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Sydney Food

Appreciate Chocolate? – Yes I Do

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I attended another of Signorelli’s cooking classes for Greg’s birthday. The chocolate-lover’s birthday fell on the day of the course, so we considered it a sign from above that we were meant to be there.

This time, it was Appreciate Chocolate with Kakawa Chocolate‘s Jin Sun Kim and David Ralph. The class consisted of a master tasting session, history of chocolate and demonstrations of how to temper chocolate, make ganache and create truffles.

The evening started with a platter of delicious fruits and dipping chocolate, and some potent Toblerone cocktails.

Nothing says welcome like a tasting platter…

… and cocktails.

Hello there birthday boy.

Ohhh, pretty things waiting to be tasted.

The husband enjoys his chocolately goodness.

As do I!
Kakawa’s David Ralph spouts wisdom.

Ground up cacao beans – not especially tasty.

Dark chocolate – not my favourite, but not bitter like most generic dark chocolate is.

White “chocolate”. Mmm sugary…

Blend of milk chocolate – love it. The markings are from bubble wrap.

Champagne truffles.

Basil truffles. Not for me, but very shiny.

Passionfruit/mango truffles. Amazing.

Almond slivers in milk chocolate.

Tempering chocolate.

Mmmm I’d like to lick the chocolate off the slab. Who cares about truffles.

Hello master bar tender. Thank you for the exquisite beverages.

Why birthday boy, whatever do you have there?
The class was excellent and I learned a great deal about chocolate. I was also given a huge amount of chocolate to taste and then take home. I have a high tolerance for chocolate, but still felt ill after eating so much chocolate. I can’t wait to go to Kakawa’s store eat more of their chocolate!

SIGNORELLI GASTRONOMIA
Ground floor of Accenture/Google Building
Trouton Place Pyrmont NSW 2009
(opposite Metcalfe Park)
P: 02 8571 0616

Our 6-Month-versary in Parramatta Park

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The past six months have flown. I can’t believe we’ve been married for half a year already. Amazing.

We wanted to do something a bit fun for the occasion, so I booked lunch at Lachlan’s Restaurant in Parramatta Park since we had promised to drop by the Winterfest afterwards to see Daniel’s group, the Orion Consort, perform.

Lachlan’s is smack bang in the middle of Parramatta Park. The building was once Lachlan Macquarie’s old government house. It has been resorted and turned into a restaurant. Thankfully, the old world charm remains. 

Strolling across the park, on a stunning winter’s day, towards the restaurant.

Tables set up on the balcony.

We were a bit early, so took a stroll around the property. The restaurant sits on Parramatta River. Very picturesque.

Pretty!

Dappled husband!

Happy 6-month-versary husband!

Looking out over the river.

Husband!

Wheee!

Our cosy table by the fire.

Herb bread with sun dried tomato. Very nice, fresh bead.

Potato and cauliflower soup with croutons. This was sensational. Creamy, thick and steaming hot.

Fish and chips.

Pumpkin and ricotta tart. It was a bit over-cooked sadly. I’ve eaten it before at this restaurant and it was sensational.

Affogato.

Coffee for the coffee bunny.

Money shot.

Sticky date and banana pudding. It was quite nice, but could have done with a smaller cake portion and more sauce. It was a little bit dry.

After lunch we walked over the bridge to Winterfest.

Not much I can say about this.

After drinking almost an entire bottle of wine, I was in a very cheery mood – perfect to enjoy the festivities.

Erm .. an Anglo Saxon?

Let the blood fest begin!

The Orion Consort. Very nice performance guys.

Jousting!

I love you husband 🙂

Dessert with Adriano Zumbo

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I have long been a fan of Adriano Zumbo, the fantastic pastry chef based in Rozelle. I found a cooking class he was taking at the restaurant under my building – Signorelli. An evening with Zumbo? Who could resist?

The unlikely celebrity, Adriano Zumbo.


The class fell on an evening with torrential rain. Many people were running late – including the star of the night. Adriano arrived, full of apologies and bearing several trays of intriguing looking ingredients.

Adriano demonstrated two desserts that he had created just for the occasion. A new version of tiramisu and a lemon curd tart with olive oil sorbet.

Watching Adriano in action was fascinating. The softly-spoken man had the room’s attention with his every move and word. Several members of the class were scribbling down notes furiously, asking questions that would help them re-create the recipe at home. I happily know what my baking limits are, so was content instead to photograph and listen to the words of wisdom the great chef had to depart on us.

As he cooks, Zumbo shares his tips and stories of his childhood. He tells us about his time in France and his dislike for their huge food wastage. After he mentions this I notice as the night goes on that nothing goes to waste. Any extra material is boxed up in plastic containers for re-use. Burnt pine nuts are salvaged.

Most interesting is watching Zumbo crack open eggs on handed, with the reflex of one who has cracked more eggs than I shall ever consume in my lifetime. He shows us how to separate the yolk using our hands for a cleaner separation (some recipes require the yolk and egg white to be cooked at different temperatures, so having bits of white left on the yolk can spoil the dessert).

Zumbo whisks up the first of many frothy components.

The finished product, “tirimisu”.

Lemon curd tart with olive oil sorbet.

After the two-hour class, we get the chance to speak with Zumbo. He is humble about his success and thanks us sincerely for coming to his class. We bow in worship a few times before heading out into the cold night.

I meet the genius.

SIGNORELLI GASTRONOMIA
Ground floor of Accenture/Google Building
Trouton Place Pyrmont NSW 2009
(opposite Metcalfe Park)
P: 02 8571 0616

Return to Gunners’ Barracks – High Tea

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The wonderful folks at the Gunners’ Barracks gave us a complimentary Champagne high tea as a thank you gift after our wedding, so we decided to use it to celebrate our three-month-versary over Easter weekend.

It was a bit of a gray day, but the view still looked spectacular.

The husband. Musing over the last time we stood in this exact spot three months earlier.

Elegant china.

Tasty savories – scones, curry triangles and cheese tarts.

The sandwiches and delicacies came wrapped in a napkin to protect them from the predatory kookaburras. The waitstaff told us they liked to target the sandwiches… we laughed and started to eat up. True to the warning, a kookaburra swooped in and snatched a sandwich off a plate and took off before I caught a good look at it. Stealthy little bugger. Seriously impressive sandwich-stealing ninja skills.

The sandwiches – a mere moment before the kookaburra stole one.

Beautiful teas in polished tea pots. Mine was called “blueberry muffin” and indeed tasted like its namesake.

A very civilised way to spend a public holiday.

Amazing view from Georges Head.

I love you husband!

1 Month Anniversary – Ben & Jerry’s

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After a stressful week at work, we had a date night at Manly. We had dinner at a great little local joint, then had dessert and Ben & Jerry’s.

 
  
 

I can’t believe it’s been a month since our wedding. It really feels like it never happened sometimes! It feels like we’ve been together forever, and it’s funny to look down at my wedding ring and think “oh, that’s right, I’m married now!”

Summer is slipping away, and the stresses of work, finding a new home to live in (we’re moving this week!) as well as everything else are piling up, making it hard to focus on my personal goals for the year. I feel like I’m constantly waiting till “something” is over to start my dreams “When we’ve moved”, or “when this busy week at work is over”, etc. It’s so hard to find the time to do everything I want, and I’m not sure how to get the time. My goal right now is to spend an hour each night on my projects, but it’s hard after work, particularly after working back late.

I’m trying to focus on what I have to be grateful for this year as well, to help me through the times I have getting through. I’ve started a “gratitude” journal, where I write in it three things I’m grateful for and notes for the day. It’s especially helpful when I’m having a crappy day to write in it to focus on the many good things I have going on in my life.

Australian Food Blogger Award@ La Mint Restaurant

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I managed to score myself an invite to the launch of the first Australian Food Blog award category, hosted by the Australian Association of Food Professionals at La Mint Restaurant in Darlinghurst with my friend Forager.

I’ve never been to a food blogger meet-up before, so was super-keen to check it out and meet some more bloggers.

The event was hosted by Australian Pork, and we were shown the new Australian Pork TV commercial before it aired on TV.

Afterward, I stayed for dinner and got to know some excellent bloggers like Peter G from Souvlaki for the Soul and Ed Charles from Tomatom. The food was also excellent – a whole page of the menu devoted to vegetarian options. Yay!

I was inspired to start a new blog just for food, as I find there is a huge lack of Australian food blogs out there. My new blog is Peas For Me – check it out!

ARIA Kitchen Table

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A special dinner out with my work team to celebrate an award we won. We booked the kitchen table at Aria. Totally delicious dinner – would definitely go back!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kitchen Table at Aria

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A quick post about a dinner at Aria. It was a work dinner as a prize my team won, and we were seated at the amazing kitchen table, so we were able to watch the chefs making our food. Absolutely fantastic night. Look at the food!