Top food news: cocktail degustation, Friday nights on the green, 11 days in France, new Sydney restaurant guide, a meatatoriam, new seafood, new Noosa bar and a new home catering service.
Quick bits
- Congratulations to Ballandean Estate Wines who took home the Queensland Winery of the Year trophy at the Queensland Wine Awards. www.ballandeanestate.com
- A new Sydney University study has proved that mushrooms can provide 100 per cent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D - a deficiency affecting more than a third of Australians.
- Thank you to my friend Jodi Clark for sending me the totally random black board photo above. Love it and here's a free plug for her favourite place - Kingfisher Bay
Cocktail degustation
At a twist to your evening by sampling Foundation Bar’s Cocktail Degustation Menu with range of carefully selected and created wine, cocktails and finished with Italian espresso, all matched with cheese, chocolate, marshmallows and more. Owner Neil Isserow will make cocktails according to your taste and paired the food accordingly. Find it at 42 Warren Street, Fortitude Valley or visit. www.foundationaustralia.com
Friday Nights on the Green
You don’t have to don your whites and break out the bowls, instead just head to Post Office Square in the heart of Brisbane city on Fridays from 5pm – 8pm to enjoy live music, drinks and food. 'The City Sounds' musicians perform live in the park from 5pm – 8pm, alongside a pop-up bar and dining menu presented by Rush Bar & Dining. Find out more www.bnecity.com.au
11 days in France
Like the sound of 11 days in France visiting some of the world’s most significant cellars and vineyards on a top-end wine tour? Master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith has a bespoke 11-day France Wine and Food Tour planned for the next European spring with a terrific cross-section of regional French culture, wine styles, wineries (caves) and typical vistas. Expect a slice of regional cuisines from traditional paysanne and bistrot to modern, contemporary stared restaurants. Think pinot noir paired with local snails, wild rabbit and the Burgundy’s famous washed rind cheese. The 12 person tour leaves from Paris on May 21, 2014. Find out more at www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au
European restaurant guide launches Sydney
Gault&Millau (pronounced ‘go me-yo’ – say it fast!), one of the leading independent international restaurant guides in the world, launches its first Australian guide in November starting in Sydney. The 2014 Gault&Millau Sydney Restaurant Guide will offer chefs and diners a different opinion to restaurant reviews in Sydney and also judges Australian chefs on the same scale as the best in Europe. I predict much controversy and Sydney teeth gnashing.
Brisbane will have to wait until the 2016 guide for a possible chance of inclusion. The 2014 Gault&Millau Sydney Restaurant Guide will be available from mid-November. RRP $24.95. www.gaultmillau.com.au
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| Meat lovers (left to right) Adrian Richardson (top) Jeremy Clark and Anthony Puharich |
A meatatoriam?
Enter the Vintaged meatatorium and witness Hilton Brisbane's executive chef Jeremy Clark and renowned chef and owner of La Luna Melbourne Adrian Richardson delve into primary and secondary speciality cuts of beef derived from a full carcass.
Guided by Brisbane's top wino Peter Marchant and Sydney's best butcher Anthony Puharich of Vic's Premium Quality Meat, take in the theatrical culinary experience and learn preparation and cooking techniques over dinner with matching wines.
Gasworks seafood
Reef Seafood, a family owned and run business which stocks only premium local, Australian and New Zealand seafood has opened its doors at Gasworks, Newstead. Owner Greg Kay is hoping to replicate his successful Ferry Road operation on the Gold Coast with the new restaurant, which is a joint venture with his son Ryan Kay. Expect a fresh seafood market, sashimi and sushi, licensed oyster bar and traditional style fish and chips. www.thegasworks.com.au
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| Ben Walsh |
Miss Moneypenny's
New cocktail bar and dining hotspot Miss Moneypenny's is due to open on Noosa’s Hastings Street in November with a mix of fabulous cocktails and an in-house charcuterie kitchen, sharing plates and Mediterranean home style inspired cuisine. Miss Moneypenny’s mixology master Ben Walsh is the co-owner of the successful Goldfish Bar and Restaurant in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, and previous co-creator and owner of the multi-award winning Goldfish Bar in Kings Cross Sydney.
“I’ve been holidaying in Noosa for years and have many friends in the area,” Walsh says. “It really is a spectacular place and I’m proud to call it my new home and to launch Miss Monneypenny’s in such an iconic part of Australia.”
This week I’m liking - Box of Goodness
I have two new best friends, Georgia and Ben Limmer and their Box of Goodness, which I think is the best thing ever - a home catering service with a few big differences.
- I love that everything is organic gluten-free and fresh.
- I love that the ‘cooking’ and clean-up is so easy even a teenager or non-cooking husband could do it.
- I love that it is all portion controlled so there’s no overeating possible.
- And I love that’s it is so quick to prepare.
It works like this – you go online and choose which meals and for how many people. On Tuesday, Georgia turns up at your door with a Box of Goodness full of the pre-prepared meals. You decide what’s on tonight’s menu and put the separate bagged components into the microwave to cook in the bag as per the instructions.
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| Here's the bags for Coconut Cashew Curry and Rare rice blend |
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| Add a little fresh coriander or parsley (also in the box) |
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| Your finished meal |
Voila! After about four minutes cooking each and one minute resting the meal is ready to assemble. It looks as good as you make it on the plate but it tastes like it’s just come out of a restaurant kitchen. That’s probably because Ben Limmer has worked in some of Brisbane's best restaurants and catering (Restaurant II, James Street Cooking School and Culinart).
Best of all – the price is about $9 a serve, cheaper than my local takeaway and much better food. And don’t forget to try their crunchy granola. It’s a winner. www.wholesomeness.com.au
Disclaimer: Ed+bK was supplied with a Box of Goodness.
Top Cuts is sponsored by Lucid Media
Kerry Heaney