Get to know Heinz Beck

Three Michelin star chef, Heinz Beck, has been dubbed the Godfather of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine My favourite food in the world is pasta because the possibilities are endless. There are over 300 specific forms, and with the various sauce creations you can hardly get bored! My signature creation pasta is fagottelli carbonara, which is my take on the traditional carbonara. If I could invite anyone to a dinner party, it would be Pope Benedict XVI, Nicole Kidman, Andrea Bocelli, Al Pacino, Pelé, Nelson Mandela and Sophia Loren. It would be a conversational journey around the world with people from various fields. What a dinner party! My cooking philosophy is light and healthy with Mediterranean flavours. I’m inspired by architecture, landscapes, art and the environment. The one dish I can’t live without is chocolate. My favourite is rustic chocolate from Modica in Sicily; it has a rough texture and a lasting taste – it’s not creamy like the Swiss chocolate. The culinary tool I recommend is Gastrovac, as it allows you to cook food under pressure and regulate the temperature when cooking and it keeps their nutrients and flavour. For fun I to go the beach for long walks on the sand. Caffé Sicilia is serving four of Heinz Beck’s legacy dishes. 628 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW. caffesicilia.com.au. heinzbeck.com

Out and About

Palings Kitchen & Bar, located on level one at Sydney’s glamorous Ivy, has got fresh food and delicious drinks covered. The kitchen has been created under the guidance of consultant Tim Pak Poy and head chef Christopher Whitehead, and offers something for everyone for a reasonable price – fresh deli options, heartier meaty dishes and salads made from luscious, raw ingredients. Save space for one (or a few) of the dessert items on offer – created by acclaimed pastry chef Lorraine Godsmark they are just divine! Americana-influenced cocktails served in cocktail carafes are designed to share – which is good as the desserts shouldn’t be. Palings Kitchen & Bar, level 1, Ivy, 330 George Street, Sydney NSW. merivale.com.au

One of Sydney’s most historic sites, the original pump station that powered the city’s first lifts, wharf cranes, wool presses and bank doors, is now a hot new bar – The PumpHouse at the Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour. Eclectic furniture (think cow hide ottomans and luscious love seats), artistic lighting and alfresco-style dining and drinking areas have been incorporated into the space that makes the most of its industrial 19th century soul – all while oozing 21st century cool appeal. The Pumphouse, Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour, 17 Little Pier Street, Darling Harbour NSW. pumphousebar.com.au

Fancy fungus

Col and Sue Roberts established Lowes Mount Truffiere on their Oberon farm in 2002 as an ambitious ‘retirement’ project. A forester by profession, Col has extensive experience in tree growth, which contributed to his interest and success as a truffle producer. 

Sue and I started researching truffle in 2000, and planted the Lowes Mount Truffiere in 2002. Our first hunt was in 2006, and we found truffle on that very first hunt! Our most memorable hunt was one we attended in France and finding they ran their public hunt exactly like we do. Our favourite way to eat truffle is shaved fresh over hot food, which is how the chefs are showcasing them at InterContinental Sydney. We also love truffle over freshly-cooked vegetables – particularly corn or new potato. The entire ‘A Taste of Truffles with Lowes Mount Truffiere’ menu looks great. The truffle and egg dish featuring soft organic egg ravioli with twice cooked Berkshire pork belly and eggnog puree is absolutely delicious and showcases an excellent usage of truffle. lowesmounttruffles.com.au

 Lowes Mount Truffiere’s Black Perigord Truffles are being showcased in a degustation menu at InterContinental Sydney as part of the hotel’s ‘A Taste Of’ series. ‘A Taste of Truffles with Lowes Mount Truffiere’ degustation will be available at the hotel’s restaurant, Cafe Opera, from 1-28 July 2013 for $85 per person, or $115 per person with matching wines. InterContinental Sydney, 117 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW. 02 9240 1396; interconsydney.com.au.

5 things you didn’t know about truffles

1. France is the largest producer of truffles, harvesting up to 30 tonnes a year. At the end of the 19th century production was over 1,000 tonnes.

2. T here are many different species of truffle but only a few are highly regarded by chefs for their aroma and flavour. The Italian White Truffle and the Perigord Black Truffle are the most sought after.

3. Only the Perigord Black has been successfully grown in Australia.

4. Dogs use their keen sense of smell to locate the truffles which are then dug up by the producers. Unlike truffle hunting pigs, the dogs don’t like to eat truffles and are instead motivated by the reward system of being given a treat upon discovering a truffle.

5. Pigs love to eat the truffle, so truffle hunters who use pigs often have missing fingers.

 

Profiling the Parisian bistro experience

Gallagher Hotels are famed for their innovative menus and good selection of wine, and Le Pub is the new kid on the block. Executive chef Ronny Ghantous, formerly of North Sydney’s The Union Hotel, has created a French Bistro food menu that’s got everyone talking.

What does true French dining mean to you? True French dining means good food, a great atmosphere, and most of all a place to get together with friends and family to enjoy a great meal. It’s as simple as that.

Are any traditional French cooking methods used in the Le Pub kitchen? We use quite a few different methods at Le Pub. We generally use ‘sous vide’, which is French for ‘under vacuum’. It involves cooking food in sealed vacuum bags in a water bath for extended periods resulting in amazing tender, flavoursome food.

Is there anything you do that is unique to only you? We have a couple of unique dishes at Le Pub. The first is our lamb neck dish with shaved cauliflower, dehydrated peas and cauliflower puree. This dish is a combined creation from all the chefs here at Le Pub and is a must try. The second would have to be to our award-winning beef bourguignon pie. We turned this traditional French stew upside down and created a pub pie. It has paid off, as it is fast becoming one of our most popular dishes.

What is your favourite region in France when it comes to food and why? It’s hard to pick just one, however one of my favourites would have to be Burgundy. Burgundy is known for its quality beef and red wine as well as the all-important Dijon mustard. It’s also where our awardwinning beef bourguignon pie originates from, so I can’t help but show the region some favouritism.

What’s your favourite dish on the menu and why? The sous vide lamb neck. As the name suggests it is cooked sous vide which makes the meat very tender. We then pair it with a crisp cauliflower and pea salad alongside fresh quinoa in a port jus. The dish has a unique crunchy texture that just has the wow factor. It gets better with every bite and I would recommend it to anyone coming to Le Pub.

Le Pub, Basement, 66 King Street, Sydney NSW. lepub.com.au

 

BISTRO GITAN is run by three of Jacques Reymond’s children, all trained in Jacques’ kitchen along with the head and sous chefs. The eclectic menu offers selections that are scattered with European influences from their travels, showcased amongst bistro classics. “Papa called us all ‘Gitan’s’”, they remember, so it made sense to come up with a menu that really captured their personalities. 

Gypsy-inspired dishes include the piccata of chicken livers; an Italian base of fresh pappardelle pasta, tossed with seared chicken livers, button mushrooms and kaiserfleisch. The result is a little French with added flavours of balsamic, soy, mirin and sake – a perfect example of the blend of styles. Another dish to try is the sliced beef; it’s a take on the classic steak tartare but with crispy lettuce and a celeriac remoulade.

Bistro Gitan, 52 Torrak Road West, South Yarra Victoria. bistrogitan.com.au

 

5 minutes with Stephen Doyle: Winemaker and co-owner of Bloodwood wines

Stephen and Rhonda Doyle planted the pioneering vineyard of Bloodwood wines in the spring of 1983, and the first vintage followed in April 1986. Over the last three decades, they have cared for and nurtured those original vines on their Griffin Road property in Orange. Today, in their maturity, they offer the best potential for the production of the highest quality, cool climate fruit, which is the enduring foundation of all our Bloodwood wine styles.

What inspired you to start a vineyard? I suppose it really is a generational thing. My generation was more into doing things than ‘consumption’. (That word really annoys me. From my rural background it sounds like so many pigs in a trough.) That aside, Rhonda and I are natives of North Queensland who fell in love with wine and its culture during the 1960s and decided to explore it at close hand. Orange became, after yearsof research, the detailed subject of that exploration. That was 30 years ago and we’re glad we came.

Why did you choose the Griffin Road location? With its sunny north-easterly aspect and warm, free-draining gravelly soils, this quiet ridge of high country is a unique site in the Australian vineyard. Although Bloodwood is only seven kilometres from the city of Orange and 10 kilometres due north of the (hopefully) extinct Mt Canobolas volcano, our elevated, mass flow volcaniclastic sandstone derived soils are part of an isolated pocket of ancient Ordovician seabed at the northern edge of the Orange district’s fertile basaltic soils.

What does Bloodwood mean and how did the name come about? When you barrel ferment red wine in new ‘white’ oak casks a little always overflows the bung. With the depth of our fruit colour, it looks like ‘blood’ has been spilt on the new wood. It’s a very powerful image in the artisan wine making community.

Can you tell us about your wine styles and the pairing with food? We believe good wine is really food, and that it should be explored and enjoyed in the context of a balanced meal in the company of people you honour. And as with balanced, wholesome food, good wine treated with the respect and restraint it deserves, can add enormously to your enjoyment of the best things in life. With this in mind, Rhonda and I have taken up the challenge of producing a range of high-quality wines, which enhance almost every stage of almost any balanced meal.

What inspired the wine and food styling? The site determines the style of each wine. Crisp refreshing whites and medium weight reds with good balance between fruit and acid. Rhonda, who started F.O.O.D Week in Orange, has all the keys to Bloodwood wine and food matching. I should say that each wine reflects the vintage conditions it was created in so there is should always be some vintage variation around each wine style. That makes the matching of food and Bloodwood wine an annual exploration.

What’s your favourite wine (and the meal you would have with it)? Presently, it is our 2009 Schubert served with slow-roasted pork belly and Asian greens. Although it is closely followed by our 2011 Riesling or our 2011 Big Men In Tights Rosé with Queensland mud crab, spicy crustacean bisque and green salad.

Are people able to visit your cellar door or is it all online? While we have long had an active website, people interested in our wines can arrange a visit by contacting us via the web page (bloodwood.biz) or on 02 6362 5631 and we’ll find a time which mutually suits.

What’s next for Bloodwood? Well, as Bloodwood is now 30 years of age we look forward to renewing contacts with all of our friends and newsletter customers and releasing some hidden gems from our cellar, which is currently being renovated, to celebrate the occasion.