On the 11th November we held our last gourmet night for this year. This time we had not one but two wineries from Tasmania, Pirie Estate and Freycinet Vineyards.

We had 60 people for this event which was a nice easy number of people to cater for and meant we were able to enjoy the night a little more than usual.

As we are coming in to summer I chose several lighter dishes and in keeping with the fact we were using some great Tasmanian wines, I decided where possible to use Tasmanian products or if they were not available items that were indicative of what is available from Tasmania.

So on to the menu and photos of what we served.

As usual we had canapes on arrival which were served with Pirie Sparkling

First course: A salad of compressed watermelon, Persian fetta, pistachio, mint, rosewater with a sprinkle of olive dust…..

WIne: Pirie South Estelle (Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris) 2007

 

Second Course: House cured ocean trout, Wakame jelly, sake sorbet and ocean trout roe…..

Wine: Freycinet Riesling 2009

Third course: Crisp skinned king fish on asparagus tips and peas with a saffron foam…..

Wine: Pirie Estate Chardonnay 2006

Fourth course: Panfried venison, pommes gallete and berry jus(riberries, blackberries and blue berries)…..

Wine: Pirie Estate Pinot Noir 2007

Fifth course: Pyengana cloth bound cheddar with apple paste and lavosh and Old Telegraph Road Blue with leatherwood honey and walnut bread…..

Wine: Freycinet Cabernet Merlot 2005

In all it was a great night. There were several things I was worried about being a bit out there for our guests but they were things that ended being popular with the diners. I love at the end of the night when we get to go out and meet the guests and talk to them, bit of a confidence boost.

So now we are planning our menus for next year four gourmet nights plus a couple of smaller ‘theme’ nights where we will cook around a specific ingredient or beer or wine. We also have to get our entry for Clubs NSW Chef’s Table competition in soon so another menu to prepare. Looking forward to an exciting year next year in the restaurant.

Thanks for popping in for a look!

V