Spicers Clovelly Estate

I've long been a fan of Cameron Matthews who has been Executive Chef de Cuisine at Siggi's at the Stamford Plaza for several years. A recent lunch there only served to remind me of the exquisite flavours he extracts from food.

Well Cameron is on the move and is now heading up the kitchen at the new Spicers Clovelly Estate high on the mountain at Montville. The word is think modern French cuisine with curing, smoking and fresh local produce like spanner crabs. His menus are promised to be online soon!

The web site says the newly opened Spicers Clovelly Estate truly is a feast for the senses and waxes lyrical about coffee and cake on the terrace, a three course dinner in the dining room, and an old-fashioned Pimms in front of the fire. Sounds like my kind of place!

It's hidden on a hill in the lush hinterland and is described as part retreat, part European estate and part home away from home. There are just 10 suites. I would expect much the same level as at Peppers Spicers Peak Lodge and Peppers Hidden Vale, both of which are very attractive places to stay with a finish of a very high standard.

Wherever possible, Spicers Clovelly Estate says they choose local suppliers, both for freshness and taste, and also to reduce food miles - a concept of which I am hugely in favour. Their list of local producers includes Spanner Crabs Noosa, Noosa Redclaw, Noosa Reds, Maleny Chilli Growers, Maroochy Springs Wines, Maleny Mountain Wines, Flame Hill Vineyard and Blind Man’s Bluff Vineyard. Some is organic, but most is the result of great care and passion on the part of small growers who are changing the face of agribusiness in Queensland, and for whom biodiversity and sustainable agricultural practices are firmly on the agenda.

This is a place to watch. Love to know what you think when visit and experience Cameron's food.

68 Balmoral Road, Montville, 4560, Sunshine Coast Hinterland. 1300 836 822
www.spicersclovellyestate.com.au

Perfectly preserved

I've been making my own apricot jam for many years from a recipe handed down from my great grandmother. It's a family tradition now and my son is the chief rum taster (a more than good slurp of Bundy is our secret ingredient).

But several other attempts at preserving have been disasters – passionfruit jam that nobody liked, orange marmalade that wouldn't set... there are more that have been conveniently forgotten.

So I can see the advantage of Taste's new monthly workshops on preserving where they are planning to cover everything from mandarin marmalade to coriander pesto.

Taste preservation expert Suzanne Combes says its a good way to cut costs and get creative in the kitchen when times are tough. Instead of a paying for overpriced cooking ingredients you can easily make many in your own home for a fraction of the cost.

“People love cooking with dried foods, exotic jams, flavoured vinegars, oils, pickles and cheeses, but buying these from up-market delis or even farmers markets can become expensive, especially when they are so easy to make yourself,” she said.

I'm so there Suzanne - my shelves have an overseas holiday's worth of preserves!

Not only is making them yourself cheaper, you'll also avoid nasty things like MSG, starchy thickeners, salt and excessive sugar.

So if you want to learn how to make Indian Spicy Carrot Chutney or Mediterranean Pickled Lemons and many others head to Taste’s in store preservation demonstrations on the last Saturday of every month from July to November. Best of all, it's free.

11am – 12noon at Taste, 3 Montpelier Rd, Fortitude Valley.

Melbourne - my way

Here's another taste of Melbourne from my long weekend visit in early July. Still got some very special eating places to share. Stay tuned!

Melbourne, My Way from Verity Stone on Vimeo.

Slow coffee

The Brisbane Slow Food Convivium (chapter) is presenting a Cup of Excellence and Coffee Appreciation course at Di Bella Roastery this Saturday.

Di Bella’s head roaster Anne Cooper will present the two hour course which runs through a variety of coffee related topics and provides tastings.

The Cup of Excellence builds a bridge between farmer, the trade industry and the consumer. It is a competition and internet auction for small, high quality growers, which rewards them financially for their niche. Otherwise, these third world farmers are tempted to increase their holdings by clearing the forest to grow lower quality high yield beans. The small quantities of beans are supplied around the world to exclusive coffee houses for education purposes. They are used for quality control and to understand the difference between regions or ‘terroir’.

Di Bella Coffee says they are the only Queensland business to have Cup of Excellence samples of winning blends from Colombia, El Salvador, Bolivia, Guatemala and Rwanda.

Brisbane Slow Food leader Dr Robert MacLennen says Di Bella’s Cup of Excellence and fair trade plan is a perfect match for the Slow Food philosophy. The Slow Food movement was formed to promote the principles of ‘terroir’ and protect small growers around the globe.

Date: Saturday, 18 July
Time: 12:30- 2:30
Location: Di Bella Roastery, 80 Abbotsford Rd, Bowen Hills
Cost: $20 Slow Food Member $30
Booking: Ring Mary O’Shea at Slow Food 07 3371 3609
General Public Price includes 500g of Di Bella Coffee
All proceeds from the event will go to Slow Food Brisbane Convivium.

Search for the perfect cupcake - Bittersweet

It's a tough job searching for the perfect cupcake but someone has to do it. This week's search uncovered tiny cupcakes at Bittersweet, a great chocolate shop at The Barracks on Petrie Terrace.

They are made by Bittersweet owner Ann Aitkinson who uses a mud cake base rather than the traditional sponge. The topping, a rich callebaut dark chocolate ganache, is a lovely velvety chocolate pile which I enjoyed and was a good contrast to the cake which was quite dense.

The small ones (pictured) are $2.50 and large $5.

When you pop into Bittersweet, make sure you drag your eyes away from the chocolates on display to check out the Acticoa chocolate which has some great health benefits. There are some new Atticoa truffles which you can use as your one a day guilt-free chocolate treat as well.

Enjoy!

Bittersweet, The Barracks, 61 Petrie Terrace. p 3367 3323.

There's plenty of parking underneath and it's free for 2 hours if you spend $10.

Le Bon Choix

Last time I walked into this building at the pointy end of Queen Street it was a bank. Now it looks decidedly French and way too tempting.

It was Jodie's recommendation that send me on the hunt which revealed not only delicious hot chocolate but also a great muffin.

Priced at $4, the hot chocolate was not only very good but very reasonable, rich and thick with a full chocolate flavour. It didn't come with marshmallows but they certainly weren't necessary. The hot chocolate expert gave it 8/10.

The chocolate muffin was studded with delicious choc bits but still lacked a little flavour - 7/10. The texture was good but a little dry.

But the real delight was the pain au chocolat which was light, crispy with a rich, moist chocolate filling - everything you could hope for!

I've been told the baguettes are particularly good here and there's also a good range of sweet treats. It's definitely a place to check out but not if you work close by, as it might be too hard to resist regular visits. And people tell me there's another one of these on Racecourse Road - I may consider moving....

Le Bon Choix
379 Queen St
Brisbane 3229 9260
www.lebonchoixbakery.com.au

New at The Barracks - French Twist

Newly opened at The Barracks on Petrie Terrace is a welcome addition to the dining options, French Twist.

It only opened on Tuesday and the staff were very generously wandering around with samples of the pastries and cakes. The range was extensive and the ones I tasted were delicious.

As well as small sweet treats, there's also larger cakes and a range of breads, all French-themed.

The coffee I had was okay - I think it was a house brand but will investigate further.

The decor is decidedly French with rustic tables and chairs, old style art and shabby chic decor.

Inside there are some delightful sitting areas with comfy armchairs. It's much like being in someone's very flash lounge room. There's plenty of atmosphere here with a good adaptation of a heritage building.

Outside there are lots of tables and chairs so there should be no shortage of seating.

French Twist has stores in many locations around Brisbane including James Street and several shopping centres, so we are not talking artisan stuff here. However if they can keep up the standard from today I'll be a regular visitor, if only to read the latest magazines which are strewn over the tables. Enjoy!

Update: I've had a couple of coffees at French Twist now and can say the coffee is okay, but undistinguished. It's a house brand of Douwe Egberts which lacks any full flavour and is probably a 'safe bet' option. And the magazines are definitely not the latest - some date from 2000! If you want to browse old Gourmet Traveller mags and see how food trends have changed, this is the place to go.

French Twist is open seven days a week for breakfast until around 9pm every night except Sunday and Monday.