Barcelona
to read recommendations for Barcelona’s famous market CLICK HERE and scroll down. These recommendations kindly given to us by Ferran Adrià when Marian Clarkin interviewed him for Galaxy Guides have been used and enjoyed by many people. Expect some challenges and expect some traditions. And…if you missed David Hay’s review of Comerç,24 in our August what’s hot please CLICK HERE to go to the full review and add it to your dining list for Barcelona.
above from top to bottom at the Barcelona market…the offal sellers and tomatoes and strawberries, no shifty hydroponic tomatoes there!
…photographer Mark Doyle
editor’s note
Unbelievably,
three months have gone! Three huge months starting with the Champagne Bureau’s annual South Australian dinner at Windy Point Restaurant. I’ve been cooking for 34 years and can count on one hand the dinners I have walked away from not thinking “why didn’t I do this or that…or this could have been better…or why did I stuff that up?” But, I was very happy with the Champagne matches done in conjunction with Champagne experts James Smith, Kaaren Palmer (Galaxy Guides Champagne editor) and chef and lecturer Darryl Thompson. This dinner would never have been possible without the very generous sponsorship of the Champagne houses listed on the menu or the fact that Windy Point Restaurant owners Justin Miles and Daniel Sparr took this dinner on knowing there would not be no profit, but regarding it a great learning experience for their front of house staff who are less experienced in wine dinner service and three, an opportunity for their kitchen team to make and present dishes not normally on their menu. The dinner also proved that South Australia could get it right.
The dinner was not without moments of complete stress, none more so than when Kangaroo Island scallop and sea urchin diver Paul Polacco rang to say it was too rough to get out. Paul did come good at the ninth hour but it was a reminder of the risk involved when you write a menu totally dependant on the weather. A lot of thought did go into having to tell the diners there were no scallops or sea urchins but, luckily that did not come to pass.
To see the menu and matched wines please CLICK HERE
Since closing my restaurant Mistress Augustine’s in 1992 I have consulted over a broad spectrum of restaurants and never undervalue the position of enormous privilege I have built for my own cooking in almost 20 years…a niche cooking for some of the world’s most amazing wines and wine companies. My niche is totally unlike running a restaurant where limitations have to be put in place to keep the business going. Clients who employ me to cook my food for them do not impose quality or price restrictions on the product I use and all understand that good food takes time and money. Food and wine matching has become my passion. It is that elusive perfect match that remains endlessly challenging. The greatest high if you get it right, and of course the the suicidal low on those occasions when you get it wrong. My greatest challenge for this week a raft of stunning wines, each with their own personality to match with food and bring to a great conclusion. My job is not to show off how clever I am (or think I am), but not to spoil the wine by serving something inappropriate for the expected flavour profile. Best advice to anyone when doing food for old wines; research as much as possible, try to find someone who has recently tasted the same vintage (or close) and leave yourself room to tweak at the last minute. Demand a taste before you serve (you only need a sip) to get the flavour profile, make the required adjustments and even though I have been an atheist (since 10) I hedge my bets and say a small prayer to all know gods!
Champagne editor Kaaren Palmer has returned from a long sojourn in Europe, much of the time spent in France researching her book about Champagne and continuing her Champagne studies and tutored tastings with some of Champagnes iconic old houses and less well known smaller houses. Kaaren Palmer is a very individual creature; the type of woman who takes on a subject and in an incredibly short time becomes an expert. Who else would note that despite the global fascination for Champagne there is so little in terms of book references and decide there and then to write a book about Champagne. Not only did Kaaren decide to take on the task she immediately hired on of the country’s most eminent editors Clare Coney, who amongst many iconic books to her credit, also edited David Thompson’s Thai Food. To test the water Kaaren then decided to publish a chapter of her forthcoming book on Galaxy Guides and invite comment from the general public. The response, especially from the French Champagne industry has been extremely positive and the expected publication date is late 2012. To read Chapter 4 please CLICK HERE — to stay tuned with constant Champagne news, links to other articles, new tasting notes and recent Champagne and food matching bookmark Kaaren Palmer’s Champagne Section and subscribe to her Champagne newsletter for advance notice about special Champagne events.
And…for those of you who accuse me of favourites, why should it surprise these critics that some of Adelaide’s best restaurants are also my mates or clients. I’ve been cooking in this town for more than 30 years. And…as my mates and work colleagues will attest, for all the compliments they often get, equally criticism is rained on them for everything from the quality of the toilet paper, state of the toilets during the night, marks on the walls, out of season ingredients, shitty dishes, cold food, bad service, crap bread, oysters out of season, lack of menu change…and much more! I do not side step these issues if they are reviewed and would also like to point out that many of my mates are not reviewed. One of the reasons I still cook for three or four public events annually is to give people the opportunity to critique (and hopefully enjoy) my cooking. It’s perhaps also worthwhile pointing out that the venue for sauchin 2011 David Laris’ fine dining restaurant 12 Chairs was named best fine dining in Shanghai 2011 and our food and wine matching made it into some of China’s most exclusive magazines including Noblesse.
And…please don’t send me emails asking why your establishment hasn’t been reviewed in Galaxy Guides unless you are up for my very considered professional opinion about your establishment clearly laying out why it has not been included in Galaxy Guides! So rant over!!!
Lastly thanks to all those wonderful people who take the time to write from where ever they might be. To write and share their travels or to send wonderful photos, like those from our friend Mark Doyle who took the gorgeous pictures from Barcelona’s famous markets used in this issue. Adrian Bennett (rooveiw) who’s erudite opinion I have come to greatly value. There are many people who help with Galaxy Guides but another person I would especially like to mention is Diana Hetzel. I suspect Di knows more about food and food history than the sum of the knowledge of all South Australian chefs (including myself) and her generosity with sharing her finds is so, very much appreciated for the thought tangents her emails always provoke!
We would like to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and all the very best for 2012
Ann Oliver
food editor and publisher Galaxy Guides
what’s hot, who’s hot……
Champagne editor Kaaren Palmer reviews Arnaud Lallement’s L’Assiette Champenoise!!
Restaurant L’Assiette Champenoise
Château de la Muire
Chef — Arnaud Lallement
Head Sommelier — Frêdéric Bouché
Michelin 2 stars
Owners — Lallement family since 1975
review Kaaren Palmer
Champagne editor Galaxy Guides please CLICK HERE to go the Kaaren’s Champagne section
new review 11 December, 2011
In the suburb, Tinqueux, a brief walk from Reims through what were fields not so long ago, and totally laid waste by bombs during the “Second World War“, lies “L’Assiette Champenois“. It’s a delightful place for seclusion from the surrounding grey suburbs, not to mention a chance for browsing their magnificent Champagne list plus 60 pages of other wines.
Challenged to provide Champagne matches (€77 – $102 AUD) with their Menu Saveur (€158 – $210 AUD), they showed a real knowledge of their terroir and its culinary dimensions.
Red leather seating warms the cosy bar area of the restaurant, quite a contrast to the light airy spacious white of the dining room. Both have a good feeling, the right feng shui. In the dining room, the central ceiling is elevated above the rest with a chandelier; the greenery of the outside acts as backdrop to the deck, and designer large not–too–lazy black chairs with giant red art nouveau pot plant admit their very careful selection. Tables along the parallel walls are separated by see–through white shoulder high shelving, with books, chosen probably for white, grey, and one or two black covers, plus tall Scandinavian style decanters, fresh greenery and fat creamy pink–edged single roses…read the
COMPLETE REVIEW
the elegant restaurant
image from the L’Assiette Champenoise web site
please visit Restaurant L’Assiette Champenoise for a tremendous over view
Heading for Paris for the holidays don’t leave home without book marking Kaaren Palmer’s fabulous
Where to drink Champagne in Paris…CLICK HERE
There was much eating out in Adelaide in October. We went to the recently opened Press in Waymouth Street and are returning this week to see what’s happening after their opening period. We went back to Vincenzo’s Cucina Vera and to be truthful came away disappointed, that a chef we know can cook like an angel is so playing with food at the expense of his diners. We have had two really fabulous lunches at Celsius one in October and another just last week. Another excellent lunch at Magill Estate Restaurant, the first time I had eaten Jock Zonfrillo’s food and also enjoyed attending the dinner for the launch of the icon new Penfolds Kalimna Bin 620. My local is River Café down on the Torrens. I have to have a small (possibly large) bitch because I just don’t get modern desserts. In fact I think Ferran Adria has a bloody lot to answer for. Too sweet, too boring, too mashed up (broken ?? What the f…k is that…)! In 1991 I was lucky enough to eat at the Three Michelin London restaurant Tante Claire under the baton of Pierre Koffmann (back at the Berkley London and highly recommended). His desserts were so amazing, so unforgettable I have been looking for anything that comes close since! But… I just do not get “broken”, a pile of dirt (well that’s what it looks like) on a plate and Jesus flowers were made fashionable by Alice Waters (Chez Panisse) in the late 70s! Yes, everything old is inevitably new again! I certainly don’t in any way get the gluey Neapolitan popsicle with supermarket hundreds and thousands and chocolate dipping sauce at Vincenzo’s! Give me a break this is the type of stuff we make for kids birthday parties! What I don’t understand is why broken is just limited to dessert when entrées, mains and petit fours are so beautifully plated…I mean why don’t you also chuck them in the Thermomix, puree them and give us a straw?
a South Australian food, wine and tourism promotion in Shanghai is currently a work in progress to be launched in January 2012. For the first time we will be conducting a wine industry funded estage scholarship competition for a young Shanghainese sommelier, front of house manager or chef to come to South Australia for a month for work experience. sauchin has been supporting these estages since 2005 and we are now opening this to the wider community in the hope that regions may see the sense of doing a region estage and sharing the love. Friendship and respect have always been part of business and we see this education process as one of the most important aspects for the future of South Australian wine and food in China…CLICK HERE to read about past estages and CLICK HERE to read about sauchin 2011.
Whilst is has been very tempting to take funding from other states sauchin continues to be a South Australian only promotion.
sauchin 2012 will be comprised of four major events
- the announcement of the 2012 sauchin estage winner
- a long table dinner in a very prestigious venue with a young South Australian chef heading the team and featuring prestigious South Australian wines
- a week of food and wine matching and education for private wine clubs and collectors in Shanghai
- a less formal week featuring South Australian food and wine in a restaurant very supportive of South Australian wine
All of course reinforcing the pleasures of wine and food tourism in South Australia and the possibilities for education at the formal and industry level. To have regular updates about sauchin 2012 please join our mailing list by
CLICKING HERE
2012 will bring some major changes to Galaxy Guides. It has always been our editorial policy not to review restaurants that we were unwilling to include in our very selective restaurant guides. However, it has been pointed out on a number of occasions that a guide of where not to eat might be more useful to the diner. Of course the legal fees of running a site like that would be astronomical regardless of how popular (and amusing) it might be. I do often write reviews of places that are never published and often think how well they would sell because some of them are absolutely hilarious! In stead in the future we will sometimes review restaurants that will not be included in our guides and why, figuring we put our money on the table and if they can’t deliver they take their chances.
The point is, that just to be included in Galaxy Guides is an accolade. It means there is a lot to like, that the establishment is amongst the best a city has to offer(regardless of price) and we take great pains to detail the things we do and do not like about an establishment. It is very rare to find a restaurant that is absolutely 100% anywhere in the world. We have come to learn that our readership’s taste pretty much coincides with our own. As a still practicing chef I always aim for 100% but it would be hypocritical to say that is always achieved. If, as a user of Galaxy Guides you opt to order the things we have warned you against I hate to tell you, it’s your problem not ours!
We very much appreciate establishments that take the time and trouble to keep their details up to date so if you change your email address, web site or team it is very good for us to be able to keep your entry current. Send us your opening times over Christmas and we’ll add them to your review. It’s a great help to our readers especially those from other places.
postcard from Kyoto from Adrian and Mark CLICK HERE to read more about Mizai sounds amazing!
