to really complete the experience. @liz.elton
Contributors
Noma 2.0
p 82
HELEN CATHCART
photographer
Cornish pastiche, p152
It was Sydney’s coastal
lifestyle that first inspired
Helen Cathcart’s photography
spanning food, travel and
interiors. She brings the same
ainity for coastal landscapes to
our feature on seaside Cornwall.
“Beautiful, rugged and full of life,
the region feels very much like
its own country,” says Cathcart,
who now lives in her native
London. “People feel a sense
of privilege living here, which
you feel even as a traveller.”
16 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD
news editor
Paramount importance, p162
Maggie Scardifield arrived
at GT in 2014 and went on to
become news editor. She’s a big
fan of Australian design (her first
assignment was GT’s Meet Your
Maker column) so it’s no surprise
this month she was taken by
Paramount House in her
hometown of Sydney. “It’s a
playground for creative people,”
she says. “The new hotel brings
together the country’s most
talented designers. And, hello,
Ester’s wine bar is on the way.”
JENI PORTER
writer
Noma 2.0, p82
Jeni Porter is an Australian
journalist based in Copenhagen
and a regular contributor to
global titles including RUM
International and Monocle.
Her last project took her on a
tour of the new Noma with René
Redzepi two days before its
opening. “He’d hardly slept for
days, was carting bricks to clear
the building site, but was his
usual visionary self about what
he’ll do with Noma 2.0 – best
described as ‘wow!’”
GISELLE WEYBRECHT PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON (MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD) & JASON LOUCAS (NOMA)
author
Liquid assets, p45
Giselle Weybrecht is an
author and contributor to food,
travel and business publications
including The Globe and
Mail, Forbes and the Toronto
Star. She’s considered a
global expert on sustainability,
and fuels her work with an
obsession for hot chocolates
(dark, hold the sugar). Every
once in a while she tries to go
a few days without drinking
one, just to see if she can,
but she usually fails.
 EXPERIENCE
THE CREAMY SENSATION
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Four dishes

What we’re
eating
Gourmet Traveller stafers share
their favourite plates of the moment.

GRILLED BEEF RIB WITH

CHIMICHURRI, Barrio
You can take the boy out of
Argentina, but you can’t take away
his love of large meats. Or at least
that’s the message you get when you
order the beef from chef Francisco
Smoje: a hunk of grilled rib, served
sliced on the bone, carpeted with
a chunky chimichurri and scorched
onions. Barrio, 1 Porter St, Byron Bay,
NSW. PAT NOURSE, MANAGING EDITOR

APRICOT AND PEACH FROZEN

SLICE, Bert’s Bar & Brasserie
We’re big fans of inadvertent
“snaccessorising” – when a dish
perfectly matches an outfit or interior.
And if there was ever a match for the
glamour of the newly opened Bert’s,
this grown-up Splice dessert – layers
of tangy vanilla yoghurt with peach
and apricot gelato and a playful whip
of scorched marshmallow – would
be it. Bert’s, 2 Kalinya St, Newport,
NSW, (02) 9114 7350. MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD,
NEWS EDITOR

OX TONGUE AND CHILLI PRAWNS,

Gertrude Street Enoteca WILD SOCKEYE SALMON
PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES BROADWAY (OX TONGUE)

Brigitte Hafner and James Broadway NIGIRI, Sushi Village

from Gertrude Street Enoteca have Ski-resort eateries aren’t known
introduced a list of hibachi-grilled for seafood, but with the ocean
snacks. Garlic, lemon and chilli king less than an hour from Whistler,
prawns are a crowd pleaser, but the Sushi Village is an exception.
ox tongue wins out for the balance Vivid red wild-caught sockeye
of smoke, salt and char and for the salmon makes for eye-catching
vibrant green, vibrant tasting salsa nigiri, all the better with a Sake
verde that accompanies it. Gertrude Margarita. Sushi Village, 11/4340
Street Enoteca, 229 Gertrude St, Sundial Cres, Whistler, BC,
Fitzroy. (03) 9415 8262. MICHAEL HARDEN, Canada, +1 604 932 3330.
VICTORIA EDITOR DAVID MATTHEWS, DEPUTY CHIEF SUBEDITOR

18 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 APRIL

NEWS Edited by HELEN ANDERSON & MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD

Stepping it up
Chocolate like you’ve never
seen it before, the Gold Coast
has a new darling and a visit to
the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Clockwise from left:

Complements chocolates
in Cookies & Cream,
Mango, Salted Caramel
and Strawberry.

p 23
 A penthouse suite at
The Darling Gold
Coast. Right:
freestanding bath with
a view. Below right:
one of 57 suites.

Gold Coast’s new darling

In time for the Games, a new luxe hotel
opens for athletes and aesthetes.

Athletes aren’t the only ones
with performance anxiety in
the run-up to the Gold Coast’s
Commonwealth Games this
month. It’s also been a race
against the clock for The Star
Entertainment Group to
complete The Darling Gold
Coast, a luxe 57-suite hotel in a
17-storey tower on Broadbeach
Island, in time for the Games.
The oval building, designed
by Steelman Partners, of Las
Vegas, is shaped, aptly, like
a stack of giant surfboards, or
perhaps a massive superyacht.
“We knew the designers would
create something beautiful,
but this really embraces the
Gold Coast,” says Geoff Hogg,
The Star Entertainment
Group managing director
for Queensland. “Even the
shape of the hotel reflects
the setting.”
The Darling has a rooftop
pool, bar and restaurant, and
roomy suites and penthouses
ranging in size from 78 to
328 square metres. Bathrooms
feature freestanding tubs and
skincare products by Lalique,
butler service is on tap and the
penthouse deluxe suites have
the choice of a billiards, media
or exercise room.
Feeling lucky? A bridge
connects The Darling to
The Star Grand casino.
The rooftop restaurant,
Nineteen at The Star, is a joint
project for local entrepreneur
Billy Cross and restaurateur
Simon Gloftis, who owns
popular Greek eatery
Hellenika at Nobby Beach.
Despite its name, the 110-seat
restaurant is on the 17th level,
not the 19th; the numerals
four and 13 are inauspicious
in Chinese culture so there
are no lift buttons for these
levels or for 14. Updated daily
menus will include the likes of
Royal Miyagi oysters, toothfish
and wagyu. The Darling Gold
Coast, Broadbeach Island,
Qld, (07) 5592 8100,
thestargoldcoast.com.au
FIONA DONNELLY

From bean to bar

BEAUTY SLEEP
Window shade down, face mask on.
All this chocolate calls for digestivi. But who’d
have thought it would come from Mexico?
Henri Vallet’s Amargo-Vallet ($81 for 750ml) is
Emerge from a long-haul flight or
a bittersweet liqueur bottled in Hidalgo, north
extended daybed nap with
of Mexico City. Angostura bark and macerated
intensively moisturised skin. SK-II
cloves, cherries and spices give it a subtle
Overnight Miracle Mask, six
dark chocolate and cherry cola flavour.
single-use capsules for $154,
spiritsoffrance.com.au
from Myer and David Jones.

22 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 News

MEET YOUR MAKER

Complements chocolates MAD WORLD

These inventive modular sweets seamlessly
pair food and design.
If you’re a client of Sydney design agency
Universal Favourite, there’s no chance of
receiving a branded fridge magnet or a
novelty mug when the season for end-of-year
thank-you gifts arrives. Dari Israelstam, the
agency’s owner and creative director, says
his team tackle presents with the creativity
and focus they would any other brief. “We
always want to craft something out-of-the-
box, that reflects how we work,” he says.
There have been custom scents, edible
infographics and personalised board games,
for example, and in 2016, Complements
chocolates were launched. The Tetris-like
chocolates, originally created using 3D
printing, are handmade in collaboration
with Sydney’s Bakedown Cakery. Featuring
Belgian couverture, and in flavours such
as lychee and coconut, black sesame, and
blackberry, the pair-and-share treats have
attracted praise around the world for their
design and originality. Now, Universal
Favourite is sharing the love and has
released a limited-edition run of 500 boxes.
How did the idea for Complements
PHOTOGRAPHY RODNEY MACUJA (AMARGO-VALLET AND SK-II)
Ever wondered what it means to be
a chef, or what the future of food looks like?
MAD has. The not-for-profit organisation,
founded in Copenhagen by Noma chef René
Redzepi, wants to inspire self-reflection and
tactile and human experiences. They've hit change in the global food community. What
a real sweet spot because they combine two began in 2011 as a two-day symposium now
things people love: chocolate and design. includes MAD Mondays, a private salon
Why the stepped shape? series where key figures from the food
The shapes complementing each other and world come together to tackle the tough
fitting together are reminiscent of how we questions. With the help of Kylie Kwong,
saw our relationship with our clients. After the first MAD Mondays in Sydney
exploring a range of diferent interlocking are happening at Carriageworks
designs, we chose a clean, modular (16 April, 16 July). Keep an eye on
staircase, which when combined with GT online for a wrap. madfeed.co
another flavour, creates a bite-sized cube.
How did you decide on the flavours?
We wanted to make sure that we didn’t just
nail the aesthetic side of things. Yes, they
are beautiful little refined pieces of art, but
at the end of the day, they end up in your
mouth. We went through many rounds of
experimenting, tasting and refining the
flavours and always opted for the subtle
and natural choice over more vibrant
artificial ingredients.
What makes a gift special?
Thoughtfulness. The best gift is one that
shows the person you’ve really thought
about them, gives them new experiences
or challenges them to learn something new.

chocolates come about, Dari? Complements chocolates, $85 for

Our end-of-year gifts have developed cult
status among our clients, and each year we
aim to be more inventive than the last.
We really wanted to do something with
chocolate and 3D printing, and liked the
idea of combining new technologies with
a box of 12, with free shipping globally, The Gucci Décor collection is finally
(02) 9357 4401, complements.com.au on its way to Australia. Start saving – these
hypnotic metal trays, a little more
ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Strawberry with
Cookies & Cream, Coconut & Lychee with Salted
art piece than everyday, cost from $790. The
Caramel, Pistachio with Raspberry, Lavender entire homewares collection arrives online
with Blackberry, Single Origin Dark with Matcha. and in stores in May. gucci.com

Australian chef Curtis Stone has overhauled his Los Angeles restaurant, Maude,
swapping the focus of his monthly tasting menus from single ingredients to wine
regions of the world. January through March was Rioja, and next up, from 1 April,
is Burgundy. Time for coq au vin and beef bourguignon. mauderestaurant.com

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 23

Lobby restaurant at
NoMad Los Angeles.
Right: Lobby’s
signature bee pollen
and sea salt ice-cream
sandwich. Below
right: Neil Perry.
LOS ANGELES A NoMad
hotel has opened on the West
Coast: NoMad Los Angeles,
the second property after the
New York flagship. There
are 241 rooms within the
historic Bank of Italy building
in Downtown, with a rooftop
pool and multiple dining
options. Daniel Humm and Will
Guidara, of New York’s Eleven
Madison Park, are behind the
entire food and drink ofering,
with help from executive chef
Chris Flint (Eleven Madison
Park, NoMad NY). There’s The
Cofee Bar, modelled after a
300-year-old café in Venice,
a library that transforms into a
cocktail bar, and an all-day
lobby restaurant (Lobby) serving
Italian-leaning dishes such
as chicken Milanese, king crab
tagliatelle and smoked eggplant
lasagnette. The hotel is also
doing an LA version of NoMad’s
signature ice-cream sandwich,
24 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
RESTAURANT NEWS
a 90-seat Mexican restaurant
and late-night Patrón tequila
bar at Sydney’s Circular Quay.
Culinary director Neil Perry has
enlisted Pamela Valdes Pardo,
a chef from Veracruz, to keep
things authentic. Her menu
includes handmade tortillas,
aguachile and enchiladas, plus
tostadas topped with the likes
of seared tuna and mango-chilli
salsa and chicken with Oaxacan
cheese and sour cream. Food is
served until 2am, and there’s a
$100 Millionaire’s Margarita made
table-side with Patrón Gran
Burdeos Extra Añejo tequila.
this time with bee pollen Eleven Bridge chef Phil Wood is
and sea salt. The Mezzanine onto the second, Laura, a more PERTH Grossi Florentino chef
restaurant is the more formal intimate, finer-dining option. Guy Grossi opens Garum this
dining option; at dinner it’s Guests have a choice of four, month, his first restaurant
black cod with red kale, pears five or six set courses at lunch outside Melbourne. The Roman
and horseradish, say, or roast and dinner. Highlights include osteria is the flagship diner
chicken for two with black trule. Flinders mussels with seaweed of The Westin Perth (opening
The property is owned by Sydell butter, dehydrated tomatoes and 27 April) and will work to a tight
Group, most recently behind polenta, and John Dory with brief of gutsy Roman dishes
The Ned hotel, which opened pickled chardonnay leaves from such as saltimbocca with
in London in January. the estate. There are also more gnocchi alla Romana, suckling
than 600 wines on ofer. lamb, braised oxtail, and
MORNINGTON PENINSULA moretum, a garlicky cheese and
After launching Pt Leo Estate’s SYDNEY Bar Patrón by herb spread served with bread.
first restaurant on Victoria’s Rockpool is the latest from The wine list, meanwhile, will
Mornington Peninsula, former Rockpool Dining Group, home in on the Lazio region.
Roasted, crushed hazelnuts from Piedmont
make up almost 60 per cent of this Nocciole
d’Elite chocolate and hazelnut spread. Pour it
over bomboloni, or dip a spoon when cravings
set in. $19.95 for 250gm. gourmetlife.com.au

& RODNEY MACUJA (NOCCIOLE D’ELITE AND DR MARTY’S CRUMPETS). STYLING AIMEE JONES (DR MARTY’S CRUMPETS). ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN
Dr Marty’s
Crumpets with
PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (LONDON), BENOIT LINERO & SYDELL GROUP (NOMAD LOS ANGELES), VINCENT LONG (NEIL PERRY)
honey and butter.
PRODUCERS
Dr Marty’s Crumpets
It’s time for toasting: butter, honey or Nutella at the ready.
WHO Dr Marty’s Crumpets won’t cure your
arthritis or clear up your cough, but they're
healing in a comfort-carb way. Martin Beck
is a chef by way of MoVida who fell into the
crumpet business in 2013 while looking for
a change. He now supplies wholemeal and
original crumpets to about 80 Melbourne
cafés and restaurants including Tivoli Road
Bakery and Spring Street Grocer.
WHAT Using a simple mix of Laucke
organic flour from South Australia (a tip-of
from Tivoli Road Bakery’s Michael James),
yeast, Mount Zero’s olive oil and pink lake
salt, baking powder, raw sugar and water,
Beck and his team of six (including his wife,
Selma) hand-ladle 1000 crumpets a day
onto flat-top grills, six days a week. The
result is a small-batch crumpet that’s tall
and sturdy but still soft, pocked with
plenty of yeasted bubbles that await
melted butter. Using a machine to dollop
out the batter would help Beck scale up
production, but he’s convinced this
would compromise his product’s light,
airy consistency. “They’d just lose all their
texture and body,” he says.
WHY “People love them because we
use really nice flour, but they’re also very
neutral,” says Beck. “They’re a great vessel
for eating more of your favourite topping.”
At markets he serves them toasted with
peanut butter, jam, Vegemite or cultured
butter, but many venues present them
as a savoury option; MoVida has been
known to serve mini bar-snack versions
with Manchego custard and shavings of
fresh black trule.
WHERE Dr Marty’s Crumpets are stocked
at cafés, restaurants and grocery stores
across Melbourne, about $10 for six.
See website for stockists.
drmartyscrumpets.com.au
SOPHIE MCCOMAS
News
MILKY WAYS
Precious stone or chocolate egg?
It’s hard to tell, looking at Bibelot’s
collection of marbled chocolate eggs
for Easter. Each one is handpainted
and filled with hot cross bun comfit
– a mixture of fruit and nuts coated
in Valrhona chocolate. $30 per
185gm egg. bibelot.com.au
Big Ben,
London.
So-long haul
With input from researchers at the
University of Sydney, Qantas has
introduced new menus and cabin routines
to minimise jet lag on its 17-hour flights
between Perth and London, launched on
its new 787-900 Dreamliners last month.
Dishes are lighter – think greens and
grains – and designed to maximise sleep
(a bespoke tea blend, no chilli for dinner).
Cabin lights and meal times reflect the
destination’s time zone, while lower flying
altitudes and higher cabin humidity are
expected to also help. qantas.com.au
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 25
News

World
view

Lalibela, Ethiopia
TOM PARKER, PHOTOGRAPHER

“The Church of Saint George is

the magnificent centrepiece of the
Lalibela monolithic rock-hewn
churches, built in the late 12th
century by King Gebre Mesqel
Lalibela in Ethiopia’s north.
“Remarkably, the church is
carved from a single piece of
volcanic rock. The cross at ground
level is actually the roof; the
entrance is 30 metres below and
part of a maze of underground
tunnels. It’s one of 11 rock-hewn
churches carved in two clusters
– an attempt by the king to build
his own version of Jerusalem.
“This shot was taken on a
Sunday morning, immediately
after a service attended by scores
of Christian pilgrims. It was
a real privilege to be at this most
holy of sites.”

26 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 27
News

Farm visits, oyster tastings

Greece is the word
After a decade in crisis, the Greek and long lunches celebrating
economy is showing signs of recovery, the ingenuity of Kangaroo
and it’s largely driven by tourism. In the Island producers are
lead-up to the European summer, Qatar
Airways has added direct flights from its planned at this year’s KI
Doha hub to Thessaloniki (Athens is Food Safari at Southern
already on its route map) and, on 30 May,
the carrier launches flights to the style-
Ocean Lodge. Lodge chef
seekers’ isle of Mykonos. That will be Asher Blackford and guest
neatly timed with the opening of Myconian chefs, led by Maggie Beer,
Avaton, a resort inspired by traditional
Cycladic architecture and set above a
will draw on the island’s
private section of sandy beach on the bounty and local expertise
island’s southern shore. Some of its during seven days of KI
Myconian Avaton
85 rooms, suites and two- to four-bedroom
resort above Elia
villas have private pools and hot tubs. immersion, from 28 July.
Beach, Mykonos.
qatarairways.com, designhotels.com southernoceanlodge.com.au

THREE OF THE BEST

Cruise control
Three new ships are loaded with features to suit adventure seekers.

Seabourn Ovation Seabourn Cruise Line
promised “ultra luxury” when it launched its
600-passenger Seabourn Encore in late 2016,
and it repeats the brief with twin sister ship
Seabourn Ovation, which débuts in May. Both
ships are designed by prolific hospitality
designer Adam D Tihany, with the look and
feel of a luxury yacht in curvaceous lines, and
The A and The B The first river cruise company
dedicated to travellers aged 21 to 45 sets sail
this month. U by Uniworld, a new brand by the
well-established Uniworld line, has renovated
two 120-passenger ships, renaming them The
A and The B (above). Design features include
rooftop lounges with DJs, spas and communal
dining tables. Onboard classes run from yoga to
Scenic Eclipse All eyes are on the submarine
and two helicopters on the long-anticipated
Scenic Eclipse, a 228-passenger ice-class
expedition ship billed rather diminutively as
a “discovery yacht”. The less novel onboard
features sound just as impressive. The size
of the suites, for example, ranges from 32 to
233 square metres, the latter a two-bedroom PHOTOGRAPHY RODNEY MACUJA (LA BELLE MIETTE)

the liberal use of mahogany, chrome and
leather. High-profile partnerships include
a restaurant and bar by three-starred chef
Thomas Keller and a spa and “mindful living”
program by Dr Andrew Weil. seabourn.com
cocktail mixing, while on shore there’s cycling,
kayaking and even river rafting. Five- and
eight-day itineraries on the Seine, Rhine, Main
and Danube rivers include overnight stops and
longer stays in major cities. ubyuniworld.com
penthouse bigger than a tennis court. And the
line-up of 10 restaurants is promising – from
sushi and sake to an eight-seat chef’s table – as
are the eight bars and lounges. Eclipse makes
its maiden voyage on 31 August. scenic.com.au

When the tasting for this month’s Five of a Kind (see p47) rolled around, there were a lot of
brownies on the table – from classic school fête styles to gooey squares that leaned more towards
tarts and cakes. All agreed: if you’re not ready to commit to a full chunk of chocolatey fun, then
Dello Mano’s bite-sized and individually wrapped squares, in fudgy flavours such as Peanut Butter,
Espresso Walnut and Ginger and Orange are the business. $41.80 for a box of nine. dellomano.com.au

28 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Classic bunnies. Chocolate ducklings.
Handpainted eggs and pale blue boxes of
Piper-Heidsieck bonbons, wrapped up with
cloth ribbon. During Easter and beyond,
these are some of the calling cards of
Melbourne pâtisserie La Belle Miette. “Our
best-sellers are the Fleur de Sel caramel
bonbon and our chocolate-coated
passionfruit and gianduja hazelnuts, called
dragées,” says owner Maylynn Tsoi. La Belle
Miette, which means “beautiful crumb”
in French, uses single-origin Belgian and
French couvertures and traditional enrobing,
panning and moulding techniques. $52.50 for
25 pieces. labellemiette.com.au LAKSHA PRASAD
The lounge-dining
pavilion, Sanctuary
Gorilla Forest Camp,
Uganda. Right:
mountain gorillas.
Ape expectations
Welcome to the jungle – and get set to meet its star residents.
You never know who’ll drop in at one of years. “The privilege of working in a
Africa’s most remote safari camps. More location that brings you into regular and
than half the world’s population of just close contact with one of the world’s most
800 mountain gorillas live in Uganda, impressive and endangered creatures is
and most of them in the aptly named hard to articulate,” he says. “Typically,
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. gorillas visit the camp about once a month
Deep inside the national park’s and they head straight to their favourite
rainforest is Sanctuary Gorilla Forest feeding area – a fruit tree in the communal
Camp, with just eight tents and a area. For those guests lucky enough
lounge-dining pavilion. It has recently to be in camp at the time, it is a truly
reopened after extensive refurbishment, magical experience.”
adding freestanding baths, polished floors, Forest ecology and the complicated
indigenous prints and even a forest spa. etiquette of encountering gorillas is
But it’s still the impromptu visits by gorilla explained by camp guides, who lead
families that attract the most attention. hikes with just eight guests a day.
The thrill of working within Direct flights between Uganda and
gorilla habitat in a national park Tanzania now allow travellers to combine
hasn’t diminished for camp manager stays at Sanctuary’s four camps in Tanzania
Nick Kirya, who has headed Sanctuary and those in Botswana and Kenya.
Retreats’ Uganda property for three sanctuaryretreats.com
Chef Guillaume Brahimi is the host with the most at
the first Gourmet Institute event of the year on 11 April
in Sydney. It’s a lesson in classic French dinner parties,
complete with twice-baked Roquefort soufflé. Tickets
cost $65. harveynorman.com.au/gourmet-institute
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 29
Objects of desire

Tea time
Bring a sense of occasion to the gentle ritual
4

5
of tea-and-cake, at any time of day.

10

PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. STYLING AIMEE JONES

8
7
1 Teacup and saucer in Steel, $79, from Mud Australia.
2 Cutipol Goa cake server, $85, from Francalia. 3 Laila timber
cake stand, $69.95, from Country Road. 4 Basix linen napkin
in Floss, $22, from Hale Mercantile Co. 5 Four-cup teapot in
Slate, $264, from Mud Australia. 6 Teacup and saucer
in Dust, $79, from Mud Australia. 7 Abstract Brushstroke salad
plate, $16, from West Elm. 8 Goa black and gold dessert fork,
$26, and Moon matt gold dessert fork, $26, from Cutipol at
Francalia. 9 Bread plates in Blossom and Dust, $37 each,
from Mud Australia. 10 Flocca linen tablecloth in Tempest,
$169, Hale Mercantile Co. Stockists p176.

30 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 The Right Temperature for Everything
Five Temperature Zones for Perfect Freshness

home.liebherr.com.au
 EATING WITH

Seal
The musician on veganism,
Do you enjoy cooking? I joke
about this imaginary cooking
show I have, Cooking with
Seal. It revolves around me
essentially cooking the same
his speakeasy playlist, and dish every time and the
addiction to popcorn. tagline is “a recipe for
disaster”. That should tell
you all you need to know.
How would you describe
your diet? I’m vegan with
pescatarian tendencies. My
reason for veganism isn’t to
avoid eating meat, though, so if I felt like having a steak, then I’d
go and have a great steak. I just haven’t felt like it in the past year.
What’s your favourite type of food? French mountain food.
I love snow, the mountain mentality, the freshness of the
air. The truth is I feel more alive on a mountain top than
I do on a beach.
Who does it best? La Soucoupe, a restaurant in Méribel in Les
Trois Vallées, in the French Alps. My favourite thing there is the
anchovies. They’re not like those horrible
ones you can get on a Caesar salad. These
are in olive oil and are quite long and
super-thin. They have a beautiful delicate
taste. That’s my flavour.
If you could eat one thing for the
rest of your life, what would it be?
I love popcorn. And really trashy, shitty INTERVIEW MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD. PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES
popcorn, too. There’s this one kettle
corn that’s like crack. It’s brutal and
I can’t stop, which is why I avoid it.
What was on the dinner table when
you were growing up? My parents are
from Nigeria, so we ate a lot of West
African food and it was always very,
very spicy. It usually consisted of some
kind of starchy carbohydrate – perhaps
brown rice, cassava or yam – and a
tomato-based stew with meat or fish.
There weren’t a lot of vegetables and
the ones we did have were cooked
to the point where there were no

32 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

nutrients in them whatsoever. Honestly,
when I think of what we used to eat,
I’m surprised I’m actually still alive.
Who did the cooking? My dad, and
because I was the eldest I was always
helping. I had to clean the cow and
goat’s tripe. There’s a real art to it.
I would stand in the kitchen over
a hot bowl of water and get all the
muck and gunk off it. It did taste
nice, don’t get me wrong, but
conceptually it’s utterly disgusting.
You’ve travelled around India. How
was the food? Once you’ve got past
the dysentery it’s great. Of course,
having grown up in England I was
very familiar with Indian food. I ate
in people’s houses; I ate food from
all the street vendors. After a while
you stop worrying about getting the
runs and you just roll your dice.
Do you enjoy dining out? If I go out
it’s usually to a vegan restaurant.
ABCV in New York is amazing. There
are wonderful Indian-style dishes with
cashew-based yoghurts, for instance, and
it’s all gluten-free. If you took anybody,
even a carnivore, and told them they
could eat like this every day, everyone
would be vegan.
How have your attitudes towards food
changed over the years? The older you get
the more true the saying “You are what
you eat”. It sounds so clichéd but you
really feel the effects of what you put in
your body so much more profoundly.
What’s a typical meal when you’re in
the recording studio? Vegan pizza. It’s
made from all the husks that remain
after you juice vegetables, the stuff
you’d normally throw away. You congeal
it, press it together, dry it out, and it
forms a crust. And then for toppings,
perhaps mozzarella made from cashews
or coconuts, cherry tomatoes and basil.
How I eat
What’s been the most memorable meal of your life?
It was in Venice. When we got there, the chap at the hotel
recommended a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place down
the road. I had tagliatelle al salmone: straightforward pasta
with a cream of salmon sauce. I don’t even know if there
was any cream in it, and I don’t eat gluten any more, but
my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
What do you hope to teach your children about food? A healthy
body is a healthy mind. I’d like them to understand that they
don’t have to eat what’s put in front of them because, for the
most part, what’s on offer in schools and supermarkets is either
toxic, ploughed with sugar or
genetically modified.
“Honestly,
when I think Do you entertain a lot? I have
dinner parties at my house;
of what we I call them speakeasies. I don’t
used to eat, do any cooking, but I do the
I’m surprised entertaining. There’s a piano,
which I think is essential, and
I’m actually
I’ve got guitars lying around
still alive.” everywhere, too.
What’s your secret to
entertaining? We’re living in a world where we’re constantly
being forced to defend ourselves,
to retreat, to become more insular. I think that the key to
good entertaining is pretty much my basic philosophy in
life: be open and be accessible.
Your new album is called Standards. What are the standards on
the playlist at Seal’s Speakeasy? Hall & Oates’ “She’s Gone”.
Joni Mitchell albums like Court and Spark, bits of The Hissing of
Summer Lawns, and of course Hejira, which I’ve just read means
travel in Arabic. We listen to Steely Dan, too, and of course
Stevie Wonder. You know what? While we’re talking I’m going
to put something on in the background. “Okay Google, play
‘I Was Made to Love Her’ by Stevie Wonder.” You can’t really
go wrong with Stevie.
Seal is on tour in
What does your kitchen look like? It’s part of my living room, Australia in April
so very open plan and very welcoming. My crockery is all from to celebrate his
Kit Kemp. She does her own line of Wedgwood china called 10th studio album,
Standards. For
Mythical Creatures. And there’s always lots of apples, protein dates and tickets
powder, vegan pizza and vegan burritos in the fridge. ● see tegdainty.com
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 33
How I travel
TRAVELLING WITH
I spend a lot of time flying
Kitty
and driving to get to regional
theatres and arts centres
around Australia, but I love
it. Regional audiences are the
Flanagan best. I crochet now to help
pass the time (only when I’m
flying, obviously, not driving).
The navigationally challenged I’m constantly astounded
comedian hits the road with by my appalling sense of
direction. I can’t even follow
her cat and a crochet hook. a GPS. I once took three
and a half hours to drive from
Melbourne to Bendigo with
the GPS constantly telling
me to “make a U-turn and
proceed to the route”. I was
so exasperated by the time I arrived that
I taped the GPS under a seat and gave it
away that night as a lucky door prize.
Just back from… Next up…
A month at Adelaide, my
Brunswick Heads. favourite festival When I’m travelling for work or with
I took a road trip city – and it has someone else, I’m never late to the airport.
with my dog and zero humidity. But if it’s a personal trip and I’m travelling
cat. Believe it or solo, I’m always late. I’ve even missed a few
not, my cat travels planes, which is about the dumbest, most
extremely well. expensive thing you can do.
34 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
I always overpack. I never use at least half
of what’s in my suitcase. The one thing
I always pack that I always use is a satin
pillowcase – I sound like a crazy old lady
from the ’50s, but it really stops your hair
getting tufty and your face getting creased.
My first overseas trip was to Bali with two
girls from work. I was 19 and incredibly
naïve. I don’t think I’d ever seen people
that drunk before.
Soon after that I travelled to Bolivia and
had my pocket picked by a street kid.
I turned the story into a standup joke
that’s still one of my favourites, but I don’t
think I’d have the balls to do it now – it
was pretty mean and involved me kicking
down the kid’s cardboard house. (I didn’t,
by the way – it was just a joke.)
My sister is my ideal travel companion.
She’s easy-going and lets me plan stuff.
We both travel a lot for work so when
it comes to holidays we don’t want to
struggle with language or terrain or
heat. We like swanky city holidays with
a nice temperate climate. No trekking or
“adventure”. Just good food, a bar nearby
that makes a great Margarita and a bit of
shopping. Oh, I know – hello princess!
I love Europe. All of it. But Paris is my
favourite because I have a cousin who lives
there and speaks “attitude” like a Parisian.
When a waiter tells me not to sit in a
certain area, I leap up like a scalded cat
and run out of the café. When a waiter tells
her not to sit somewhere, she waves her
hand, says, “Pfff” – which I think is French
for “whatever” – and tells him to get her
a coffee. And he does. It’s awesome.
Years of travelling have made me aware of
the power of language. I’ve made several
attempts at learning Spanish but came
a cropper in the Canary Islands when
I wanted to go horseriding. I mangled the
word for horses, “caballos”, and asked the
concierge instead for “caballeros”. What
I announced, with great confidence, was
that I wanted to ride some gentlemen. ●
Kitty Flanagan’s new book, Bridge
Burning and Other Hobbies (Allen
& Unwin, pbk $29.99), is out now.
 Ma k i ng ga

na
che
4

ALISTAIR WISE, of Hobart’s Sweet Envy,

steers us through one of the pastry kitchen’s most
Ganache Henry Pebble
essential – and mesmerising – preparations. apron from Cargo Crew.
Chopping board from
The Essential Ingredient.
All other props stylist’s
own. Stockists p176.

36 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Masterclass

A
happy union of cream and chocolate, ganache is a staple
of the pastry kitchen. Its many applications depend on its
consistency, which changes as it cools and sets. “Ganache is
a basic building block,” says Alistair Wise, of Hobart’s Sweet
Envy. “Once you master it, you can use it in a whole bunch of ways: we
whip it and use it in our Brooklyn blackout cake, pipe it onto
macarons, use it to make chocolate buttercream for cakes, or use it as
a glaze. It makes life pretty easy.”
Room temperature is best for storage, but there are exceptions to
every rule. “If it’s 40 degrees, don’t do it,” Wise says. “Making ganache
in a place like Cairns makes no sense. You should be sucking a mango.”
What chocolate to use?
Ganache is only as good as the ingredients you use. It can be
a delicate beast, so stick to chocolates with fewer ingredients
– avoid those containing emulsifiers and the like. Couverture
comes in a broad spectrum of flavours and percentages, so
experiment with diferent manufacturers to work out what suits
your taste. “You have to trust in the brand,” says Wise. “If you
want consistent results, find a chocolate you like, then stick
with the same process every time.”

6
3
Step by step
1 Combine 300ml of pouring
cream and 50gm glucose
in a small saucepan. Put it on
3 Pour the hot cream over
the chocolate and let it
melt for a few minutes. If you’re
can be poured over cakes; left
for a day it will set to a point
where it can be rolled and then
refrigerating ganache – fridges
do bad things to chocolate.

the heat and bring it to just

below boiling point.
making milk or white chocolate
ganache it’s often best to melt
the chocolate first.
coated in cocoa or melted
chocolate to make trules;
after about an hour of cooling
6 Another way to use ganache
is to whip it. Whipped
ganache can be piped or spread

2 Weigh out the chocolate. it can be piped. Whatever you as frosting, or served straight-up
WORDS DAVID MATTHEWS. PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON.

As a rule, Wise uses the

4 Stir the chocolate and cream use ganache for, store it at room like a mousse. Pour ganache
STYLING LISA FEATHERBY. MERCHANDISING ROSIE MEEHAN

same amount of cream and
glucose regardless of whether
he’s making white, milk, dark or
extra-dark ganache and varies
the chocolate quantity. For
dark (64 per cent cocoa
solids) it’s 255gm chocolate
(see “Ganache variations” for
alternatives). Cut the chocolate
into fine pieces; it needs to
melt quickly and evenly, so aim
for about the size of a five-cent
coin and avoid leaving any
larger pieces. Transfer chocolate
to a heatproof bowl.
together with a whisk or
a spoon, but be careful not to
incorporate air – it’ll make the
final ganache spoil more easily.
If it’s not melting entirely, heat
the ganache slowly over a
saucepan of gently simmering
water and stir to melt. Once
melted and smooth, this is your
base ganache.
5 Ganache will begin to set as
it cools, and can be used for
diferent applications through
the cooling process. Warm, it
temperature (ideally in a cool that’s just warm to the touch into
spot) with plastic wrap pressed an electric mixer and whisk for
onto the surface – it’ll keep 10-15 minutes until aerated.
like this for two days. Avoid Have a plan, as it’ll set quickly.
Ganache variations Wise tends to use 64 or 70 per cent chocolate,
and, occasionally, 35 per cent milk, or white chocolate. No matter
how dark or light the ganache, Wise uses the same amount of cream
(300ml) and glucose (50gm) each time; only the quantity of chocolate
changes. For a dark ganache (70 per cent, for example) it’s 235gm,
while for milk, it’s 500gm. Once you've mastered the basics, there
are more advanced ganaches to explore, including ganache made
with fruit purée (Wise is a fan of raspberry), and a “frightfully decadent”
ultra-rich ganache for tarts and puddings, but they're for another day. ●

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 37

Raise
the bar
Homemade chocolate bars satisfy the
cravings, and don’t come from a packet.
W
e are now fully into what you might call
“chocolate season”. It starts when the
temperature drops just enough to ensure
blocks and bars can be hidden away around
the house without the fear they’ll melt on a hot day. But
if you’re finding yourself sneaking into your stash just
a little too often, don’t despair, there is another way:
homemade bars that scratch the itch, with all the
hallmarks of the best packeted versions – creaminess,
crunch, chew, and richness – just without the packet. If at
the same time you can use dates for sweetness rather than
sugar, swap cream for coconut, and embrace extra-dark
chocolate, then all the better.
These recipes are a base – try candying nuts instead of
popcorn, or use freeze-dried raspberries in place of flaked
coconut. It’s all about making it work for you, without
having to worry where you left that last block.
 Eat clean

Chocolate, coconut and date slab

SERVES 12 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 2 MINS (PLUS SETTING)

A layer of coconut ganache over this fudgy slab keeps it rich

and creamy, but dairy-free, while raw cacoa and dates steer
it firmly away from corner-store chocolate bar territory.

650 gm pitted fresh dates, 1 Line a 22cm square cake

coarsely chopped
110 gm raw cacao powder
1 tbsp rice malt syrup
250 gm coconut oil, softened
45 gm desiccated coconut
Toasted coconut flakes,
to serve
BITTERSWEET COCONUT
GANACHE
200 gm dark chocolate
(85%-90% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
400 ml coconut cream
1½ tbsp rice malt syrup
tin with baking paper, allowing
paper to overhang edges.
Process ingredients in a food
processor until smooth, press
firmly into base of tin and
refrigerate until semi-firm
and chilled (1-2 hours). These recipes
2 Meanwhile, for ganache, are a base – try
place chocolate in a heatproof candying nuts
bowl. Bring coconut cream and
syrup to the boil in a saucepan,
instead of
then pour cream over chocolate popcorn, or use
and stir until melted. Pour freeze-dried
ganache over date mixture,
raspberries
spread evenly with a spatula,
then chill until firm (1 hour). instead of
3 Lift slab from tin, scatter with flaked coconut.
coconut flakes and a little sea
salt and cut into 12 squares.
Slab will keep refrigerated in an
airtight container for a week.

Caramelised honey and popcorn bars

with salted chocolate
RECIPES LISA FEATHERBY. PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON. STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN

SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS SETTING)

A cut-it-yourself bar with crunch from roasted nuts and candied

popcorn and with ultra-dark chocolate binding it all together.

80 gm coarsely chopped temperature. Cook honey in a

roasted hazelnuts
CANDIED POPCORN
200 gm coconut oil
90 gm popping corn
200 gm honey
BITTER CHOCOLATE GLAZE
200 gm bitter dark chocolate
(85%-90% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
5 gm coconut oil
1 For candied popcorn,
preheat oven to 180°C and line
a 26cm x 13cm loaf pan with
baking paper. Heat a large
saucepan over medium-high
heat, add 1 tbsp coconut oil,
then the corn, then cover with
a lid and cook, shaking pan
occasionally, until popping
stops (4-8 minutes). Transfer
to a tray and cool to room
large saucepan over medium-
high heat, swirling occasionally
until caramelised (6-7 minutes).
Add popcorn and remaining
coconut oil and stir to coat, then
spoon into loaf pan, pressing
firmly to compact popcorn into
an even layer. Refrigerate until
firm (20-30 minutes).
2 For chocolate glaze, melt
chocolate and oil in a heatproof
bowl over a saucepan of
simmering water. Pour glaze
over the popcorn so the
chocolate runs into any gaps,
then scatter with hazelnuts
and return to refrigerator to
set (1-2 hours). Cut into slices
to serve (this is easiest with
a serrated knife). Bars will
keep refrigerated in an airtight
container for 3-4 days. ●

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 39
CROSS
purposes
Fragrant with spices and loaded with symbolism,
Easter’s hot cross bun has served pagans and Christians,
royalty and the poor, writes ALECIA SIMMONDS.

g r a p hy N I C G O S S
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AN
M
y next-door neighbour Al – a peerless amateur baker
– was vexed when I told him I was researching the
history of hot cross buns. Flicking through the
photos on his phone he showed me a close-up of a
12-pack of chocolate-chip buns with icing crosses. “Oh, I know,”
I nodded. “I’m not a fan of the sugary ‘not cross bun’ either.”
“A travesty!” he replied. “But look closer – it gets worse.”
I squinted into his phone and the cause of his outrage
appeared in tiny typed print: “Expiry date: 3 January 2018”.
What is it that sparks our moral indignation each year when
supermarkets dare to play with the recipes of our beloved Easter
treats and deliver them to us in untimely fashion? Many of
us are happy to eat berries in winter or root vegetables in
summer. But a hot cross bun studded with chocolate and
Belgian toffee, or infused with orange peel or mocha, then
served out of season has us photographing the evidence like
investigators at a crime scene.
The sanctity of hot cross buns,
it seems, is bound up in our
childhood memories: the innocent
scent of yeasty, raisin-studded buns Even as a child I appreciated their goddess of the hunt and the moon.
warming in the oven, redolent of significance – the capacity for bread to Some of the sacred “cakes” were
butter, allspice and the languor of connect palates across centuries. And marked with the image of deer or ox
Easter holidays. Hot cross buns would they came with a rhyme that sounded horns, and others a cross, signifying
arrive in our kitchen a week or two positively Dickensian: “Hot cross buns. the four quarters of the moon. Indeed,
before Easter and vanish immediately Hot cross buns. One a penny, two a if you were to go to Pompeii today you
after. They appeared like mysterious penny. Hot cross buns.” You could could see the remains of such buns in
relics of a sepia-tinted past when almost see the stout women perched an ancient bakehouse. Herodotus tells
profits would cede to ritual; when on the sides of rickety wagons hollering us that at the time they were left in
the market would give way to magic. down rain-licked, cobblestoned streets. sanctuaries built at crossroads for
It came as some surprise, then, to fugitives and hunters.
discover that this staple of any six-year- The Bible records that in 587BC
old’s song book went back further than Jeremiah denounced Hebrew women
the 19th century. Like Molly for neglecting their Christian
Malone’s cry of “Cockles father and continuing to
and mussels, alive, alive-oh”
“The buns worship Diana, offering up
in the Irish song, the piece were now “cakes to the moon, the
can be dated to the rhyming made in the queen of the shining sky”.
cries of 18th-century street secrecy of the Of course, the early
vendors who could be Christian church didn’t
credited with the first form home and the have time for such pagan
of advertising jingle. But the mythology idolatry and marshalled the
origins of hot cross buns go again grew.” buns into the service of
back even further. God. Hot cross buns became
In fact, it would not be commemorations of Good
grandiose to say the vast history of Friday, and across Christendom the
Western civilisation, the rise and fall cross came to represent the crucifixion
of deities and dynasties, could be told and the spices symbolised those used
within the honey-hued glaze of this to embalm Jesus at his burial.
small, spiced bread. The bun had been blessed.
The Saxons, we are told, ate buns In the late 16th century Queen
marked with crosses in honour of Eostre, Elizabeth forbade the sale of hot cross
goddess of spring or light, who gave her buns at any time other than burials,
name to Easter. Antiquarians cite similar Good Friday and Christmas, perhaps
practices among the Druids, Phoenicians, because they were considered to be so
Greeks and Romans in honour of Diana, holy. If you were caught baking them ➤

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 41
 outside this time, you were forced to give
all your buns to the poor.
The buns were now made in the
secrecy of the home and the mythology
again grew around them as they were
invested with magical powers. If hung
from the rafters on Good Friday, for
instance, they would resist decay, it was
thought, and people would nibble on
them throughout the year for their
supposed restorative powers. The buns
would rid the house of bad spirits, protect
it from fire and safeguard ships against
shipwreck. In Ireland people would share
hot cross buns with their best friends on
Good Friday, reciting the lines “Half for
you and half for me, between us two,
good luck shall be” to guarantee their
friendship for the coming year.
While the bun itself has scudded across
epochs from paganism to Christianity,
our modern recipe is attributed to a
14th-century monk at the Cathedral of
St Albans, who first mixed the yeast with
cinnamon and delivered his baked treats
to the poor. And I weep when I imagine
what this monk would say were he to
wander into a supermarket today. Yes, like
my neighbour, I’m a purist when it comes
to the bun. This is partly out of reverence
for a past that is accessible to us through
food, and also because I’m not ready to
Hot cross buns
MAKES 9 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 20 MINS (PLUS PROVING)
Using vegetable oil in place of butter gives these buns a softer crumb and
helps them keep longer. Some may think adding chocolate to hot cross buns
is a travesty, but we’ve included the variation for non-purists.
500 gm plain flour hand in a circular motion until smooth
1 tsp (about 1 sachet) dried yeast and round (you may need to dust
50 gm brown sugar them lightly with a little flour to
1 tsp cinnamon prevent sticking), then arrange
½ tsp allspice evenly in the tin and leave to prove
½ nutmeg, finely grated until doubled in size (30 minutes).
350 ml lukewarm milk 3 For flour paste, mix flour and 50ml
2 tbsp vegetable oil water to a thick paste that will hold
50 gm currants its shape when piped – add a little
30 gm mixed peel more flour or water if necessary.
Softened butter, to serve Transfer to a small plastic bag, snip
FLOUR PASTE of a corner and pipe crosses on the
40 gm plain flour buns. Bake until golden and cooked
GLAZE through (20-22 minutes). Cool in tin
55 gm (¼ cup) caster sugar for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool
on a wire rack.
1 Combine flour, yeast, sugar, spices 4 For glaze, mix sugar with 50ml
and a large pinch of salt in a large boiling water in a bowl, stirring until
bowl. Add milk and vegetable oil and dissolved. While buns are still hot,
mix to a smooth dough (it will be a brush with glaze, then leave to cool
little sticky). Mix in the currants and until just warm or room temperature.
mixed peel, place dough in a lightly Serve with butter. Hot cross buns
oiled bowl, cover bowl with a damp will keep for 2 days in an airtight
tea towel and leave to prove until container.

cede all our sacred rituals to the new gods
of consumption and profit. In fact, this
Easter I’ll be hanging a spiced hot cross
bun from the rafters and praying it
keeps the evil mocha-orange-peel
spirits at bay.
doubled in size (1½-2 hours; see note).
2 Preheat oven to 190°C and line
a 22cm-square cake tin with baking
paper. Knock back dough and, with
lightly floured hands, divide it into
9 even pieces. Roll each under your
PREVIOUS PAGE: MUKUMONO PLATE FROM KOSKELA. ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. STOCKISTS P176
Note To serve the buns in the
morning, prepare the dough the
night before and prove it overnight
in the fridge. In the morning, roll the
dough into balls and prove them
again before baking.

Chocolate hot cross buns For chocolate hot cross buns,

replace 40gm flour with an equal amount of Dutch-process
cocoa powder, and in place of the fruit, add 70gm coarsely
chopped dark chocolate (65%-70% cocoa solids), kneading
half through the dough and scattering the remainder on top.
For the flour paste to make the cross, substitute a quarter of
the flour with cocoa powder. ●

42 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
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 u id a sse
L
iq t Toronto was like a perfect snowy winter
GISELLE WEYBRECHT has soug
hot chocolate at 450 venues in 55 countries. This is her story.
I
remember every detail of my
abuela’s hot chocolate. The way
she made it with fresh ginger, using
local dark chocolate, and served it
in a particular blue mug. The memory of
sitting there in the Dominican Republic,
the breeze coming off the sea, surrounded
by the voices of the strong women in my
family, is something I will cherish forever.
From those beginnings, hot chocolate
has grown to be something of a fascination
FROM MUD AUSTRALIA. TEASPOON FROM FRANCALIA. STOCKISTS P176
for me, and over the past five years I’ve
PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. STYLING AIMEE JONES. CUP AND SAUCER
been seeking out the best hot chocolate
and keeping a diary of my travels online
at ultimatehotchocolate.com.
Why hot chocolate? Each has a story
to tell about the origin of the chocolate
used and who the maker was. At Soma in
Toronto or CacaoDada in Seoul you can
taste single-origin hot chocolates while
watching them craft chocolate from bean
to bar. You can sprinkle in spices or herbs
depending on your mood and location,
liquorice in Helsinki, rosewater with camel
milk in Dubai or cardamom in London.
In Columbia it’s served with a piece of
oozy cheese; in New York, a homemade
marshmallow. I’ve had hot chocolate with
s
world’s best
cream infused with lavender in France,
and even topped with cotton candy.
These drinks give me a chance to delve
into the culture of the cities and cafés I’m
visiting, to discover local approaches and
flavour profiles, learning more about the
people who make them. I discovered
champurrado, a prehistoric hot chocolate,
after speaking with a young man who
promised to take me to “the best tamales
in Mexico City”. The tamales at his
family’s restaurant were good, but the
champurrado was even better. He showed
me how to make it, with chocolate from
Oaxaca, corn masa, cinnamon and, most
importantly, time. Make it slowly, never in
a rush – the same way you should enjoy it.
But above all what I love about hot
chocolate is the experience it provides
when it all comes together in one perfect
package. The hot chocolate on the 103rd
floor of the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong
made me feel like I was in Paris at
Christmas and the one at Café de Flor in
Paris made me feel like I was in love. The
dangerously boozy one I had in Paraty in
Brazil turned me into a singer while the
lavender white hot chocolate at Fika in
day, minus the frostbite.
There are days when my body craves
the chilli hot chocolate at Steven ter Horst
in Adelaide, and I fear I’d overdose on
Campfire hot chocolate at Mork in
Melbourne if I lived there. I’ve had hot
chocolates in 55 countries and written
about more than 450 of them, and my
search for the ultimate hot chocolate
continues. But my favourite is still my
abuela’s, the one that started it all. There’s
nothing quite like it anywhere.
Hot Chocolate
This is the base recipe I use every day.
A good hot chocolate starts with good
chocolate. I prefer 72% but you can go
darker or even use milk or white chocolate.
My favourite is Guittard, from a family-
owned company in the US, which I can’t
get here. In Australia I’ve been using
Callebaut and Valrhona, but would rather
find something local.
In terms of ready-made powders I’m
a fan of Grounded Pleasures from Ballarat.
Mork makes a nice dark cocoa, and
Monsieur Trufe in Melbourne does a little
hot chocolate kit with chocolate chips.
I also melt down bars from Bahen and Co
(a WA bean-to-bar company) but that
makes for expensive hot chocolate.
I also add herbs and spices. A handful
of fresh mint leaves, cardamom, grated
ginger or even thyme are some of my
favourites. For even more flavour, steep
the herbs or spices in the milk in the fridge
overnight. I use about a teaspoon of dried
spice, or a small handful of fresh herbs.
I like to add a tablespoon of cocoa to
this recipe below to make the drink
creamier. If you’re using a really good
chocolate, though, just let the chocolate
shine on its own.
50 gm dark chocolate for every 250ml
full-cream milk
1 Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan
and warm them slowly over low-to-medium
heat to 80°C. Don’t let the mixture boil.
2 If you’ve added any spices you may want
to put your hot chocolate through a sieve to
filter them out.
3 Use a whisk to froth up your hot
chocolate when it’s done. Top with boozy
whipped cream for an extra treat. ●
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 45
 Love the look of this? Find the recipes at
thermomix.com.au/unrealfood
or thermomix.co.nz/unrealfood

Raw Cauliflower Tabouli

Active time
20 minutes

Green Smoothie Bowl

Active time

Eat well.
10 minutes

(Even on Wednesdays)

Yoghurt Soup with Chickpeas

and Garlic Chilli Oil
Active time
30 minutes

Turkey Taco Salad Bowl

Active time
15 minutes

Real life. Unreal food.

Over same-same? Same. Mix up midweek with Eat Well, our latest cookbook by dietitian and
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 Most wanted

FIVE OF A KIND

Brownies
Not too dense, not too crumbly, the best brownies deliver moreish
texture and a powerful chocolate hit. Here are ive to savour.

1
LORRAINE’S PÂTISSERIE
The brownie at Lorraine’s
Pâtisserie in Sydney is a
crowd-pleaser. Made with both
dark and milk chocolate, it’s a
lighter and more subtly flavoured
batch than most. And if your
favourite part of a brownie is the
thin flaky layer on top, this one
does the same on the bottom.
Another square? $6.50 per
piece. merivale.com.au
2
PHILLIPPA’S
With a recipe perfected over
24 years, the Belgian Chocolate
Brownie by Phillippa’s is a
classic. Made with Callebaut
chocolate, walnuts and Dutch
cocoa, it’s dense, and a treat to

5
THE LOST LOAF
serve warm. Just add a scoop of
ice-cream. $17-$21 for 360gm.
phillippas.com.au
Made in Adelaide, Emma
WORDS MAGGIE SCARDIFELD. PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON. STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN

Shearer’s plum and quandong

brownie teleports you straight
to an Australian school fête.
Taken right to the edge in the
oven (hello char, crunch and
chew) with tart caramelised
fruit on top and whole chunks
of melting chocolate in the
middle, it’s a textural dream.
$4.50 per piece. 0432 866 717

3
BLACK STAR PASTRY

4
MONSIEUR TRUFFE
A limited-edition bean-to-bar
brownie: now we’ve seen it all.
Melbourne’s Monsieur Trufe
puts as much thought into its
rustic-style brownies as it does
its single-origin blocks. Think
68 per cent Bolivian chocolate for
a crumbly base, and 78 per cent
chocolate chips. $4.50 per piece.
monsieurtruffechocolate.com
Are we picking favourites? Never.
But if we were, this guy, teaming
dark Valrhona chocolate and
macadamia nuts, has the textural
variation, structural integrity and
powerful chocolate hit a brownie
needs. It’s rich and something to
be savoured. Over and over
again. $5.50 per piece.
blackstarpastry.com.au

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 47
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 The explainer

Kaya
A staple in Singaporean
and Malaysian cofee
shops, this coconut
spread lends an extra
dimension to sweet
breakfasts and desserts.

WHAT IS IT?
Kaya is very sweet coconut custard made with coconut
milk and sugar, thickened with egg and often flavoured
with pandan leaf. It’s popular throughout South-East
Asia, particularly in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore
and parts of Indonesia. There are two main types:
WORDS, RECIPE AND STYLING EMMA KNOWLES. PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY. ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN

Hainanese kaya made with caramelised or brown sugar,

which has a rich caramel colour, and Nyonya kaya,
tinted green by the pandan that flavours it. In addition,
the recipe varies from house to house – some use duck
eggs, others chicken; some are thick and spreadable
while others have a thinner consistency. Considering the
ingredients, it’s no surprise that the word translates to
“rich” in Malay. The best versions are beautifully smooth
and so thick you can stand a spoon up in them.
WHY DO WE CARE?
If you’ve ever had kaya toast – charcoal-grilled bread
topped with a generous whack of salted butter and
spread thickly with kaya (often served with a strong
coffee and soft eggs seasoned with dark soy and pepper)
– you’ll know this spread is addictive. If you haven’t, all
you need to know is that kaya makes pancakes, crêpes
and waffles (or anything you’d drizzle with honey or
maple syrup) better than you could ever imagine.
WHERE CAN I GET IT?
You can buy commercially produced kaya from select
Asian grocery stores, but if you can’t find it, try our
home-made version here. It takes a lot of stirring,
but trust us, one taste and it will be worth it.
Kaya
MAKES ABOUT 500ML
Stir 3 eggs, 2 egg yolks and 150gm caster sugar
in a heatproof bowl with a whisk until smooth
and runny, then whisk over a saucepan of
simmering water until sugar completely dissolves
(4-5 minutes). Whisk in 300ml coconut cream to
combine, then add 3 pandan leaves, knotted
together. Stir continuously until mixture is the
consistency of lemon curd (25-30 minutes), then
remove from heat (discard the pandan). Cook
another 50gm caster sugar in a small saucepan
over high heat until caramelised (2-3 minutes),
remove from heat, carefully whisk in 1 tbsp butter
and a pinch of salt, then whisk into coconut
mixture. Place the bowl back over simmering
water and stir continuously until slightly thickened
(4-5 minutes), remove from heat and whisk
occasionally until cooled to room temperature.
Pour into sterilised jars, refrigerate to chill
completely and seal. Kaya will keep for 3 weeks. ●

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 49
Where to eat and
what to cook

Browse our recipe collections at gourmettraveller.com.au

and sign up to our newsletter for news and inspiration.
 Anatomy of a dish

THE SPONGE
A light dark-chocolate sponge
is the key to Black Forest cake,

Black Forest cake

keeping in mind that it needs to
be strong enough to hold its
shape. The aeration in the
sponge comes from cornflour
This impressive dessert gâteau never goes out of fashion. and egg whites, whisked to
soft peaks before Dutch cocoa
or melted dark chocolate is
folded in. Preserved cherries
are then studded through the
batter once it’s in the tin. For a

S
chwarzwälder kirschtorte doesn’t get its name THE CHERRIES boozier cake (and to ensure it
from the Black Forest itself, but rather from Jarred sour morello won’t dry out) brush the layers
cherries are the way to with kirsch before assembly.
Schwarzwälder kirschwasser or kirsch, the clear
go, especially France’s
cherry brandy made in that region of south-west
Griottines – wild morello
Germany. It’s typically used to spike the whipped cream cherries soaked in a blend of
and the dark-chocolate sponge that’s stacked in layers, liqueurs, including kirsch. In
sandwiching the cream and boozy cherries. It all makes THE CREAM
season, fresh cherries could Fresh cream whipped with
for an impressive dessert gâteau, and while there are go in the mix, too, perhaps icing sugar and a healthy
variations in presentation and ingredients – brandy after soaking them yourself. splash of kirsch is classic, but
and cherry juice in lieu of kirsch, for instance, or the Either way, they’re a key pastry chef and GT contributor
addition of chocolate mousse or ganache – cherries, element, so aim for quality. Catherine Adams suggests
usually sour, chocolate and cream are non-negotiable. using a mix of meringue and
cream, finished with a dash
of kirsch (of course) instead.
This makes for a richer cake
THE TOPPINGS with weightier white layers.
Once the layers are
assembled, which can
be done in a springform
WORDS HARRIET DAVIDSON. PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON. STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN

cake tin, it’s topping

time. Form curls of dark
chocolate by shaving
them from a cold block
with a vegetable peeler
or melt dark chocolate,
smear it on a tray, let it
cool, then scrape the
hard chocolate with
a sharp knife. Pile on
the rest of that kirsch-
spiked cream, and more
cherries never go astray.

Find
one

Hayley McKee, of Sticky Fingers Bakery in Melbourne,

gives the classic a twist with her Black Forest rosella,
layering hibiscus, sour cherries, cream cheese and
salted chocolate crumble. Local cake shops, such as
Gumnut Pâtisserie in Bowral, are best for traditional takes.

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 51
Produce
Root
cause
The standout performance
of radishes in the garden
is only the beginning
of their appeal, writes
PAULETTE WHITNEY.
T
he first vegetable I ever
grew was a radish. In my
childhood garden we
already had silverbeet,
peas and asparagus. I don’t know
why it was decided one spring that
I should grow radishes – none of
us liked them. It was the ’80s, and
our salad repertoire consisted of
tinned pineapple and beetroot,
a mayonnaisey pasta salad and
iceberg lettuce. Spicy things were
something exotic to eat as a dare,
but in a concrete-bound triangle
between the paths to the shed and
the compost heap, I sowed my
seeds and they grew. I have visions
of pretty red baubles, but I can’t
remember eating them.
Fast-forward 30 years and I’m
hooked. I began in our market
garden with Scarlet Globe and
French Breakfast. They grew fast,
tasted great and sold like hotcakes.
Not one to rest on a winner,
I looked further and found a great
option for the seed explorer: the
mixed packet. The results lived up
to expectations, and Easter Egg
was irresistible.
52 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Harvesting root vegetables always
feels miraculous. An unpromising
patch of soil, covered in green
foliage, becomes a different thing
entirely when seen from a snail’s-
eye view where you glimpse a little
of what’s hiding under the earth.
Radishes grow up as well as down,
and push their shoulders proud of
the surface. Some, like the savoury,
meaty Pink Beauty, are shy and
remain demurely covered, but
daikon leap from the earth like
breaching whales.
When we harvested the first
Easter Eggs it was indeed like
an Easter egg hunt, every root a
different shade of red, pink, white
or purple. The contrast of those
impossibly bright colours against
the brown earth is a delight to
behold, and the delight continues
as you rinse the clinging soil
from the roots. In the best of
covered, but
circumstances, you find yourself
seated in a favourite restaurant
watching a chef scrape the last of
the fine roots from each radish and
presenting them to you on a plate
with cultured butter and salt.
Those nifty chefs manage other
miracles, too. Until I began working
with chefs I’d never dreamed of
cooking a radish. Cut in half to
allow contact with the pan, they
can be fried quickly in butter and
they lose their pepperiness and
caramelise a little, taking on a
savoury-sweet succulence.
There are radish varieties bred
for non-hairy leaves, others for
punchy “rat-tailed” pods. Radish
flowers are among the tastiest of
the edible blooms, and they come
in all shades – pink, yellow and
white, with fascinating venation in
the petals. The stems are juicy and
the buds peppery – the entire plant
is worthy of culinary attention.
After exploring the salad
varieties, I delved into bigger ones.
Traditionally grown as staples for
pickles, fermenting or cellaring,
winter radishes beg a little more
attention. Sure, pretty winter
radishes such as Watermelon with
its pink heart, or Oriental Green
with its lurid chlorophyll-coloured
centre are beautiful shaved and
dressed as a simple salad, but one
of the most delicious radish dishes
I’ve tasted was daikon cake given to
me with instructions to slice it and
fry it until crisp. After dodging hot
gobs of flying oil I bit through the
crunchy outside to the almost
gelatinous interior dotted with
chunks of lap cheong – surely an
effort to prepare, but wonderful
enough to be worthy of labour.
The pinnacle for the hardcore
radish explorer is the black-skinned
“Some varieties. Fiery and dense, they’re
ILLUSTRATIONS DAWN TAN & LAUREN HAIRE (PORTRAIT)
radishes, bred for storage and used in winter
like Pink salads when fresh vegetables are
Beauty, are scarce. I’ve eaten black radish
shy and roasted in a wood oven, wonderful
remain and succulent after long, slow
demurely cooking, and had them grated raw
as a horseradish-like condiment.
While doing my research
daikon leap I found there’s a species of radish
from the with seed that makes an excellent
earth like substitute for mustard. I now
breaching wonder where can I get my hands
whales.” on some seed. ●
 Reds on
have started producing very good light-to-medium-
bodied dry red wines from the grape on its own, and
they’ve labelled their wines trousseau. Again, this
variety offers a good alternative for gamay-lovers.

the radar
TEROLDEGO
A native of the Trentino region in northern Italy,
teroldego is genetically related to both syrah and
lagrein, another grape from Trentino that’s been
grown by a few Australian producers for a while now.
Baled by the obscure grape varieties Knowing this about teroldego’s past helps give you
turning up on wine lists everywhere? a good idea of what it’s like in the glass: like lagrein,
it makes wine with a beautiful saturated purple colour
MAX ALLEN has you covered. and grippy tannin, and like syrah it has supple black
fruit and sometimes spicy perfume.
If you want to try teroldego from its homeland, look
for the wines of Foradori, arguably the outstanding
producer of the variety. A handful of local producers
also grow and make teroldego, the best being Amato

C
an’t keep up with all the new and obscure
grape varieties crowding your favourite bar or
indie wine merchant? I’m here to help. Tuck
these five names away in your memory bank
for the next time you’re scanning the list or browsing
the shelves, and you’ll feel like a true wine adventurer.
P I N E A U D ’A U N I S
This red grape from France’s Loire Valley is particularly
popular with sommeliers at the moment, partly because
it produces wines in the fashionable medium-bodied,
juicy style – with plenty of wild berry, undergrowthy
flavour – and partly because some of the most revered
natural-wine producers, such as Thierry Puzelat of Clos
du Tue-Boeuf, use it.
A couple of years ago, young winemaker Julien
Pineau became co-owner of the legendary Clos Roche
Blanche vineyard – the site of some of the best pineau
d’Aunis vines in the Loire – and now uses those
grapes to make a wine called Les Sucettes à l’Aunis,
Vino and Blue Poles in Margaret River. It should
appeal to people who can’t decide whether they want
to drink an elegant cabernet or a cool-climate shiraz.
MAMMOLO
One of the most exciting current trends in red wine is
the interest in little-known grape varieties grown on the
Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica. One
variety that does particularly well on the latter island
is mammolo. It originated in Tuscany, where it was
traditionally valued for its floral perfume and blended
with the more robust sangiovese grape to make Chianti.
On Corsica, mammolo is known as sciacarello,
which means “crunchy” – and this gives you an idea of
CH
TIA L F REN
E P I N OT

a particularly wild and undergrowthy example. If you

like pinot noir or gamay, try pineau d’Aunis.
PUR

SEN

TROUSSEAU
ES

Another sommelier favourite, trousseau hails from the

To p d r o p s o f t h e m o n t h

trendy Jura region of eastern France, where, like pineau

d’Aunis in the Loire, it makes wines that are medium-
bodied but by no means lacking in juicy berry flavour 2016 Port Phillip 2013 Catherine et
Estate Balnarring Pierre Breton Nuits
and bracing acidity. In Portugal, the same grape goes by
Pinot Noir, Mornington d’Ivresse, Bourgueil,
the name of bastardo (presumably because it can be a bit
Peninsula, $38 Loire Valley, $40
difficult to grow and ripen fully), and it’s under this This silky, supple wine Exceptional medium-
Opposite,
name that cuttings made their way to Australia many and its Red Hill sibling bodied cabernet franc:
from left: Les
Sucettes à years ago, where the variety has most often been used (also $38) are amazing crunchy, bright, juicy and
l’Aunis, Koerner to make port, blended with other grapes like touriga. value. You’d expect to nervy – delicious.
Mammolo Recently, a few Australian producers such as
Sciacarello,
pay twice as much for Imported by george@
and Vinkara Stoney Rise in Tasmania, Lucy Margaux in the wines of this calibre. georgemccullough
Öküzgözü. Adelaide Hills and Amato Vino in Margaret River portphillipestate.com.au imports.com

54 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Drinks

“Turkey isn’t the

only very old
wine-producing the bright, snappy
country with ancient style of wine it
indigenous vines produces. One of
very few producers
that has attracted
of mammolo in
the attention of Australia, Koerner
sommeliers.” Wine in the Clare
Valley uses the grape
to produce a very light-coloured, perfumed red that’s
only a step away from a rosé. If you like pale, dry pink
wine but want something with a little bit more body
and chew, give this a go.

ÖKÜZGÖZÜ
The name of this Turkish variety means “bulls eye”,
because the vine is known for producing big fat
bunches of very large black grapes. It’s a traditional
variety from eastern Anatolia, and is enjoying a surge
of popularity along with the growing interest in Turkish
wine thanks in part to progressive producers such as
Vinkara. Like the other grapes profiled here, öküzgözü
produces fashionably medium-bodied red wine with
refreshing acidity.
Turkey isn’t the only very old wine-producing
country with ancient indigenous vines that has
attracted the attention of sommeliers and critics:
other red varieties include xinomavro from northern
Greece and saperavi from Georgia. Expect to see more
Reds Marble side table of these wines shipped to Australia as this trend grows.
from The DEA Store. Öküzgözü tastes a bit like an earthy, savoury
O Series pinot noir glass grenache crossed with a fleshy pinot, and is a great
from Riedel. Stockists p176.
match, not surprisingly, for spicy Turkish lamb
grilled over charcoal. ●

ER CK
GI N
LO
T
PY

N OW… OR LA
GIC N U M BE R

Z ON T HE B
’N’ H OP

AYER ED
PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW (MAIN) & RODNEY MACUJA (TOP DROPS).

ESH

LTIL
FIZ
MA

NK
FR

MU
W
RI
STYLING AIMEE JONES. ILLUSTRATION LAUREN HAIRE

D NE

Balter XPA, 2017 Rieslingfreak 2016 Nocturne Cabernet 2015 Bellebonne Vintage Animus Arboretum Gin,
Currumbin, $5 No 5 Off-Dry Riesling, Sauvignon, Margaret Rosé, Tasmania, $65 Macedon Ranges, $115
Brilliant balance of Clare Valley, $25 River, $45 Nat Fryar was winemaker Bold, complex, intriguing
new-wave bitter hoppy John Hughes is winning Julian Langworthy has built at Jansz for many years gin, with layers of
perfume and old-style awards left, right and centre a reputation as one of and knows Tasmanian aromatics running from
refreshing Aussie for his rieslings – such as Margaret River’s best fizz better than most, so the bass notes of bush
drinkability. No wonder it this scintillating, pristine, cabernet makers with wines it’s absolutely no surprise tomato up to the high
was voted number one in refreshing example of the like this; intensely flavoured, that the first wine under notes of citrus. A little
this year’s GABS Hottest off-dry style with a hint of beautifully poised, it’s good her own label is gorgeously stronger than most, too,
100 craft beer poll. tingly grape sweetness. now and will also cellar well. elegant and refined. at 50 per cent ABV.
balter.com.au rieslingfreak.com nocturnewines.com.au bellebonne.wine animusdistillery.com

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 55
 Hit parade
Smart operators and chart-topping eats
make Harley & Rose good news for West
Footscray, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.

P
erhaps it’s the soundtrack.
Richard Clapton’s “Girls
on the Avenue”, Stevie
Wright’s “Evie”, Midnight
Oil’s “Blue Sky Mine”. But there’s
also nostalgia with the location.
The sleepy strip of mostly single-
storey shops in West Footscray
feels more small-town 1970s than
Melbourne suburb-on-the-rise.
Most probably it’s just that Harley
& Rose, the first venture by
McConnell alumni Josh Murphy
and Rory Cowcher, has landed
with such confidence that it
feels like it’s been here forever,
slinging wood-fired pizza,
Meatsmith charcuterie and
minimal-intervention wine since
Skyhooks were in the charts.
The circa-1960s Modernist bank
building plays its part. It was a pizza
restaurant before Murphy and
Cowcher rode into town, bringing by shiny, crisp-edged house-made Another simple but spot-on
Projects of Imagination with them focaccia. The dip’s customised tomato dish sees heirloom tomatoes
to do the fit-out. It’s quirky now, with curly parsley and a dusting grated to a pulp, seasoned and oiled
with blond timber banquettes, of dried fermented spicy peppers. and then lightly smoked. They’re
acres of beige canvas blinds, safety Other good snacks challenge teamed with stracciatella and PHOTOGRAPHY MARCEL AUCAR & KRISTOFFER PAULSEN (PALERMO)
glass, red neon in the front window the dip for star attraction. garnished with dried purple basil
and red lighting in the bathrooms, Ocean trout, cured in sugar, leaves. It manages to be both
a parquetry floor and a creamy salt and coriander seed and then comforting and refreshing.
yellow paint job. It has a sort of smoked, arrives robustly flavoured The wood-fired pizza oven is
1960s suburban bank-clerk chic. and thrillingly textured under put to good use. Plate-sized pies are
There’s nothing retro about a mustard and Grand Marnier delivered with just a smattering
the food. Murphy and Cowcher emulsion, with grated horseradish of char around the edges of a base
have pulled together a solid list of and a liberal scatter of dried dill. Top, from left: made from a sourdough starter
approachable, shareable dishes that Thick slices of green tomatoes are manager Mark with a little yeast – more chewy
Williamson
are trend conscious without being coated in a tapioca and rice flour New York-style than Neapolitan.
and chefs Josh
annoyingly on song. batter (the batter recipe borrowed Murphy and Rory Toppings include a pipi, onion,
Fans of Fitzroy’s Builders Arms from Lee Ho Fook’s Victor Liong), Cowcher. Above cream and thyme combination
Hotel will be pleased to see the fried and served with crème fraîche. left: smoked that’s rich and sweet with an
ocean trout with
cod-roe dip make a creamy, salty There’s Louisiana hot sauce sitting Grand Marnier attractive briny finish (the onions
appearance here, accompanied in the caddy on the table. Use it. and horseradish. are cooked gently with cream and

56 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

clam juice). The handsome diavola
has slices of dry, hot salami, San
Marzano tomatoes and smoked
scamorza, with slivers of pickled
jalapeño adding colour and a faint
slow burn. The combination
matches well with the crust’s slight
vinegary, fermented flavour.
It’s all good drinking food
and there are plenty of good things
to drink. Another ex-McConnell
employee, the cheerful Mark
Williamson, is manager here, and
in charge of the list. He’s got the
modern family-friendly bistro brief
just right, both with the booze and
the service.
His cellar packs a lot of variety
into six pages. It’s Australian-biased
with the occasional sortie into
The outdoor seating
at Harley & Rose.
Below: pipi pizza.
France and Italy. There’s good,
well-priced minimal intervention
stuff from the likes of SC Pannell,
Hochkirch and Ochota Barrels
alongside smooth French operators
such as Le Fou pinot noir and
Christophe et Fils Chablis. The
beer list leans local, too, with
everything Victorian except a few
outliers, including the complex,
soured Cleansing Ale from
Tasmania’s Two Metres Tall.
The menu has some heft to it,
too. Lamb meatballs, fragrant with
cumin, pack a little chilli heat that’s
tempered with the accompanying
risoni, cucumber, mint and yoghurt.
Meanwhile, the H&R version of
cacio e pepe, made with spaghetti
from local pasta maker Alligator,
is rich with egg yolks and a mix of
Grana Padano and pecorino. You’d
come back for it.
The tiramisù is also hefty. It’s
a classic of its kind – not too soggy
or boozy, the mix of Strega, dark
rum and vanilla Galliano keeping
the flavours firmly, safely Italian.
With its seasoned operators and
wine and food smarts, Harley &
Rose is a sure sign Melbourne’s
west is gentrifying. Since it’s
unpretentious, hospitable, tasty and
well-priced gentrification, surely it’s
the kind to get behind. ●
Melbourne review
Left: tiramisù.
AND ALSO…
Palermo
LATIN LOVING
The San Telmo and Pastuso team
are mining South American cuisine
again at Palermo, named after the
Buenos Aires neighbourhood. Former
Stokehouse chef Ollie Gould presides
over a parilla grill and an asado fire-pit
where lambs and suckling pigs are
splayed upright to cook. There’s good
beef and seafood from the parilla, too.
The wine list favours malbec, while the
space has a palette of leather, marble
and brick, and an attractive smoky
Details scent. 401 Little Bourke St, Melbourne,
(03) 9002 1600, palermo.melbourne
GREEN ZONE
Harley Carlton, home to one of Melbourne’s
& Rose
longest-running vegetarian restaurants,
572 Barkly St, Shakahari, now has a vegan and
West Footscray vegetarian pub called Green Man’s
(03) 8320 0325 Arms. Israeli chef David Raziel’s menu
harleyandrose. leaps continents, with chilaquiles
net.au sharing space with falafel, an artichoke
Licensed and cauliflower mac and cheese, and
Cards AE MC V EFT gnocchi tossed with red capsicum
Open Tue-Thu pesto. There’s kombucha on tap,
4pm-10pm, Fri-Sun and a good range of beer and wine
11.30am-10pm that leans local. 418 Lygon St, Carlton,
Prices Entrées (03) 9347 7419, greenmansarms.com.au
$9-$15, main
courses $19-$37, FIRE POWER
desserts $5-$16 Brigitte Hafner has overhauled the
Vegetarian
menu at Gertrude Street Enoteca,
Five entrées, four making use of a wood-fired oven and
main courses a hibachi grill. The oven’s fired up each
Noise Elevated, morning and a dish, perhaps chicken
bustling and chorizo with sherry and tomatoes,
Wheelchair is cooked all day. The coals are then
access Yes tipped into the hibachi where wagyu
Minus The short ribs, ox tongue (served with salsa
anti-gentrification verde) or prawns with garlic and chilli
crowd won’t are grilled to order. The vitello tonnato,
be pleased meanwhile, has survived the change
Plus Family- along with other greatest hits. 229
friendly with no Gertrude St, Fitzroy, (03) 9415 8262,
dumbing down gertrudeenoteca.com
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 57
 Perfectly
Franklin
With a new chef at the helm,
Hobart’s inest diner is having its
moment, writes PAT NOURSE.
F
ranklin encapsulates
much that’s likeable about
Hobart. It’s a celebration
of local culture and
nature held against a backdrop
of industrial surfaces worn to
smooth warmth by time and
use. It’s the finest diner in the
Tasmanian capital, but you’re as
likely to be seated next to a bunch
of wind-burnt wanderers zipped
and toggled tight in The North
Face as you are a couple in their
Friday-night finery. And perhaps
this is fitting. The arrival of a new
chef, Analiese Gregory, opens a
new chapter for the restaurant.
David Moyle, Franklin’s first
chef, said his job involved as much
time driving around to track down
58 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
produce as it did working in the
kitchen. When Gregory was Peter
Gilmore’s second-in-command in
the kitchen at Quay, their meat
supplier would drop things over
personally in his Porsche if they
needed them in a hurry. If the pace
in Tasmania is slower, it doesn’t
seem to trouble Gregory. She has
said that her time cooking at Bras
in Aubrac affected her profoundly,
and while Hobart might not be
quite so ruggedly windswept as the
Massif Central, it’s proving fertile
ground nonetheless.
I enjoyed Bar Brosé, Gregory’s
last stop in Sydney, but felt like
I was waiting for a penny that never
dropped. She has been at Franklin
since last August, and it’s clear she’s
in her element. Maybe that should
be elements, plural. She plucks
abalone from the icy waters of the
D’Entrecasteaux Channel, dives for
urchins off Fossil Cove, presses
local market gardeners for skirret
Above, from left:
hand-cut tartare and medlars, and has mastered the
of Littlewood moods of the Scotch oven.
lamb with She uses it to coax elegant
anchovy sauce
and horseradish; texture from zucchini, which she
Analiese Gregory. sets on whipped ricotta and satsivi,
a Georgian walnut sauce, and
showers with lovage and basil.
Garfish emerges from the oven
split down the middle, rearing out
of a sea of oyster butter scattered
with chive flowers. The flavour of
the fish gets lost, but it’s cooked
with enviable precision.
The scope and style of the
room are immediately arresting,
but it’s little details – the heated
floor, the kangaroo hides thrown
over some of the chairs, the copper
dispenser for the paper towels in
the toilets and perfectly placed
flashes of INXS and the Divinyls
(circa “Boys in Town”) on the
soundtrack – that seal the deal.
Service is in sync with the
kitchen, the waiters clearly very
much on board with Team Gregory.
Manager Forbes Appleby is a gentle
presence on the floor, but his wine
list is written with bold strokes. If
PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM GIBSON
wine that is local or priced under
$70 a bottle is what you want, you’ll
be better served by other cellars in
Hobart; if your tastes lean natural
you’re in for a treat. In any case, the
likes of Owen Latta’s “Precarious”
oxidised sauvignon blanc blend
 Hobart review

AND ALSO…

Left: cherry
clafoutis with
honey-kefir
cream. Below:
linguine with
sea urchin butter
and wild fennel.

from western Victoria, and Valentin
Morel’s unfiltered, unsulphured
chardonnay from the Jura, both
poured by the glass, make fine foils
for all the butter and cheese.
They’re not allowed to light
the fire before 3pm, so the wood-
roasted Cape Grim beef dressed
with walnut and smoked fat, say, or
the glazed pork neck with a whey
butter sauce only appear at dinner.
This is not to say the lunch
menu is a place of desolation
and despair. Far from it. Milky
swatches of pork loin that Gregory
cured herself melt on the tongue,
a dusting of horseradish and
smoked paprika dissolving into
sweet fat. Chicken liver parfait is
creamy, paired with yeast crisps,
slices of a dense, nutty rye loaf
and a cruel few pickled cherries.
An anchovy sauce, much like
what you might find in vitello
tonnato, brings fitting intensity
to hand-cut tartare of Littlewood
lamb, framed with peppery leaves
and horseradish. Smart.
Hobart’s weather can have you
looking for something a bit more
warming than charcuterie and raw
sheep. At lunch, the house-made
pasta of the day fills that gap:
linguine swimming in butter with
sea urchin folded through it,
perhaps, tuned up with wild fennel.
The one dish Gregory brought
with her from Sydney is a tribute
to Michel Bras rendered in crisp
leaves of potato teamed with salted
caramel and a brown butter
mousse, while the last cherries are
celebrated in a golden clafoutis
topped with a honey-kefir cream.
A recent profile in the pages of
this magazine questioned whether
Tasmania would be the move that
saw one of our most promising
young chefs realise her potential in
the kitchen. More than six months
into the job, all the indications are
positive. In Franklin, Analiese
Gregory has found a fitting stage
for her talents, and in Analiese
Gregory, Franklin has found one
of the most talented chefs of her
generation finding her voice. Right
now, Franklin is a restaurant in its
moment, a place on the up where a
diner feels blessed to be part of the
dance rather than a mere spectator.
Get amongst it. ●
LOCAL COLOUR
The bin-lane is precisely the opposite
of the classic corner location, and
the ye olde quality of the interiors is
technically only barely months old,
but there’s no denying that The Duke
of Clarence (above) has real old
British pub atmosphere, even if a
pub like this back in England would
be more likely to offer Fosters on
tap than the excellent selection
of local and British hand-pumped
brews. Throw in a serviceable menu
of snacks (fish fried in Old Speckled
Hen batter; a hefty pie of the day)
and you’re there. Laneway 152-156
Clarence St, Sydney
THE OFFAL TRUTH
Now’s your chance to jump if you
haven’t yet had the pleasure of
Details dining at the Banh Xeo Bar pop-up
at The Cannery, which is slated to
conclude at the end of April. Get in
fast for intelligent, often offal-centric
Franklin
30 Argyle St, takes on the Vietnamese canon
from a team whose experience
Hobart, Tas,
(03) 6234 3375, includes time at Ester, Fred’s and
franklinhobart. St John in London. Banh mi with
com.au fried nuggets of pig’s head? Beef
Licensed tongue and lemongrass banh xeo?
Open Lunch Fri-Sat Hello. And it’s BYO to boot. 61-71
11.30am-2.30pm; Mentmore Ave, Rosebery,
dinner Tue-Sat
6pm-10pm HELLO, HARBIN
Prices It’s goodbye vin jaune and fancy
Entrées $15-$22, toasties and hello smoked
pork-knuckle bao, Chinese wine
main courses
$35-$40, sausage and cocktails with lychees
in them at the site that was once
dessert $14
home to Bar Brosé. It has reopened
Cards AE MC V EFT
under new owners as Ginkgo Bar &
Noise Not hushed
Wheelchair Dining, and contemporary Chinese,
access Yes channelling the robust flavours of
Minus A little the north-eastern city of Harbin,
heavy on the dairy is the order of the day. 231a Victoria
Plus Franklin back St, Darlinghurst, (02) 9380 5556
in the zone and
more user-friendly

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 59
“Ok Google, what’s 320° Fahrenheit in Celsius?”

Requires Wi-Fi and compatible device.

 $ 79 RRP

A little help at home, like only Google can

 A GOURMET TRAVELLER PROMOTION
PICK UP
STEAM
For cooking perfection, you can’t go past the
combo of a Steam Oven and Gas Cooktop.
PORK DUMPLINGS
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 10 MINS
20 wonton wrappers (see note)
2 tbsp peanut oil
PORK FILLING
200 gm coarsely minced lean
pork belly
4 green onions, whites and
green ends thinly sliced
separately
2 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic, finely
chopped
45 gm (¾ cup) panko crumbs
DIPPING SAUCE
80 ml (⅓ cup) black vinegar
If there’s one room in the house where you want versatility and 2 cm piece ginger, shredded
state-of-the-art technology, it’s the kitchen. Look no further than
the winning combination of a Wolf Steam Oven and Wolf Gas
+WWS\WX_PQKPITTW_[aW]\WM‫ٺ‬WZ\TM[[TaKWVR]ZM]X[M^MZITLQ[PM[ 1 For pork filling, combine all
I\WVKMIVL][MLQ‫ٺ‬MZMV\KWWSQVO\MKPVQY]M[I\\PM[IUM\QUM<PM[M ingredients in a bowl except white
XWZSL]UXTQVO[NWZQV[\IVKM[\IZ\WV\PMKWWS\WX_PQKPPI[Å^M part of green onions. Season to
dual-stacked burners that give precision heat control, from super-fast taste with freshly ground white
JWQTQVO\QUM[\W\PMUW[\OMV\TM[QUUMZ<PML]UXTQVO[IZMÅZ[\TQOP\Ta pepper, then mix well. Cover
NZQML\WJZQVOKIZIUMTQ[MLÆI^W]Z\W\PM[SQV[\PMV\PMa¼ZM\ZIV[NMZZML with plastic wrap and refrigerate
\W\PM[\MIUW^MV\WÅVQ[PKWWSQVO1V\PMUMIV\QUMaW]KIVPI^M until required.
vegetables steaming and a roast on the go, all while the oven is 2 Working with a wonton wrapper at
monitoring optimum temperature and cooking times. a time, place a tablespoonful of pork
at winningappliances.com.au
filling in the centre of each. Brush
edges lightly with water, then fold
all four corners to meet at a peak in
the centre and press edges to seal.
Place peak-side-up on a lightly
floured tray and continue with
remaining wrappers and pork filling.
3 Preheat steam oven to 100°C.
Heat oil in a large frying pan, add
dumplings, peak-side-up (making
sure they don’t touch one another)
and cook in batches over medium-
high heat for 2 minutes or until
golden. Transfer to a perforated
steaming tray lined with baking
paper and steam in oven until skins
are slightly translucent and filling
is cooked through (4-6 minutes).
4 Serve immediately, drizzled with
black vinegar and scattered with
shredded ginger and reserved
sliced green onions.
Note Wonton wrappers are available
from most supermarkets and
Asian grocers.
 APRIL

QUICK
MEALS Recipes MAX ADEY Photography BENITO MARTIN Styling EMMA KNOWLES

Pan-fried ocean
trout with
caulilower,
almond and
brown butter

p68

Casarecce with pork sausage,
cavolo nero and chilli SERVES 4-6
There’s no beating a warm, comforting bowl of pasta. Classic
Italian flavours – pork, fennel, cavolo nero and chilli – do the
trick here. Can’t find casarecce? Penne and rigatoni work a treat.
2 tbsp olive oil
4 thick pork and fennel
sausages, skins removed,
broken into bite-sized pieces
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped
rosemary
1½ tsp fennel seeds
1½ tsp dried chilli flakes
125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine
125 ml (½ cup) chicken stock
4 cups (firmly packed) roughly
torn cavolo nero (about
1 bunch)
500 gm dried casarecce
50 gm finely grated parmesan,
plus extra to serve
¼ cup coarsely chopped
flat-leaf parsley
64 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
1 Heat olive oil in a large
casserole over high heat, add
sausage and cook, stirring
occasionally, until well browned
(4-5 minutes), then remove
from pan with a slotted spoon.
Add garlic, rosemary and spices
to pan, season to taste, and
stir until fragrant (1-2 minutes).
Deglaze with wine and reduce
until almost evaporated
(1-2 minutes), then return
sausage to pan with stock and
cavolo nero. Cover with a lid,
and cook until cavolo nero is
just wilted (2-3 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, cook pasta in
a large saucepan of salted
boiling water until al dente
(10-11 minutes). Drain, reserving
a little pasta water, then toss
pasta with sausage sauce,
parmesan and parsley, adding
pasta water to thin the sauce.
Season to taste and serve
topped with extra parmesan.
Mushroom and pine nut
brown rice bowl SERVES 4
Pine nuts are a particularly good match with mushrooms – try this
with pan-fried pine mushrooms when they come into season, too.
400 gm (2 cups) brown rice
3 tsp sesame oil
30 gm (about 6cm) ginger,
finely grated
80 ml (⅓ cup) light soy sauce
80 ml (⅓ cup) grapeseed oil
3 packets (about 150gm each)
mixed mushrooms, such as
shiitake, shimeji and wood
ear, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1½ tbsp caster sugar
60 ml (¼ cup) rice wine vinegar
4 eggs
40 gm (¼ cup) pine nuts
1½ tbsp roasted sesame seeds
Torn roasted nori, thinly
sliced spring onion and
gochujang (see note),
to serve
1 Cook rice in a large saucepan
of salted boiling water until
tender (18-20 minutes), drain,
add sesame oil and half the
ginger and soy and season
to taste. Cover and keep warm.
2 Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp
grapeseed oil in a large frying
pan over high heat, add
mushrooms, sauté until tender
(1-2 minutes), then transfer to a
bowl with a slotted spoon. Add
1 tbsp grapeseed oil to pan with
garlic and remaining ginger,
season to taste, and sauté until
fragrant (1-2 minutes). Sprinkle
in sugar, allow to caramelise
(1 minute), then deglaze with
vinegar and remaining soy. Stir
in mushrooms, season to taste,
and return to bowl.
3 Wipe pan clean, then heat
remaining grapeseed oil over
high heat. Fry eggs until crisp
on the bottom and whites are
just cooked (1-2 minutes).
4 Meanwhile, coarsely crush
pine nuts and sesame seeds
with mortar and pestle.
5 Divide rice among bowls,
top with mushrooms, pine nut
mixture, nori and spring onion
and serve with gochujang.
Note Gochujang is available
from Asian supermarkets.
 Quick meals

1 Preheat oven to 240°C.

Divide oil between two metal
oven trays and place in the oven
to heat for 5 minutes. Divide
potatoes between trays and
Sirloin steak with red wine spread shallots around both
sauce and kipler chips SERVES 4 trays. Roast shallots until
For quick potato chips that are crisp rather than softened (10-12 minutes) and
soggy, the key is to season the potatoes only potatoes until crisp and golden
after they’re cooked. Salt draws out water, so (18-20 minutes). Let shallots
pre-salting means the potatoes sweat rather cool slightly, then halve, remove
than brown. It’s the same idea as deep-frying skins and set aside.
fries – you don’t salt until after they’re cooked. 2 Meanwhile, heat a large
frying pan over high heat,
125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil, drizzle steaks with a little oil,
plus extra for drizzling season to taste, then fry, turning
12 kipfler potatoes, scrubbed occasionally, until browned
and cut into thin wedges and cooked to your liking
8 golden shallots, skin on (4-6 minutes for medium-rare).
4 200gm sirloin steaks, Set aside loosely covered with
Steak Bowl from Jook at room temperature foil to rest. Deglaze pan with
Ceramics. Mogen cutlery from
IKEA. Casarecce Bowl (with
100 ml port port, add wine, thyme sprigs
pasta) from Batch Ceramics. 100 ml red wine and garlic and reduce by half
Salt & Pepper bowls (stacked) 3 thyme sprigs, plus (3-4 minutes), add stock and
from Myer. Spoon from Quies.
extra thyme leaves to serve shallots and boil until a thin
Napkin from Mr. Draper.
Rice bowl Salt & Pepper 1 garlic clove, bruised sauce (6-8 minutes). Remove
bowls from Myer. Dish (with 250 ml (1 cup) veal or beef stock from heat, stir in vinegar and
gochujang) from Forty-Nine 2 tsp red wine vinegar, thyme leaves and season to
Studio. Mogen teaspoon from
IKEA. All other props stylist’s or to taste taste. Slice steaks and serve
own. Stockists p176. Dressed frisée, to serve with sauce, chips and frisée. ➤

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 65
Quick meals

Clams with bacon

and corn SERVES 4
This is one of those meals where you can put the pot
in the middle of the table and just let everyone serve
themselves and get a bit messy. A pile of napkins
and plenty of toasted sourdough are essential.

30 gm butter 1 Heat butter in a large

200 gm streaky bacon rashers,
cut into 1cm pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp thyme leaves
2 corn cobs, kernels removed
1 kg clams, cleaned,
soaked in salted water for
15 minutes, rinsed well
125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine
60 gm crème fraîche
2 tsp red wine vinegar or
to taste
Finely grated rind of
1 lemon, plus 2 tsp juice,
or to taste
1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf
parsley, coarsely chopped,
plus extra to serve
8 slices sourdough bread,
toasted, to serve
casserole over high heat,
add bacon and stir until lightly
browned (3-4 minutes). Transfer
to a small bowl with a slotted
spoon, then add onion to pan
and sauté until translucent
(3-4 minutes). Add garlic and
thyme and cook until fragrant
(1-2 minutes), then return bacon
to pan, add corn, clams and
wine, cover with a lid and cook,
shaking pan occasionally,
until clams open (2-3 minutes).
Remove pan from the heat, stir
through crème fraîche, vinegar,
lemon rind and juice and
parsley, season to taste, then
top with extra parsley and
serve with toasted sourdough.

66 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Shaanxi-style
lamb with cumin
and celery SERVES 4
Avoid any temptation to
use lean lamb mince in this
dish, it needs the fat to melt
down and become infused
with the flavour of the spices
to bring everything together.
Lean mince just doesn’t give
the same result.
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
600 gm coarsely minced lamb
1 cinnamon quill, broken
in half
3 star anise
30 gm ginger (about 6cm),
finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 spring onions, white part cut
into 2cm lengths, green part
thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
6 small celery stalks, thinly
sliced
60 ml (¼ cup) Shaoxing wine
60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar
2 tsp honey
Steamed rice, roasted
sesame seeds and lemon
wedges (optional), to serve
1 Heat oil in a large non-stick
frying pan or wok over high
heat, add lamb, cinnamon and
star anise, and cook, stirring
occasionally, until lamb is well
browned (8-10 minutes).
Remove lamb from pan with
a slotted spoon (there should
be some lamb fat still in the
pan), then add ginger, garlic,
white part of spring onion and
remaining spices, season to
taste and stir-fry until aromatic
(1-2 minutes). Add celery, stir-fry
for 1 minute, then return lamb to
pan with Shaoxing, soy sauce,
vinegar and honey and stir
until well combined (1 minute).
Season to taste and serve
on rice topped with sesame
and spring onion greens, and
with lemon on the side. ➤
Lamb Small dish (with sesame)
from Jook Ceramics. Clams
Plate from Kana London. All
other props stylist’s own.
Stockists p176.
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 67
 Indian spiced yoghurt chicken with
cardamom-coconut pilaf SERVES 4-6
Play around with diferent spices in the pilaf – cloves and star
anise work very nicely, as do fresh curry leaves. This dish reheats
well, so consider doubling it to ensure there’ll be leftovers.
Pan-fried ocean trout with caulilower,
almonds and brown butter SERVES 4
Trust your senses with brown butter: once it stops sizzling it’s
usually at the right point. A splash of vinegar in the butter,
whether it’s sherry or red wine vinegar, adds an extra dimension.

100 gm Greek-style yoghurt,
plus extra to serve
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tbsp garam masala
1 kg chicken thighs (about 8),
bone in, skin on
Toasted shredded coconut,
coriander sprigs, pickled
chillies and lime wedges,
to serve
CARDAMOM-COCONUT PILAF
2 tbsp ghee
1 small red onion, finely
chopped
12 cardamom pods, bruised
300 gm (1½ cups) basmati rice,
rinsed
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
100 ml coconut milk
Pinch of safron threads,
soaked in 20ml of warm
water
40 gm (¼ cup) currants
400 gm canned chickpeas,
drained and rinsed
1 Preheat oven to 230°C.
Combine yoghurt, garlic and
garam masala in a large bowl,
add chicken and toss to coat.
Season, spread out on large
baking tray lined with baking
paper and roast until browned
and juices run clear when a
thigh is pierced with a skewer
(18-20 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, for cardamom-
coconut pilaf, heat ghee in a
large saucepan over medium-
high heat, add onion and
cardamom, season to taste and
sauté until onion is softened and
translucent (4-5 minutes). Add
rice and stir to coat, then add
chicken stock, coconut milk and
soaked safron and water and
bring to the boil. Cover with
a tight-fitting lid, then reduce
heat to low and simmer for
14-15 minutes. Remove pan from
the heat, remove lid and add
currants and chickpeas, re-cover
and stand for 5 minutes, then
fluf with a fork.
3 Divide pilaf among plates,
top with chicken, coconut,
coriander and chillies and serve
with lime and extra yoghurt.
Finely grated rind of
1 lemon, segments from
3 lemons, plus lemon
wedges to serve
1 golden shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup (loosely packed)
flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp capers in vinegar,
rinsed
4 ocean trout fillets (about
180gm each), skin on,
patted dry
Grapeseed oil, for drizzling
100 gm cold salted butter, diced
80 gm slivered almonds
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
CAULIFLOWER PURÉE
1 kg cauliflower (1 small),
florets roughly chopped
60 ml (¼ cup) milk, warmed
50 gm butter
1 For cauliflower purée,
cook cauliflower in a large
saucepan of boiling salted
water until tender (8-10 minutes),
drain, return to pan with
milk and butter, then blend
with a hand-held blender
until smooth. Season to
taste, then cover loosely
with foil to keep warm.
2 Meanwhile, combine lemon
rind and segments, shallot,
parsley and capers in a bowl.
Season to taste and toss to
combine just before serving.
3 Heat a large non-stick frying
pan over medium-high heat.
Drizzle trout with grapeseed oil
and season to taste, then add
to pan skin-side down, top
with baking paper, weight with
a heavy pan, and fry until skin
is crisp (2-3 minutes). Turn over
and fry until cooked to medium
(1 minute). Remove from pan
and rest for 1-2 minutes. Add
butter to pan and cook over
high heat until foaming and
nut brown (1-2 minutes), add
almonds, remove pan from
heat and stir until golden
(30 seconds to 1 minute), then
add vinegar, stir to combine
and season to taste.
4 Divide cauliflower purée
among plates and top with trout,
salad and brown butter sauce.

68 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Quick meals

Pudding Bowls from Bison.

Nolan spoon from Country
Road. Chicken with pilaf All
props stylist’s own. Trout Bowl
from Katherine Mahoney. Salt
& Pepper bowl (with salad)
from Myer. Nolan fork from
Country Road. All other props
stylist’s own. Stockists p176.

1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter

90 gm self-raising flour
40 gm Dutch-process cocoa
60 gm desiccated coconut
150 gm caster sugar
Chocolate-coconut 90 gm unsalted butter, melted
pudding with and cooled a little
125 ml (½ cup) milk
passionfruit and 1 egg, beaten
ice-cream SERVES 4 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Finely grated rind of
Decadent and delicious, these
½ orange, juice of 1, plus
individual puddings are best served
hot straight from the oven, with extra rind to serve
plenty of ice-cream and syrup. Pulp from about
Vanilla ice-cream is always classic, 3 passionfruit
but try mixing it up with passionfruit Vanilla ice-cream and pure
or coconut ice-cream instead. icing sugar, to serve
four 250ml shallow ovenproof
bowls and place on a baking
tray. Sift flour and cocoa into a
large bowl and stir in coconut
and 110gm caster sugar.
Combine butter, milk, egg and
vanilla in a jug, then stir into flour
mixture until smooth. Divide
batter evenly among bowls, then
bake until puddings have risen
and a skewer inserted comes
out clean (16-18 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, combine orange
rind and juice, passionfruit
pulp and remaining sugar in
a small saucepan and bring
to a simmer, stirring to dissolve
sugar (1-2 minutes). Remove
from heat and set aside to cool
briefly. Serve puddings warm
topped with vanilla ice-cream,
passionfruit syrup, extra rind
and a dusting of icing sugar. ●

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 69
 4+("))&"
W I T H H A R V E Y N O R M A N A N D
A U S T R A L I A ’ S F I N E S T C H E F S

Ilve 900mm Dual-Fuel Freestanding

Cooker, $4,499 (HN906NMP/NX).
Ilve 900mm Slimline Canopy
Rangehood, $1299 (H15/90/S)

H A R V E Y N O R M A N . C O M . AU/G O U R M E T- I N S T I T U T E
 Get up close and personal with 10 of Australia's
most exciting chefs as they share their favourite
celebration dishes. It's the biggest party
in town, and you're invited.

It's been 10 years since Gourmet Institute started bringing you together with your favourite kitchen talent at Harvey Norman,
so what better way to celebrate than with an all-star season of celebratory dishes? Whether it's your fi rst year
joining the party or your 10th, you can expect a warm welcome, tasty ideas and new ways to rock your kitchen.

;Õ( A,, 5 d1Ö"t /Ô

GUY GROSSI GUILLAUME BRAHIMI CHASE KOJIMA JOCK ZONFRILLO
BEN SHEWRY PAUL CARMICHAEL BEN DEVLIN DUNCAN WELGEMOED
JAMES VILES
DAN HONG

D O N ' T M I S S O U T . B O O K N O W .
TI CK E T S $ 65 E ACH

B O O K YO U R T I C K E T S N OW AT G O U R M E T I N S T I T U T E . P L E E Z PAY. C O M
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N V I S I T H A R V E Y N O R M A N . C O M . AU/G O U R M E T- I N S T I T U T E
O R C A L L K A R L A K E M P S O N (0 2 ) 9 2 8 2 8 3 8 6
 Would you like your twice-baked
cheese soulé and your nougat
glacé and candied fruit with a side
of Gallic charm? Guillaume
Brahimi is here for you.

SYDNEY
11 AP R I L

5(Ô( Smeg 600mm Compact Cambi

0Ô 
Steam Oven, $3499 (SFA4395VCX)

C L A S S I C F R E N C H D I N N E R PA R T Y W I T H

G U I LL AU M E B R AH I M I ,
B I S T R O G U I L L AU M E

Light the candles, get out the good china and pull the
corks on your favourite bottles: it's time to revel in the
elegance of French dining with all the trimmings and
a minimum of fuss. Guillaume Brahimi has been one of
Gourmet Institute's hottest tickets with good reason,
sharing the secrets he learned at the top of Paris's
restaurant world with unflappable charm and easy wit.
Get ready to dive into his twice-baked Roquefort soulé,
whiting Colbert with maître d'hôtel butter and – brace
yourself – nougat glacé with candied fruit and hazelnuts.

CHEF T I C K E T S 
L O C AT I O N 
Guillaume Brahimi DAT E & T I M E  $65 each
Harvey Norman
Pre-Event 6.15pm,
@ Domayne, B O O K N OW 
THEME Event 7pm,
84 O’Riordan St,
Classic French Wednesday 11 April gourmetinstitute.
D E TAI L S dinner party
Alexandria, NSW
pleezpay.com
 Jock Zonfrillo led Orana
to being named GT's
Restaurant of the Year; here

4)   % 2
his take on thinking global
but cooking local gives us

8.
fresh takes on roti with jerk
sauce and tarte Tatin.

D E TAI L S

CHEF
Jock Zonfrillo
H 
THEME
Native flavour

L O C AT I O N 
Harvey Norman, A D EL A I D E
750 Main North Rd, 9 MAY
Gepps Cross, SA

DAT E & T I M E 
Event 7pm,
Wednesday 9 May

T I C K E T S 
$65 each

B O O K N OW 
gourmetinstitute.
pleezpay.com

Electrolux 600mm 4-Burner

Gas on glass Cooktop, $999
(EHG643BA)
N AT I V E F L AVO U R W I T H

J OC K ZO N FRI LLO,
ORANA

Orana is Australia's top-rated restaurant, and its chef,

Jock Zonfrillo, passionately believes that the best flavours
in Australia are Australian flavours. By incorporating
these into our cooking at home, he says, we can affect
great change in our markets, our agriculture and our
food. Get your taste of the revolution and spice up your
next feast at home with Jock's expert advice (and a little
bit of Glasgow-accented cheek along the way) with the
likes of roti with jerk sauce, fire-pit fish with potato purée,
eucalyptus and leeks, and his take on tarte Tatin.
 Japanese aesthetics meet
the Aussie love of the
outdoors as Chase Kojima
packs a picnic with crab
and tuna tartare and lamb
chops with Vegemite
miso sauce.

1 Ö" T H E M A S T E R O F I N N OVAT I O N

9Ô
Enjoy Miele’s 90 litre capacity, 13 cooking functions, intuitive
touch display and wireless food probe for perfect results when
cooking meat, fish and bread, while 3 advanced pyrolytic
cleaning programmes take care of the mess

G O L D COA S T
6 JUNE

Miele 900mm Clean Steel

Pyrolytic Oven, $13,999
(H6890BP)

4)  %3
D E TAI L S

C H E F 
Chase Kojima JA PA N E S E P I C N I C W I T H

T H E M E 
C HAS E KOJ I MA ,
Japanese picnic K I YO M I

Chase Kojima is a busy man. If he's not scouring

L O C AT I O N  Sydney Fish Market for treasures to serve at the
Harvey Norman, acclaimed sushi counter at Sokyo or oveseeing
B29-45 Bundall Rd, the city's most popular rice burgers at Gojima,
Bundall, Qld he's bringing the magic to Kiyomi, the Gold
Coast's most celebrated Japanese eatery. But he
likes to play as much as he likes to work, and he
DAT E & T I M E  wants to show that Japanese food is as suited to
Pre-Event 6.15pm, casual alfresco fun times as it is to big-city fine
Event 7pm, dining. Chase brings local flavour to his picnic with
Wednesday 6 June tuna tartare and yuzu soy, his lamb chops with
gemite miso sauce, and a Vegemite pickle roll.

T I C K E T S 
$65 each

B O O K N OW 
gourmetinstitute.
pleezpay.com
 MELBOURNE
11 J U LY

Bosch 900mm 'Series 8'

Induction Cooktop, $1999
(PIV975DC1E)

Is Rome the flavour capital of

the world? Guy Grossi argues
eloquently for the airmative
with tuna, bottarga and
pickled fennel, and braised
oxtail with cime di rapa.

R O M A N H O L I DAY W I T H

G U Y G ROS S I ,
GROSSI FLORENTINO

Embrace the spirit of ferragosto, Italy's favourite holiday

festival, by joining Melbourne's favourite Italian chef and throwing
together dishes packed with flavour that will please even the
most demanding crowd. Guy Grossi draws on the no-holds-
barred style of Rome to present big, bold dishes worthy of the
caput mundi: yellowfin tuna with the salty smack of bottarga
and the tang of pickled fennel segues into rich, robust braised
oxtail, cut with the bite of cime di rapa. And it wouldn't be a
Roman holiday without some serious pasta: toasted-wheat
tonarelli with pig's cheek and pecorino doesn't disappoint.

L O C AT I O N DAT E & T I M E
CHEF
Harvey Norman Event 7pm, B O O K N OW
Guy Grossi
Chadstone, Wednesday 11 July gourmetinstitute.
THEME 699 Warrigal Rd, pleezpay.com
TICKETS
D E TAI L S Roman holiday Chadstone, Vic $65 each
 Celebrate the power and
vibrancy of Africa in an Arabian
fish curry, roasted goat's
cheese salad, and Duncan's
take on beetroot and yoghurt.

A D EL A I D E
2 5 J U LY

2(.Ô Miele 600mm Microwave

E
Combination Oven, $4599
(H6401BMXGREY)

A F R O B E AT W I T H

D U N C A N WELG EM O ED,
A F R I CO L A

Spicy. Saucy. A little bit salty. And that's just the host.
With his sassy style and party-hearty instincts, Duncan
Welgemoed has quickly become one of Adelaide's
boldest culinary ambassadors. But he's also a passionate
interpreter of the flavours of the continent that he sprang
from, working tirelessly to demonstrate the diversity,
power and elegance of the flavours of Africa. In what is
sure to be a memorable session he traverses the continent,
bringing his favourite dishes to the table in an Arabian fish
curry, eggplant tunarama, beetroot and yoghurt, and a
salad of roasted goat's cheese with pistachio dressing.

4)  % 5
DAT E & T I M E
CHEF L O C AT I O N Event 7pm, B O O K N OW
Duncan Welgemoed Harvey Norman, Wednesday 25 July gourmetinstitute.
THEME 750 Main North Rd,
TICKETS pleezpay.com
Gepps Cross, SA
D E TAI L S Afrobeat
$65 each
4)   % 6
Take a trip to the Caribbean
with Momofuku's Paul
Carmichael as he spices up
your winter with baked
plantains with spicy
mussels and more from
D E TAI L S his native Barbados.

CHEF
Paul Carmichael

THEME
Caribbean feast

L O C AT I O N 
Harvey Norman
@ Domayne,
84 O’Riordan St,
Alexandria, NSW

DAT E & T I M E 
Pre-Event 6.15pm,
Event 7pm,
Wednesday 8 August

T I C K E T S 
$65 each
SYDNEY
8 AU G U ST
B O O K N OW 
gourmetinstitute.
pleezpay.com

Miele 764mm Induction

Cooktop, $3999 (KM6629).
Miele Downdraught Extractor,
$3999 (DA6890)
CARIBBEAN FEAST WITH

PAU L C AR M I C H A EL ,
MOMOFUKU SEIOBO

When Paul Carmichael likes to party, he likes to go big: big

food, big flavours and big smiles all around. In his time heading
the kitchen at the three-starred Momofuku Seiobo he has
made Sydney an unlikely outpost of Caribbean fine-dining,
fusing Australian tropical produce with the foodways of his
native Barbados. With Paul's fish soup and dumplings, with
his baked plantains with spicy mussels and with his conkie – a
spiced pumpkin and coconut pudding traditionally steamed
in banana leaves – he brings a welcome dose of Caribbean
warmth to the middle of the Australian winter. Just add rum.
 Surf's up: Ben Devlin
captures the sweet-salt
essence of the sea in
rye-flour pici pasta with
Moreton Bay bug and
tomato, then follows up
with a strawberry gum
and mulberry bombe.

0 Electrolux 600mm 16-Funct

Pyrolytic Steam-Assist Ov

2)
$2099 (EVEP61BS

G O L D COA S T
2 2 AU G U S T

4)  %7
D E TAI L S

C H E F 
Ben Devlin S E A F O O D C E L E B R AT I O N W I T H

T H E M E 
B EN D E VLI N ,
Seafood celebration PA P E R DA I S Y

Water is Ben Devlin's element, and having won

L O C AT I O N  the hearts and minds of destination-diners with
Harvey Norman,
his spirited cuisine at Paper Daisy, set in the lush
B29-45 Bundall Rd, surrounds of Halcyon House, mere steps from
Bundall, Qld the sand, he knows how to bring the beach-party
vibes, whatever the Occasion. Supercharge your
next luau or clam bake (or just bring a touch of the
DAT E & T I M E  briny blue to the dinner table) with the inventive
Pre-Event 6.15pm, elegance of rye-flour pici noodles tossed with
Event 7pm, Moreton Bay bugs and tomato, or showstopping
Wednesday 22 August flathead roasted on seaweed with butter and
potatoes. A strawberry gum and mulberry
bombe brings a sweet finish.
T I C K E T S 
$65 each

B O O K N OW 
gourmetinstitute.
pleezpay.com
 8Ô"
D"

SYDNEY
1 9 S E P TE M B E R

Electrolux 800mm 5-Zone

FlexiBridge Induction Cooktop,
$2199 (EHX8575FHK). Electrolux
900mm Multi-Function Pyrolytic
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Smoked chicken vol-au-vents, duck

glazed with wildflower honey and
"imperfect" pavlova: welcome to
flavour-town, James Viles-style.

S P R I N G E N T E R TA I N I N G W I T H

JAM ES VI LES ,
B I O TA D I N I N G

Celebrate the end of winter and the turn of the season

in the tastiest of ways with one of our most sought-after
regional cooking talents. With his unique perspective
and access to a trove of amazing produce, James Viles
has made Bowral a go-to for anyone who loves seeing
Australian country dining in a new light. In this idea-packed
session he channels the best of Biota, taking duck and
transforming it with wildflower honey, making the classic
vol-au-vent even more irresistible with the addition of
smoked chicken and leek, and providing the perfect
finale to dinner with his intriguing "imperfect pavlova."

4)  % 8
L O C AT I O N TICKETS
CHEF DAT E & T I M E
Harvey Norman $65 each
James Viles Pre-Event 6.15pm,
@ Domayne, B O O K N OW
THEME Event 7pm,
84 O’Riordan St, gourmetinstitute.
Wednesday 19 September
D E TAI L S Spring entertaining Alexandria, NSW pleezpay.com
 0
A *,

MELBOURNE
17 OC TO B E R

Ben Shewry fuses the comforts

of home with restaurant
panache, remixing the likes of
fridge salad, Vegemite pie and
his nan's chocolate cake into
memorable showpieces.

H O U S E PA R T Y W I T H

B EN S H E WRY,
AT T I C A

A powerful mix of ambition and humility, local

produce and an international outlook, big ideas and
intimate consideration have catapulted Attica from
the suburbs of Melbourne to the world stage, making
it Australia's greatest champion on the international
restaurant scene. Through it all, owner and chef Ben
Shewry has kept pushing the boundaries of innovation, AEG 60cm Steampro, Pure Steam,
Sous Vide Humidity Sensor Oven,
but maintained a focus on flavour, whether it's borne out in $4999 (BSK892330M). AEG 14cm
a lamb pie in Vegemite pastry or his nan's chocolate cake. Warming Drawer, $1199
(KDK911422M)

L O C AT I O N DAT E & T I M E
CHEF
Harvey Norman Event 7pm, B O O K N OW
Ben Shewry
Chadstone, Wednesday 17 October gourmetinstitute.
THEME 699 Warrigal Rd, pleezpay.com
TICKETS
D E TAI L S House party Chadstone, Vic $65 each
 Wait, did somebody say
dumplings? And fisherman's
purse dumplings, no less? Dan
Hong has you covered, and is
making leek and ginger lo mein
as well, just for good measure.

AEG 900mm Induction

Cooktop, $3899 (HKP95510XB)
2Ô
6

SYDNEY
14 N OVE M B E R

4)   % 1 0
D E TAI L S

CHEF
Dan Hong

THEME
Chinese banquet

CHINESE BANQUET WITH L O C AT I O N

Harvey Norman
DAN H O N G , @ Domayne,
84 O’Riordan St,
M R WO N G
Alexandria, NSW
Bust out the lazy susan, fire up the wok and
sharpen your chopsticks: Dan Hong is here and DAT E & T I M E 
the only thing he likes more than cooking Chinese Pre-Event 6.15pm,
food is eating it. A dedicated student of the table Event 7pm,
and the founding chef of Sydney's biggest and Wednesday 14 November
best modern Cantonese restauant, Mr Wong, Hong
has the skills and experience (not to mention the
passion) to help you take your Chinese dining to the TICKETS
next level. For this feast he's cooking up fisherman's $65 each
purse dumplings, steamed fish with blackbean,
chilli, garlic and rice wine, and a classic egg noodle, B O O K N OW
leek, ginger and spring onion lo mein given gourmetinstitute,
a contemporary twist with kombu. pleezpay.com

VISIT HARVEYNORMAN.COM.AU/GOURMET-INSTITUTE FOR MORE DETAILS.

PRICES VALID FOR SYDNEY METROPOLITAN AREA. PRICES CAN VARY BETWEEN STATES DUE
TO ADDITIONAL FREIGHT COSTS. SEE IN STORE FOR FULL RANGE. HARVEY NORMAN® STORES
ARE OPERATED BY INDEPENDENT FRANCHISEES. ENDS 24/10/2018.
Christianshavn Vold lake alongside
Noma. Clockwise from right: broth
of Faroe Islands sea snails; René
Redzepi; commissioned ceramics
for Noma’s seafood season; a
dining room in the new Noma.

Noma closed a year ago, and now is reborn, bolder than
ever. Chef and co-owner RENÉ REDZEPI takes Gourmet
Traveller on an exclusive tour of the new restaurant –
and outlines his ambitions for the years to come.
I
feel crazy, I feel excited, I feel
happy. Of course, I’m nervous.
For the past two months I’ve
been waking up several times
a night and probably it’s got
something to do with the
complexity of the project. This is not
just a tiny little restaurant shack; it’s a
little village that we’re building, which
is so difficult the builders have had to
invent techniques to make it.
It’s all in – if it doesn’t work out there’s
nothing else. But I believe so much in this
space. We’re in Christianshavn, away from
the city, and situated right on a man-made
lake that’s a bird sanctuary, and behind
our property there’s a mound that’s part
of the old fortification of medieval
Copenhagen. With time this will be
like one big overgrown garden with
trees, plants, fruits, vegetables and these
11 buildings nestled in between. We’re
even going to put in a sauna right on
the lake. There are three greenhouses.
The smallest will be tropical, and for the
Aussies I’m proud to say we’ve ordered
two finger limes, so we can have a bit of
enu.
Photography JASON LOUCAS
There was one concrete building on
the property when we got hold of it, which
was used to store marine equipment
during World War II and was later
abandoned. It’s 850 square metres with an
80-metre-long hallway and it’s the main
engine room, housing staff rooms, places
to grow stuff, places to hang out, places to
experiment, an ant farm, tanks for live
seafood like a Chinese restaurant, a room
for game where we can hang a whole deer.
We’ve built seven new buildings from
scratch and these are for guests. It sounds
like “wow”, but one is only seven square
metres. That’s the waiters’ room. Then
there’s a separate entrance building, one
for the restaurant, the bathrooms, a lounge
building, one for barbecuing and a private
dining room. They’re all connected by
glass corridors.
The philosophy is to always feel like
you’re outdoors – that’s the main spirit
here and it was something that came to us
after we did our pop-up in Tulum last year.
That was an outdoor restaurant with only
the tree canopy above us. We’d planned to
have skylights in this new space, but the
me ➤
 home from Mexico. Then the question forest season – the only time when meat
was how do you build a space that feels will play a starring role.
like you’re outdoors all the time even The challenge was how to shape
though you live in a place where in something new out of the stuff you’re so
all honesty the weather is so shitty seven familiar with. It’s difficult. The octopus
months of the year. is the same, so is the squid, so are the
Well, we feel we solved that in a pretty carrots, and they’re from the same farmer.
profound way. In the kitchen there’s Having the focus of the three different
a glass roof so the sky is right above us. seasons brought a great energy to the
From here you can oversee the different research and creativity.
buildings in what we call the village, so it We went on a journey, rather like
takes the cooks to the centre of everything. when we went to Australia, and spent
Everybody has to pass through the kitchen months travelling around the Nordics.
to go to the bathroom or the restaurant. It’s crucial. We shook hands and met yet
The old Noma, in a again some of the divers
250-year-old building where and fishermen and the
the patina and energy “You never truly foragers and so on. But we
were built in, was also an arrive at the also went deeper, diving
extraordinary place. I cried finish line – into the ocean and looking
when we closed the doors to at what’s there as opposed
you’re always
that space. It was emotional, to what we thought before
but I also believe it was either at the when we’d use lobster or
necessary. That Noma had starting line turbot – luxury kind of stuff
become like a couch, a very or somewhere in a way. We discovered
comfortable couch that was things in our waters and
getting more and more
in between.” challenged ourselves to work
difficult to get up from. You with sea cucumbers, sea
felt good in it, you knew what stars, jellyfish and such. It’s a basic idea
to do, you knew everything, and so at one but it yields so much. For that reason
point I’m like, “No way, man. I’m 40 years I feel like we have been able to squeeze out
old. Let’s go, let’s do it again. It’s not time new things and see fresh opportunities.
for a couch yet. Hopefully never.” There’s a dish made from these giant
Sometimes you need to uproot sea snails from the Faroe Islands. They
everything. weigh maybe half a kilo each and we never
The past year since we closed our old really figured out how to cook them. Many
restaurant has been all about researching, times I’ve had this slimy thing in my hands
travelling, exploring, connecting with and thought, “What are we going to do
people who we’ve been working with for with this?” We tried to cook it like abalone
the past 14 years, finding new friends, the way we did in Australia, we looked at
challenging our purveyors to do more, Japanese websites and watched YouTube,
better, different, and see opportunity with but they always have that kind of chew.
the same old, same old. We’ve been in Then four months ago we started devoting
my backyard and in my home kitchen time and energy to it and we found a way
because we weren’t ready here, and to cook it that’s made it one of the most
it’s the best creative period we’ve ever delicious items on the menu. It has a
had. We are in new territory. similar quality to a simmered abalone, but
Our menu will have three seasons that there’s just more flavour and we’re serving
we feel really fit our part of the world. it simply, sliced thin and tossed with wild
In the cold months, we look towards the plants. You eat it as a salad from this wax
waters and serve only seafood, then when cup that’s warm so it releases this honey-
we go into the growing season, which scent note that’s exactly what the dish
typically starts in Scandinavia around needs. I love that serving and even more
June, we’ll have a vegetable menu and because it’s not just a theatrical element.
everything will change, even the ceramics There’s a jellyfish serving as well that
we serve the food on. Then from early melts on your tongue. It’s from Danish
autumn to January it’s the game and waters and it’s served with seaweed.

84 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Noma restaurant manager James
Spreadbury, from Adelaide; dining
room; queen clam with its roe and
blackcurrant wood fudge (bottom
left), mahogany clam with preserved
gooseberries, blackcurrant and
mussel stock (bottom right);
Christianshavn Vold lake. Opposite,
from top: dining room; plankton
cake; a corner of the dining room.
When I talk about it, I don’t really love
the idea of it. When we first tested it, we
thought it would be this weird-textured,
slimy thing that’s hard to swallow, but
once you get it in your mouth it holds
until the heat of your tongue hits it and
then it’s gone and this salty oyster rush
hits. I’m very pleased with that one.
T
he energy I get from this creative
work is paramount to how I live
my life. Without that, I don’t
know, there’s no way. This
industry is way too hard to go to work and
not have that rush and sense of discovery,
like the sense of achievement when you
think, “I’m actually shaping something
new here, together and as a team.”
At the moment there are 50 people
finalising all the small details. The dining
room has huge wooden floorboards and
a room divider made from wood that’s
more than 200 years old, found in the
waters a kilometre away from here. The
patina is stunning. Some people would
say this is not a fancy room, but I’m in
love with it. One of the things that made
it so difficult to build is that it’s lined
with stacked wood rising five metres high.
INTERVIEW JENI PORTER
There are more than 250,000 screws and
the carpenters really struggled to make it.
Everything had to be handmade in this
project; it’s more important than being
modern. One of the main concepts behind
all of it is a sense of rawness – in the
untreated oak chairs and tables and the
room itself – which means you’re always
looking at the beauty of the materials. This
is a craft that we have chosen to do for
a living so everything surrounding what’s
on the plate should also have that feel
to it. The quality of the materials, the
quality of the ceramics or other products
on the table and the quality of what you’re
eating should all fit in with each other.
We have two beams with dried seaweed
hanging from them, and we might hang a
few other elements. In the test kitchen we
salted and air-dried 15 giant squid. They’re
kind of pink, white and yellow at the same
time. There’s a skull of a walrus with the
teeth still attached and we have an octopus
that’s dried rock hard. We squished it and
curled up the arms and painted it in its
own ink. It’s beautiful, like a sculpture.
Decorations like that, which are crafted or
handmade with a story that relates to what
we’re serving, we might put up somewhere.
But what’s very important is that this
restaurant space can never feel decorated
– the building is the decoration.
We’re trying to make you feel
comfortable and give you an exciting
experience that tells you something about
a certain place and a certain time. It’s been
the premise ever since we started Noma in
2003, but I believe we can achieve this in a
fresh and new way. Everything we do is to
make guests happy. Honestly, it’s as basic
as that. When that moment happens
where there’s this explosion of joy and
everybody seems to get exactly what you
wanted to tell them – those nights you
remember forever. You get high on it.
One reason why this building project
was so complex was because it was built
to change. A lot of people think I’m crazy
when I say that, because we’re barely open.
But how do we know what we want to
do in 10 years or in five? You never truly
arrive at the finish line – you’re always
either at the starting line or somewhere in
between. Right now, finishing this project
is the goal, but very quickly I’ll need to
have this uncertainty about what the next
menu is going to look like, how we’re
going to be able to continue to shape
this place. The day that feeling is not
there – that’s the day when it’s over. ●
Noma, Refshalevej 96, 1432 Copenhagen K,
Denmark, noma.dk
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 85
 A T O A S T

T O

V E G M I T E

Chefs are spreading the love for Vegemite as

they explore its possibilities beyond the breakfast
table and lunchbox, writes PAT NOURSE.
 Yu-ching Lee’s
cheese and
Vegemite twists
at Sydney’s
Paper Bird.
B
reakfast lunch and tea? Chefs in Australia
have played with Vegemite on and off
over the years, but right now everyone’s
favourite yeasty spread is really having a
moment in the kitchens of our leading
restaurants and cafés.
Followers of Ben Shewry’s Instagram feed will notice
that he has just doubled down on Attica’s commitment
to Vegemite (first made three years ago with Gazza’s
Vegemite pie), experimenting with that mum-lunch classic
Salada crackers with tomato and Vegemite. This being
a restaurant that charges a cool $275 a head for dinner,
of course, the tomatoes are grown by the team, the heavily
buttered Salada ain’t Arnott’s and the “Vegemite” is
made from scratch using black garlic and other bespoke
ingredients that aren’t known to be part of Cyril Percy
Callister’s original 1923 formulation.
Melbourne is Vegemite’s hometown and Shewry’s
fellow chefs over at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal made
headlines in 2017 when they débuted a Vegemite-driven
dessert. It was months in the making, and the kitchen team
felt the pressure. “It’s Vegemite in Australia – we have to
get this right,” said chef Ashley Palmer-Watts at the time.
“If it’s not great, we’ll be nailed for it.”
The dish remains on the menu today, listed at $30 as
“ice-cream with Vegemite”, incorporating toasted barley
cream, yeast caramel, macadamia, puffed spelt and, to really
drive the toast connection home, sourdough crumble.
At Anchovy in Richmond, meanwhile, Thi Li dips into
the school lunches of yore for inspiration and comes up
with “tempura Vegemite, Laughing Cow”: a deep-fried cube
of cheese custard infused with Vegemite and served with
PHOTOGRAPHY YU-CHING LEE. ILLUSTRATION BILLIE JUSTICE THOMSON
whipped cheese. At Kensington Street Social in Sydney, the
Vegemite is on the drinks list, appearing in the Vegemitini.
In Canberra it’s whipped through ricotta for breakfast at
High Road, and a similar approach is taken at Smoke, atop
Barangaroo House, where Vegemite ricotta joins padrón
peppers and crispbread on the bar menu. At the brand-new
d’Arenberg Cube in McLaren Vale, Vegemite mayonnaise
accompanies “bush coals” of hot-smoked barramundi
blackened with onion ash, wattleseed and mountain pepper.
Why so much Vegemite right now? Its very ubiquity
makes it an easy go-to – the miso of Australia, ready to add
a dash of dark-brown complexity to anything it touches.
Yu-ching Lee, a chef who makes pastries for Paper Bird
in Sydney, recently started putting cheese and Vegemite
twists in the cabinet, and says that she started using it
simply “because it’s there”. “I’d been making delicious
XO cheese sticks, but the Paper Bird kitchen changed the
“It’s the miso
of Australia,
ready to add
a dash of
dark-brown
complexity
to anything
it touches.” menu and stopped making XO sauce,
so I switched to Vegemite. It’s also
vegetarian-friendly, which is a plus.”
But Vegemite has been a staple
in an awful lot of kitchens for an awfully long time
without ever really jumping onto restaurant menus in
a big way. You could point to an intersection between
locavorism, nostalgia for Australiana and a fascination
with all things fermented. Where else (apart, perhaps,
from a can of Fosters) are you going to find all those
things in one handy jar?
Chase Kojima, the American-born chef of Sokyo in
Sydney and Kiyomi on the Gold Coast, says Vegemite had
him stumped when he first arrived in Australia seven years
ago, but thinking of it as Australian miso (a “harsh” miso,
admittedly) has unlocked its possibilities in the kitchen
for him. It appears everywhere in his cuisine, from the
Vegemite and shichimi roasted almonds at the bar to the
lamb chops grilled on the robata and served with charred
eggplant purée in the restaurants. He’s even used it at the
sushi counter, making tiny Vegemite-toast croûtons as a
complement to poached Moreton Bay bugs. It’s the perfect
intersection, he says, between the Australian flavour profile
and the Japanese. “You can’t get this taste just from normal
red or white miso.”
Back at Attica, Ben Shewry says it’s the kitsch, playful
aspect of serving Vegemite in a fine-dining restaurant, and
the passion Australians have for it that appeals to him.
“To be honest, I don’t even like Vegemite much myself.” ●
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 87
Wild at heart

A Texas native
uses Australian
lora to create an
understated
craft beer that
doesn’t hold
your palate to
ransom, writes
ALEXANDRA
CARLTON.
Photography WILL HORNER

Above: Topher
Boehm. Left:
the Wildflower
Table beer.
 The Wildflower
cellar door. Below
right: Boehm pours
an Amber ale.

Boehm moved from Dallas to Australia in 2009, and learned

the trade at Sydney’s Flat Rock Brew Café and Batch Brewing Co.
He delved deeper into wild-yeast brewing and blending in Belgium
and France, until he and his brother-in-law Chris Allen decided to
branch out on their own. The pair started a business they hoped
would deliver a product they loved and give them the freedom
to spend more time with their families.
The brand’s point of difference is its use of wild yeasts, found
on foraged NSW plants including wattle blossoms and banksia.
These are combined with a single strain of brewer’s yeast for their
fermentations. Wort, the base liquid for the beer, is made at Batch
in Marrickville, and Boehm ferments then matures his beers in
wine barrels on site. He then blends different barrels of various
ages to achieve his desired flavour profile. “It’s a bit like being
[Roald Dahl’s] BFG,” he says. “Dream catching. A bit of this,
a bit of that.”
But Boehm would rather people focus less on the process
and more on taste. He believes Wildflower is a drinkable beer
to be enjoyed in a similar way to wine – with good friends and
with good food but without too much fanfare. To that end,
Wildflower ales are unapologetically subtle. Low-key. Gentle,
even. They’re a far cry from the aggressive layers of hops and acid

T
opher Boehm, head brewer and co-founder of that characterise so many current craft-beer trends. “People are
Wildflower Brewing & Blending, remembers precisely sick of having their faces ripped off,” Boehm says.
the moment he knew he’d made a beer he could be Instead, he’s tried to create a lighter flavour. Both the Gold
proud of. “I sat my wife down right here and had the and the Amber possess a freshness that pairs well with food; the
beer arranged in a basket. I set the whole scene for her,” the Amber sits comfortably next to a caramelised rack of ribs, say,
Texan says, gesturing to the rustic wooden table in his 1890s, while the Gold finds a natural home with anything with a bit
timber-beamed former metal foundry warehouse in Marrickville, of spice. Both are beers that you’d want in the fridge after a day
in Sydney’s inner west. In the past, she’d found many beers were at the cricket. “I don’t want it to sound more complicated than
too bitter for her palate. Tentatively, she took a sip. “It’s really that,” Boehm says. “People assume there’s a sophistication to what
good, Topher,” she said. we do. But at the end of the day, it’s just fucking beer. And I can
It wasn’t long before some variation of this phrase was honestly say that if I make something my wife loves, I’m happy.” ●
being uttered throughout the wider epicurean community Wildflower Brewing and Blending, 11-13 Brompton St,
across Australia. Since its launch last year, Wildflower has spread Marrickville, NSW. Open Fri-Sat 1pm-8pm. wildflowerbeer.com
like, well, wildfire. It started with a small release of two wild-yeast
ales, Gold and Amber, in April; and a cellar door, where they
also sell a table beer, opened in June. The beer is now stocked
in a range of restaurants, from Pizza Madre down the road, to
Attica in Melbourne and Franklin in Hobart.
“While there are other breweries in Australia making and
specialising in wild-fermented beer, the beers of Wildflower
have a completeness that comes from them being thoughtful and
considered in their production,” says Paper Bird co-owner and
manager Ned Brooks, who stocks both the Gold and Amber at his
restaurant in Sydney’s Potts Point. “Topher is a high-functioning
individual and I see this as being reflected in the end product.”
High functioning is one way of putting it; high achieving
is another. The sixth child of a baker and an electrical engineer,
Boehm was always fascinated by pulling things apart to see how
they worked. Originally, he was headed for a career in physics,
but after a short stint in shoemaking that came about not so
much from a love of shoes but a thirst for a challenge (“I was
less interested in the end result than the process,” he says), he
found himself drawn to the curious mix of scientific precision
and fatalistic wizardry required in beer making.

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 89
 RUMBLE
IN T H E
Attica’s Ben Shewry faces
Montezuma’s revenge on
a culinary expedition in

JUNGLE the Yucatán. LISA ABEND

recounts the upset, blow by blow.

B
y the time Ben Shewry made
it into the van, he was pretty
sure he was going to puke.
Shewry was in Mexico
for Hokol Vuh, a culinary
journey dreamed up by Roberto Solís, chef
of Mérida’s Néctar, who had planned the
trip as a deep dive into the ingredients and
food culture of the Mayan Yucatán.
Travelling through jungle and villages,
18 renowned chefs – including René
Redzepi, Albert Adrià, Ana Roš and
David Kinch – would try local flavours,
learn about indigenous agriculture and
do some serious bonding in the process.
Then they would team up to cook dinner
for 200 guests beneath the ancient Mayan
ruins of Aké.
It was the kind of adventure that
Shewry loves – a chance to learn alongside
friends about the culinary culture of a
country he had never before visited. Until
the penultimate night, it was just that.
The group made tortillas by hand
and planted corn in a milpa, the
Mesoamerican crop-growing system
where a field is planted with several
crops. They swam in the deep waters
of a hidden cenote, learned how an
extraordinary honey called melipona was
harvested and climbed a secret chamber
at Chichén Itzá. In the village of Yaxunah,
they ate what Shewry (who once indulged
his love of tacos with an all-taquería
road-trip along the California coast) called
the best cochinita of his life. During a few
relaxing hours in the pool and more than
a little mezcal, they revelled in the kind of
camaraderie that emerges when you get
the rare chance to step out of your daily
life with the few people who understand
implicitly what your daily life entails.
Then Montezuma took his revenge.
It started as a faint queasiness the
night before the final dinner. At first,
Shewry attributed it to stress. Like the
other chefs, he had intended to spend the
day in the kitchen prepping the course
he and Jorge Vallejo, chef of the exquisite
Quintonil in Mexico City, would serve.
But a key ingredient in the coconut dish
– namely the coconuts – hadn’t shown up
until late. Vallejo hadn’t understood why
his partner wanted to cream the coconuts
himself; there was, he gently pointed out,
fresh cream readily available at the local
market. But Shewry is nothing if not a
DIY guy and Vallejo acquiesced to his
vision, as did the other chefs. When the
ingredients finally arrived, they jumped
in to help with the strenuous work of
cracking and peeling the coconuts.
It was after midnight when they
finished. By the time they boarded the
van for the two-hour journey back to the
artists’ compound where they were staying,
Shewry was feeling much worse. He
slumped woozily in the back seat while the
others debated what he should do. Blaine
Wetzel suggested he lie down. Roš tugged
at his arms in an attempt to get him to
the front of the bus. Redzepi initiated a
frantic search for plastic bags that could
be pressed into service. Finally, sweating
and miserable, Shewry moved to the front
seat, clutching the lone bag that Redzepi’s
efforts had unearthed. “Can we please
just go?” he asked.
About 40 minutes into the drive,
Shewry vomited – prodigiously. He looked
around for a place to dispose of the
overflowing bag, but found none. So he
did the only thing his feverish brain could
come up with: he threw the bag out the
window. Of the moving van. Redzepi and
Rosio Sánchez, seated right behind him,
got the worst of it.
The next morning, Shewry
convalesced in his room while the others
travelled to the site of the dinner. There
they found a field kitchen beneath plastic
tarps that drove the 35-degree temperature
and 95 per cent humidity even higher.
The oysters that Esben Holmboe Bang
had ordered had arrived, but the knives
for shucking them had not. Adrià stuck
his hand into the freezer he would use to
solidify his chocolate ice-cream to find it
barely cool. Christian Puglisi couldn’t
find a bowl to rinse the massive ñame
root he was grating.
Yet everyone adapted. “If the
mountain won’t come to Mohammed,”
Puglisi said as he sawed the top off an
oversized water jug, “Mohammed will
come to the mountain.” Adrià’s
contribution became a cold chocolate
soup. “It would be a delicious ice-cream,”
he said. “If only it were an ice-cream.”
In his partner’s absence, Vallejo
handed out machetes to volunteers and set

90 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 them about cracking still more coconuts
to use as vessels. The peeled coconuts
from the night before were shredded and
milked, then left for the cream to rise.
Shewry was gutted he wasn’t there to
help, but was reassured by what he knew
about his colleagues. “Chefs always
come through for each other,” he said.
“Especially chef friends the calibre of
ILLUSTRATION MOLLY MENDOZA
the group I was travelling with.”
At about 5pm, with two hours until
the start of service, Shewry showed up.
A doctor had been sent to his room with
an injection. The chef still felt weak,
but he was upright. With guests arriving
and an iPhone torch as his beacon in the
dimming light, he began spooning off the
cream that had risen to the top of the
coconut milk.
Around him, the kitchen swung into
its well-choreographed dance. Redzepi tied
hanks of agave fibres into nests that would
support Sánchez and Bang’s oyster atole.
Elena Reygadas tweezed petals onto the
fruit-stuffed banana that Matt Orlando
had made. Roš helped plate Alejandro
Ruiz and Vladimir Mukhin’s venison
tostada. These were some of the best chefs
in the world, each well accustomed to
running the show. Yet, in that moving
moment, they were all just cooks, helping
one another put out beautiful food.
As dinner progressed towards dessert,
Shewry put the finishing touches on the
coconut dish, whipping the cream and
gradually adding sugar. Vallejo was busy
with his own task, but at one point he
noticed the container his colleague was
reaching into. “Is that sugar?” he asked.
Shewry confirmed it was, then paused.
He reached a finger into the container
for a taste. “Bloody hell,” he said.
It was a mistake familiar to legions
of home cooks: he had confused salt for
sugar. Even then, his colleague had his
back. Turning to the journalist observing
the exchange, Vallejo asked, “You don’t
have to write that, do you?” ●
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 91
REWORKING A
CLASSIC
Dyed-in-the-wool Anzac fan
PAT NOURSE takes a fresh
look at this old favourite that
won the hearts of two nations.

M
ess with Anzac biscuits at your peril. “Serious
breaches” of the Protection of Word “Anzac” Act
of 1920 can meet with serious penalties: up to a
year in prison or $10,200 for a “natural person”
and $51,000 for a “body corporate”. So how much can you
alter the recipe while staying on the right side of the law and
the Anzac spirit? Is there really any improving on a classic?
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs says applications for
permission to use the term Anzac commercially for biscuits
are normally approved “provided the product generally
conforms to the traditional recipe and shape, and are
referred to as ‘Anzac Biscuits’ or ‘Anzac Slice’”. Calling
them Anzac cookies is generally not approved “due to
the non-Australian overtones”.
But what is the traditional recipe? The DVA points
to articles on the Australian War Memorial’s website,
which in turn cite an undated recipe for “Anzac tile/wafer”
from Arnott’s chief chemist Frank Townsend: flour,
wholemeal flour, sugar, milk powder, water and a “good
pinch salt” – no oats or golden syrup to be seen, let alone
PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY

coconut. The biscuits in question, a form of hard tack,

are “very, very hard”, and mention is made of the fact
some soldiers preferred to grind them up and eat
them as porridge.
The recipe makes sense on a wartime footing when eggs
were in short supply and the product was to be shipped
unrefrigerated for months at a time, but they’re not the

92 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 E
very time I could opt for I recommend using your eyes and fingers
something less milled, bleached to judge the wetness of your dough (it
or crushed, I went for it. I think should be just sticky enough to hold
the big win might’ve been together) and how long you cook your
the oats. In Hobart I stumbled across biscuits. I like mine just shy of burnt;
biscuits that won the hearts of two a brand of oats rolled by Callington Mill, start checking the oven around the
nations. It was only after the war “Australia’s only wind-rolled oats”, made 10-minute mark. As I said, I like a bit
ended that oats became a standard of using a century-old oat-roller. I am fully of chew in a biscuit, so I baked mine
the recipe, and no printed reference cognisant of just how Portlandia-precious slow rather than hot and fast. (The choice
to coconut appeared until 1929. the mention of oats ground in the to go with non-fan-forced baking stems
The War Memorial offers two other country’s only operating Georgian purely from the fact my oven was made
Anzac recipes that bear much closer windmill is, believe me. But they’re in 1942 rather than any serious
resemblance to the bickies we know bloody good oats – fresh, creamy and experimentation on that front.)
and love. The first, from a 1926 edition coarse in texture rather than something And the result? I am very happy
of The Capricornian, a Rockhampton refined to buggery and designed to sit on with it. I don’t know that I’d dare to
newspaper, specifies two cups of oats a supermarket shelf until the Rapture. call them healthier, but these Anzacs
to a cup of flour and half a cup of The fact they’re made in a place called are considerably less sweet than most
sugar. You mix a tablespoonful of Oatlands seals the deal. commercial offerings, and have much
golden syrup, two of boiling water I gave some thought to shredding more texture, especially where the oats
and a teaspoon of bicarb till they my own coconut and using it fresh, but and coconut are concerned.
froth, then add half a cup of melted decided in the end to go with rougher-cut The Anzac is a forgiving biscuit, even
butter, and mix that into the dry product from the shop. I didn’t churn for the novice baker. It calls for nothing
ingredients. Spoonfuls go onto a the butter myself, or use my own tears in hard to find, and can be made without
“floured slide”, are baked in a slow place of the salt, and I used a regular gas scales or a mixer. And the best Anzacs
oven, and magic ensues. oven rather than anything wood-fired or are those you make yourself, however
Coconut gets its day in the the power of the sun’s rays. Georgian recherché your oats. Put them next to
Country Women’s Association of windmills are one thing, but there’s no a cup of tea with friends and pause a
New South Wales’s 1933 Calendar of sense in going overboard. moment to reflect on the Australians
Cake and Afternoon Tea Delicacies. It’s Less-refined products are going to vary and New Zealanders who ate them more
a notably sweeter biscuit, with more more considerably in things like moisture than 100 years ago in less comfortable
sugar, less flour, and coconut taking content than plainer flours and sugars, so circumstances. Lest we forget.
the place of half the oats.
Dig a little deeper and you’ll see
that “traditional” recipes vary even more widely still. You
don’t have to look far in 1920s cookbooks to find references Anzac biscuits, reinvented
to iced Anzacs, or others sandwiched around jam. A 1929 MAKES ABOUT 20 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 10-12 MINS
recipe from the Brisbane Courier includes cinnamon, mixed
I’ve made these the size of regular biscuits, but they’re
spice and finely chopped dates. Tasty? Sure. But to me it
also very good made larger. For a crisper biscuit, meanwhile,
sounds like it might bring you uncomfortably close to a flatten the balls of dough on the tray before baking.
$50,000 fine if you wanted to sell them as Anzac biscuits.
As a dyed-in-the-wool Anzac fan, I had a good think 1 cup rolled oats 4 Stir the syrup and butter
about what exactly makes them so appealing. My feeling 1 cup coconut chips mixture into the dry ingredients,
is that it’s the austerity-roughage factor of the oats and 1 cup wholemeal flour and mix well (your hands are
coconut, the combination of crisp edges and a bit of chew ½ cup demerara sugar good for this). Taste, and add
(something the biscuits for the men in Gallipoli almost 1 tbsp golden syrup a pinch of salt if it needs it.
certainly didn’t have) and the unrefined rawness of the 1 tsp bicarbarbonate of soda 5 Place spoonfuls of the
golden syrup. ½ cup melted unsalted butter mixture on lightly floured trays,
(about 125gm) leaving plenty of room for them
And it was this idea of roughness and rawness that
to spread.
I thought could chime with today’s bakers’ love of rawer, less
1 Preheat the oven to 150°C 6 Bake until they’re dark
refined ingredients. Substituting coconut oil for butter would (fan of). golden, starting to check
probably be delicious, but might lose sight of the virtue of 2 Combine oats, coconut, flour around the 10-minute mark.
the original. But what about swapping out the plain flour for and sugar in a mixing bowl. 7 Allow biscuits to cool on
something stoneground and wholemeal? Demerara for white 3 Mix golden syrup, bicarb and the trays (they’re soft when
sugar? What if I let the butter brown a bit in the pan when 2 tbsp boiling water in a bowl, they’re hot).
I melted it? I thought blending the best of the two classic stir until the mixture is foaming, 8 Biscuits will keep for up to a
recipes, updating them with better ingredients, might pay off. then stir in melted butter. week in an airtight container. ●

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 93
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 APRIL

FOOD Mushroom
parcels

p 128

Flavours to savour
PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY

Rich chocolate cakes, wholesome grains, an all-in

menu from Pinbone’s Italian pop-up, cool-weather
roasts and a taste of traditional Japan.
 ke the c a ke
Ta Recipes & styling EMMA KNOWLES

Photography WILLIAM MEPPEM Food assistant MAX ADEY

Salted chocolate
layer cake with
whipped ganache

p 104
Whether made in miniature
or as towering triple-deckers,
chocolate bakes have all the
star power they need to steal
the show. Brace for impact.

Black and white

cheesecake

p 102

Little brownie cakes with fudge sauce
MAKES 8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 35 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
These seemingly small cakes can easily be shared between two, depending on
your tolerance for richness. That said, diehard chocoholics will have no trouble
devouring the lot. Choose your audience – and portioning – accordingly.
190 gm butter, coarsely
chopped
190 gm dark chocolate
(60%-68% cocoa solids),
coarsely chopped
210 gm brown sugar
3 eggs
130 gm plain flour
40 gm Dutch-process cocoa
¼ tsp baking powder
90 gm (½ cup) coarsely
chopped milk chocolate
40 gm slivered or coarsely
chopped pistachio nuts,
plus extra finely chopped
to serve
Pistachio or vanilla
ice-cream, to serve
FUDGE SAUCE
150 gm caster sugar
170 gm dark chocolate
(54%-58% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
140 gm liquid glucose
20 gm Dutch-process
cocoa, sifted
20 gm butter, diced
1 Preheat oven to 180°C,
and butter and flour eight
10cm-diameter cake tins.
2 Melt butter and dark
chocolate in a bowl over a
saucepan of simmering water,
stirring occasionally, until
smooth (2-3 minutes). Remove
100 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
PREVIOUS PAGES
Layer cake Salt &
Pepper plate from
Myer. Cheesecake
Large plate from
Mud Australia.
Napkin from Papaya.
Brownie cakes Side
plate (right) from
Studio Enti. All other
props stylist’s own.
Stockists p176.
Meringue cake All
props stylist’s own.
from heat, add sugar, then mix
in eggs one at a time, beating
well between each addition.
Sift flour, cocoa and baking
powder over mixture, add a
pinch of salt and stir until just
combined (don’t overwork the
mixture or the brownie will be
cakey). Stir in milk chocolate
and pistachio nuts, reserving a
little of each to scatter on top.
3 Divide among prepared
tins, smooth tops, scatter with
reserved milk chocolate and
slivers of pistachio nuts. Scatter
with a little sea salt and bake
until set around the edges but
still a little fudgy in the centre
(20-25 minutes; a skewer
inserted should withdraw with
just a little mixture on it). Cool
in tins.
4 For fudge sauce, stir sugar,
chocolate, glucose, cocoa,
butter, 1 tsp sea salt and 150ml
water in a saucepan over
medium-high heat until smooth,
bring to a simmer and cook
until sauce has a light syrup
consistency (3-4 minutes).
Cool briefly.
5 To serve, top cakes with
ice-cream, drizzle with warm
fudge sauce and sprinkle with
finely chopped pistachio nuts.
Chocolate hazelnut meringue cake
SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 1 HR 20 MINS (PLUS COOLING)

Dense and fudgy chocolate cake contrasts beautifully with feather-light chocolate
meringue in this moreish cake. Serve it with crème fraîche to round things out perfectly.

250 gm dark chocolate CHOC-HAZELNUT MERINGUE
(54%-58% cocoa solids), 4 eggwhites
finely chopped 80 gm caster sugar
150 gm butter, diced 80 gm brown sugar
6 egg yolks 1 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa
50 gm brown sugar 2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste 30 gm hazelnut meal
30 gm plain flour
20 gm Dutch-process cocoa, 1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Butter
plus extra for dusting a 21cm-diameter springform
¼ tsp baking powder cake tin and line base and
30 gm hazelnut meal sides with baking paper. Melt
Coarsely chopped roasted chocolate and butter in a bowl
hazelnuts and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering
curls, to serve water, stirring occasionally
Crème fraîche (optional), until smooth (2-3 minutes),
to serve then remove from heat.
2 Whisk egg yolks, sugar and mixture, forming peaks and
vanilla in an electric mixer until swirls, then bake until meringue
pale and flufy (4-5 minutes). is crisp (1 hour 15 minutes to
Fold in chocolate mixture, then 1 hour 20 minutes). Cool to
sift in flour, cocoa and baking room temperature, then
powder, add hazelnut meal and carefully remove the sides of
fold to combine. Pour into the tin. Dust with extra cocoa,
prepared tin and smooth top. scatter with hazelnuts and
3 For choc-hazelnut meringue, chocolate curls and serve
whisk eggwhites and a pinch of with crème fraîche. ➤
salt in an electric mixer to soft
peaks (4-5 minutes). Gradually
add sugars, whisking until
mixture is glossy, then sift
in cocoa and cornflour, add
hazelnut meal and fold to
combine. Spoon onto chocolate
 Mini white chocolate bundts with
bitter chocolate glaze
MAKES 6 // PREP 15 MINS // COOK 40 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
White chocolate can be cloyingly sweet, so it’s important to temper
the sweetness. Here, a bitter chocolate glaze does the trick.
150 gm couverture white
chocolate, finely chopped
125 ml (½ cup) milk
100 gm caster sugar
80 gm butter, diced
150 gm (1 cup) plain flour
¾ tsp baking powder
1 egg
Finely chopped chocolate,
to serve
BITTER CHOCOLATE GLAZE
220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar
160 gm dark chocolate
(70% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
1 tbsp espresso-strength
cofee
1 Preheat oven to 180°C and
butter and flour six 150ml mini
bundt tins or small cake tins.
Combine white chocolate, milk,
Black and white cheesecake Pictured p99.
SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 45 MINS // COOK 1 ½ HOURS (PLUS COOLING)
Dutch-process cocoa,
to serve
CHOCOLATE CRUMB CRUST
250 gm digestive biscuits,
coarsely crumbled
30 gm caster sugar
30 Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
125 gm melted butter
WHITE CHOCOLATE FILLING
375 gm cream cheese, at room
temperature
150 gm mascarpone
250 gm white chocolate, melted
3 eggs
DARK CHOCOLATE FILLING
375 gm cream cheese, at room
temperature
150 gm mascarpone
55 gm (¼ cup) caster sugar
200 gm dark chocolate
(70% cocoa solids), melted
3 eggs
1 Preheat oven to 160°C, butter
a 21cm-diameter springform
cake tin and line the base with
baking paper. For chocolate
crumb crust, blitz biscuits, sugar,
cocoa and a good pinch of salt
in a food processor to fine
102 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
sugar and butter in a saucepan
and stir over medium heat until
smooth. Remove from heat,
sift in flour and baking powder,
whisk until smooth, then whisk
in egg. Divide mixture among
tins and bake until risen and
pale gold (25-30 minutes).
Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
2 For chocolate glaze, stir sugar
and 60ml water in a saucepan
over medium-high heat until
sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil
and cook without stirring until
dark caramel (5-6 minutes), then
remove from heat and add
100ml water (careful, caramel
may spit). Return to heat, add
chocolate and cofee, stir until
smooth, then cool. Drizzle glaze
over cakes, stand until set and
top with chopped chocolate.
crumbs. Add butter, process to
combine, then press evenly into
the base of prepared tin. Bake
until dry (8-10 minutes), then
cool to room temperature.
2 For white chocolate filling,
beat cream cheese and
mascarpone in an electric mixer,
scraping sides occasionally, until
very smooth. Beat in chocolate,
then add eggs one at a time,
beating well after each addition.
Spread mixture over base,
smooth top and place in the
freezer to firm up while you
make the dark chocolate filling.
3 For dark chocolate filling, beat
cream cheese, mascarpone and
sugar in an electric mixer,
scraping sides occasionally, until
smooth. Beat in chocolate, then
add eggs one at a time, beating
well after each addition. Spread
mixture over white chocolate
filling, smooth top and bake
until set with a slight wobble
(1-1¼ hours). Cool to room
temperature, then chill until
completely cooled. Dust with
cocoa and serve.
Chocolate and buttermilk slab cake
SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 50 MINS (PLUS COOLING)

This lush cake is a super-simple melt-and-mix number.

Buttermilk plays a role in both the batter, where it creates
an ultra-tender crumb, and in the frosting, where it cuts
the sweetness. This cake is just as good a few days after
baking, but you’ll be hard-pressed to resist it for that long.

280 gm caster sugar saucepan and stir occasionally

120 gm dark chocolate
(54%-58% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
90 gm butter, diced
225 gm (1½ cups) plain flour
1½ tbsp Dutch-process
cocoa, sifted
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
110 ml buttermilk
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
Freeze-dried raspberries,
(optional; see note),
to serve
CHOCOLATE-BUTTERMILK
FROSTING
150 gm dark chocolate
(54%-58% cocoa solids)
100 gm softened butter
120 gm (¾ cup) pure icing sugar
70 ml well-shaken buttermilk
1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Butter
a 15cm x 30cm rectangular cake
tin and line it with baking paper.
Combine sugar, chocolate,
butter and 180ml water in a large
over low heat until melted and
smooth. Remove from heat,
cool slightly, then sift in dry
ingredients and whisk until
smooth. Whisk in buttermilk, egg
and yolk until smooth, pour into
tin and bake until centre springs
back when slightly pressed
(45-50 minutes). Cool in tin.
2 For chocolate-buttermilk
frosting, melt chocolate in
This lush chocolate and buttermilk
a bowl over a saucepan of
barely simmering water, stirring cake is a super-simple melt-and-mix
occasionally, until smooth. Cool number, and is just as good
to lukewarm, then transfer to an
electric mixer, add butter and
a few days after baking.
beat until flufy (5-6 minutes).
Beat in icing sugar and
buttermilk until smooth, then
spread onto cooled cake and
serve scattered with crumbled
freeze-dried raspberries.
Note Freeze-dried raspberries
are available from select Slab cake and mini
supermarkets and delicatessens bundts All props
or from fresh-as.com. ➤ stylist’s own.
 Salted chocolate layer cake with whipped ganache
SERVES 12-16 // PREP TIME 45 MINS // COOK 35 MINS (PLUS COOLING)

A slug of whisky adds grown-up flavour to this showstopper of a cake. It’s an excellent special-
occasion cake – not only because of its looks, but also because you can prepare it in advance.
Top it with whatever chocolatey garnishes take your fancy. We’ve opted for shards of chocolate-
coated honeycomb, chocolate wafer balls and chocolate curls for a mix of textures. Pictured p104.

150 gm dark chocolate
(54-58% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
100 gm dark chocolate
(70% cocoa solids), finely
chopped
250 gm butter, diced
300 gm (2 cups) plain flour
165 gm (¾ cup) brown sugar
165 gm (¾ cup) caster sugar
75 gm almond meal
40 gm Dutch-process cocoa,
sifted, plus extra for dusting
2½ tsp baking powder
375 ml (1½ cups milk)
4 eggs
Whiskey, for brushing
Chocolate curls,
chocolate wafer balls
and chocolate-coated
honeycomb, to serve
WHIPPED MILK CHOCOLATE
GANACHE
200 ml pouring cream
60 ml (¼ cup) whisky
250 gm milk chocolate, finely
chopped
250 gm dark chocolate
(54-58% cocoa solids),
finely chopped
4 egg yolks
1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter
three 21cm-diameter springform
cake tins and line them with
baking paper. Combine
chocolates and butter in
a heatproof bowl and melt
over a saucepan of simmering
water, stirring occasionally,
until smooth. Combine dry
ingredients and 2½ tsp sea salt
flakes in a bowl, then add
chocolate mixture, milk and
eggs and whisk until smooth.
Divide evenly among prepared
tins and bake until a skewer
inserted withdraws clean
(25-30 minutes). Cool in tins for
15 minutes then turn out onto
a wire rack to cool completely.
2 For ganache, bring cream and
half the whisky to a simmer in a
saucepan over medium-high
heat. Place chocolate in a large
bowl, pour hot cream mixture
over, stand for 5 minutes, then
whisk until smooth. Whisk yolks
and remaining whisky in a
heatproof bowl over a saucepan
of simmering water until thick
and pale (4-5 minutes). Remove
from heat and whisk in
chocolate mixture, then transfer
to an electric mixer and whisk
until thick and cooled to room
temperature (8-10 minutes).
Refrigerate mixture, whisking
occasionally, until thick but
spreadable (30-40 minutes).
3 Trim the top of each cake
flat. Place one cake on a cake
stand or serving plate, brush
with a little whisky, spread with
one-fifth of whipped ganache,
then top with another cake.
Continue layering, finishing with
a layer of ganache, then spread
remaining ganache around the
sides with a palette knife to
neaten. Refrigerate for 1 hour
to set.
4 Dust cake with cocoa, top
with chocolate curls, chocolate
wafer balls, crushed chocolate-
coated honeycomb and a little
extra sea salt and serve.

Chocolate, sour cherry and ricotta crumble cake

SERVES 10-12 // PREP TIME 35 MINS // COOK 45 MINS (PLUS COOLING)

A slice of this rich dark cake is just the thing to have with your espresso,
or afternoon cup of tea. Just add a dollop of mascarpone.

100 ml brandy 1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter
100 gm dried sour cherries a 21cm-diameter springform
(see note) cake tin and line it with baking
200 gm dark chocolate paper. Combine brandy and
(54%-58% cocoa solids) cherries in a small saucepan,
finely chopped bring to a simmer, then remove
180 gm butter, diced from the heat and stand to soak
220 gm hazelnut meal (30 minutes).
200 gm brown sugar 2 Melt chocolate and butter
4 eggs, separated in a heatproof bowl over a
100 gm firm ricotta, crumbled saucepan of simmering water,
Mascarpone, to serve stirring occasionally, until
CACAO NIB CRUMBLE smooth. Cool slightly, then
50 gm (⅓ cup) plain flour stir in hazelnut meal, sugar,
30 gm brown sugar egg yolks and cherry mixture
30 gm butter, diced to combine.
1 tbsp cacao nibs 3 Whisk eggwhites and a pinch
of salt in an electric mixer to
soft peaks, fold into chocolate
mixture, then spoon into tin.
Smooth top and top with ricotta.
4 For cacao nib crumble, rub
together ingredients and a
pinch of salt in a bowl to form
a rough crumb. Scatter mixture
over cake and bake until a
skewer inserted withdraws
clean (35-40 minutes). Serve
warm or at room temperature
with mascarpone. Cake is best
eaten on the day it’s made.
Note Dried sour cherries are
available from specialist food
shops and select delicatessens
and. If they’re unavailable,
substitute dried cranberries
or coarsely chopped
pitted prunes. ●
Chocolate, cherry and ricotta
cake Bowl (with mascarpone)
and side plate from Studio
Enti. All other props stylist’s
own. Stockists p176.

104 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Chocolate, sour
cherry and ricotta
crumble cake
G A
Whether in salads,
soups, cakes or
kibbeh, grains form
the heart and soul
of wholesome dishes.
I
N
Kibbeh

p 112

Freekeh and shaved

Recipes LISA FEATHERBY caulilower salad
with herb dressing
Photography ALICIA TAYLOR

Styling GERALDINE MUÑOZ Drink suggestions MAX ALLEN

p112
 Miso-glazed mushrooms with walnuts
and black barley
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 35 MINS

Grains are wonderful cooked pilaf-style – they’ll plump up and take in other
flavours really easily. Don’t forget the walnuts here to add some crunch.

1 tbsp olive oil 1 Heat oil and half the butter until mushrooms are glazed
40 gm butter in a saucepan over high heat, (1-2 minutes). Stir through
1 small onion, finely chopped add onion and garlic and vinegar, season with black
2 garlic cloves, finely stir occasionally until tender pepper and remove from heat.
chopped (5-6 minutes). Add stock and 3 Stir half the mushrooms
750 ml (3 cups) chicken stock barley, season to taste and through the barley and transfer
250 gm black barley (see note) bring to the boil, then reduce to bowls. Top with remaining
1 tbsp shiro (white) miso heat to low, cover with a mushrooms, crumble over
1 tbsp soy sauce lid and cook until liquid is walnuts and top with shiso
1 tbsp sake absorbed and barley is tender leaves to serve.
300 gm Swiss brown (20-25 minutes). Keep warm. Note Black barley is available
mushrooms, sliced 2 Combine miso, soy and from select delicatessens. If
2 tsp rice wine vinegar sake in a bowl and set aside. you can’t find it, substitute
Roasted walnuts, to serve Heat remaining butter in a pearl barley.
Baby shiso leaves saucepan over high heat, add Wine suggestion Mature
(optional), to serve mushrooms and stir occasionally full-bodied shiraz from
until softened (1-2 minutes), then your cellar.
add miso mixture and stir

108 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Jeera rice and dhal curry
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 1 HR

Bought ghee is fine, but making your own gives the best flavour
– just make sure to use unsalted butter or the final result will be
too salty. It’s very simple to make: just cook the butter gently until
the fat separates from the milk solids, then strain of the fat.
For a more nuttiness, take the butter a little further so the milk
solids begin to brown, then strain as usual.

300 gm (1½ cups) basmati rice 1 For dhal, heat ghee in a

100 gm ghee
Large handful of fresh
curry leaves
1 tbsp coarsely crushed
cumin seeds
Large pinch of brown
mustard seeds
Greek-style yoghurt
(optional), coriander
sprigs (optional) and lime
wedges, to serve
Diced tomato, cucumber
and red onion seasoned
with lime juice and salt,
to serve
DHAL
2 tbsp ghee
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp medium-hot curry
powder (see note)
1 tsp ground turmeric
175 gm small split red lentils
450 ml chicken stock
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
saucepan over medium heat,
add onion and cook, stirring
occasionally, until soft and
translucent (10 minutes). Add
spices and stir until toasted
(2 minutes), then add lentils and
stir to combine. Add stock,
tomato and 600ml water and
bring to a simmer, then simmer
until lentils are tender, topping
up with water if it’s getting too
thick (1 hour).
2 Meanwhile, place rice in a
saucepan and cover with 2cm
water. Bring to the boil, stir once
or twice, then cover, reduce
heat to low and cook for
10-12 minutes. Turn of heat,
set aside covered for 5 minutes,
then fluf with a fork. Heat ghee
over medium heat, add curry
leaves, cumin and mustard
seeds in a wide saucepan and
stir until fragrant (2 minutes).
Add ghee and spices to rice, stir
through, and season to taste.
3 Serve rice with dhal, yoghurt,
coriander, lime wedges and
chopped tomato, cucumber
and red onion salad.
Note Choose any medium-hot
curry powder you like, we like
a blend, such as korma, or lentil
and dhal spice mix from
herbies.com.au.
Drink suggestion Tangy
homemade kombucha. ➤

PREVIOUS PAGES
Bowls with grains Bowl
(top) from Dinosaur
Designs. Spoon from
Hub Furniture. Freekeh
salad and Kibbeh Spoon
from HUB Furniture. Plate
(with kibbeh) from The
DEA Store. All other
props stylist’s own. Rice
and dhal Large plate
from The DEA Store.
Miso-glazed mushrooms
Spoon from HUB
Furniture. All other
props stylist’s own.
Stockists p176.
 Chicken with
barley, olives
and chilli
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 15 MINS
// COOK 45 MINS

This recipe relies on a few

things being done well, so
focus on the basics: look for a
great chicken, and, if you can,
match it with a homemade
stock. Leave the chicken
uncovered in the refrigerator
overnight the day before
cooking to dry out the skin –
it’ll crisp up more and help
prevent it from sticking.

60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 chicken (about 1.4kg),
jointed
100 gm fennel-flavoured salami
100 ml dry white wine
150 gm pearl barley
350 ml hot chicken stock
12 kalamata olives
2 small red chillies,
finely chopped
Coarsely chopped flat-leaf
parsley, sourdough and a
green salad, to serve

1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat

half the oil in a large casserole
over medium heat. Add onion
and garlic and stir occasionally
until soft and translucent
(15-20 minutes). Remove from
casserole and increase heat
to high. Add remaining oil to
casserole, add chicken skin-side
down and fry until skin is
browned (3-4 minutes), then
turn over and fry until browned
(3-4 minutes). Set aside.
2 Add salami to casserole and
fry, turning occasionally, until
golden (4-5 minutes). Deglaze
with wine and return chicken,
onion and garlic to casserole,
add barley and stir to combine.
Pour hot stock over, add olives
and chilli, cover casserole with
PREVIOUS PAGES foil, then bake until barley is
Chicken Brass fork from
Hub Furniture. Knife from tender and juices of chicken
The DEA Store. Farro run clear when pierced with
and bean soup Large a skewer (45-50 minutes). Top
bowl from Mud Australia. chicken and barley with parsley
Small bowl from Dinosaur
and serve with pan juices,
Designs. All other
props stylist’s own. bread and salad.
Stockists p176. Wine suggestion Pale, dry rosé.

110 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Farro, white bean and smoked ham soup
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 45 MINS (PLUS SOAKING)

This is a super-easy dish that’s rich, hearty and full-flavoured, but doesn’t
require a whole lot of work. Just let the flavour of the hock come through
and do the work for you. Begin this recipe a day ahead to soak the beans.

2 tbsp mild-flavoured olive
oil, plus extra to serve
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely
chopped
1 smoked ham hock
(about 900gm)
200 gm dried white beans,
soaked overnight in cold
water, drained
150 gm farro (see note), rinsed
1.3 litres chicken stock
Finely grated parmesan
and finely chopped flat-leaf
parsley (optional), to serve
1 Heat oil in a saucepan over
medium heat. Add onion and
stir occasionally until soft and
translucent, adding celery and
garlic for the last 5 minutes of
cooking (13-16 minutes). Add
ham hock, beans, farro and
chicken stock, bring to a simmer,
then half-cover with a lid and
simmer until hock, beans and
farro are tender (2½-3 hours;
top up with water as necessary
to keep hock covered). Remove
hock from soup and set aside.
Season soup to taste and
keep warm.
2 When cool enough to
handle, shred meat of the
bone (discard bone), and return
to the soup.
3 Serve soup topped with
parmesan, parsley, a drizzle of
olive oil and a generous grind
of black pepper.
Note Farro is available from
select delicatessens.
Beer suggestion Something
rustic and cloudy brewed with
grains other than barley, for
example, farro. ➤
Kibbeh
MAKES ABOUT 14-16 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 16 MINS (PLUS SOAKING)

The trick to smooth, nicely shaped kibbeh is in getting the consistency right. This starts
with the mince – it has to be finely ground enough so the fat can blend well with the meat,
but it still needs some texture. Asking your butcher is always the best bet. Chill the food
processor bowl for 20-30 minutes beforehand to help keep the meat chilled while you
blend and shape it. Begin this recipe a day ahead to soak the burghul. Pictured p107.

75 gm fine-grain burghul,
soaked in cold water in the
fridge overnight, drained
500 gm very finely minced lamb
(see note)
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp paprika
Large pinch of ground cloves
Large pinch of ground
cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for
shallow-frying
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
Mint leaves and thinly sliced
red onion, to serve
Sumac, to serve
Lemon wedges and
Greek-style yoghurt
(optional), to serve
1 Add burghul, lamb mince,
garlic and spices to a chilled
food processor, season to taste,
and pulse to combine well. With
slightly wet hands, shape lamb
mixture into golf ball-sized balls,
then, with a slapping motion,
slap the mixture between
each hand to shape it into
ovals and add elasticity to
the meat. Place on a tray
and refrigerate until required,
repeating with remaining balls.
2 Heat 0.5cm oil in a deep
frying pan over medium-high
heat. Fry kibbeh in two
batches, turning occasionally,
until golden and cooked
through (7-8 minutes; be careful,
hot fat may spit). Keep warm.
3 Toss pine nuts, mint leaves
and red onion together, top with
sumac and serve with kibbeh,
lemon wedges and yoghurt.
Note Ask your butcher to
do this for you, or you can
chop lamb mince to a fine
texture yourself.
Tea suggestion Refreshing
mint tea.

Freekeh and shaved caulilower

salad with herb dressing
SERVES 4 AS A LIGHT MEAL // PREP TIME 10 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS COOLING)

Freekeh has such nice flavour and texture that simple

preparations are best. Here a herb dressing keeps it bright,
while raw cauliflower adds texture. Pictured p107.

250 gm wholegrain freekeh 1 Cook freekeh in a large

Arils from 1 pomegranate saucepan of boiling water
1 small cauliflower, trimmed until tender (30 minutes). Drain
and thinly shaved on a well, then set aside to cool.
mandolin 2 For herb dressing, stir
1 frisée, pale leaves washed ingredients in a bowl to
and torn combine.
HERB DRESSING 3 Combine remaining
¼ cup finely chopped ingredients in a bowl. Add
coriander freekeh and dressing, toss
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf to combine, season to taste
parsley and serve.
Juice of 1 lemon Wine suggestion Skin-contact
60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin sauvignon blanc.
olive oil
Fennel-spiced semolina cake mixer until pale and flufy
with yoghurt (8-10 minutes). Add eggs one
SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 35 MINS (PLUS DRAINING, COOLING) at a time, beating well after
each addition, then add baking
This delicately spiced cake is at its best served warm. powder, semolina, almond meal,
Begin this recipe a day ahead to drain the yoghurt. almonds, citrus juice, buttermilk,
fennel seed and a pinch of salt
220 gm softened butter SWEETENED YOGHURT and mix to just combine. Spoon
200 gm caster sugar 300 gm thick natural yoghurt into tin and bake until cake is
Finely grated rind and juice 100 gm pure icing sugar, sifted golden and a skewer inserted
of 1 lemon and 1 orange LEMON SYRUP withdraws clean (35 minutes).
4 eggs 3 pieces of lemon rind, 3 For lemon syrup, combine
2 tsp baking powder removed with a peeler ingredients with 80ml water in
200 gm fine semolina 80 gm caster sugar a small saucepan and bring to
150 gm almond meal the boil, stirring to dissolve
100 gm finely chopped roasted 1 For sweetened yoghurt, place sugar. Remove from heat and
almonds, plus extra to serve yoghurt in a muslin-lined sieve cool to room temperature.
125 ml (½ cup) buttermilk over a bowl and refrigerate 4 Pierce cake all over with a
3 tsp roasted fennel seeds, overnight to drain. Discard liquid. skewer, then drizzle with syrup
ground Combine with sugar until smooth and set aside to cool (1-2 hours). Text page Green dish
Finely grated orange rind, and refrigerate until needed. 5 Scatter cake with extra nuts from The DEA Store.
to serve 2 Preheat oven to 170°C. Butter and orange rind and serve with Semolina cake Small
plate (top left) from Mud
a 22cm cake tin and line with sweet yoghurt. Australia. All other
baking paper. Beat butter, sugar Wine suggestion Sweet props stylist’s own.
and citrus rinds in an electric late-harvest riesling. ● Stockists p176.

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 113
Disco
inferno
Pinbone’s latest Sydney pop-up is big, loud and fuelled by wood ire,
but most of all, it’s just a damn good time. The team share a set of
their non-authentic Italian recipes to get the party started.

Recipes MIKE EGGERT & JEMMA WHITEMAN

Words DAVID MATTHEWS

Photography BEN DEARNLEY

Styling LISA FEATHERBY

Wine suggestions FRANCK MOREAU

Peas, beans,
ricotta and mint
bruschetta

p 117
 Mike Eggert and
Jemma Whiteman.

A
part from the occasional rush of jet engines, Botany generous, ingredients are geared to work together and most
Road in Mascot is a straight-up-and-down suburban dishes have seen the inside of the wood oven. “Peas and ricotta,
strip complete with a chicken shop, a discount tomatoes and anchovies – they’re classic flavours,” says Eggert.
chemist, an IGA and a cake store. Look a little closer “Then the ragù is like a Sunday sauce where we throw everything
at the pub, though, and all is not as it seems. Round the back in the pot with this rich, unctuous lamb.” Salads keep it civil, but
of the Tennyson Hotel in the old drive-through the lights are a rib-eye is the main event, grilled hard, then roasted to finish and
down, the music’s up and a wood-fired oven served with condiments. “I remember being in
is running hot. Chairs are scattered around Rome and being served a steak with this big
the concrete floor, plates of focaccia come out Menu wedge of parmesan,” says Eggert. “It was
draped in lardo, and patrons don vintage ski Peas, beans, ricotta and amazing, so we’ve borrowed that. And then,
suits to duck into the walk-in cool room. Past mint bruschetta wherever we are, we always make a chilli sauce.”
the slabs of XXXX and VB, Franck Moreau, Anchovy and tomato bruschetta We have the dishes. But if you’re looking
master sommelier, has filled the shelves with Koerner “Watervale” Riesling for the authentic Mr Liquor experience at
outstanding wines at outstanding value. This home, Eggert has some advice: “It has to be
Lamb shoulder ragù
is Mr Liquor’s Dirty Italian Disco, the latest alfresco for starters,” he says. “Then crack
with gnocchetti
incarnation of Pinbone, and Mike Eggert and Brash Higgins Nero d’Avola out the Christmas lights, put them on flicker,
Jemma Whiteman are in their element. crank up the tunes and have a dance – that’s
The pair are no strangers to trying Rib-eye steak with important – and you don’t need to have ski
something a little different, having been chilli sauce suits; any arctic-wear or cold-weather gear is
through a few incarnations, and while they Cucumber, olive and fine, just make sure it’s colourful and fun.”
mightn’t have thought a collaboration with roasted-onion salad The Mr Liquor pop-up is slated to end
Merivale was next, the pitch was solid: “They Witlof, grapefruit and in mid-May. Once the dust has settled the
basically said, ‘We have this shed… What do pecorino salad obvious question is what can possibly be next
you want to do? It can be really fun, chilled, Grilled Roman beans for a team who’ve been lauded for their café
different, exciting. Oh, and it’s in the middle Podere Le Boncie “Le Trame”
ALL PROPS RESTAURANT’S OWN

food, lo-fi Chinese and now their Italian?

of nowhere in a bottle shop,’” says Eggert. “So
we thought Italian, but more American-style
Italian. More casual. More laid-back. Fluffy
old-school focaccia and big servings. We
wanted it to be less stuffy and less traditional.”
And that’s how it works at Mr Liquor.
The plates are enamelware, servings are
Chianti Classico
“First? A holiday,” says Eggert. “But we’re still
Hazelnut tiramisù on the hunt for a woolshed in the country.
Pellegrino Passito di Pantelleria, We want to do Australiana. Something mad,
or a Negroni something rural. Like Porteño meets The Man
from Snowy River.” Mr Liquor’s Dirty Italian
Disco, Tennyson Hotel Bottle Shop, 952 Botany Rd,
Mascot, NSW, (02) 9240 3000, merivale.com.au

116 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Peas, beans, ricotta
and mint bruschetta
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 35 MINS (PLUS PROVING, COOLING)

“This classic combo of peas, ricotta and mint could

be the most popular dish we’ve done,” says Mike Eggert.
“The focaccia recipe is the easiest and most reliable we’ve
ever come across. Stretch the dough out thin or make it
thick and flufy – it works great any way you want and
makes the perfect vehicle for bruschetta toppings or for
mopping up sauces or melted cheese.” Pictured p114.

50 gm sugarsnap peas, golden brown and focaccia

coarsely chopped
50 gm frozen peas
50 gm podded broad beans
(about 150gm unpodded)
50 gm podded edamame
(see note)
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
150 gm ricotta
¼ cup mint, coarsely torn
FOCACCIA
460 gm baker’s flour
3 gm (1 tsp) brown sugar
7 gm (1 sachet) dried yeast
60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive
oil, plus extra to serve
1 For focaccia, combine
450gm flour and 1½ tsp salt in
an electric mixer fitted with a
dough hook. Lightly whisk
remaining flour, sugar and dried
yeast in a separate bowl with
300ml lukewarm water, then
leave until bubbles appear
(5-7 minutes). Add oil to yeast
mixture, then, with the mixer on
low speed, add yeast mixture
to flour and knead until smooth
and elastic (8-9 minutes).
Transfer to a lightly oiled
bowl, cover with plastic wrap
and leave in a warm place
until nearly doubled in size
(20-30 minutes). Preheat oven
to 230°C. Gently knock back
dough, cover and prove until
nearly doubled in size again
(10-15 minutes). Transfer to a
well-oiled 12cm x 23cm loaf
pan. Cover and leave to prove
until about 1cm below top of tin
(15 minutes), then bake until
sounds hollow when tapped
on the base (25-30 minutes).
Cool on a rack (about 1 hour),
then cut into 12 slices.
2 Bring a saucepan of
salted water to the boil and
blanch peas and beans for
20-30 seconds until bright
green and still crunchy. Drain,
then peel broad beans and
mix with lemon juice, oil and
remaining peas and beans in
a bowl and season to taste.
3 Grill focaccia slices on a
baking tray until well toasted
(1-2 minutes each side).
4 Spread ricotta on focaccia,
spoon pea and bean mixture
on top, scatter with mint, drizzle
with extra olive oil and serve.
Note Frozen edamame are 1 red capsicum 2 Meanwhile, grate tomatoes
available from Asian grocers. 2 vine-ripened tomatoes using a box grater, then drain in
Wine suggestion A riesling Juice of ½ lemon a sieve for 15 minutes. Combine
such as Koerner “Watervale” 1 tbsp olive oil drained tomato flesh, roasted
Riesling. 6 slices focaccia (see capsicum, lemon juice and oil,
recipe at left) and season to taste.
1 garlic clove, halved 3 Grill focaccia slices on
12 anchovy fillets a charcoal grill or under an
Anchovy and Coarsely chopped flat-leaf oven grill (1-2 minutes each
tomato bruschetta parsley and sliced pickled side), then rub each slice with
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS green chillies (see note), cut side of garlic.
// COOK 5 MINS (PLUS COOLING) to serve 4 To serve, spoon tomato
mixture on foccacia, top with
“Anyone travelling through the 1 Preheat oven to 270°C or its anchovies, scatter with parsley
Mediterranean eats tomatoes highest setting. Roast capsicum and serve with pickled chillies.
and anchovies to excess. We on an oven tray lined with Note Pickled green chillies are
knew we had to have that baking paper until blackened available from delicatessens
delicious salty anchovy and and softened (18-20 minutes). and supermarkets.
sweet-acidic tomato combo on Place in a bowl, cover with Wine suggestion A riesling
the menu here,” says Jemma plastic wrap and leave to cool such as Koerner “Watervale”
Whiteman. “Throw in some (20-30 minutes). Remove skin Riesling. ➤
charred-bread flavour and it’s and seeds, and cut capsicum
like you’re on the coast of Italy.” into large dice.
 Lamb shoulder ragù with gnocchetti
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 1 HR, COOK 3 HRS (PLUS COOLING, RESTING)
“This is our take on the classic sauce – it’s rich and delicious,”
says Eggert. “Nothing really compares to a homemade ragù, and
once you discover pangrattato, you’ll crave it on everything.”
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 each onion, celery stalk, red
capsicum, and small fennel
bulb, cut into large dice
10 garlic cloves, crushed
1 long red chilli, split
lengthways
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 rosemary sprigs
2 thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 thin strips of orange peel
1 cinnamon quill
2 each small star anise and
cloves
10 black peppercorns
100 ml red wine
1 litre (4 cups) passata
50 gm brown sugar
1 kg boneless trimmed lamb
shoulder, cut into 5cm
pieces
“Nothing really 1 tbsp butter
compares to a Finely grated parmesan,
homemade ragù, to serve
GNOCCHETTI
and once you 250 gm fine semolina, plus extra
discover for dusting
1 tbsp olive oil
pangrattato, ROSEMARY PANGRATTATO
you’ll crave it on 120 gm (2 cups) breadcrumbs
everything.” from day-old crustless
bread processed to coarse
crumbs, then shaken in a
sieve to remove fine crumbs
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp rosemary leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Heat olive oil, vegetables,
garlic and chilli in a large
saucepan over medium heat
and cook, stirring occasionally,
until beginning to soften and
caramelise (10-12 minutes). Add
tomato paste, herbs, peel and
spices, and stir until beginning
to brown (2 minutes). Add red
wine, passata, bring to a simmer,
then add sugar and 2½ tsp salt.
Add lamb, cover directly with a
round of baking paper or with
118 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
a lid, reduce heat to low, and
braise gently until meat is
almost falling apart (2 hours).
Leave to cool (1-2 hours).
2 Meanwhile, for gnocchetti,
mix semolina, olive oil, 125ml
cold water and a pinch of salt
in a bowl until smooth and
combined. Pat into a disc,
wrap tightly in plastic wrap
and leave to rest for an hour.
3 For pangrattato, stir
ingredients in a large frying
pan over low-medium heat
until golden brown and crisp
(15-20 minutes). Drain on paper
towels and leave to cool.
4 Skim any fat from the surface
of the ragù, remove lamb, shred
into small pieces and set aside.
Pass remaining ragù through
a mouli or coarse sieve into a
saucepan, pressing with a large
spoon to get as much pulp as
possible. Discard solids in sieve,
then reduce ragù over medium
heat until thick and glossy
(30-40 minutes). Return lamb
to ragù, adjust seasoning to
taste and keep warm.
5 Roll out gnocchetti dough
on a well-floured bench until
a 1cm-thick square. Cut into
pieces about 1cm x 3cm long,
then roll each piece lengthways
over a gnocchi board, pressing
with your thumb; if you don’t
have a board, form the shape
with a fork. Transfer to trays
dusted with semolina and
scatter with more semolina.
6 Blanch gnochetti in batches
in a large saucepan of boiling
salted water until they float
(1-2 minutes). Transfer to ragù
with a slotted spoon and stir
in butter over low heat. Serve
topped with parmesan and
rosemary pangrattato.
Wine suggestion A nero
d’Avola, such as Brash Higgins
from McClaren Vale. ➤
 Rib-eye steak
with chilli sauce

p 120
 Rib-eye steak with chilli sauce is very soft and the seeds are (15-20 minutes). If you don’t
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 1 HR (PLUS COOLING, RESTING) tender (20-25 minutes). Season have a thermometer, insert a
with sugar and salt, increase metal skewer into the thickest
“The only way to have rib-eye is as a piece of at least a kilo – the heat to medium and simmer part for 30 seconds, then test
thick cut lets you go to town on the outside with charry, caramelised until sauce deepens in colour the heat on your lip – if it’s
flavour while the inside stays rare and juicy,” says Whiteman. “It’s and caramelises (5-8 minutes), hot, the steak is ready. Rest in
the perfect piece of meat to impress and tasty AF.” Pictured p119. then remove from heat and a warm place for 10-15 minutes.
cool. Sauce keeps refrigerated 3 Just before serving, quickly
1 kg untrimmed grass-fed rib 8 garlic cloves in an airtight container and flash steak on barbecue or grill
eye steak, about 5cm thick 125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil topped with oil for 3 weeks. to heat (30 seconds each side).
(see note), brought to room Pinch of caster sugar 2 Heat a barbecue or char-grill Slice and serve with chilli sauce,
temperature about 1 hour pan over high heat and preheat mustard, horseradish cream,
before cooking 1 For chilli sauce, process oven to 110°C. Rub steak with lemon and parmesan to finely
1 tsp olive oil chillies and garlic in a food oil, season generously and grate over steak.
Hot mustard, horseradish processor to coarsely chop. grill, turning occasionally, Note A 1kg piece of rib-eye will
cream, lemon cheeks and Heat oil in a small saucepan until a charred crust forms need to be ordered ahead from
a wedge of parmesan, over medium-high heat until (8-10 minutes). Transfer to a a butcher.
to serve shimmering (1-2 minutes). Add rack placed over a baking tray Wine suggestion A Chianti
CHILLI SAUCE chilli mixture, bring to the boil, and roast until 50°C-55°C at the Classico such as Podere
10 long red chillies, stalks then reduce heat to low and thickest point when checked Le Boncie “Le Trame”
removed, roughly chopped simmer gently until the flesh with a meat thermometer Chianti Classico.

120 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Cucumber, olive and
roasted-onion salad
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 10 MINS // COOK 25 MINS (PLUS PICKLING, COOLING)

“Cold salty cucumber just makes us happy,” says Whiteman.

“This salad came about because we wanted all our favourite
things in one bowl – sweet roasted onions, briny olives and
refreshing cucumber. We work in a hot tin shed surrounded by
wood fire so we love the fresh cooling efect of this tasty salad.”

2 Lebanese cucumbers, 1 Combine cucumber with

chopped into 2cm-3cm
chunks
1 tsp caster sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
5 salad onions, green
tops thinly sliced
and reserved
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup (40gm) black olives,
coarsely chopped
½ cup watercress leaves
½ cup mint leaves, torn
2 oregano sprigs, coarsely
chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp honey
sugar, garlic and 1 tsp sea
salt in a bowl and leave to
pickle for at least 1 hour or
refrigerate to pickle overnight.
2 Preheat oven to 200°C.
Toss onion bulbs with half
the olive oil, transfer to an
oven tray lined with baking
paper and roast, turning
occasionally, until softened
and starting to caramelise
(25-30 minutes). Cool, then
quarter onions lengthways.
3 Drain cucumber, combine
with onions, olives, watercress,
mint, oregano and onion tops.
Dress with lemon juice, honey
and remaining olive oil. Season
with cracked black pepper –
the cucumber and olives are
already salty – and serve. ➤
 Witlof, grapefruit and pecorino salad
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 10 MINS

“Bitterness is a flavour we love and crave,” says Eggert. “It’s

often overlooked and not celebrated, but not in this salad.
We serve the bitter fresh witlof with acidic grapefruit pieces
and balance it out with chives and pecorino. It’s a perfect
accompaniment to a rich sweet ragù, or roasted beef.”

2 red or white witlof, rinsed 1 Combine witlof, grapefruit,

and dried
1 ruby grapefruit, peeled
segmented, and
segments halved
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp chardonnay vinegar
2 tbsp chive batons
40 gm pecorino cheese,
shaved
olive oil, vinegar and half the
chives in a large bowl. Season
to taste and gently toss to
coat. Transfer to a plate and
serve scattered with pecorino
and remaining chives.

Grilled Roman beans

SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 1½ HRS

“Crisp bacon bits! What’s not to love?” says Eggert. “Roman beans
are easily our favourite bean. They aren’t around all year, so get
them when you can. They’re meaty and hardy enough to take a
good smoky grilling – almost the perfect vegetable in our book.”

1 large head of garlic crisp (12-15 minutes). Drain

60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin
olive oil
75 gm smoked bacon
rashers, diced
400 gm passata
300 gm Roman beans, or other
long bean
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Sit
garlic on a double layer of foil,
drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil,
wrap and roast until tender
(45-60 minutes). Unwrap and
leave to cool.
2 Meanwhile, in a small frying
pan, fry bacon over medium-low
heat, stirring often, until fat
renders and bacon becomes
on paper towel.
3 Simmer passata in a
saucepan over medium heat,
stirring often, until very thick
(18-20 minutes). Remove from
heat. Squeeze roasted garlic
out of its skin and coarsely
chop. Fold into tomato sauce
and season to taste.
4 Heat a char-grill pan over
high heat. Toss beans with
1 tsp oil, season to taste and
grill, pressing them on the base
of the pan, until lightly charred
and softened (3-4 minutes each
side). Halve widthways, add to
sauce along with lemon juice
and remaining oil. Scatter with
bacon and serve.

122 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Hazelnut tiramisù
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS //
COOK 5 MINS (PLUS CHILLING)
“We don’t know many people
who don’t lose their minds
over a good tiramisù,” says
Eggert. “We pop a big spoonful
of Nutella in the bottom of the
bowl when we serve it for
a little extra chocolate hit.”
Start this recipe a day ahead
to let the biscuits soften
and the cream firm up.
3 egg yolks
75 gm caster sugar
2 tbsp Frangelico
500 gm mascarpone
250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream
220 gm savoiardi biscuits
400 ml espresso
Dutch-process cocoa
powder, for dusting
45 gm (⅓ cup) roasted
hazelnuts, skins rubbed
of in a tea towel,
coarsely crushed
1 Whisk yolks, 25gm sugar
and Frangelico in a heatproof
bowl over a large saucepan of
simmering water until thick and
pale (5-7 minutes). Remove
bowl and whisk in mascarpone
a third at a time, ensuring each
third is fully incorporated before
adding the next.
2 Whisk cream and remaining
sugar in a separate bowl until
soft peaks form, then fold cream
into mascarpone mixture with a
large metal spoon until smooth.
3 Dip savoiardi in cofee, then
place in a 20cm-square cake
tin or 2-litre ceramic dish to
form an even single layer
(you should use about half
the biscuits here). Spread with
half the mascarpone mixture,
add another layer of cofee-
soaked biscuits, then spread
with remaining mascarpone
and refrigerate for at least
eight hours or ideally overnight.
4 Dust with cocoa and scatter
with crushed hazelnuts to serve.
Wine suggestion Pellegrino
Passito di Pantelleria, or
a Negroni. ●
 th
Spice-roasted
pork with
coleslaw

p 128
e roast
Inspired by the change of season, chef
Brigitte Hafner of Melbourne restaurant Gertrude
Street Enoteca, cranks up the heat with a suite
of large-format roasts designed for comfort.

Recipes BRIGITTE HAFNER Photography BEN DEARNLEY

Styling CLAIRE DELMAR

Food preparation JACLYN KOLUDROVIC

Drink suggestions MAX ALLEN

 Duck with orange and quatre épices
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 2 HRS 15 MINS (PLUS RESTING)

“I like to cook duck so the meat is well-done and the juices run
clear,” says Brigitte Hafner. “It’s the most delicious way, and makes
it much easier to carve. It’s important to rest the meat for at least
20 minutes – that way the flavours come together and the texture
is way better. I often start roasting a duck at three in the afternoon,
then simply reheat it for 15 minutes and carve it at the table.”

1 carrot, coarsely chopped 1 For quatre épices, finely grind

2 celery stalks, coarsely
chopped
1 small onion, coarsely
chopped
250 ml (1 cup) red wine
1 orange, pierced several
times with a sharp knife
2 bay leaves
1 duck (2.2kg), rinsed and
patted dry
Olive oil, for drizzling
QUATRE ÉPICES
1 nutmeg, finely grated
1 cinnamon quill
1 tsp white peppercorns
6 whole cloves
spices in a spice grinder or with
a mortar and pestle.
2 Preheat oven to 170°C. Place
carrot, celery and onion in the
base of a large roasting pan,
pour in red wine and place
orange and bay leaves inside
duck. Sprinkle duck generously
all over with quatre épices,
season with salt, then set on top
of vegetables. Roast until golden
brown and juices run clear when
a thigh is pierced with a skewer
(1¾-2 hours). Carefully pour
juices into a small saucepan,
cover duck loosely with foil and
set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
3 While duck is resting, allow
fat to settle on top of pan juices,
then spoon of excess. Remove
orange and bay from duck, halve
the orange and squeeze juice
and pulp from one half into pan
juices. Stir over medium-high
heat until reduced slightly
(2-3 minutes).
4 Spoon pan juices over duck
and drizzle with oil to serve.
Wine suggestion Your finest
pinot noir.

126 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Whole snapper 1 large (about 3.4kg)
snapper, cleaned and
roasted with scaled (see note)
curry lavours Lime wedges (optional)
and steamed rice (optional),
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS
// COOK 45 MINS (PLUS MARINATING)
to serve
CURRY PASTE
“Fish cooked on the bone has so 4 garlic cloves, coarsely
much more flavour and moisture chopped
than fillets,” says Hafner. “This 3 long red chillies, seeds
recipe is for one large snapper that removed, coarsely chopped
you can put in the middle of the 15 gm ginger (about 3cm),
table. It’s really fresh and goes coarsely chopped
well with a green mango salad or 5 gm turmeric (1 small piece),
stir-fried spinach with ginger and coarsely chopped
garlic and some coconut rice.” 5 coriander roots and stems
(roots scraped), coarsely
chopped
1½ lemongrass stalks (white
part only) finely chopped
1½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp ground coriander seeds
1½ tbsp mild-flavoured
extra-virgin olive oil
ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN
1 For curry paste, blend
ingredients (except olive oil)
in a food processor with a large
pinch of salt to a smooth paste,
transfer to a bowl and stir in oil
to combine.
2 Rinse snapper, pat dry with
paper towels, and score deeply
on both sides four times with
a sharp knife. Rub all over with
curry paste and refrigerate for
30 minutes to marinate.
3 Preheat oven to 175°C and
line a roasting pan with baking
paper. Roast snapper in pan
until just cooked through
(40-45 minutes; the flesh should
pull away from the bone near
the head, which is the thickest
part). Rest for 5 minutes and
serve with rice.
Note If a large snapper won’t
fit into your oven with the
head attached, ask your
fishmonger to remove it for
you, as we’ve done.
Wine suggestion Fragrant
dry gewürztraminer. ➤
 Spice-roasted pork with coleslaw Mushroom parcels
SERVES 6-8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 4 HRS 30 MINS (PLUS MARINATING, RESTING) SERVES 4 AS A SIDE OR LIGHT MEAL
// PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 25 MINS
“I’m excited about the growing availability of pasture-reared pork,”
says Hafner. “It’s far more flavourful, and the pigs have a better life. “Autumn is a great time for
I like to roast the shoulder until it’s well done so the intramuscular mushrooms,” says Hafner. “If
fat renders out into the meat, keeping it succulent.” Pictured p124. you’re lucky enough to find wild
mushrooms such as pine or
3star anise 1 Finely grind spices in a spice is pierced with a sharp knife slippery jack, throw them in.”
1cinnamon quill grinder or with a mortar and or a skewer (3¾-4¼ hours; see
1tsp white peppercorns pestle, transfer to a bowl and note). Set aside uncovered to 500 gm mixed mushrooms,
1tbsp coriander seeds combine with lemon rind and rest for 30 minutes. such as portobello, enoki,
Finely grated rind of olive oil. Rub marinade into 3 Meanwhile, for coleslaw, king brown, shiitake and
½ lemon the pork flesh (not the skin), combine ingredients in a bowl Swiss brown, large ones
80 ml (⅓ cup) olive oil season and refrigerate to and season to taste. halved or quartered
3 kg boneless pork shoulder marinate (3 hours). Score pork 4 Serve sliced pork and 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin
Sourdough bread or bread skin at 1cm intervals with a very crackling with coleslaw olive oil
rolls (optional), to serve sharp knife, sprinkle skin liberally and bread rolls. 60 gm butter
COLESLAW with fine sea salt and tie with Note If pork skin hasn’t crisped 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¼ Savoy cabbage, thinly kitchen string to secure. in this time, increase oven to 8 thyme sprigs
sliced 2 Preheat oven to 170°C. its highest setting and cook Thickly sliced sourdough,
½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced Place pork in a roasting pan and pork until skin crackles. brushed with olive oil and
1 pink lady apple, cut into roast until skin is crisp and deep Cider suggestion Rustic grilled, to serve
julienne golden brown and the juices scrumpy.
½ cup (firmly packed) mint, just start to run clear when pork 1 Preheat oven to 190°C. Lay
torn two large pieces of baking paper
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste on a large piece of foil. Toss
60 ml (¼ cup) mild-flavoured mushrooms in olive oil, then
extra virgin olive oil place one-quarter in the centre
of paper, top with one-quarter
butter, garlic and thyme, season
to taste and wrap tightly. Repeat
with remaining ingredients to
make three more parcels.
2 Bake mushroom parcels on a
baking tray until tender and full
of lovely juices (20-25 minutes).
Serve with grilled sourdough.
Wine suggestion Gutsy
grenache.

128 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 1 kg chicken wings
Extra-virgin olive oil and
lemon wedges, to serve
Chicken wings with adjika ADJIKA
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
SERVES 4-6 WITH SIDES // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS MARINATING, RESTING)
3 long red chillies, seeds
“My friend Renee Trudeau introduced me to this intriguing removed, coarsely chopped
spice paste, which she came across on holiday in Georgia,” says 2 garlic cloves, coarsely
Hafner. “It’s kind of a Georgian harissa, and can go over meat chopped
once it’s been roasted or grilled or can be used as a marinade. ¼ cup (firmly packed)
It’s quite spicy and completely delicious. Thanks Renee!” coriander, coarsely chopped
¼ red capsicum, coarsely
chopped
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp white vinegar
60 ml (¼ cup) mild-flavoured
extra-virgin olive oil
1 For adjika, process ingredients
(except oil) in a food processor
to combine, then add oil and
blend to a fine paste. Rub
adjika all over chicken
and refrigerate to marinate
(4-6 hours or overnight).
2 Preheat oven to 175°C.
Add wings to a large roasting
pan, then roast, turning every
15 minutes, until wings are
golden and cooked through
(30-45 minutes). Set aside
loosely covered with foil to rest
(10-15 minutes), then drizzle
with oil and serve with lemon.
Wine suggestion Something
amber-coloured, preferably
from Georgia. ➤
Roast chicken with tarragon,
garlic and lemon
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 1 HR 15 MINS (PLUS RESTING)

“This is my standard roast chook,” says Hafner. “It’s

super-easy and delicious. I use tarragon because it’s
such a good match with chicken and it grows wild in
my garden, but sage or thyme also work really well.”

50 gm butter, softened
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup (firmly packed) tarragon
leaves, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Finely grated rind
of 1 lemon
1 chicken (1.4kg-1.8kg),
brought to room
temperature
Lemon halves, for
squeezing

1 Preheat oven to 175°C.

Combine butter, oil, tarragon,
garlic and lemon rind in a bowl.
Carefully separate skin from
breast of chicken by running
your fingers under skin, keeping
skin intact. Evenly distribute
most of the herb butter under
skin with your hands, rubbing
remaining over the chicken.
Season chicken with salt, then
truss legs with kitchen string
and fold wings under. Transfer
to a roasting pan and roast,
basting every 20 minutes, until
the juices run clear when a
thigh is pierced with a skewer
(45 minutes for a 1.4kg chicken
and up to 1 hour 15 minutes
for a 1.8kg chicken). Set aside
loosely covered with foil to
rest (15-20 minutes), then serve
with pan juices mixed with a
squeeze of lemon to spoon over.
Wine suggestion The best
chardonnay you can afford.
Lamb shawarma
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 25 MINS // COOK 4 HRS 40 MINS (PLUS MARINATING)

“I love a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb, cooked until the meat is falling of the bone,” says Hafner.
“The shoulder has more fat than the leg so I like to cook it until it’s well-done and the fat’s rendered
out, which moistens the meat. Always rest it covered and in a warm place to allow the meat to relax.
I like this lamb flaked into large pieces with a sprinkle of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle of
the fatty juices from the pan. Serve it with flatbread and a crisp salad – something with a bit of acid
to contrast the rich meat, like orange, shaved fennel, rocket, sumac and red onion.”

1 lamb shoulder (about 2kg),
bone in
Lemon halves, for
squeezing
Salad of orange segments,
fennel, rocket, sumac and
red onion, dressed with
lemon juice and olive oil,
to serve
Toasted flatbread, to serve
SPICE PASTE
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon quill
Seeds from 6 cardamon
pods, husk discarded
6 cloves
1 tbsp paprika
1 cup (loosely packed)
coriander, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Olive oil, for drizzling
GARLIC YOGHURT
220 gm Greek-style yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
1 For spice paste, dry-roast
whole spices in a frying pan
until fragrant (30-40 seconds;
see cook’s notes p176). Cool,
then finely grind in a spice
grinder or with a mortar and
pestle. Stir in paprika, coriander
and garlic, then stir in enough
oil to loosen and form an easily
spreadable paste.
2 Place lamb in a non-reactive
container (see cook’s notes
p176), rub paste all over lamb
and refrigerate to marinate
(4-6 hours or overnight).
3 Preheat oven to 160°C.
Season lamb with salt and
place in a roasting pan with
1.5cm water. Cover with a layer
of baking paper, seal tightly with
foil, then braise in oven until
lamb is very tender (3½-4 hours;
it should feel soft to the touch
through the foil). Remove foil,
increase heat to 180°C and
roast until lamb is golden brown
(25-35 minutes). Remove from
oven and loosely re-cover with
foil to rest (20-30 minutes).
4 For garlic yoghurt, combine
yoghurt and garlic in a bowl,
season to taste with lemon juice,
and refrigerate until required.
5 Squeeze lemon over lamb,
top with pan juices, season with
salt flakes and serve with salad,
garlic yoghurt and flatbread.
Wine suggestion Spicy
young syrah. ●
R In her new book, Japan: The Cookbook, renowned authority
on Japanese cooking Nancy Singleton Hachisu delves, recipe
by recipe, into one of the world’s most revered cuisines.
Recipes NANCY SINGLETON HACHISU

I
S
I
N Spinach and
udon soup

p 139

G
Okonomiyaki

p 137 S
U
N
 T
oday’s food distribution systems are such that almost
all global foods are available in Japan. This has diluted
traditional culinary mores, and one ironic result of that
is an increased nostalgia for those very traditions. All
kinds of Japanese ingredients, even somewhat obscure ones from
small producers, are also now accessible throughout Japan, which
has given rise to a renewed interest and excitement about
previously regional Japanese foods.
Japan: The Cookbook is not an examination of “regional”
cooking traditions, as much as a curated experience of Japan’s
culinary framework from a specific moment in time. Using both
fine and generous strokes, I have put together what I hope is a
broad and rich picture of the food of this island nation.
Mostly, the Japanese I talked to shook their heads at the Stir-fried chicken and garlic chives
prospect of capturing all of Japanese food between two covers. SERVES 6 // PREP 15 MINS // COOK 5 MINS
The obstacles to such an endeavour are many, one being that the
origins of classic Japanese food came from the upper classes and “This dish hinges on being smothered in garlic chives,” says Nancy
were without immediate visible regional roots. This homogeneity Singleton Hachisu. “Be sure to use whole chives, not just the tops.”
also extends to “town food”, spawned from eateries in urban areas 2 tbsp canola oil 1 Heat canola oil in a large
such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Certainly local foods exist today, 600 gm boneless, skinless heavy frying pan over high
but generally there is less regional variety than one would expect. chicken thighs, cut into heat until shimmering. Scrape
Like everywhere, modern-day Japanese rely on convenience 3cm cubes in chicken and stir-fry to sear all
foods and instant preparations. Part of why I immerse myself in 12 fat garlic chives (about surfaces, about 3 minutes. Add
PORTRAIT COURTESY OF NANCY SINGLETON HACHISU

Japanese cuisine is to advocate for a look back at the traditional 75gm), cut into 2cm pieces garlic chives and reduce heat
and artisanal. Sourcing top Japanese ingredients, at least in the 2 tbsp soy sauce to medium. Toss until chives are
initial learning curve time, is essential. Well-made ingredients will 1 tbsp mirin starting to wilt, about 1 minute.
be excellent teachers in and of themselves, although there is no 1 small dried chilli, thinly Add soy sauce, mirin and chilli,
obligation to use every ingredient. These dishes are also written sliced into rings toss to coat, then cover and
1 tsp gold sesame oil cook for 1 minute. Uncover,
with a baseline flavour in mind – if more salt, sweet, sour, or spice
(see note) or sesame oil add sesame oil and cook for
is desired, adjust accordingly.
Steamed Japanese rice, 1-2 more minutes to reduce
I believe the unique approach to Japanese food and the recipes to serve liquid. Serve with rice.
in this book have been replaced with quicker, more convenient Note Gold sesame oil is made
foods or cooking methods. I like to think this more traditional way from gold sesame seeds.
of eating and cooking is not lost – just overlooked. And it is my Singleton Hachisu recommends
hope that the recipes in this volume will speak to home cooks in Wadaman gold sesame oil,
Japan and around the world, as much as they have spoken to me. available online.

134 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
Vinegared octopus and wakame
SERVES 4 AS A SMALL BITE // PREP 15 MINS
“Octopus has a chewy yet creamy texture that holds up well in vinegar
treatments such as this one,” says Singleton Hachisu.
100 gm boiled octopus
(see note)
100 gm fresh wakame (see
note), or 3 heaped tbsp
dried wakame soaked in
cold water for 20 minutes
1 tbsp katsuobushi dashi
(see recipe p137)
1½ tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp mirin
½ tsp soy sauce
1 Bring a saucepan of water
to the boil and boil the kettle.
Place octopus in a metal sieve
and pour a steady stream of
boiling water over it for a count
of five. Pat dry and cut on the
diagonal into slices 5cm wide.
If using fresh wakame, cut the
wakame crosswise into 3cm
pieces, then put it in a sieve and
dip it in and out of the saucepan
of boiling water. Refresh in cold
running water until cool, then
drain well. (If using reconstituted
dried wakame, drain it and cut
it crosswise into 3cm pieces.)
2 Dry wakame in a tea towel.
Stir dashi, vinegar, mirin, soy
and ¼ tsp salt together. Toss
with octopus and wakame, and
serve. This salad will keep for
2-3 days in the refrigerator.
Note For boiled octopus, start
with 1 (250gm) cleaned octopus.
Remove beak and bring a large
saucepan of water to the boil.
Dunk octopus in and out of the
water three times, then simmer
over low heat until tender and
cooked through (1 hour). Drain
and refrigerate until needed.
You’ll need 100gm for this
recipe. Reserve remaining for
another use. Fresh wakame
is available from select
seafood suppliers. ➤
 Sesame-dressed
greens and carrots

Sesame-dressed greens and carrots

SERVES 4 // PREP 10 MINS // COOK 10 MINS

“This dish is quick to execute, so works well for lunch or a casual

evening meal,” says Singleton Hachisu. “Substitute spinach or mustard
greens if komatsuna (Japanese mustard greens) are not available.”

185 gm komatsuna (Japanese
mustard greens; see note)
or English spinach
300 ml (1¼ cups) katsuobushi
dashi (see recipe opposite)
½ tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 small carrot, scrubbed
and cut into 1cm x 4cm
rectangles
2 sasami (chicken
tenderloins; see note)
or 100gm skinless, boneless
chicken breast
30 gm gold sesame seeds (see
note) or white sesame seeds
1½ tbsp gold sesame oil
(see note) or sesame oil
1 Bring a large saucepan of
salted water to the boil over high
heat. Lower the komatsuna stem
ends into the water (do not let
go) for a count of 10 seconds,
then submerge the greens in
the boiling water and cook for
30 seconds until just tender.
Drain and refresh under cold
running water or in an ice bath.
Drain well, pat dry and cut
crosswise into 2cm-3cm lengths.
2 Measure out 1½ tbsp dashi
into a small bowl and set
aside. Add remaining dashi to
a saucepan and add the mirin,
¼ tsp sea salt flakes and 1 tbsp
soy sauce. Bring to a simmer
over medium-high heat, drop
in the carrot, and simmer for
1 minute until just tender. Scoop
out with a small metal sieve and
discard the liquid.
3 Bring a large saucepan of
water to the boil. Place the
chicken tenders in a metal
sieve and dip into boiling water
for 2-3 minutes. (If using chicken
breast, dip in for 7 minutes.)
Shake of excess water, then
tear chicken into shreds.
4 Roast sesame seeds in small,
dry frying pan over medium
heat, shaking the pan and lifting
of the heat if needed to avoid
scorching, for 2-3 minutes
until fragrant. While still hot,
pound the seeds in a suribachi
(grinding bowl), with a mortar
and pestle, or whirl the seeds in
a spice grinder until mostly
broken down. Whisk in
remaining soy sauce, ¼ tsp
sea salt flakes and reserved
dashi. Once combined, whisk in
the sesame oil until emulsified.
5 Toss the komatsuna, carrot,
and chicken with the sesame
dressing to serve.
Note Komatsuna is available
from select Japanese grocers.
Chicken tenderloins are
available from butchers and
select supermarkets. Gold
(unhulled) sesame seeds
are available from Herbie’s
Spices. Wadaman gold
sesame oil is available online.

136 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Okonomiyaki
MAKES 2 LARGE PANCAKES // PREP 20 MINS // COOK 25 MINS

“There are myriad regional variations of these jam-packed

pancakes, most popular in the area around Osaka and Hiroshima,”
says Singleton Hachisu. “Prepare for a casual family meal, or have
a make-your-own party using a portable tabletop burner. Feel free
to omit or substitute the pork or dried shrimp.” Pictured p133.

1 (300gm) boneless pork 4 Heat 2 large lightweight

chop, about 3cm thick,
at room temperature
1 tsp flaky sea salt
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
200 gm (1⅓ cups) udon flour
(see note) or unbleached
pastry flour
300 gm (about ¼ small) green
cabbage, finely shredded
3 fat spring onions, finely
chopped
4 tbsp small dried shrimp
(see note)
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
(optional; see note)
1 tbsp aonori (powdered
green nori; see note)
2 tbsp red pickled ginger, cut
into fine julienne
Katsuobushi dashi 2 handfuls freshly shaved
katsuobushi (bonito flakes;
MAKES 300ML // PREP 10 MINS // COOK 10 MINS
see note) or hanakatsuo
“This method for making dashi yields a highly flavoured
broth that holds up to the artisanal seasonings and seasonal 1 Sprinkle pork with ½ tsp
vegetables recommended in this book,” says Singleton Hachisu. sea salt flakes. In a small, heavy
“For a lighter version, shared by Sakai Shoten, an artisanal frying pan, stand the pork up,
katsuobushi producer in Kagoshima prefecture, see the variation. fat-side down, while holding
The dashi will lose a little brightness over time, but nonetheless it upright with a pair of tongs,
any unused portion can be stored in the refrigerator for a day.” and sear over high heat for
30 seconds to render the fat.
10 cm square (5gm-7gm) Note For a variation, soak konbu Lay the chop down and sear
konbu (see note) in a small saucepan with 500ml for 1 minute on both sides. Cover
1 handful (about 5gm) cold water for 1 hour. Heat slowly and cook over medium heat for
freshly shaved katsuobushi over low heat until small bubbles 30 seconds more on each side.
(bonito flakes; see note) or appear on base of pan. Remove Transfer to a cutting board and
hanakatsuo konbu and increase heat to rest for 5 minutes, then cut into
medium. Bring the water to a fine “sticks” or lardons.
1 Place konbu in a small simmer and remove from the 2 Stir Worcestershire and
saucepan and add 500ml cold heat. Stir in 3 small handfuls of tomato sauce together in a small
water. Bring to a near simmer (15gm) katsuobushi and steep bowl and set aside until needed.
over medium-high heat. Remove for 2 minutes. Strain through a 3 Whisk flour and ½ tsp sea salt
the konbu, drop in katsuobushi sieve lined with muslin and let flakes in a bowl, then add pork,
and simmer gently over low heat sit for 1 minute before using. cabbage, negi, shrimp, and
for about 8 minutes. Remove Bonito flakes and konbu eggs. With a pair of saibashi
from the heat and steep for 8 are available from Asian (cooking chopsticks), slowly mix
minutes. Strain the dashi through supermarkets and grocers. in 125ml water to form a loose,
a wire mesh sieve before using. chunky batter.
frying pans over medium-low
heat. Once you can feel
the heat rising from the pans,
add 1 tbsp canola oil to each
pan. Ladle half the batter into
each pan, smearing it around
in a circular motion to evenly
distribute the ingredients across
the surface of the pan, then
cover and cook slowly until the
edges have dried a little and
the pancake is golden brown
on the bottom (6-8 minutes).
(Steam will accumulate on the
inside of the lid, so take care
to wipe the water droplets of
every once in a while.)
5 Invert a large dinner plate
over a pan and, wearing oven
mitts, flip the pan upside-down
so the pancake is on the plate,
then slide the pancake back
into the pan. Repeat with the
second pancake. Cook both
pancakes over medium heat
until cooked through and
the bottom is lightly browned
(3-4 minutes).
6 Slide each okonomiyaki
onto a large clean plate. Smear
each with 2 tbsp Worcestershire
and tomato sauce mixture (this
takes the place of okonomiyaki
sauce), squeeze a little
mayonnaise over the top in a
crosshatch or a wiggly pattern,
sprinkle with aonori, ginger,
and a handful of katsuobushi.
Cut into wedges to serve.
Note Udon flour, aonori and
bonito flakes are available from
Japanese grocers. Small dried
shrimp are available from Thai
grocers. Japanese mayonnaise
is available from Asian grocers
and select supermarkets
(Singleton Hachisu recommends
Matsuda brand or a high-quality
French mayonnaise). ➤

Agedashi tofu
with grated
daikon
SERVES 6 // PREP 40 MINS
// COOK 15 MINS
“Simmering agedashi tofu with
grated daikon helps mitigate
the oil that seeps into the
dashi,” says Singleton Hachisu.
2 (300gm each) blocks
momendofu (see note)
or Japanese-style soft
block tofu
4 tbsp potato starch
Neutral oil, such as canola,
peanut, or safflower, for
deep-frying
15 cm piece konbu (see note)
⅓ cup (80ml) soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp sake
½ tsp fine sea salt
250 gm (1 cup) finely grated
daikon
138 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
1 tbsp grated ginger
Nori (optional), snipped into
fine threads, to serve
Thinly sliced spring onion,
thinly sliced shiso, bonito
flakes and sliced myoga (all
optional; see note), to serve
1 Set the tofu on a cutting
board next to the kitchen
sink and prop a small saucer
underneath to angle the board
into the sink (to catch drips). Lay
another cutting board on top of
the tofu to press out moisture
for 20 minutes. The board
should not be too heavy – the
tofu must keep its shape.
2 Halve the tofu lengthwise
and then cut each half into thirds
crosswise. Sprinkle half the
potato starch on a large sheet
of baking paper and arrange the
tofu on top, leaving room for
rolling. Sprinkle the rest of the
potato starch over the tofu and
nudge the pieces around gently
to coat evenly with starch.
3 Heat 8cm oil in a heavy-based
deep saucepan over high heat
until hot but not smoking. Shake
excess starch of tofu, and in
batches, drop the tofu into the
oil and fry until golden brown
(30 seconds to 2 minutes). Drain
on paper towels.
4 Place the konbu in the base
of a heavy medium saucepan.
Add 500ml water, the soy
sauce, mirin, sake, and salt.
Bring to a lively simmer over
medium-high heat and cook for
3 minutes. Carefully nestle the
fried tofu in the broth, top with
the daikon, and gently simmer
until the daikon has absorbed
flavour (3 minutes).
5 Place two pieces of tofu each
in 6 deep-sided saucers, ladle
the daikon dashi over, and
serve hot with garnishes of
your choosing.
Note Momendofu or momen
tofu, a semi-firm tofu, is available
from Japanese grocers and
select supermarkets. Konbu is
available from Asian grocers.
Myoga, Japanese ginger, is hard
to source in Australia, substitute
young ginger cut into julienne.
Garlic chive soup
SERVES 6 // PREP 20 MINS
// COOK 10 MINS (PLUS SOAKING)

“Garlic chives and eggs are a

classic pairing, the addition of
cod, however, lends a note of
richness,” says Singleton
Hachisu. “This is clearly a
restorative, delicious soup.”
Begin this recipe a day ahead
to soak the konbu.

150 gm skinless white fish

(such as bar cod or blue-
eye), cut into 2cm cubes
1 tsp usukuchi shoyu
(see note) or light soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
2 eggs, at room temperature
8 garlic chives, cut into
1cm lengths
½ tsp freshly ground
black peppercorns
Steamed Japanese rice
(optional), to serve
KONBU DASHI
6 squares (10 cm) konbu
(45gm total; see note)

1 For konbu dashi, soak konbu

overnight in a small saucepan
with 1.5 litres cold water. Strain
through a metal sieve before
using as a vegetarian stock.
(Alternatively, bring konbu to a
near boil, remove from heat, and
steep for 1 hour before draining
and using.) Makes 1.2 litres.
2 Place the cod pieces in a
metal sieve and pour a steady
stream of boiling water over
them for 10 seconds.
3 Combine 1 litre dashi (freeze
remaining for another use), 1 tsp
salt, usukuchi shoyu and sake
in a saucepan and bring to a
simmer over medium heat.
4 Beat eggs and garlic chives
in a small bowl to combine. Slide
cod into simmering broth and
return to a boil. Give eggs a
quick whisk to re-emulsify and
swirl into the soup. Adjust heat
to low and cook until eggs are
just set but still runny in places,
another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle
black pepper over the top and
serve by ladling into small bowls
or over a bowl of rice.
Note Usukuchi shoyu, light
Japanese soy sauce, is available
from Japanese grocers. Konbu
is available from Asian grocers.
Garlic chive soup
Spinach and udon soup
SERVES 6 // PREP 20 MINS // COOK 5 MINS
“The chicken soup and egg lend richness to this quick noodle soup,”
says Singleton Hachisu. “Spinach is the dominant ingredient with a
small amount of udon to add a bit of starch.” Pictured p132.
3 eggs, at room temperature 3 Cook udon in a separate pan
400 gm English spinach of boiling water until just tender
125 gm dried udon noodles (6-8 minutes). Rinse in a large
1 litre chicken stock, heated bowl of cold water.
¾ tsp soy sauce 3 Divide udon among 6 large
Shichimi togarashi donburi (deep soup bowls).
(optional), to serve Top each bowl with the spinach
and half an egg. Pour the hot
1 Bring a small saucepan of chicken broth into the bowl
water to the boil. Add eggs and and sprinkle with 1-2 pinches
cook until just set, but not runny of salt and shichimi togarashi
(8 minutes). Cool completely or freshly ground black pepper.
under cold, running water, then Serve immediately. This extract from Japan: The
peel and slice in half. Note Shichimi togarashi, Cookbook by Nancy Singleton
Hachisu (Phaidon, hbk,
2 Cook spinach in a separate a Japanese spice blend, is
$59.95, available 6 April) has
large saucepan of boiling water available from Asian and been reproduced with minor
for 1 minute, refresh under cold Japanese grocers. ● GT style changes.
running water, then squeeze
dry. Cut crosswise into thirds.
 BEST RIVER CRUISE BEST INTERNATIONAL BEST DOMESTIC
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2015-2016 2014-2015 2012-2016

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 APRIL

TRAVEL A shore thing

Cruising through Russia, tall tales in Cornwall,
and Hollywood glamour comes to Sydney.

Newquay, in Cornwall,
southwest England

p 152
PHOTOGRAPHY HELEN CATHCART
Russian enigma

Like a Russian doll, the enigmatic character of the world’s

largest nation is revealed in layers on a river cruise from
Saint Petersburg to Moscow, writes ALEXANDER LOBRANO.
Photography SIMON BAJADA
 ia
ss
u
R

Finland Kizhi

Lake Ladoga

Neva River Volga River

Baltic Sea
Saint
Petersburg
Estonia

Uglich
Yaroslavl

Moscow

I
n the pit below the gold-embroidered theatre
scrim emblazoned with a double-headed
imperial Russian eagle, the orchestra is
warming up on a chilly autumn evening in
Saint Petersburg. Their brows furrowed, they
test and tune their instruments with the kind
of intense concentration I recall in the characters of
Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Turgenev, the leading lights
of the famously intense Russian canon that I laboured
through many years ago at university.
In a different way, I’m limbering up, too, since this
is the first night of a highly anticipated journey by ship
into the heart of Russia. I’ve long been curious about
life in the world’s largest nation, but also humbled by
the scale of this Slavic enigma. I owe my grail to the
18th-century Romantic poet Lord Byron, who wrote:
“Admittedly there are other ways of making the world’s
acquaintance. But the traveller is a slave to his senses;
his grasp of a fact can only be complete when reinforced
by sensory evidence; he can know the world, in fact,
only when he sees, hears, and smells it.”
Despite the dulling scents of damp wool and wet
leather in the overheated air, there’s an aura of collective
wonderment in the audience, comprised mainly of my
fellow passengers aboard the Viking Ingvar. “I still can’t
believe I’m actually sitting here, in Russia,” whispers the
woman next to me. “When I was a girl in grade school
in Massachusetts, we had air-raid drills to practise hiding
under our desks if there was a Russian missile attack.
I doubt our desks would have saved us, but it stamped
our young minds with ideas about the Soviet Union.”
She shrugs, “I guess you could call that propaganda.”
We’re in the lavishly gilded private theatre of
Catherine the Great in the Hermitage Museum, which
also houses her 18th-century Winter Palace. Now the
conductor arrives, and bows to the audience. He raises
his arms, holding them aloft just a second or two
longer than anyone expects to insist on silence, and the
performance by the Saint Petersburg State Governor’s
Symphony begins. The exquisitely doleful opening

144 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 notes of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake draw
to the stage a cast of long-limbed
dancers in white tutus from the
theatre’s own company, and we watch
as the story of doomed love unfolds
between Prince Siegfried and Odette,
the swan maiden. I think of it as a
profoundly Russian tale, because
embedded in the ballet’s tragic story
is an implicit celebration of the Slavic
soul, the cardinal points of which are
pride, perseverance and discipline.
And so, as often happens at the
beginning of a great trip, I find the wick
of my journey – the chance it will offer
to fathom the uniquely intense and
complex Russian character.
Peter the Great built his magnificent
Saint Petersburg in the 18th century,
on the marshy delta of the Neva river
PREVIOUS PAGES where it empties into the Baltic Sea, to be Russia’s
Left: Winter Palace, window on the West. Our 13-day cruise will take us
Saint Petersburg.
Right: Saint deep into the countryside and then to Moscow, the
Basil’s Cathedral, citadel of Russian power and pride. There’s a refrain of
Moscow. Above: discovery on the journey between these two cities as we
Pavilion Hall of the
Small Hermitage,
match reality to places we’ve only ever seen on maps or
Winter Palace, read about. We’re all surprised by the enormousness of
Saint Petersburg; Lake Ladoga, for example, and later by the similarly
Top right: Church
of the Saviour on
unexpected beauty of the 11th-century city of Yaroslavl,
Spilled Blood, Saint built on a bluff overlooking the Volga.
Petersburg. Bottom Since the allure of a trip to Russia is decidedly
right: bayan player,
cerebral compared with that of Mediterranean
Moscow. Opposite:
Top: soldiers by destinations, Viking River Cruises arranges tours and
the State Duma lectures tailored for a well-informed and intellectually
building, Moscow. curious audience during our four days in Saint
Left: the Winter
Palace, Saint Petersburg. There’s a private-access visit to the
Petersburg. Hermitage, one of the world’s great art museums, and
I join an excursion to the Catherine Palace in Pushkin,
a daytrip south of Saint Petersburg, with its Amber
Room rightly described as the “eighth wonder of the
world”. On a sunny afternoon, a daytrip to Peterhof
Palace, the country estate founded by Peter the Great
in 1709 on the shore of the Baltic Sea, is dazzling; its
gravity-powered Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain
were inspired by those at King Louis XIV’s Château de
Marly. But almost more compelling than these splendid
encounters with imperial grandeur are the intimate
glimpses of modern Russian reality that we get during
a range of encounters and home visits. ➤

On a dove-grey Sunday afternoon I join a small
group of fellow passengers for tea at the home of Larisa
Baltrukova in a kommunalka – a communally organised
block of flats – in a tidy residential district of central
Saint Petersburg composed of late-19th-century
apartment buildings with wedding-cake façades. A plaque
the Viking Ingvar.
by the main entrance says the building was nationalised
in 1917 under Lenin, who created this socialist-style living
as a way of accommodating the city’s rapidly growing
population during a time of acute housing shortages.
Thin light filters through lace curtains at the three
tall windows in Baltrukova’s living room as she fills
teacups and serves cakes – one filled with sweet curd
cheese, another with minced meat and onions – from
Stolle, one of the best-known bakeries in the city.
Through an interpreter, she says she’s a trained nurse
and the widow of an admiral in the navy, and she lived
in Vladivostock in the Russian far east for many years.
Twelve years ago she bought her flat, with its shared
kitchen and bathroom, for the equivalent of $US27,000.
“How is life in Russia today – better or worse than it
was during the days of the Soviet Union?” asks a woman
from London. The sixtysomething Baltrukova smiles
briefly and cocks her head. “Life was more civil, stable
and better organised during the Soviet times, especially
the Brezhnev years. People were better disciplined and
thought of the well-being of their community rather
than just their own needs and desires,” she says, deftly
exposing the ambient nostalgia for the Soviet Union
that fuels the popularity of President Vladimir Putin.
“But what of your young grandson, who never
knew the Soviet Union?”
“He loves the Western pop stars, but I worry for
his future,” she says. “He cannot find a job doing the
medical technician work he trained for, so he will have
to settle for something that pays less well.”
On the way back to the ship, our guide circumspectly
echoes our host’s assessment of Russia’s foreign policy.
“We want to be friends with every country, but Putin
had no choice but to try and restore Russia to its rightful
place in the world,” he says gravely,
adding, “and it was wrong of you to
take parts of our country into NATO.”
There’s often a frisson in conversations
during this journey – a pervasive
assumption of being misunderstood
and a polite insistence that visitors
try to appreciate the point of view of
Russians. (A young guide even says
cheerfully one day, “Enjoy your trip
to Russia, ladies and gentlemen.
And remember, we will be nice
to you, if you will be nice to us.”)
I wondered if the kitchen and bars
on board the Ingvar would be affected
by the draconian import bans and
Above: restrictions Russia has imposed on many European
matryoshka dolls foods and wines in retaliation for the economic
in Uglich. Below: sanctions imposed on the country after it annexed
pelmeni with
pickles, cabbage Crimea in 2014. “Yes, the sanctions have made
slaw and beef supplying the ship more complicated and expensive,”
stew on board says Daniel, the unfailingly gracious maître d’hotel,
when I ask. “But we’ve also discovered many more
good Russian products than we used before. So the
silver lining is perhaps a greater authenticity.”
Rather than the bland international menu I feared,
the daily offer is largely Russian. Dishes such as
rassolnik, often made with giblets and pickles, but which
appears here as a rich chicken soup, are regular features;
as well as pelmeni, little meat-filled dumplings that are
a Siberian specialty; and Pozharsky cutlets, meat or fish
rissoles encased in crisp bread cubes.
The wines, too, are a highlight. There’s an extensive
list of Russian and Georgian wines, and a range of

146 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
food-and-drink experiences, including a pelmeni-making
demonstration and a very professional vodka tasting; the
crowd-pleaser here is Mamont from a Siberian distillery
founded in 1868. The most memorable, however,
is a wine tasting led by Daniel, who’s also the ship’s
sommelier. Afterwards, I order the two wines that were
standouts in his flight of six: a Monte Garu sparkling
wine from the Krasnodar region of Russia that first won
a gold medal at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris,
and a fascinating Georgian wine, Tbilvino Qvevris
Rkatsiteli, that surprised with a Sauternes-like nose
but pleasantly maderised taste.
Just before dusk we leave Saint Petersburg and
churn upstream through the pewter-coloured waters of
the Neva. I’m glad of a quiet afternoon on the balcony
of my Veranda suite, a well-designed space with a
Scandinavian look created by neutrals and blond-wood
fittings. For many kilometres the beech and birch
trees lining the riverbanks present a cook’s palate of
autumnal colours – tea, cinnamon, caramel, lemon
and apple red – only occasionally interrupted by the
rusty docks and locks of a country that often looks
worn and dated as soon as you leave its cities. Right: a girl paints
Almost everyone, even those who think they know matryoshka dolls
European geography well, is surprised to discover that in Uglich; ceiling
of the Church of
Lake Onega is so huge you often can’t see its shores Saint Dimitry on
during our passage to Kizhi, an island bound by marshes the Blood, Uglich.
and covered by emerald fields, to see the wooden
Churches of the Transfiguration and the Intercession,
a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Seen from afar, the silvery wooden domes of the
churches are both stirring and spectacular; they get
their metallic appearance from the weathering of their
hand-hewn aspen shingles. Built from thousands of
logs transported to the island from the mainland, the
churches were constructed without nails, using dovetail
joinery instead. A third structure, the 14th-century
Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus, stuns with the
power of the 17 icons that comprise its iconostasis.
Nearby, in an old farmhouse, we learn a little of
life on the island, once inhabited by several thousand,
today home to only a handful of custodians. Its single
large room worked as a sort of machine for living, since
the huge brick stove occupying a third of the space
provided light and heat. “It was built off the floor so
that chickens could live underneath it in the winter
and continue to supply the family with eggs,” says our
guide. “When it was very cold – winter here usually
begins in October and runs through to May – it was
the privilege of the elderly and children to sleep on top
of the stove.” This meant that the family of 10 living
here in the late 1600s spent eight months in a single
room on a tiny island in the middle of a lake where
it was often minus 30 degrees. Then, when spring
came, they eked out a living fishing the lake or coaxing
meagre crops of rye from poor soil. “And of course ➤

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 147
 most people lived this way in northern Russia less than
a century ago,” we’re reminded. “You made or grew
almost everything you ate, wore or needed.”
This kind of sinewy ancestral memory helps to
inform the recurring subtext of the bemused remarks
and well-polished jokes of Russian staff and residents
we meet. I recall an exchange with a cab driver in Saint
Petersburg a few days earlier. He lived in Toronto for six
years and returned to Russia because of his disaffection
with “nonstop consumerism”, causing people to buy
things they don’t need and can’t afford. “It also happens
because your educational systems produce so many
idiots.” Staring hard at me in the rear-view mirror
at a traffic light, he seemed disappointed when his
pugnacious statements elicited nothing more than
sympathetic nods from me. So he tried again, “Unlike
you, we Russians are proud to remain a deeply serious
people.” He looked devastated when I agreed. “Yes, you
Russians are a very serious people,” I replied, “and it’s
quite refreshing.” I meant it, too.
In contrast to the sunny optimism of the relatively
newborn colonial countries of America, Australia and
Canada, Russians are a reflexively pessimistic people.
It makes sense to brace yourself for disappointment
when almost everything that surrounds you is a regular
reminder that life is hard, arbitrary and frequently
unfair. Making peace with this reality engenders a wry
sense of humour that dulls the resignation necessary to
stay sane in the face of circumstances you’re usually
powerless to change, too. And so the ironical wit and
truculent pride of the Russians in their country and
culture have become the quiet backdrop of our trip. ➤

148 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 “For many kilometres, the beech and
birch trees lining the riverbanks present
a cook’s palate of autumnal colours.”

Birch trees along

the Neva River.
Opposite: church
spires in the Kizhi
Pogost, Kizhi.
 As the days pass, the Ingvar becomes an amiable
village where life is animated by reflexive pleasantries,
meals and a full schedule. Tribes emerge, of course, with
some of the ship’s 200 passengers preferring to relax in
their cabins, others in the lounges, where lectures and
Russian language lessons are held.
Our last stop before Moscow is Uglich, a handsome
old town on the banks of the Volga. Like Yaroslavl, it’s
part of the Golden Ring, the constellation of historic
towns north of Moscow, and known for an ornate
wall of icons in its green-domed Cathedral of the
Transfiguration of Our Saviour and for the rather lurid
frescoes in the Church of Saint Dimitry on the Blood
that memorialise the death of Ivan the Terrible’s son.
Today, the town is looking for a future from tourism,
since its main industry – watch-making – has been
buffeted to near extinction by the demise of the Soviet
Union and the use of mobile phones as timepieces. Still,
watch stores selling the local Chaika line the main street
– the brand’s name originates from the call signal of
Valentina Tereshkova, Russia’s first female astronaut.
Their owners occasionally tout their wares. “Great gift,
great souvenir, so camp! No?” says a middle-aged woman
as we head for the bus on our way to a home visit.
We’re ushered into the dining room of a sturdy
red-headed woman with ice-blue eyes who asks us to call
her Tamara. A large photo mural of downtown Chicago
covering one wall prompts a giggle from guests; “I chose
it to make tourists feel at home,” Tamara says with a
bemused smile. We try the home-distilled vodka made
by her husband, Nikolai, with yeast, water and sugar
– a real 45-proof eye-opener at 10am – accompanied
by black bread, a salad of dill-flecked, home-grown
potatoes, and tangy pickles: half-sour and sweet-and-sour
gherkins and wild mushrooms. Doubtless abetted by
Nikolai’s potent tipple, high spirits prevail during an
exchange of questions.
“So what do you think of Putin?” ventures a retired
stockbroker from San Francisco.
Tamara shrugs theatrically. “Ouf, I don’t know.
Maybe some of the same things you think of your
Trump,” she replies, with the satisfaction of having
thrown a polite but well-aimed dart.
“Touché! They do rather seem to get along, don’t
they?” says the quick-witted San Franciscan.
The pickles came from her well-stocked root cellar,
beneath a trapdoor in her living room. Our host shows
us, shining a torch into the darkness, revealing rows of
preserves made from the produce of her kitchen garden
behind the banya, or sauna cabin. “A kitchen garden is
the best insurance policy you can have in Russia,” says
Tamara’s friend, Galina, who’s our interpreter, “because
whatever happens, you’ll always have enough to eat.”
On the eve of winter, a cold frame in the garden is still
filled with cucumber vines trained on trellises and
chillies producing the last harvest of the season.

150 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Clockwise from
far left: Beluga
restaurant;
smoked pike with
mushroom sauce,
shallot confit and
fried mushrooms;
Moskva river
and the Kremlin,
Moscow; Tamara
and her husband,
Nikolai; baked
goods on the
Viking Ingvar;
the Viking Ingvar
by the Church of
Saint Dimitry on
the Blood, Uglich.

Just before we reach Moscow, a Cuban friend who

lives in the Russian capital spots my Instagram feed
and messages to ask if I’m free for lunch at Beluga,
a recently opened restaurant in the Hotel National Tr i p
on the edge of the Kremlin. So the next morning, I’m notes
a little bewildered by the Moscow metro after being
under someone else’s wing for 10 days. Twenty-five
minutes later, I arrive at a beautiful dining room with
a Baccarat glass bar and tables dressed in snowy linens.
Getting there
A sullen waitress leads me to the table where
Emirates and Qatar Airways fly to Saint
Armando, whom I haven’t seen in many years, is
Petersburg and Moscow, the arrival and
pecking away on his phone. As befits the manager departure ports for Viking’s Russia river
of the Moscow boutique of a major Italian fashion cruises, from select Australian cities.
designer, he looks so smart that I can’t help but feel
hopelessly dumpy in my saggy jumper, windbreaker, Cruising there
khaki trousers and deck shoes, the signature outfit Viking River Cruises’ 13-day Waterways
of most male passengers aboard the Ingvar. of the Tsars cruise from Saint Petersburg
He eyeballs me appraisingly but kindly, and says, to Moscow, and in reverse, operates
“I’m going to make it better, my friend.” And he does, May to October 2018 and 2019. It costs
when the waiter responds to his fluent Russian by from $7,895 per person twin share,
bringing us a feast for a tsar: oscietra grey caviar with which includes return flights from select
Australian cities to Russia, accommodation,
blini; Baltic herring tartare with marinated onions;
all meals, wine and beer with lunch and
grilled artichokes with pressed sturgeon caviar;
dinner, one excursion in every port and
salt-baked sturgeon with Abkhaz lemons and thyme; onboard activities. 138 747,
smoked pike with mushroom sauce, shallot confit vikingrivercruises.com.au
and fried mushrooms – and there might have been
more if I hadn’t begged him to stop.
The thing is, I explain to Armando, the Russian
dish I knew I’d end up craving soon after returning
home is shchi, the famously homey, slightly sour
cabbage soup served with a big dollop of smetana,
sour cream. I’d eaten a bowl of it in a hole-in-the-wall
café the day I’d arrived in Saint Petersburg.
Armando raises his dark brows. “Seriously? Why?”
I doubt he’ll understand, but after my trip through
the heart of Russia, I couldn’t think of a single dish that
better expresses this great Slavic nation’s endearing
humility, ingenuity and tenacity, along with its
appetisingly piquant perspective on life. To boot, it’s
cheap, and it’s good for you. I knew I’d miss Russia. ●
CORNISH

PA S T I C H E
 Legend, legacy and more than a little whimsy converge in
Cornwall where the lanes that intersect the green ields invariably
lead to something magical, writes MAX ANDERSON.

Photography HELEN CATHCART

 F
owey Hall sits over the small harbour town
of Fowey, on display like a trophy. It was
built in 1899 by Charles Hanson, who
had returned from Canada after making
his fortune in timber. With its square
corner towers, imperious arches and a
lead-domed bellcote, it was designed so none should be
left in any doubt that here was a local boy made good.
The imposing, slightly batty edifice is now a hotel.
While I’m checking in, I take a stab at pronouncing
the name and, figuring I’ve got a 50-50 chance of
getting it right, plump for “Foh-ee” over “Fow-ee”.
“It’s pronounced Foy,” says the receptionist kindly
in her luscious Cornish lilt. “It rhymes with joy.”
This eccentric turn of phonemes isn’t the only
thing to leave me wrong-footed.
While much of Fowey Hall is intact – including
marble fireplaces, parquet floors and Baroque
plasterwork – the hotel dedicates itself to “family
luxury”. So the manicured lawns are set with miniature
soccer goals. The coach house, once a garage for
Hanson’s splendid 1904 Rolls-Royce, is a kids’ den.
And along a wood-panelled corridor lined with
ancestral portraits, a small boy bursts from behind
a potted palm and cries, “Cheese, cheese, cheese!”
Perhaps it’s the jet lag, but I feel my face adopting
the expression perfected by Martin Clunes as the
crabby Cornish GP in the TV series Doc Martin.
The receptionist smiles. “School holidays,” she
says. “Nearly over.”

I
n summer, Cornwall’s population of 500,000 is
swollen by four million visitors. Most are from
other English counties, many come with children,
and all are hoping for sun and sand. By early
September, however, there’s change in the air: the
swarms of children are dissipating, the Whac-a-Mole
arcade machines fall silent, and a different Cornwall
begins to suggest itself. That Cornwall is Kernow, one
of the seven Celtic nations. It’s very old, very beautiful
and very distinctive.
After a restorative night’s sleep, I drive to Tintagel
where I’m greeted by sunshine and views of the
village’s 13th-century castle ruins, a vista that has long
inspired writers and artists, JMW Turner, Alfred Lord
Tennyson and John Steinbeck among them. Atop a
dramatic headland, its broken battlements sit ragged
against the sky. On the same site are the grass-covered
foundations of a fifth-century trading port that did
business with the Greeks. The Romans never got
to grips with Cornwall so the mysterious-sounding
Dumnonians flourished in their absence, speaking
what would become modern Cornish.
I want to know more about the Dumnonians, but
in the neighbouring stone village of Tintagel only one
name seems to have any currency.

154 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
PREVIOUS PAGES At the entrance to King Arthur’s Great Halls,
Left: Fistral
it’s 50p to have your photo taken beside an anvil
Beach, Newquay.
Right: Mousehole. with a sword welded vertically into place. The exterior
Left: Fowey Hall of the building is late-Victorian Gothic and perfectly
and (below right) anachronous to things Arthurian – both the sixth-
the sitting room
at Fowey Hall. century king who defended Britain against the
Below left: where Saxons, and the 12th-century chronicles of his legend.
Fowey town and Moreover, Arthur’s connection to the ruins of Tintagel
river meet.
is at best tenuous; it’s said he was conceived at the site
thanks to a bout of infidelity and a dash of Merlin’s
magic. And that’s about it.
So I enter the building to see what all the fuss
is about.
“Take a look at the Great Hall of Chivalry!”
enthuses the halls’ custodian, John Moore. “I promise
you’ll be surprised!” He urges me towards a heavy
drape; even after years of welcoming tourists, it seems
he can’t believe what’s behind it.
The Great Hall of Chivalry is vast. As meticulously
crafted as a cathedral, the room is bolstered with pillars
of Cornish stone and hung with swathes of red velvet.
Seventy-two stained-glass windows depicting chivalrous
acts cast a hallowed light onto a round table and
Arthur’s throne.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” exclaims Moore when
I return.
“It is!” I say, equally wide-eyed. “Who built it?”
“His name was Frederick Glasscock. He finished
it in 1933 and died in 1934. Would have cost him
a fortune.”
“Where’d he get his money?”
“You won’t believe it,” says Moore gleefully.
“Custard powder! He also invented hundreds and
thousands. Y’know – sprinkles.”
I blink at the eccentricity. It’s rather beautiful.

L
egend and lunacy, mythology and madness
– in Cornwall they’re bedfellows of sorts,
fostered by a people who seem rather
un-English. They frequently call out, “Take
care, m’lovely!” as a farewell. Occasionally the word
“dreckly” is used, a shortening of “I’ll get to it directly”,
which implies “maybe in a minute, maybe in a month”.
A curious occurrence might prompt a wry shrug and
the question “P’raps it’s the faerie folk?”
While driving my little hire car through the green
fields that sheath the Cornish leg of south-west
England, my GPS frequently takes me on detours
along lanes that survive from a time when milkmaids
and pilgrims had to breathe in so they might pass each
other. I drive these one-vehicle roads with white
knuckles, praying to the patron saint of nothing
coming. Yet invariably they lead to something magical.
The Minack Theatre near Penzance is an
amphitheatre carved in a granite cliffside. It’s
reminiscent of Ancient Greece, but it was built in ➤

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 155
1932 by the landowner, Rowena Cade, and her
gardener because local players had nowhere to perform
Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Performances are still staged
against a backdrop of becalmed seas or waves whipped
to fury. Only electrical storms warrant a cancellation.
The beachfront at Bude, about 34 kilometres north
of Tintagel, has a castle atop the dunes dating to the
1830s. It was the home of an obscure inventor named
Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, who advanced patents for
steam carriages and mine-safety equipment; he also
discovered that lime burns fiercely enough to provide
excellent indoor and outdoor illumination. None of
his inventions was commercially successful, though
they furthered the careers of George Stephenson
(the “father of railways”), Humphrey Davy (inventor Top left: cucumber,
of the Davy miner’s safety lamp) and Thomas heritage tomato,
Drummond (who illuminated theatres and, quite and poppy seed
salad with zucchini
literally, stole the limelight). and garden peas
Strictly speaking, The Lost Gardens of Heligan is at the Heligan
a Cornish legend of modern invention, and it grows Kitchen & Bakery,
and (below)
even as I watch. In 1766, Heligan was a Georgian-era pineapples from
estate near Saint Austell on the south coast owned the Melon Yard at
by a wealthy squire named Henry Hawkins Tremayne. The Lost Gardens
of Heligan. Left:
Kitchen gardens, greenhouses and orchards were
chef Emily Scott
added over the decades, and a gully planted with and partner Mark
exotics collected from exploration ships. Hellyar of St Tudy
In 1914, the estate’s 13 gardeners went to the Inn, St Tudy, and
(opposite) their
Great War; only four came back. Consumed by scallops with
brambles and rot, the gardens fell into decay. ➤ hazelnut butter.
 om
gd
in
K
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e

it
Birmingham

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U
Oxford

Bristol Channel

Bude

Penzance
Fowey
English Channel
Cornwall

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 157
 Nearly 80 years later a Dutch music producer, The Old Coastguard
guesthouse, Mousehole.
Tim Smit, “found” the gardens and began a slow Opposite: winemaker
restoration. Now some 345,000 people visit the Sam Lindo of Camel
80-hectare estate each year, admiring the gorge of Valley Vineyard.
exotics from a Burmese rope bridge, gathering in hides
for sightings of badgers, goldfinches and blue tits, and
wandering among forests filled with sculptures.
Five tonnes of mainly heritage fruit and vegetables
are grown annually in its gardens and served in the
Heligan Kitchen & Bakery. “Lost” varieties that were
popular before the First World War are being revived,
such as scorzonera and medlar.
“We stay faithful to the techniques and tools that
were used in the original gardens,” says Katie Kingett,
supervisor of Heligan’s Victorian Productive Gardens.
Within the old brick walls of the kitchen gardens,
Kingett shows me beds turned by traditional long-
handled Cornish shovels. “The majority of what we do
is by hand,” she says. “So we hand-barrow manure into
the beds, and we still use seaweed collected from the
local beach for our leeks, onions and asparagus.”

T
he story of how the fishing village of
Padstow became famous for seafood dining
started with Rick Stein, a name uttered in
these parts with the same reverence as Sir
Lancelot. But this story, too, has evolved.
Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant has been in
business for more than 40 years, but travellers can
dine at 18 restaurants in and around Padstow with
Michelin stars, bibs or plates. This includes the
two-starred Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Port Isaac
and Paul Ainsworth at No 6 in Padstow.
Around 25 kilometres north-east of Padstow
is St Tudy Inn, in the village of St Tudy. It has a
Michelin bib, denoting budget-priced excellence,
and while there has been talk of a star, chef-owner
Emily Scott isn’t sure she’d want one. “I wouldn’t
want the pressure!” she says. “I just want to keep doing
what we’re doing, which is serving simple, seasonal
food with great wine and style. It’s really about the
provenance of the ingredients – it’s about the farmers
and the fishermen.”
The light, white dining room in the 17th-century
inn has tables fashioned from French window shutters,
etchings of farm animals on the walls and a huge
hearth. Scott’s menu offers full-flavoured Cornish
produce prepared with finesse, such as figs baked with
thyme and honey and topped with Helford White
cheese, and fish stew brimming with locally caught
haddock, bream, mussels and tiger prawns. One of
the most popular bottles in the cellar, meanwhile,
is Camel Valley sparkling rosé. Served to the
Queen and the crew of the Bond film Spectre, it
has garnered global recognition – and it’s produced
just 11 kilometres down the road.

158 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 “I think it’s the halo effect of Padstow,” says Camel
Valley winemaker Sam Lindo, “but we’re now one
of the busiest wineries in the world. We get 35,000
visitors through in a year.”
Lindo’s father, Bob, planted the first vines in
1989 when the notion of a UK wine industry was
just that. But the Goldilocks climate for chardonnay
and pinot noir has moved north as the climate has
changed. “Hard to believe, but we have one of the
longest growing seasons in the world,” he says.
“Meanwhile, it’s getting harder for Champagne
producers to do what they do because they’re getting
too warm.” A new legend rises on the back of the old.
I raise a glass of Lindo’s brut in the fishing village
of Mousehole, near Penzance. Pronounced “Mowzel”,
it’s a place so lovely you’d think it was a parody, with
its tiny harbour and stone cottages packed into a rocky
cove. I’m staying at The Old Coastguard, a guesthouse
that offers colour and comfort in equal measure. I take
supper in the bar and dining room; it’s rather like a
ship’s lower deck with its low ceiling, old timbers and
tallow-coloured light, and so hearty I expect a shanty
to break out by eight bells.
I order Porthilly oysters, and plaice fillets topped
with crisp seaweed. But I hanker for a dish the
waitress says I can’t have. Stargazy pie is served only
on Christmas Eve to mark the legend of Tom Bawcock,
a 16th-century fisherman who braved storms to relieve
the starving villagers of Mousehole. His catch – seven
sorts o’ fish – was baked in a pie with the heads poking
through the crust to prove that there really were fish
inside. Once a year, the villagers tuck in and sing their
traditional song of celebration:
Merry place you may believe,
Tiz Mouzel ’pon Tom Bawcock’s eve,
To be there then who wouldn’t wesh,
To sup o’ sibm soorts o’ fish.
T
he town of Fowey proves to be a stargazy-pie
sort of place, with rich Cornish pleasures
under its crust and wild-eyed stories poking
out. On a morning kayak tour of Fowey
Estuary, I spot seals and kingfishers and hear tales
of Phoenician traders and pirates. We pass a ship’s
figurehead mounted beneath the eaves of a handsome
timber house; my guide, Karen Wells-West, says the
carving is modelled on the ship’s owner, Jane Slade.
Daphne du Maurier rescued the figurehead from
a creek and had it hung on her family home. Slade
inspired du Maurier’s first novel, The Loving Spirit,
published in 1931.
At lunchtime I hole up in Pintxo, a Catalan
restaurant tucked away in an alley where the light
bounces off whitewashed walls. I order a plate of
Manchego drizzled with orange-blossom honey, and
a glass of sherry. And later, in a dusk that’s still long
in the summer solstice, I lose myself in steep, fractured
lanes lined by cottages with names such as Littlesteps, ➤

Above: tidal pool
at Mousehole.
Above right: the
sitting room at
Artist Residence,
Penzance.
Longsteps, and Whistlefish. The alleys lead to the
harbour, where gulls cry remorselessly, where ale has
been served since 1570 at The Ship Inn – and where
I come across a curious one-room museum packed to
the gunnels with Fowey memorabilia.
Fowey Museum is curated by Helen Luther, whose
lilt is typically languorous but who talks like time is
running out. “I knew Daphne du Maurier,” she says.
“She was godmother to my brother and she based
a character on my father in The House on the Strand.”
A display includes a checked shirt belonging to the
author, and original editions of her best-known works,
including Jamaica Inn. A stuffed crow (actually a
Cornish chough) is a tribute to a novelette that
arguably became even more famous. “I didn’t realise
du Maurier wrote The Birds,” I admit.
“They were originally seagulls in her book,
following behind the plough,” Luther explains.
“Hitchcock turned them into crows. She also wrote
Don’t Look Now, which was a film with Donald
Sutherland and Julie Christie. She hated it. Thought
it was too focused on sex.”
There are displays devoted to other Fowey
residents: children’s illustrator Mabel Lucie Attwell,
essayist Sir Arthur “Q” Quiller-Couch and Kenneth
Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows. Luther
is certain that Grahame, who convalesced in Fowey
in 1899, based his main characters on local friends.
She shows me photos of three men to make her case:
one has mutton-chop whiskers (Badger), another is
a keen boatman (Ratty). “As for Mole, that was likely
Grahame himself... and this is Sir Charles Hanson,
who was clearly Toad.”
I look at a heavy man in a business suit.
“Does he not look like a toad?” urges Luther. “And
of course he had his big Rolls-Royce and his huge hall
up on the hill, which Grahame used as the basis of…”
I return to Fowey Hall, tickled pink at the idea
that I’m staying in Toad Hall. In the twilight, I stand
between the miniature soccer goals and look with new
eyes at the building’s eccentric façade – the towers,
the arches and even a few bats emerging from its belfry.
It’s another story of legacy and lunacy, a happy and
very Cornish form of folly where a word spelled Fowey
can be rhymed with joy.
Greatly warmed to the hotel, I also resolve to be
more gracious towards its young spirits – after all, if
you can’t be a kid in Toad Hall, where can you?
And should another child jump from the potted
palms to cry “Cheese, cheese, cheese!”, well, I shall
enter into the spirit of Grahame himself. “Onion sauce!
Onion sauce!” I shall remark jeeringly – and be gone
before he can think of a thoroughly satisfactory reply. ●

160 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Tr i p
notes

Getting there
The main Cornish town of Truro is
a five-hour drive from London. For a
seamless (and rather lovely) transfer,
take the overnight Riviera Express
sleeper train from London Paddington
to Truro, departing just before midnight
and arriving about 7am.
Clockwise, Stay
from above: Artist Residence A Bohemian vibe
Surf Sanctuary attracts a cool crowd to this 23-room
instructor Dom hotel on historic Chapel Street in
Moore on Fistral
Beach, Newquay;
Penzance. It faces the Admiral Benbow
fried anchovies, pub – possibly that Admiral Benbow,
pickled chillies but definitely old and yo-ho-ho. 20 Chapel
and sherry at St, Penzance, +44 1736 365 664,
Pintxo, Fowey;
artistresidencecornwall.co.uk
The Headland
Hotel and Spa, The Beach The sunset deck of this stylish
Newquay. retreat overlooking Summerleaze Beach
in Bude is filled with weekend surfers
from London kicking back with Cornish
Mules. Summerleaze Cres, Bude,
+44 1288 389 800, thebeachatbude.co.uk
Fowey Hall Hanson Dr, Fowey,
+44 1726 833 866, foweyhallhotel.co.uk
The Headland Hotel and Spa This
19th-century institution in Newquay
has clifftop views over Fistral Beach,
a fine-diner, plush pavilion bar and a
resident surf instructor in Dom Moore.
Fistral Beach, Newquay, +44 1637 872 211,
theheadland.co.uk
The Old Coastguard Most of the 14
bedrooms have water views. The Parade,
Mousehole, Penzance, +44 1736 731 222,
oldcoastguardhotel.co.uk
Eat
The Beach Restaurant Chef Joe
Simmons is making waves by amping
up Cornish ingredients. His charred
mackerel with aniseed shallots and
wasabi is a standout. Summerleaze
Cres, Bude, +44 1288 389 800,
thebeachatbude.co.uk
Fowey Hall Restaurant The hotel’s
fine-diner champions Cornish produce
and dishes. Hanson Dr, Fowey,
+44 1726 833 866, foweyhallhotel.co.uk
The Lost Gardens of Heligan Kitchen
& Bakery Boasting food yards rather
than food miles, Heligan’s seasonal
produce is a feature in dishes such as
a frittata of chard and yarg, the latter a
Cornish cow’s milk cheese traditionally
wrapped in nettles. Pentewan, Saint
Austell, +44 1726 845 100,
heligan.com
The Old Coastguard The Parade,
Mousehole, Penzance, +44 1736 731 222,
oldcoastguardhotel.co.uk
Pintxo 38 Esplanade, Fowey,
+44 1726 337 450, pintxo.co.uk
St Tudy Inn St Tudy, Bodmin,
+44 1208 850 656, sttudyinn.com
Do
Camel Valley Vineyard Nanstallon,
Bodmin, +44 1208 77 959, camelvalley.com
Encounter Cornwall Three-hour guided
kayak tours along the Fowey River. The
Boatshed, Golant, Fowey, +44 7976 466 123,
encountercornwall.com
Fowey Museum Trafalgar Sq, Fowey,
+44 1726 833 513, museumsincornwall.org.uk
King Arthur’s Great Halls Fore St,
Tintagel, +44 1840 770 526,
kingarthursgreathalls.co.uk
The Lost Gardens of Heligan Pentewan,
Saint Austell, +44 1726 845 100, heligan.com
Minack Theatre Porthcurno, Penzance,
+44 1736 810 181, minack.com
Surf Sanctuary Cornwall’s popularity
as a surfing destination took off in
the 1990s, and it continues to ride
that wave. It’s centred on Fistral Beach
in Newquay, a huge swoop of sand
served by board-hiring spots, bars and
cafés. Surf instructor Dom Moore runs
a school from his Surf Sanctuary in The
Headland Hotel and Spa. He starts his
lessons on the headland, showing
students how the waves below form
and move. “It helps demystify it if they
can see it from above,” he explains.
Headland Rd, Newquay, +44 7540 155 123,
surfsanctuary.co.uk

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 161
 Paramount House has all the temptations of a permanent
vacation: good cofee, art-house ilms and smart dining, in
one of Sydney’s liveliest suburbs. As a new hotel opens on site,
MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD charts the making of a destination.
 W
hat makes a great destination?
Is it the food? The architecture
and design? The entertainment
options? Ask Russell Beard,
who owns a handful of cafés
in Australia and beyond,
and he’ll say it’s a mix of all of those elements, plus
something less tangible: a sense of connection to

PHOTOGRAPHY SHARYN CAIRNS (PARAMOUNT HOUSE HOTEL), WILL HORNER (PARAMOUNT

the people who live there and the community they’ve
developed. “You’ve got to mix with them,” he says.

COFFEE PROJECT AND GOLDEN AGE CINEMA AND BAR) & TOM ROSS (EXTERIOR)
“It’s a great way to feel included.”
“Community” is a word that Beard and his business
partner Mark Dundon use frequently in their projects,
which include Sydney cafés Reuben Hills, Paramount
Coffee Project and Bondi Hall, as well as Seven Seeds
in Melbourne and PCP in Los Angeles. And it’s the
concept at the core of their latest venture, Paramount
House Hotel, conveniently positioned in Surry Hills,
on the southern fringe of Sydney’s CBD. The hotel
was conceived as a portal to the thriving inner-city
neighbourhood, and was designed to give guests
“a sense of place”, says Beard, “something that doesn’t
feel generic and offers a real slice of the area”.
The making of a destination started 11 years
ago, when Sydney property investor Ping Jin Ng
bought Paramount House, the former Australian
HQ of Paramount Picture Studios, and slowly filled
the 1940s building with a hand-picked collection of
like-minded tenants. Beard and Dundon’s Paramount

164 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 PREVIOUS Coffee Project opened on the light-filled ground having enough discussions about the dream hotel
PAGES floor in 2013, followed by the Golden Age Cinema we’d love to stay in, we thought we should just go
Paramount
House’s façade. and Bar in the restored Art Deco screening room ahead and do it,” says Beard. Designed by Melbourne’s
THIS PAGE downstairs. Studio space upstairs is inhabited by a Breathe Architecture, the hotel’s 27 rooms and two
Clockwise from handful of creative agencies, while The Office Space suites occupy four floors of the former film-storage
top left: a Sunny
room; Paramount on the mezzanine is a sleek co-working hub warehouse adjoining Paramount Studios. The
Cofee Project; overlooking the café. buildings have been cleverly linked by a herringbone-
a split-level The rooftop Paramount Recreation Club, due to patterned copper screen stretching two storeys and
Loft room; the
hotel lobby. open this month, is a breezy retreat for exercising and wrapping around the façade.
socialising where white terrazzo “To be a guest is to be a friend”
and greenery evoke Palm Springs is the heart-on-sleeve sentiment
vibes. On the schedule are barre “To be a guest offered on the hotel’s website, and
classes, strength training, meditation is to be a friend” the friendly gestures start at check-in.
workshops and nutrition sessions, and Guests walk through Paramount
is Paramount
there’s a fancy canteen to boot. “It’s an Coffee Project, past baristas busy
alternative to the somewhat maniacal House Hotel’s with pour-overs or coffee-cupping
approach to fitness in the city,” says heart-on-sleeve demonstrations, to a smooth concrete
director Barrie Barton, whose creative sentiment. reception desk stamped with the
and research agency Right Angle words “permanent vacation”. On
Studio is located downstairs. “It says: arrival, staff offer a glass from one
get out of the gym and into the fresh air.” The brief of three copper taps on the desk, perhaps pouring a
at the Club Kiosk is “healthy food, but not health locally brewed sour beer, a natural wine or a kombucha.
food”, Barton says. And the menu, devised with Just as refreshing as the drink is the potential it
Longrain’s Griff Pamment and Sam Christie, will be offers – enjoy your Wildflower amber ale, for
a smorgasbord of wholesome fare – think oats soaked example, and the hotel team envisages you’ll end
in coconut water, citrus salad with agave, ricotta and up at the label’s brewery in Marrickville the next day
mixed nuts, and brown rice bowls with rare roast beef. (see p88 for a profile of co-founder Topher Boehm).
Paramount House Hotel is the jewel in the crown, “A lot of hotel lobbies scare me,” says Beard. “They feel
and a joint project by Beard, Dundon and Ng. “After cold or weird, and alienate the community a bit. ➤

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 165
 We want ours to be the opposite of that. There need
to be a few key elements that remind guests of the
place they’re in.”
A brief written history of the studios is embossed
above the original roof line of the lobby and, in
a neat marriage of old and new, two fire vaults
originally used to store film now hide guests’ luggage
behind doors crafted from the same copper panels
that clad the façade.
The rooms also mix heritage features – high
ceilings, bare walls and exposed brickwork, original
sash windows and heavy old rafters – with contemporary
comforts such as luxe Jardan sofas and Pakistani
kilim rugs. Showers have copper pipes and are tiled
in terrazzo, and vintage-style bathroom vanities sit
handsomely within the bedroom space. Some rooms
have freestanding Japanese-style wooden baths, created
by boutique carpenters Wood and Water.
P
aramount’s owners believe hotels should
give guests space to think, and to that end
most rooms have internal terraces, sunny
indoor-outdoor alcoves partly screened by
the façade’s herringbone finish and softened by
potted devil’s ivy and fiddle leaf figs.
A host of Australian makers are featured, too.
Beds are dressed with stonewashed linen by Cultiver
and Seljak merino blankets from Australia’s oldest
mill. Linen bathrobes are by Worktones, toiletries
by Aesop, and the art throughout the hotel is
curated by the nearby China Heights gallery.
Though smart design and good looks in a hotel
are important, says Beard, “the recipe is a mixture
of service, quality and place”. He cites Fleet, a 14-seat
restaurant in Brunswick Heads, northern New South
Wales, as a fine example of a place where many small
things are done right. “They never alienate anyone and
always know your next move,” he says. “That’s what
we’re going for – getting the DNA right.”
Beard is a Surry Hills local himself, having opened
his first café, Reuben Hills, in the suburb six years ago.
166 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
From left: “The hotel is our way of inviting guests to experience the
hotel guests are ’hood we love, through our eyes,” he says. “I enjoy its
ofered a drink
on arrival; the proximity to the city, the beach, and an endless supply of
adjoining Golden restaurants, cafés and bars.” Staff might hand you a tote
Age Bar; the bag with directions to Carriageworks Farmers Market or
vanity in an
Everyday room.
a Jac & Jack beach towel for a dip at Gordon’s Bay.
Had you not been so keenly aware of all the fun
that lies on the doorstep, though, you’d be tempted
not to leave your casting couch. The minibars are
stocked with the likes of mortadella by LP’s Quality
Meats, a pet-nat by South Australian maverick label
Yetti and the Kokonut, and tinnies by Yulli’s Brews.
Within Paramount House, the spotlight turns next
to Poly, a ground-floor restaurant and bar by the team
behind Chippendale’s Ester; it’s set to open soon, and
hotel room service is part of its brief. Big night? Staff
will leave a thermos of the café’s daily batch-brew on the
doorstep. When you’re ready, breakfast is served at the
Coffee Project, where regulars pick up pre-ordered vegie
boxes on Saturday mornings and stay for waffles with
buttermilk fried chicken. Later, linger over a Hollywood
Highball cocktail at Golden Age Cinema and Bar while
waiting for a cult documentary screening or a director’s
cut in the pint-sized cinema. Even better, the choc tops
are by Gelato Messina. ●
Paramount House Hotel opens this month. Rooms
from $290. 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills, NSW,
(02) 9211 1222, paramounthousehotel.com
 A GOURMET TRAVELLER PROMOTION

Gourmet shopping
They’re the flavours of the month, so put these items at the top of your wish list.

1 2 3

Omega is proud to announce that it will join the
Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 as the event’s Official
Timekeeper. Omega celebrates this new partnership
through the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M
“Deep Black” in red. $6,525. omegawatches.com
Harvey Norman The Broodie Floor Lamp is a
great piece to create a retro look. With an on-trend
copper-coloured shade and a matte-black lamp
body, it adds a stylish finishing touch to any space
around the home. $399. harveynorman.com.au
Riedel The Fatto a Mano range, available in six
colours and six grape varieties combines the
elegance of Venetian tradition in a handmade stem
and base with a machine made bowl. $129.95
per piece, $599.95 for a 6 pack. riedel.com

4 5 6

Holland America Line Experience Japan’s
cherry-blossom season and hanami, the celebration
of traditional art and culture, on a cruise with
Holland America Line. For more information visit
hollandamerica.com or call 1300 987 322.
Parisi The Jar Butler Sink with Rim 375mm has a
special glaze that’s resistant to acids, alkalines,
stains and thermal shock. Jar Butler Sink with Rim
375mm including basket waste: $1,035; plus
timber chopping board, $315. parisi.com.au
HotelsCombined It’s never been easier or more
affordable to book your next getaway to the
Hawaiian Islands. Spectacular natural wonders,
adrenalin-fuelled activities and delicious cuisine
are just the beginning. HotelsCombined.com.au

7 8 9

Castello Castello® Double Cream Brie matures
into a distinctive soft cheese with a smooth texture
and rich, creamy flavour – perfect with bubbles
or white wine. For best results, bring it to room
temperature before serving. castellocheese.com
Winning Appliances The Smeg Portofino
Multifuel Pyrolytic Cooker features an LCD screen,
and Soft Close and Thermoseal technology to
maintain atmospheric balance for the best cooking
results. $6990. winningappliances.com.au
Google Home Mini Get hands-free help
in any room. Powered by the Google Assistant,
you can ask it questions and tell it to do things.
Use one or have a few around the house. $79.
store.google.com
 The high life
The latest Bali cliffhanger combines look-at-me architecture, ine
dining and poolside lounging, writes THEODORA SUTCLIFFE.
I
n 1971 the classic Australian
surf film Morning of the Earth
unleashed the siren song
of Uluwatu, a rocky
promontory on the south-west tip
of Bali whose metronomic swells
and epic barrels drew a generation
of adventure-seekers. Four decades
later the area’s towering sea cliffs
draw more attention than the
increasingly crowded line-up,
and Uluwatu’s latest landmark
speaks to a generation of travellers
attracted by style, not surf.
The new clifftop complex has
three attractions: a day club, Omnia,
an offshoot of the Las Vegas
nightclub of the same name; a
Japanese fine-diner, Sake no Hana,
an outpost of the well-regarded
restaurant based in Mayfair in
London; and a 56-suite hotel,
set to open later this year.
Entering the property
feels more like walking onto
168 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
a Cinecittà film set than the
standard club sashay. A covered
teak bridge, arrival courtyard
and reception area flow towards
a grand staircase, which in turn
reveals six cabanas, two bungalows
and a collection of day beds
fringed by infinity-edge pools
that hug the cliff. Beyond lies a
cantilevered catwalk to The Cube,
a showpiece bar that seems to
levitate above the Indian Ocean.
The project’s partners are
high-end nightlife entrepreneurs
Hakkasan Group, developer
Kaja Group, and Alila Hotels
and Resorts, which operates the
nearby Alila Villas Uluwatu. Two
design houses – Singapore-based
Woha, which has done projects
Above: Omnia’s for Kaja and Alila, and New
The Cube bar. York’s Rockwell Group (Hakkasan
Right: Sake no Group’s go-to nightlife designers)
Hana restaurant,
above an – worked side by side on the
open-air lounge. brief. “We felt that combining
 Design
The complex is positioned
on an 80-metre plateau
above the ocean. Clockwise
from right: Sake no
Hana restaurant; Omnia’s
poolside cabanas; the
complex at night.

Rockwell’s understanding of
spatial needs with Woha’s
aesthetic understanding of the
market would enhance the overall
project,” says Paul Hugo, Hakkasan
Group’s director of music and
marketing for Indonesia.
Blessed with a natural
amphitheatre to work with,
Woha approached the project
with social media image-sharing
in mind. Even before the official
opening later this month, the
catwalk and glistening cube have
become an essential Bali backdrop
for the influencer crowd. “Omnia
has lots of photogenic views,” says
Woha’s Richard Hassell. “The concept of meticulous seasonality, Omnia enforces a guest age-limit
Cube, the dramatic cantilever is also echoed here in dishes of 21, the legal minimum age
over the crashing surf, the pool including delicately marbled for alcohol consumption in
with its infinity edge...” wagyu tataki and flawless Indonesia. Says Hugo: “If you’re
Fluttering diaphanous sashimi moriawase. paying premium money for a
curtains soften the angular lines Once a refuge for exiled day bed or for a cabana, the
of bungalows and cabanas carved criminals and those who experience will not be enhanced
from local stone. Beautiful bodies practised black magic, the Bukit by kids running around and
pose on podiums or at the Peninsula and the area around bombing into the pool.” ●
swim-up bar, DJs play sunshine Uluwatu in particular have Omnia day club is open daily
grooves and goodtime electro, and become a hotbed for luxury 11am-7pm. A minimum day-long
butlers deliver robust cocktails day clubs. Karma Kandara, spend applies to the use of day beds,
and one of Indonesia’s better with its spectacular clifftop cabanas and bungalows: $115 for
selections of bottled spirits. spa, is expanding its beach club, two-person day beds, $940 for
PHOTOGRAPHY MARTIN WESTLAKE

Latticework crafted from
reclaimed ironwood railway
sleepers wraps around Sake no
Hana; inside the restaurant, an
abstract grid of bangkirai and
teak reflects the dramatic interior
of the London original. The
attention to shun, a Japanese
accessed by private funicular
railway; Oneeighty has a glass-
bottomed pool cantilevered over
the cliff; and a music recording
studio is among the features
at Ulu Cliffhouse.
Uncharacteristically for Bali, a
magnet for families and schoolies,
15-person cabanas and $1125
for 15-person bungalows with private
pools. Reservations are recommended
on weekends and during peak season,
omniaclubs.com/bali. Sake no Hana
is open daily noon-11pm. Reservations
are recommended for dinner on
weekends, sakenohana.com/bali

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 169
Tr a v e l m e m o i r
UNPACKING
Not strictly ballroom
Forget the India travel guide – DOMINIC KNIGHT inds
he should have packed his best Bollywood moves.
I
love a destination wedding.
I toasted friends in a Mid-century
house in Palm Springs, and joined
a party in a vineyard in Orange,
and yet another against the picturesque
backdrop of an old French hotel in
Vientiane. But I regret missing one in
Delhi which, judging by the photos,
featured massive buffets, all-night parties
and a groom on horseback. Always say
yes to a wedding that lasts three days.
I eventually made it to an Indian
wedding two years ago. There I was in
the Hyatt Regency Chennai, dressed
in a Rajasthani silk kurta and sick with
nerves. It wasn’t jet lag or culture shock.
I was the groom.
Our three-day wedding would begin
with a mehndi party where the women
would be painted with henna. Next day
was the formal engagement ceremony,
the nichayathartham, followed by a dawn
170 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
ceremony where we would walk around
a fire and make promises to each other
as prescribed by Hindu tradition. Finally,
we’d host a reception dinner back at the
hotel to thank our guests. I was vague on
the detail. “They don’t rehearse wedding
ceremonies in India,” my betrothed
assured me.
So we’re gathered in the hotel’s
function room, our guests dressed in
kurtas and saris and chatting furiously
while a team of artists begin painting
intricate patterns on the arms of the
women. I’m sweating in my kurta,
but I begin to relax.
Then the DJ announces it’s time for
some dancing. Everyone will gather in
a circle around the groom, he tells the
crowd, and watch him perform his
Bollywood dance moves.
Surely he jests. But, no, he’s quite
serious and everyone forms a circle
around us like it’s part of a script I’ve
never seen.
I panic. I’m a hopeless dancer – I can
barely manage a swaying shuffle let alone
the exuberant choreography seen in
Indian movies. How will I perform in
front of my future in-laws? What if they
decide I’m unfit for their daughter – or
just plain unfit?
But our guests are waiting, smiling
but a little impatient. The bhangra beat
of Panjabi MC’s “Mundian To Bach Ke”
fills the room. It’s showtime.
I remember watching an Indian
comedian doing a routine about
Bollywood dance steps, and some of
her jokes come back to me: screwing a
lightbulb, patting a dog, picking fruit.
Our guests are polite and encouraging
as I screw the lightbulb, pat the dog and
pick the fruit, but after a minute I’ve run
out of moves. Desperate, I waggle my
arms like a broken wave machine. The
mood in the room chills. I’m losing them.
And that’s when my bride takes pity
on me. Raised on Bollywood movies, she
has an exhaustive repertoire. I copy her,
the guests copy us, and within a few
minutes the circle has dissolved into
frenzied dancing. By the end of the day
we’ve changed more lightbulbs than they
have in the entire hotel.
The religious ceremonies that follow
are conducted at a beautiful Kerala-style
courtyard house, festooned with
marigolds. My family and I arrive on a
bullock cart, which, for spectacle’s sake,
certainly beats an Uber.
The following day, after a few hours
of ceremonies, I walk out. With a parasol
and the Hindu scriptures and hard sandals
to represent my disdain for worldly
comforts, I stride off to abandon the
ILLUSTRATION LIZ ROWLAND/ILLUSTRATION ROOM
marriage and become a hermit.
But then, as is the tradition, my
father-in-law meets me at the gate,
“convinces” me otherwise, and presents
me with a gift of coconuts. So I turn
around and marry his daughter after all.
Next time I’m invited to a wedding
in India, I’m definitely going. And I’ll
warn the groom about the dancing. ●
Dominic Knight is a co-founder of The
Chaser. His latest book is Strayapedia
(Allen & Unwin, $29.99).
 City hitlist

Don’t
miss

EAT
Eat your way through
Kuromon Ichiba, one
of Japan’s largest
food markets, while
admiring the
gleaming seafood
and impeccably fresh
produce from more
than 150 vendors. At
the modest Takoyaki
Wanaka stall, a line Kanidouraku Dōtonbori-Honten
forms every morning This popular chain’s original
for what are some of location overlooks the neon
the city’s best octopus wonderland of Dōtonbori (left)
balls. Other highlights – just follow the giant red crab
are a knife shop that’s (above). Inside, on the first of
been open since 1775, the restaurant’s four floors, the
and a tea house dating legion of live crabs hanging
back to 1937. 2 Chome out in a tank are in capable
4-1 Nipponbashi hands; the kitchen turns out
Dōtonbori all things crab with remarkable
consistency, from croquettes
to kani nabe, a hearty hot pot.
1 Chome-6-18 Dōtonbori

Japan’s second city stays true to its merchant roots with lively
Osaka Again
Trust an unpretentious
Osakan to take deep-frying
to the next level. Run by a
former sommelier, Again is
malls and superb street food, writes AMELIA LESTER. a Michelin-starred shoebox
devoted to the art of kushiage:
PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (DŌTONBORI AND KANIDOURAKU DŌTONBORI-HONTEN) & ALAMY (BUNRAKU)

battered meat and vegetables

on a stick. The seasonal
omakase is almost impossibly
light, even if the fried-egg-and-
hamburger-curry skewer sounds
anything but. 3F, Umebachi
Bldg, 1-5-7 Sonezakishinchi

SEE
Bunraku Founded in Osaka in the early
17th century, the traditional Japanese
theatre of bunraku stars puppets so big
they’re controlled by three puppeteers.
Stories of heroes and demons are
accompanied by a chanter and a musician
playing the shamisen, a three-stringed
instrument. The National Bunraku Theatre
ofers English audio guides. 1 Chome
12-10 Nipponbashi, ntj.jac.go.jp/english
STAY
Conrad Osaka This new luxury hotel
is located in the heart of the commercial
district on the 33rd to 40th floors of a
shiny skyscraper. All 164 rooms have
floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic
views and signature white circular
bathtubs. Whimsical works by Japanese
artists including Kohei Nawa feature
throughout. 3 Chome-2-4 Nakanoshima,
conradhotels3.hilton.com
Fujiya1935
What began as a noodle joint in
1935 is now among the World’s
50 Best restaurants. And it's
Getting almost certainly the world’s
there finest Japanese-Spanish eatery.
Tetsuya Fujiwara is the fourth
Qantas flies
to Osaka from generation of his family in the
Sydney direct. kitchen, though he trained
Airlines including in Barcelona. Now he creates
Japan Airlines, imaginative, elegant fare
ANA and Jetstar
fly from select
such as wasabi pasta and
Australian cities lily root and black trule flan.
via Tokyo. 2-4-14 Yariyamachi Chuo-ku ●

A walking tour with Inside Osaka reveals hidden hotspots in the

“nation’s kitchen”, as Japan’s rice-trade hub is known, as well as the
comedy clubs and theatres for which Osaka is renowned. insideosaka.net
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 171
Style
1 2
3

5
4

Visit 6

Le Très
Particulier
bar, Paris

15
14

French polish

Chanel
Mix monochrome staples with
seductive red accents for that
elusive je ne sais quoi.

8 7

12

PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (LE TRÈS PARTICULIER, CHANEL). MERCHANDISING LIZ ELTON
13

11
1 Helmut Lang coated shell trench coat,
$1,651, from Net-a-Porter. 2 Small hoop
earrings, $690, from Céline. 3 Leather beret,
$99.95, from Witchery. 4 Stripe wrap
shirt, $229, from Country Road. 5 Grown
Alchemist Vanilla & Orange Peel Hand
Cream, $27, from Mecca Cosmetica. 6 Miss
Lark sunglasses, $283, from Karen Walker.
7 Prada belted shell trench coat, $1,280,
from Net-a-Porter. 8 Retro Matte Lipstick
in Ruby Woo, $36, and Lip Pencil in Cherry,
$30, from MAC Cosmetics. 9 H&M Studio
wide cotton shirt, $99.99, from H&M.
10 Leather and canvas shopper, $4,370 from 10
Chanel. 11 Raey zip-front leather pencil skirt,
$837, from Matches Fashion. 12 Glass bead
bracelet, $860, from Chanel. 13 Calfskin
clutch $4,250, from Céline. 14 Gianvito
Rossi suede and PVC mules, $945, from
Net-a-porter. 15 Stripe wide-leg pant,
$249, from Country Road. Stockists p176.

172 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
 Beauty

Sugar crush
With these autumnal shades, your love of
chocolate doesn’t have to end on the plate.

1
WORDS AND STYLING LIZ ELTON. PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. SPOON FROM THE DEA STORE. ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. STOCKISTS P176

Wide variety of cuisine.

Ultimate enjoyment.

4 3

THE INDULGENCE PROMISE

| Indulgent buffets with live cooking and extra children’s dishes
5 | Varied buffet themes featuring regional products
| Excellent gala buffets once a week as a special treat
| Enjoy special dinner locations, such as right on the beach
| Exceptional speciality restaurants
| WellFood® – nutritious food designed to give you a boost of energy
| Get happy with lots of Felicity Food dishes

1 Chanel’s iconic long-lasting polish is the perfect shade for the season. Chanel Le Vernis Longwear
Nail Colour in Brun Contraste, $41, chanel.com. 2 Bronze and contour while evening skin tone and
pigmentation. Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, $44, mecca.com.au. 3 Its creamy texture will Even better than you imagined!
melt onto your lips and stay put for hours. Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Liquid Lip Crayon in Burn Notice, ROBINSON is Germany’s market leader for premium
$38, sephora.com.au. 4 A satin finish allows you to build the intensity of your colour. MAC Cosmetics
club-style holidays. Our 24 ROBINSON CLUB resorts
Satin Lipsick in Film Noir, $36, maccosmetics.com.au. 5 This antioxidant-rich pencil will fill even the
finest of gaps in your brows. Napoleon Perdis Eyebrow Pencil in Chocoholic, $32, napoleonperdis.com. offer an extensive range of high-quality sports, health
6 Rich in pigment and incredibly easy to blend. Napoleon Perdis Color Disc in Chocolate Ganache, and fitness activities, entertainment, and outstanding
$29, napoleonperdis.com. 7 Build the ideal smoky eye for day or night. Elizabeth Arden Eyeshadow
locally-sourced cuisine by top chefs. Our destinations,
Trio in Bronzed to Be, $28, elizabetharden.com.au. 8 A chiselled, angular tip allows for smooth, precise
lines. MAC Cosmetics Liptensity Lip Pencil in Double Fudge, $42, maccosmetics.com.au. for couples, single travellers and families, meet the
highest standards in terms of environmental
sustainability.

Advice and booking at www.robinson.com

 TRAVEL OVERSEAS TRAVEL OVERSEAS

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To advertise phone 02 9282 8256

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 p 113
Fennel-spiced semolina
cake with yoghurt
Cook’s notes
Measures & equipment
• All cup and spoon measures
are level and based on Australian
metric measures.
• Eggs have an average weight of
59gm unless otherwise specified.
• Fruit and vegetables are washed,
peeled and medium-sized unless
otherwise specified.
• Oven temperatures are for
conventional ovens and need to be
adjusted for fan-forced ovens.
• Pans are medium-sized and
heavy-based; cake tins are stainless
steel, unless otherwise specified.
Cooking tips
• When seasoning food, we use sea
salt and freshly ground pepper.
• To blanch an ingredient, cook it
briefly in boiling water, then drain
it. To refresh it, plunge it in plenty
of iced water, then drain it.
• We recommend using free-range
eggs, chicken and pork. We use
female pork for preference.
• Makrut lime leaves are also known
as kair lime leaves.
• To dry-roast spices, cook in a dry
pan, stirring over medium-high heat
until fragrant. Cooking time varies.
• RSPCA Australia’s advice for killing
crustaceans humanely is to render
the animals insensible by placing
them in the freezer (under 4°C) until
the tail or outer mouth parts can
be moved without resistance;
crustaceans must then be killed
quickly by cutting through the
centreline of the head and thorax.
For crabs, insert a knife into the
head. This process destroys the
nerve centres of the animal.
• All herbs are fresh, with leaves and
tender stems used, unless specified.
176 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
• Non-reactive bowls are made
from glass, ceramic or plastic. Use
them in preference to metal bowls
when marinating to prevent the
acid in marinades reacting with
metal and imparting a metallic taste.
• Eggwash is lightly beaten egg
used for glazing or sealing.
• Sugar syrup is made of equal parts
sugar and water, unless otherwise
specified. Bring the mixture to the
boil to dissolve sugar, remove from
heat and cool before use.
• Acidulated water is a mixture of
water and lemon juice.
• To sterilise jars and lids, run them
through the hot rinse cycle in a
dishwasher, or wash them in hot
soapy water, rinse well, place on a
tray in a cold oven and heat at 120°C
for 30 minutes.
• To blind bake, line a pastry-lined tart
tin with baking paper, then fill it with
weights (ceramic weights, rice and
dried beans work best).
• To test whether marmalade, jam or
jelly is at setting point, you’ll need
a chilled saucer. Remove the pan
from the heat, spoon a little mixture
onto the saucer and return it to
the freezer for 30 seconds, then
draw your finger through the
mixture – it should leave a trail,
indicating that it’s reached setting
point. If not, cook for another few
minutes before testing again. If you
prefer, use a sugar thermometer to
measure when the mixture reaches
105°C; once it does, start testing.
• To clarify butter, cook it over low
heat until the fat and the milk solids
separate. Strain of the clear butter
and discard the milk solids. You will
lose about 20 per cent of the
volume in milk solids.
Stockists
Batch Ceramics batchceramics.com.au Bison Home
(02) 6257 7255, bisonhome.com Cargo Crew
cargocrew.com.au Céline celine.com Chanel 1300 242 635,
chanel.com Country Road 1800 801 911, countryroad.com.au
Dinosaur Designs (02) 9698 3500, dinosaurdesigns.com.au
Francalia (02) 9948 4977, francalia.com.au H&M Studio
hm.com/au Hale Mercantile Co halemercantileco.com
Hub (02) 9217 0700, hubfurniture.com.au Ikea ikea.com.au
In Bed Store inbedstore.com Jook Ceramics itsajook.com
Kana London kanalondon.com Karen Walker karenwalker.
com Katherine Mahoney katherinemahoney.id.au M.A.C
maccosmetics.com.au Matches Fashion matchesfashion.com
Mecca 1800 007 844, mecca.com.au Mr. Draper
mrdraper.com.au Mud Australia (02) 9569 8181,
mudaustralia.com Myer myer.com.au Net-a-Porter
net-a-porter.com Papaya (02) 9386 9980, papaya.com.au
Quies Designs quiesdesigns.com Riedel (02) 9966 0033,
riedelglass.com.au Studio Enti studioenti.com.au The DEA
Store (02) 9698 8150, thedeastore.com The Essential
Ingredient theessentialingredient.com.au The Forty-Nine
Studio thefortynine.com.au West Elm westelm.com.au
Witchery 1800 640 249, witchery.com.au
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 Fare exchange
2 tsp finely diced crystallised 150ml-200ml ramekins in a deep ramekins from water, cool
ginger, to serve roasting pan. Whisk cream, milk completely at room temperature,
CHOCOLATE POTS and cocoa in a saucepan over then refrigerate to chill (at least
520 ml pouring cream medium heat, bring to the 2 hours or overnight).
250 ml (1 cup) milk boil, then whisk constantly for 2 For pear in ginger syrup,
2¼ tsp Dutch process cocoa 1 minute to cook cocoa. Whisk combine sugar, ginger and
6 egg yolks yolks and sugar in a separate 250ml water in a saucepan
65 gm caster sugar bowl until well combined, then and bring to the boil, stirring
130 gm dark chocolate whisking constantly, gradually to dissolve sugar. Turn of heat,
(55%-60% cocoa solids), pour in hot cream mixture, cover with a lid and leave to
finely chopped then add chocolate and stir infuse (1 hour, or longer for a
Dark chocolate PEAR IN GINGER SYRUP until melted. Strain through stronger flavour). Bring syrup
pots de crème 250 gm caster sugar a fine sieve into a jug, then back to a simmer over medium
25 gm (5cm piece) ginger, pour into ramekins, filling heat, add pear and cook,
with ginger pear thickly sliced three-quarters full. Transfer stirring occasionally, until
SERVES 8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS 2 large corella pears, baking tray to oven, then fill softened (8-10 minutes). Keep
// COOK 50 MINS (PLUS CHILLING)
peeled, cored and cut tray with enough boiling water warm, or refrigerate and warm
Stokehouse Q, Sidon St, into 3cm pieces to come halfway up sides of briefly before serving.
South Bank, Brisbane, ramekins. Bake until set with 3 Drain pear and spoon over
Qld, (07) 3020 0600, 1 For chocolate pots, preheat a slight wobble in the middle chocolate pots with crystallised
stokehouseq.com.au oven to 160°C and place eight (25-30 minutes). Remove ginger to serve.

SOUPS, STARTERS,
SNACKS AND SIDES
Agedashi tofu with daikon ●........138
Anchovy and tomato
bruschetta ●..................................117
Cucumber, olive and roasted-onion
salad ●●●.................................... 121
Farro, white bean and smoked
ham soup ●●.................................111
Freekeh and shaved cauliflower
salad with herb dressing ●● ... 112
Garlic chive soup ● ........................139
Grilled Roman beans ●● ............. 122
Jeera rice and dhal curry ●......... 109
Miso-glazed mushrooms with
walnuts and black barley ●● . 108
Mushroom and pine nut
brown rice bowl ●● ....................64
Mushroom parcels ●● ................. 128
Okonomiyaki.....................................137
PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FINLAYSON
Recipe index
MEAT AND POULTRY
Casarecce with pork
sausage, cavolo nero
and chilli ● .....................................64
Chicken wings with adjika ●....... 129
Chicken with barley,
olives and chilli ●........................ 110
Duck with orange and
quatre épices ●.......................... 126
Indian spiced yoghurt chicken with
cardamom-coconut pilaf ●........68
Kibbeh ●............................................ 112
Lamb shawarma................................131
Lamb shoulder ragù
with gnocchetti ●........................ 118
Rib-eye steak with
chilli sauce.................................... 120
Roast chicken with tarragon,
garlic and lemon ●●................. 130
Sesame-dressed greens
Spice-roasted pork with Chocolate, coconut
coleslaw ● ................................... 128 and date slab ●●●●..................39
Stir-fried chicken and garlic Chocolate-coconut pudding with
chives ●.........................................134 passionfruit and ice-cream ●●...69
Chocolate-hazelnut
SEAFOOD meringue cake ●● ..................... 101
Clams with bacon Chocolate, sour cherry and
and corn ● .....................................66 ricotta crumble cake ●●.......... 104
Pan-fried ocean trout with Dark chocolate pots de crème
cauliflower, almond and with ginger pear ●●● ............... 177
brown butter ● .............................68 Fennel-spiced semolina cake
Vinegared octopus and with yoghurt ●●● .......................113
wakame ●.....................................135 Hazelnut tiramisù ●●● .................123
Whole snapper roasted Hot cross buns ●● ..........................42
with curry flavours ● ..................127 Little brownie cakes
with fudge sauce ●●●............. 100
DESSERTS AND SWEETS Mini white chocolate bundts with
Anzac biscuits, reinvented ●●.....93 bitter chocolate glaze ●●●.... 102
Black and white Salted chocolate layer cake
cheesecake ●● ......................... 102 with whipped ganache ●● ..... 104

Peas, beans, ricotta and
mint bruschetta ●●.....................117
Spinach and udon soup ● ............139
Witlof, grapefruit and pecorino
salad ●●●................................... 122
and carrots ....................................136
Shaanxi-style lamb with
cumin and celery ● ..................... 67
Sirloin steak with red wine
sauce and kipfler chips ● ..........65
Caramelised honey and
popcorn bars with salted DRINKS AND EXTRAS
chocolate ●●●●.........................39 Hot chocolate ●●●.........................45
Chocolate and buttermilk Katsuobushi dashi ●●●................137
slab cake ●●●........................... 103 Kaya ●●●..........................................49

SIMPLE GLUTEN-FREE VEGETARIAN CAN BE PREPARED AHEAD

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 177
Chefs’ recipes

Fare exchange
Recipes you’ve requested from
Australia’s leading restaurants

Dark chocolate pots

de crème with ginger pear
“I love digging into the
chocolate pots at Stokehouse
Q, but what I’d love even more
is to make them at home. Could
you please ask for the recipe?”
Yvonne Dao, New Farm, Qld

177 ANDREW FINLAYSON. STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. FOOD PREPARATION MAX ADEY
RECIPE RICHARD OUSBY AND SAVANNAH SEXTON. PHOTOGRAPHY
p

Pots de crème
Linen tablecloth from
In Bed Store. All other
props stylist’s own.
Stockists p176.

REQUEST A RECIPE // TO REQUEST A RECIPE, EMAIL FAREEXCHANGE @ BAUER-MEDIA.COM.AU

178 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
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