Appellation
Appellation at The Louise
Seppeltsfield Road, Marananga, South Australia 5355
w www.appellation.com.au
e
dine@appellation.com.au
t
+61 8562 4144
f +61 8562 2547
open dinner 7 days for dinner, lunch on Sundays – reservations essential, private dining room available
FOOD Appellation owners Americans, Helen and Jim Carreker should be thanked for setting a new standard for public dining and accommodation in the Barossa Valley. It is a standard that other previously lack luster operations are now tempted to follow. Like the Barossa Novatel with a new manager with international hotel experience and a chef from a one Michelin star restaurant.
Rather than feel threatened by this development, Carreker welcomes it knowing that to fully develop his business his guests need a reason to stay a week rather than a couple of days in the Barossa Valley. Another clever business move has been to waive the insistence of a two–night stay enforced by most regional Australian accommodation. The result is a dining room filled with the most enviable age demographics; young people with ages ranging from mid–twenties to mid–thirties with only a few older people represented. It is fantastic to see a new generation of diners appreciating the experience.
Executive chef McNamara’s passion for the Barossa region and his on–going obsession with locally grown produce allows him to boast 80% of his menu is local, probably within ten kilometers of his kitchen door. Signature dishes have crept permanently onto their menu like for instance their Tasting plate of duck featuring red gum smoked breast, rillettes and liver parfait and Roasted fragrant spiced sweet potato with toasted pepitas, almonds and cumin. It is easy to be trapped by popularity and we are reconciled to the fact that many people return to enjoy a dish again. There is a daily degustation menu with matched featured Barossan wines – all details of dining options and dining and accommodation packages at the Louise are available from their web site.
From their a la carte menu we chose Mildly spiced broth of prawns with rainbow chard, coconut cream and limes followed by Pan–fried fillet of snapper with Broccolini, lemon pilaf and verjus butter sauce and Creamy “risotto” of fine barley, braised leeks, garden greens and parmesan cheese and Hutton Vale lamb with roasted root vegetables and buttered onion puree. The broth had potential but the chard was too European for an Asian dish. The crispy skinned snapper was perfectly moistened with a very good verjus beurre blanc and not overwhelmed with multitudinous unnecessary ingredients. We applaud the menu that does not find the need to write ’fresh’ against menu items; aren’t they meant to be anyway? We also applaud the menu that does not expand the menu description to list every ingredient because we expect some element of surprise and trust between chef and diner. However in the instance of the lamb the degree of cooking should have been indicated (as they do with their beef). Served medium, the lamb remained succulent, but the promised ’root vegetables’ consisted only of baby carrot and turned potato; parsnip and turnip should have been included.
The investment in quality and unique accoutrements is appreciated by us; lovely touches like the gorgeous little crazed glass pots and stainless ’dandy spoons’ commissioned from the Jam Factory Contemporary Craft and Design Centre for their palate cleanser. We love the paired back confident hand of McNamara’s cooking that does not require senseless garnish to get applause. Appellation’s kitchen delivers classically cooked food that is true to its regional origins. Appellation is a dining experience a mile (or three) above any public dining experience currently found in the valley and is the only Barossan restaurant we recommend without hesitation.
WINE Ruby Stopart’s title is restaurant manager but she also plays a strong role with wine service and wine list. Stopart is one of South Australia’s best front of house/sommeliers. Elegant, straight backed and super knowledgeable about wine and food she has something of the presence and flair of those brilliant (always in control) French women who seem to front France’s best restaurants. Rarely do these women play the dual role of sommelier. Appellation’s list is a collaboration between Stopart, chef McNamara and his son Mathew who has recently brilliantly passed his Court of Masters Sommeliers. An international list, the Barossa is superbly represented and they also have an excellent selection of old and new world half bottles. Bravely given their market entry point they have chosen to broadly promote the best wines of the Barossa region, correctly assuming that visitors to the region are there to try Barossan wine.
OWNERS — Helen and Jim Carreker
CHEFS — Executive Mark McNamara
RESTAURANT MANAGER AND SOMMELIER — Peter Healy
