Food Glorious Food

Rustic covers a multitude of descriptions, like old farmhouses in Tuscany, food that’s been prepared with little or no fuss, usually it just means you need to take things as you find them. In contrast, gourmet means all things swish and supposedly tasty.

I say ‘supposedly’ because sometimes I think things bundled under this banner is simply an excuse for a cook with little or no imagination to serve up to the eating (paying) public something less than satisfying. Apologies to real chefs but truly, the fancy names really do hide a multitude of cooking sins!

In the not-so-long-ago past I’ve had occasion to have dinner with my sister, part of a degustation menu that featured champagne. And thankfully, despite the chirpy names for each course the dinner was a real winner in my books.

I’d never really thought about cooking with champagne but now I think I’ll try it despite my friends saying it’s a dreadful thing to do to good champagne! Perhaps I’ll use a Brut instead. Though I’m loathe to use a Petersen’s (Hunter Valley).

Let me make your mouth water. The Appetiser was cheeky. A chinese soup spoon with a delicate biteful of champagne and caviar. Enough to make a field mouse tipsy or even embolden him to dance on the tabletop. The Starter was marinated Thai Chilli Waygu beef with coriander, mint and Singapore Noodle salad drizzled with champagne and lime oil dressing.

I loved the freshness the citrus elements left in your mouth. It was zingy in a lovely way, civilised even! The Entrée was champagne and rosemary crusted lamb accompanied with Gippsland Goat cheese, baby asparagus and a citrus balsamic reduction.

Now you would think that beef followed by lamb would make you feel a little heavy but there is a measuredness about the way a degustation measure steps you round a menu like this. It sort of keeps you on the edge of your seat, well, just enough to make you curious about what the next scene will bring.

Opera glasses at the ready, the main was a char-grilled chermoula spiced corn fed chicken breast with skordalia potatoes glazed in a champagne sesame sauce. The chicken breast proved succulent instead of tasting like it had endured a 10-day trek in the red deserts of Australia. The chef deserved a medal just for that! I was on my best manners, because this sister is quite particular. She likes order and neatness and ceremony, where me on-the-other hand, well, I can take a thing or leave it.

Personally if I’d known dessert was going to be so exquisite I’d have passed on ALL the other courses and simply wallowed in four gloriously naughty sessions of dessert alone. It was champagne infused passionfruit pannacotta with a tropical ratatouille and pistachio nut tuille. It was light so one felt wonderfully unguilty.

Yes, I’m my father’s daughter, he would have thought exactly the same! And that’s a beautiful thing.