newsletter ten march 2009
Welcome to our March newsletter. food, new articles and reviews are now lodged on Galaxy Guides every Friday by end of day (a restaurant day, so more likely midnight than 5.00pm). To enjoy this up to the minute information bookmark the front of Galaxy Guides which will take you directly to the areas on the new articles and recipes on the Galaxy Guides site www.galaxyguides.com
One of the highlights for March was the Tanunda Show. A wonderful example of the preservation of a region’s culinary heritage. The open participation of children in novel cooking events was heartening and their genuine delight at winning a prize was delightful. As for the dahlias stunning and at The Magpie and Stump Café locals with the help of TAFE students turned out a bench mark pie made with locally produced Careme butter puff pastry (commercially available) and fabulous platters or regional and traditional produce. The pie was made especially good with just made mash potato. The excellence of the mash was a stark reminder of how dreadful mash potato is in most restaurants where the mistakenly believe it can be kept in a box in the fridge for days on end and reheated without anyone ever noticing that it is days old. Wrong! The aroma of the German beer cake entries almost turned me into a thief. Utterly magical it reinvigorated memories of my time in Austria and the perfume that wafted from the village baker that lured one like the Pied Piper of Hamlyn to feast again. Be warned, next year I am taking a bigger handbag and/or making friends with the brilliant home cooks who made it! Were thinking about entering our pickled onions next year, but doubt we could come close to Ali Cribb’s handmade bread even if we started practicing now. The ABC TV film crew from the very successful Australian Cook and The Chef program were there with the Barossa’s internationally known food face, Maggie Beer and will be running a program about the show later this year. We’ll keep you posted. take a look at the produce and be as jealous as hell!
We’ve been briefly in Melbourne again and updated Melbourne with three new establishments Cumulus Inc. — City Wine Shop — Anânada — I Carusi II. Of course we can never go past Movida and also love Bar Lourinhã. It has to be said that a Sunday and Monday public holiday in Melbourne drew us to conclude every barista worth their salt had taken the weekend off. The coffee, even at our beloved European was dreadful.
The directors and team of The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival are to be congratulated for daring to omit the mediocre and rightly guessing that people want something more than television chefs cooking pizza and stir fry. Their event must be the envy of every food and wine festival director in Australia. Not only were sessions packed they also proved that people with a real interest in food will put their money on the table. Charging $290 AUD for some sessions the quality of the local and international presenters and the intelligently chosen subject matter more than proved that the technical nature of some of the presentations drew heavy support from the industry and public alike. To see their line up www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au
Lastly, to answer some of your questions about home vac machines. We have been using a Sunbeam home vac for over 12 months and David Hay Thorn Park by the Vines for almost two years. We have noted that their new models have obvious design advantages that brings them closer to the vac machines we use in restaurants and commercial operations. My brother, a keen fisherman purchased a $70 machine from one of those cheap shops and has been vaccing his catch in salt water or olive oil there and then using a converter and his 12V fridge to store them. It is not easy to vac liquids with home vac machines but the sloping tray of his machine makes easy work of the task. We have had an instance to redeem the warranty on our Sunbeam machine and found their approach exemplary. We were completely unknown to them and our machine was replaced with a new one without question. The book that comes with the Sunbeam machine is positively useless, but we will be adding this sort of information in food and in a couple of months will have also tried out the new models. We do no recommend buying a European model where warranty will be difficult and have to say that these cheap shops honour warranty without any argument which is commendable. More in a couple of months with pictures and brands and where we have purchased them. In the meantime it is extremely important to note that the strictest hygienic conditions must be adhered to whether you are a professional or domestic cook vaccing food and cooking sous–vide. Extensive testing has shown that food packed without wearing food service gloves, where the inside of the bag was touched with hands (albeit clean ones) the shelf life of the stored product is dramatically reduced. Add to that cooking at low temperatures may not kill the bacteria transferred to the bag and refrigeration temperatures can vary enormously. I am currently working on a set of guidelines for professional and domestic vaccing which we will publish on the site. If anyone has material they would like to contribute it would be acknowledged will all the author’s details. email me

Other publications by Ann Oliver Southern Rocklobster Limited CHEF NEWS focusing on the development of the export market in America and recipe and technique development for the group and weekly restaurant review for the Independent Weekly
Ann’s resume can be viewed by clicking here

Please bookmark the front of our site! www.galaxyguides.com
and please send a link to all of yours friends and colleagues.

march food passionfruit
Our favourite passionfruit recipes click here

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Culinary Luminaries, Michelin Stars, Wine Legends and More… — Marian Clarkin The 17th Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s Master Class, held on the weekend of 21–22 March 2009, featured the big names in the local and international food and wine scene, including Thomas Keller of California’s French Laundry and Bouchon and New York’s per se who has seven Michelin stars, Heston Blumenthal of Michelin three star restaurant The Fat Duck, in Berkshire, England, and luminary French winemaker, Michel Chapoutier from the Rhône. All in all, an unprecedented 30 Michelin stars could be totalled from the chefs present from Britain, France and Italy, as well as the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. The Format The event represents a blend of the previous formats. What started at the Grand Hyatt, where food tastings were prepared in the banquet kitchens, and later moved to Federation Square, where a lecture theatre style did not allow for food tastings, has now reached maturity, with several venues offering a different function. All the while, the wine room has remained an interactive experience over this time, to allow for tastings as well as discussion, and was held at the Langham Hotel, at Southbank. The reception facilities at the Langham were used to allow for Chef Master Classes with cooking demonstrations, in three venues with kitchens supplied by Miele, accompanied by an audio visual set–up featuring large television screens. Two courses of the three presented by each chef were offered for tastings, as samples were prepared by chef, Anthony Ross, and his team at the Langham. The new Melbourne Recital Centre, a short stroll away from the Langham, became The Theatre of Ideas, enabling chefs to lecture in an intimate auditorium with a stage, supported by television screens. A total of 24 Chef Master Class sessions, eight Theatre of Ideas sessions and eight wine sessions, many of which were not repeated, meant it was not possible to attend all of the sessions, as a number were booked out last year, when the final programme was announced.   from left to right — signing books Spanish Choclatier Ramon Morató, sold out despite the $300AUD price tag, Heston Blumenthal’s The Big Fat Duck cookbook and Dutch Alain Alders of one Michelin star restaurant, De Vrienden van Jacob The Chefs In addition to the international stars, there were also leading Australian–based chefs participating as presenters and moderators, including Neil Perry of Rockpool Sydney and Melbourne, Raymond Capaldi in the process of opening Locarno 150 at the old Mercy Hospital Melbourne, Frank Camorra, of MoVida and MoVida Next Door and Shannon Bennett, of Vue De Monde, Bistro Vue and Café Vue. Representing the best of regional Victoria were Alla Wolf–Tasker of Lake House, Dan Hunter of the Royal Mail and Patrizia Simone of Simone’s of Bright. Chef Master Class Alain Alders of one Michelin star restaurant, De Vrienden van Jacob, in Santpoort, the Netherlands, presented his approach to cooking modern Dutch cuisine, with the session A Fish out of Water. As Alders explained, Dutch cuisine has had many external influences, due to the travel and trading that the Dutch have been involved with over the centuries, which included the Spice Route. Substituting local ingredients, Alders offered two recipes available for tasting: Jelly of cucumber with curds of mint, Bavarian cream of tomato and lightly dried mini pomodori tomatoes; and Dublin Bay prawns, marinated in apple mint and vinaigrette “Melange Pouchkine” with citrus fruit. Sat Bains of Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, the first restaurant in Nottingham to attain a Michelin star was born in Derby to Punjabi parents and stands at an imposing height of 6 foot 4. An entertaining presenter, Bains presented a session on The New Food of Britain and gave an insight into his self–taught approach to cooking. Bains relies heavily on local producers and told the funny story of his parcel deliveryman, who had to confess to opening up Bains’ mail containing his weekly supply of herbs from Scotland. The delivery man then offered to grow them locally for Bains and is now one of Bains’ herb suppliers. Instead of salt, Bains uses Marmite (and when in Australia, Vegemite) as a seasoning, as well as freshly grated chocolate and powdered liquorice. Bain’s session was hands on, showing each of the three dishes he provided recipes for, which included: a scallop dish; hare with cauliflower, chocolate and berries; and chocolate cream with rapeseed oil jelly seasoned with sea salt and wafer thin slices of sweet toast. read on Coonawarra jewels, Pipers of Penola and Upstairs at Hollicks click here to go to the information about the Coonawarra Arts Festival from the left — Pipers of Penola, scallop and eel with celeriac (divine!) and a new twist on roast beef potatoes and Yorkshire pudding with bone marrow. Upstairs at Hollicks a perfect pannacotta and poached pear. The Manse Restaurant and Bar the beautiful food of their chef Ayhan Erkoc As proof of Erkoc’s dedication to his craft instead of choosing to spend his annual leave lolling on a beach doing nothing, for the next month he is doing estage at Denmark’s two Michelin star Noma with chef Rene Redzepi who has recently been in Australia for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Erkoc’s food does have elements of molecular gastronomy but over the last twelve months these have become more and more intelligent, their inclusion in a dish determined by the flavour and texture they add rather than some senseless element that detracts rather than adds to a dish. For those well–read individuals who might criticise the plagiarism of elements of ElBulli and most commonly Alinea, a criticism that can equally be laid at Luke Stepsys (Magill Estate) and occurs on just about every young chef’s menu in Australia, it must be pointed out the world’s greatest chefs have always placed their hands upon the next generations’s food. From Escoffier to Bocuse, before and beyond, but what we are starting to see is these beginnings going elsewhere as the new generation of hot young chefs add their own stamp and take the ideas elsewhere. The Manse’s restaurant manager Oliver Field and sommelier Craig Phillips, and in fact all their front of house staff have worked at the Manse for a very long time. They are well versed with the Erkoc’s food and if you don't have a sense of adventure when it comes to dining, their advice should be sought when deciding what to order. Dishes like for instance the Hay Lamb or the Westridge Rabbit are sufficiently conventional to delight anyone. Bluntly if you don't enjoy some elements of modernity in your food get advice for the front of house staff because there are endless good possibilities for all diners at the Manse. from the left to right, top to bottom entrée Cured Petuna Ocean Trout, Honey Dew Melon, Olive Licorice, Dill $21, White Chocolate mousse, Strawberry, Fresh Pistachio, Radish $15.50, Steamed coconut Sponge cake, Mango, Chocolate, Coconut Sorbet $15.50, Loin of Maylands Lamb, Garden Vegetables, Garlic Custard, Water Cress $43, Westridge Rabbit, Carrot, Date, Boudin Noir, Wakame $40 next month Content is added to Galaxy Guides on a weekly basis every Friday by midnight. New content is listed on the front of the site www.galaxyguides.com — or if you want to be reminded by email each week please click here restaurant reviews — hidden treasure, two local Vietnamese restaurants that are hidden from view. Yen Linh (previously reviewed) and Nghi Ngân Quán (new review) and our first review for the latest cool and groovy Trim enterprise Sparrow Kitchen and Bar which has now been open for three months pickling — well it is the season and we’ll be covering quinces, pickled onions (you guys in the Barossa are welcome to steal our recipe (well actually Ann’s dad’s recipe) for your own, or contribute), pickled lemons and limes. the basics — when trying to decide what content should be the first to go into Galaxy Guides food, seasonal content (for the Southern Hemisphere) was an obvious choice as was new material, but it was impossible not to think that the basics were as important as anything. You know the recipes that make something utterly idiot proof, but the type of recipes that turns in to hundreds of others. So we’ll be putting up perfect recipes for pasta dough, polenta, rice of the normal and risotto type as quickly as possible. fast and fabulous — will become a section resurrected from a column heading of 10 years ago that seems more relevant today than it did then. This is good fast food for harried time poor people. chillies in detail — the habanero has been knocked from its perch by the Dorset Naga. Hard to believe but true the Dorset Naga is apparently twice as hot. We will also be sharing a couple of great recipes that use a lot of chillies. Yes this has been delayed by a somewhat futile attempt to buy or find a Dorset Naga, regardless if we manage it or not we'll be loading what we have so far. Anyone able to supply a Dorset Naga please email Ann Oliver

Ann Oliver’s COOKS’ CLUB program until August 2009 now available. Classes are intimate and places genuinely limited. Classes should be booked immediately and un paid for two weeks prior to the class date. For to the program and booking information click here

Ann Oliver’s COOKS’ CLUB is supported by the Independent Weekly

this month’s feature article
Marian Clarkin

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Culinary Luminaries, Michelin Stars, Wine Legends and More…
An in–depth look at star chef and wine sessions, trends and individual culinary styles Marian's article is full of interesting insights. click here

recipes
If you’re looking to celebrate the opening of the South Australian oyster season in the second week of April we’ve got great recipes, reading and more click here

The last of figs, we absolutely never throw anything away. Even those seemingly horrid hard figs that never ripen have a purpose and until you’ve eaten anchoyade, a subtle mix of figs, anchovies and garlic, on a piece of real bread toasted on an open fire you have’t lived. click here for lots of good fig recipes

Melbourne
we’ve been briefly back in Melbourne and added four new establishments in the mid price range Cumulus Inc. — City Wine Shop — Anânada — I Carusi II. The new reviews are clearly marked click here

Australia’s favourite meat producer and butcher, South Australian
Richard Gunner of Feast Fine Foods, Coonawarra Angus and Hay Lamb and Pure Suffolk is one of six finalists (the only South Australian) for the Sydney Royal Easter Show’s coveted Presidents Medal. For more information about the medal and the other finalists
click here

Want to make a suggestion for food email our food editor

Back in South Australia

we take a pictorial look at chef Ayhan Erkoc’s stunning food (The Manse Restaurant and Bar). There was a time when we would have considered his food too full of molecular elements that didn't quite satisfy, but the evolvement of his food in the past twelve months is a testament to the passion and dedication of this terrific young chef. A young man to watch out for read more

don’t panic NANO has moved not closed The premises shift of NANO has bought more panicked emails than every before as all those people, some of them very surprising worry their zepploe supply has been cut. To get their new location and read their new review click here

highlights from the
Tanunda Show
Saturday 14th of March was real treat and the Tanunda Show is a fabulous example of a community working together read more

Wine Dinners and Events
April
Apothecary 1878

Louis Roederer Champagne Dinner $195 AUD per person food and wine. Reservations close Monday March 31. For menu and wine details and booking form click here or direct your enquiries to the restaurant
t +61 8 8212 9099

Magill Estate Restaurant — Adelaide
The Grange Pre Release Dinners will be held at Magill Estate Restaurant Monday April 20, through to Saturday April 25,2009. All dinners are hosted by key Penfolds winemakers and the menu is a collaboration between chief winemaker Peter Gago and his team, chef Luke Stepsys and sommelier Remon Van de Kerkhof.
$360 AUD per person food and wine
make a reservation or direct your enquiries to Restaurant and Function Coordinator, Melissa Stewart
t +61 8 8301 5449

Coriole Music Festival
Saturday and Sunday May 2 and 3
This is an exceptional festival that celebrates the extraordinary with an erudite selection of obscure and well known classical music presented in structured concert events with meals. Coriole is one of those wineries that has always supported the arts in South Australia (and Australia) with a generosity and consistency unmatched by any other winery.
Bookings are limited click here to down load the complete information and booking form.

Coonawarra Arts Festival
May 14 to 17
We’ve never been to the festival but have heard great reports. It also seems a terrific opportunity to visit the Coonawarra and visit two of South Australia’ s best regional restaurants, each very different form the other they are both small and reservations should be made immediately if you are planning to attend the festival. If you have never been to the region it can be very cold at night but the rising morning mists are particularly spectacular. click here to go to the festival web site where all details are listed.

Pipers of Penola would receive real national acclaim if it was just a little closer to a city centre. A tiny restaurant it is owner operated by chef Simon Bowen and his partner Erika Burg. Food, service and wine list are excellent. read their review

Upstairs at Hollicks is the brainchild of winemaker Wendy Hollick. The restaurant has a lovely vineyard aspect that especially clarifies why the region is noted for its particular terroir. Food is inexpensive for the quality and of course there is the added enjoyment of Hollick’s wines at virtually cellar door prices. read their review

We are happy to list special dinners in our newsletter, but reserve the right to refuse unsuitable events. AO

food and wine and hospitality web sites and html newsletters designed by people with an association with the hospitality industry — www.annoliver.com

Toying with opening a business in Shanghai or Beijing
We know and trust these people to deliver their promise and all have essential market knowledge and between them cover all aspects.

Campbell Thompson, The Wine Republic
David Laris, Laris Creates
Simon Tan, The Wine Centre
Walter Zahner, walternative

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Culinary Luminaries, Michelin Stars, Wine Legends and More… — Marian Clarkin…continued

Ramon Morató, from the Catalan area of Spain, has won the distinction of being Spain’s Artisan Confectioner Master. Morató runs Aula Chocovic, Spain’s first chocolate school and appeared in the Theatre of Ideas to present his comprehensive and informative talk, Chocolate is the New Pastry, which was one of the few sessions that was run twice. Morató examined cocoa as a commodity and a fruit and traced its evolution from the time of the Mayans and Aztecs, when it was used as a form of currency, until the present day, where chocolate is ubiquitous and it is more difficult to find places where there is no chocolate.
Morató gave everyone in attendance a gift, a Trikki Tricky Truffle, a chocolate truffle in a jar (he is obsessed with jars and producing fruit preserves) made from Chocovic dark couverture Kendari chocolate (60%), fresh cream and authentic Spanish Tuber Melanosporum truffle from the mountain forests of Osona (Barcelona) which looked and tasted like it was found on the forest floor.

Don’t we all wish we could make or buy anything that came close to Alison Cribb’s (chef and gardener extraordinaire Rockford Wines) stunning handmade sour dough bread, first prize winner at the recent Tanunda Show. Partner Michael Voumard (also chef and gardener extraordinaire for Rockford Wines) won another first for his sun dried heritage tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil.

remember the beautiful
Brigita Turniski
in a positive and wonderful way. Prompted by Brigita’s husband Tony Whiting who has allowed access to all of her recipes and notes, Brigita’s work colleagues headed by Gail Vort-Ronald are undertaking the publishing a book of her work as a fitting memoir for the life of someone who was possessed with food, never sought the limelight and cooked like an angel. Gail Vort-Ronald is coordinating the project and is looking for remembrances from colleagues, friends and members of the public to stand against her recipes. If you would like to contribute to the project please email Gail who will provide copy guidelines

The Last Chinese Chef
Nicole Mones
An exquisite insight into the nuances of Chinese cuisine – click on the covers to go to the reviews.

We are currently re–reading
Preserving the Italian Way in preparation for making some different types of olives this year.

Quality Indonesian Bourbon Vanilla Paste
$50AUD 500g contact
Jason Davis
0435 177 036 Australia
+61 435 177 036 international
Ann Page
(08) 8379 5585 Australia
+61 8 8379 5585 international

visit the Red Gate Beijing web site for full exhibition details

Galaxy Guides Policy
We support our suppliers for their integrity. We need them to care as much as we do, it makes the food we cook better. When you buy your ham this Christmas support your local producers and, where ever you are buy local

Senior wine editor
Dr Alexandra Burridge reviews
1999 Piper Heidsieck ’Rare’
Our wine editors Dr Alexandra Burridge and Duane Coates come with impeccable credentials and contribute their time and advice for the love and passion for their craft. Duane is fully absorbed with vintage for both his own company and the many other companies he consults to. Duane’s wines have consistently won first–rate accolades and have never rated below 90 points - www.coates-wines.com

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Culinary Luminaries, Michelin Stars, Wine Legends and More… — Marian Clarkin…continued

The Wine Room

At the Langham, wine enthusiasts had the opportunity to attend sessions on wine, all of which were one offs, and several of which had sold out. The wine sessions were moderated by Ben Edwards of Sommeliers Australia.
International presenters included Bert Salomon, Austrian wine producer; Roberto Anselmi from Anselmi, Veneto, along with Pierre and Sophie Larmandier of Champagne House, Larmandier–Bernier. Winemakers, James Godfrey, of Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley, South Australia and Stephen Chambers of Chambers Rosewood, Rutherglen Victoria, presented an impressive line–up of Australian fortifieds. James Halliday renowned Australian wine writer and judge and Matt Harrop, of Shadowfax Wines, presented a retrospective of 50 years of Australian wine with examples for tasting.
For Shiraz — Old Roots, New Wines, Michel Chapoutier gave an entertaining insight into Australian Shiraz and French Syrah, which included the M. Chapoutier Crozes–Hermitage Les Meysonniers, 2006 and the M. Chapoutier Côte Rotie La Mordore, 2005. Chapoutier’s tactile business card features Braille and describes him a Vine grower – Winemaker and Wine lover. His universal approach has led to investment in vineyards in Heathcote, Victoria, and he said he is the biggest Australian wine importer in France.
Winemaker, Alex Moreau, of Burgundy’s Domaine Bernard Moreau and Tom Carson of Yabby Lake, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria championed the cause of Chardonnay in a session called A Tale of Terroir. Examples highlighted the difference between French, Australian and New Zealand examples and the influences of oak treatment and malolactic fermentation on the resulting wines.
Pinot Noir was the focus of a session called Pinot Noir Comes of Age, which comprised a panel of the following winemakers: Helen Masters, of Ata Rangi, Martinborough, New Zealand; Larry McKenna, of Escarpment, also in Martinborough; and Timo Mayer of Mayer Vineyards in the Yarra Valley and Michael Dhillon of Bindi in Macedon, Victoria. This enabled a broad tasting of this cool climate variety featuring 2006 and 2007 vintages.

In Conclusion
Overall, the 2009 Master Class certainly provided both food and wine professionals, as well aspirational home cooks and wine aficionados, with some great insights and tastes from around the globe.
As discussed above, this year’s Master Class represented a broader selection of countries than previous years. Perhaps in future there may be scope to find out what is happening in emerging wine markets, such as those of China and various South American countries. In the same way that Northern European kitchens appear to be forsaking French culinary traditions, it may also be worth exploring what is happening in Eastern kitchens, particularly in the top restaurants of China and India.
To register for the 2010 Langham Melbourne Master Class, sign up for updates by visiting: www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au