Yesterday a foodie girlfriend and I attended a workshop here on the
Gold Coast in Queensland. And what a great day it was!
It was held at our Arts Centre Complex and took the form of banquet
seating with tables of 8, 300 guests in total. The Complex restaurant
did the cooking for the degustation dinner whilst the three chefs
demonstrated the dishes on stage. We ate each course as they
demonstrated each one. We started at 11.30am and were eating and
drinking accompanying selected wines until 3pm. What a great way to
spend a Saturday!
The chefs were 1/ Dominique Chaudet from Champagne Brasserie, one of
the best French restaurants on the coast here (and averagely priced);
2/ Marty Kollrep of Oscars on Burleigh (fabulous location overlooking a
point on a surf beach)(expensive but top class) and 3/ Brian Meade,
Executive Chef of the Arts Centre Complex.
Being on the coast, seafood is always a prominent ingredient. Do you
want to know what each course was? Of course you do. 3 courses, 3
dishes of each.
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Duck Liver Foie Gras with green bean salad (walnuts and oil etc.)
Scallop Ravioli with Verjuice and Roast Capsicum (bell peppers) sauce
Twice Baked Sandcrab Souffle, wilted spinach, garlic/dill cream sauce
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Spicecrusted Spatchcock (or quail) with chilli plum sauce
Reef Fish fillet wrapped in a cos lettuce leaf, steamed, with smoked
tomato and herb olive oil vinaigrette
Poached Beef Fillet (in red wine) with Mushroom Custard & Bordelaise
Sauce
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Glazed Goats Cheese Salad
Pear Tartin
Strawberry Salad in Chocolate Case & Raspberry Coulis
Wow! It was a taste sensation. Hard to pick a favourite dish, but the
Sandcrab Souffle was to die for. The ravioli was fab. too.
It is my 25th wedding anniversary this Monday, and my DH had already
decided we would go to Oscars (we live just nearby, hence a 2 min
drive and we can enjoy a champagne watching the day fade over the ocean
before dining and wining). I am so tempted to have that souffle again
as that was an Oscars dish!! Altho' I don't often order beef out
(because I can cook that well at home) it is also tempting because the
mushroom custard had a Japanese bent to it and was sublime. We'll see
-- but no, that was Brian Meade's dish...
I'll just have to cook these dishes at home.
My girlfriend and I quickly decided yesterday that we would tele. one
of our Dh's to pick us up so we could fully enjoy all the matched
wines. We then went back and collected our cars in the early evening.
Good move.
The Arts Centre hope to make this an annual event. I hope so. Such fun
and good value.
Cheers
-- Bronwyn