Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Gourmet Traveller

MOTHER’S DAY LUNCH Chicken livers, sourdough and onions (PICTURED; RECIPE P101) Duck with sauerkraut (RECIPE P110) Beetroot salad with sweet and sour dressing (RECIPE P116) Pear strudel (RECIPE P113) This menu draws its influences from all over – a touch of France here, Germany there, and a hint of the Middle East. Try a similarly eclectic drinks offering: a small glass of chilled golden Sauternes to start (heaven with pâté), succulent kiwi pinot noir with the duck and salad, and a sweet pear cider to finish. PASTA NIGHT Pumpkin galette with blue cheese and thyme (RECIPE P34) Pappardelle with osso buco ragù (PICTURED; RECIPE P32) Dark chocolate-matcha truffles (RECIPE P86) Pumpkin has a great affinity with the honeyed flavours of a well-cellared riesling or sémillon. The beef shin ragù is…

ABALONE SPRING ROLLS Our mission: to see off the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in style the morning after the big party. Our plan: to ask Melbourne’s best Asian restaurants to turn their hands to yum cha with a luxe Australian twist. The result: among other things, spring rolls stuffed with braised abalone and shiitake mushrooms. Mission accomplished. QT Melbourne, 133 Russell St, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 8636 8800 PAT NOURSE TOMMY RUFF, SPICED CARROT AND PICKLED ZUCCHINI Like the just-caught kingfish served as ceviche, these robustly flavoured tommy ruffs are caught off Kangaroo Island. Two pan-roasted fillets sit atop spiced carrot “linguine”, with the tang of pickled yellow zucchini and the crunch of toasted almond flakes. Southern Ocean Lodge, Hanson Bay Rd, Kangaroo Island, SA, (08) 8559 7347 HELEN ANDERSON POACHED…

Gourmet Institute is back with some of the country’s hottest cooking talent. This year’s all-star line-up includes Guillaume Brahimi (Bistro Guillaume), Analiese Gregory (Bar Brosé), Paul Carmichael (Momofuku Seiobo), George Calombaris (The Press Club), James Viles (Biota), Shannon Bennett (Vue de Monde), Ben Bertei (Rick Shores) and Bethany Finn (The Mayflower). Peel St chef Jordan Theodoros is next up in Adelaide on 3 May with his signature lamb soldiers. In Sydney on 17 May, 4Fourteen’s Colin Fassnidge will help you perfect your winter roast, and on 24 May on the Gold Coast, nail simple seafood with the help of Ben Devlin from Paper Daisy. Tickets are $60. hn.com.au/ gourmet-institute…

MELBOURNE Kiwi chef Hayden McMillan has opened Etta on Lygon Street with his wife, Dominique Fourie McMillan (Cutler & Co) and former Rosetta staffer Hannah Green. The menu at the 80-seat bistro is mainly vegetarian, with dishes such as mozzarella pasta with zucchini and black olives, and charred carrots with smoked cheese and macadamia. IF Architecture is behind the room’s design, which features a statement bar, banquettes and a mural by artist Robert Bowers. SYDNEY After Sepia closes its doors on 31 December ahead of the lease expiring on its Sydney CBD site, Martin Benn and Vicki Wild will move to Melbourne and set up shop with veteran restaurateur Chris Lucas (Chin Chin, Baby, Kong, Hawker Hall). The new restaurant will trade under a different name, but the couple’s commitment…

I’m afraid “12-Micron” is not an accident. I thought the name might be just a quirk, a sort of tic of branding, a slub in the fabric of its ID work. But no. I have a feeling someone got paid well to come up with some of the “concepts” that inform the look and feel of this new, very large restaurant. Things may have even been curated. And some of these things are very silly indeed. Real forehead-smackers. But fortunately, in the middle of it all, lurks some surprisingly good food. To find the place, you walk past the hoardings labelled DANGER ASBESTOS and the stunning battlefield of drills and cranes that marks the site of the new casino. Ride the lift up to level two of Tower One –…

“Any kind of change freaks people out. Everybody asks questions and our staff recognise that nothing has changed – we’ll be giving our best as we always have.” Australia is the hardest place in the world to run a restaurant: Tom Pash, the American chief executive of Australia’s newest dining group, calls it as he sees it. Pash has big plans, and doesn’t shy from facing the facts about the country’s business life with an amiable smile and blunt pragmatism. Sitting next to him in the Rockpool Dining Group’s Sydney headquarters in The Rocks, Neil Perry – arguably Australia’s most celebrated culinary name – concurs. High costs including labour and rent, the fickle discretionary dollar and equally unpredictable local economic conditions: the rollcall of formidable trading circumstances is long, says…

LAY ME DOWN 2015 Mayford Tempranillo, Alpine Valleys, $36 Most Australian tempranillos, it’s fair to say, are drink-now propositions: juicy, round, soft-edged. This one has long been an exception: deep, dark fruit and wonderful, grippy tannin crying out for cellaring. And 2015 is the best vintage yet. mayfordwines.com TEXTURAL WHITE 2016 Lo Stesso Fiano, Heathcote, $35 The fifth vintage of this delicious white – grown at the Chalmers vineyard and made at Jasper Hill – is, for me, a benchmark for the fiano grape variety in Australia: rich, textural, nutty and creamy on the tongue, but fresh and spicy, too. jasperhill.com.au ROCK AND ROLLE 2016 Koerner “Rolle”, Clare Valley, $35 Koerner is one of the rising stars of the Clare; people are raving about their restrained, medium-bodied reds, but I’m…

Tea total Mad about matcha? We’ve sprinkled its magic in the likes of slurpable buckwheat noodles and chiffon-like layer cake. Green is the go. Flat chat By no means the thin end of the wedge, flatbreads are versatile vehicles for flavourful fillings and toppings from far and wide. Beau geste Noma chef Beau Clugston has won acclaim for his deceptively simple dishes of pure, intense flavours. Dalmatia on a plate In his new cookbook, Dalmatia, Melbourne chef Ino Kuvačić shares dishes infused with the flavours of the southern Croatian coast. Mum’s the word Make mum’s day with a lunch as leisurely as it is luxe.…

“The food I cook is very raw – it can be just three ingredients. It brings to bear everything I’ve learnt, especially from Noma.” As a kid growing up in Sawtell on the north coast of New South Wales, Beau Clugston spent many a weekend fishing and gathering oysters in Boambee Creek with his best mate. That’s when he wasn’t surfing. When the tide was low in the estuary they’d scrape the oysters off the concrete pylons of the railway bridge that ran above the creek and eat them raw on the spot. The fish would be grilled on a public barbecue nearby or taken home to his mum for dinner. In those early teenage years Clugston was always the one who manned the barbecue or made the toasties when…

1 RAMEN TO THAT Here’s how Ramen Lab works: the noodle counter is tiny, crowded and standing room only; the chef changes every month, along with the menu; and there’s always a wait. Less a restaurant than a permanent pop-up, Ramen Lab is a side project by Sun Noodle, a family-owned noodle maker that fuels New York’s excellent ramen scene. On the edge of Little Italy, it’s a showcase for some of the most celebrated ramen chefs in the world, a chance to taste the noodles they’re eating in Tokyo, or Kagoshima or Los Angeles. Typically, each chef is in residence for the first three weeks of the month (follow the Instagram account @ramenlab for details). Order the signature ramen and a can of sake - as pure a culinary…

“Dodgy WiFi, limited room-service menus and bad coffee are deal-breakers for me. And a bathtub is non-negotiable.” Where do you travel regularly for work? “Melbourne, Paris, London and New York. I love these cities, so I feel very lucky.” How often are you away? “I travel to Melbourne weekly from Sydney. I’m overseas four or five times a year.” Suitcase of choice? “Samsonite, the really lightweight ones – so I have more weight allowance for shoes. Also my Chanel XXL carry-on; my husband calls it ‘the mothership’.” Pre-flight routine? “I have a hydrating facial the day before I leave on a long-haul flight. And always a gin and tonic the night before I leave, because I don’t drink on the flight.” Essential cabin baggage? “Laptop, Kindle, skincare (a lot of…

Yvonne Goudie had always dreamt of visiting Kangaroo Island. It was the prime reason, she says, for entering a competition to win a 10-day luxury food and wine tour of Australia designed by Abercrombie & Kent. As part of Gourmet Traveller’s 50th-anniversary celebrations in November, the competition invited readers to share their most memorable travel experience. Goudie’s winning entry described a road trip in Far North Queensland – “The kind of trip where people talk instead of being on devices,” she recalls. Goudie, who lives in Port Melbourne, Victoria, hadn’t been on a holiday alone with her husband, Max Strating, in 24 years. Their trip took them from Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, the Barossa Valley, the Daintree rainforest and ended in Sydney. They were treated to some…

CRUISE WITH COUSTEAU Want to explore the Mekong and Amazon rivers with famed environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau? The explorer will host Aqua Expeditions cruises this year and next on Aqua Mekong and Aria Amazon. Itineraries feature evening talks with Cousteau and screenings of his films. aquaexpeditions.com MADE TO ORDER Whisky masterclasses. Australian gin. Green velvet armchairs and leather stools. Sounds like an inner-city speakeasy, but it’s the new cocktail bar on P&O Cruises’ Pacific Explorer. Called The Bonded Store, the bar was created in collaboration with Sydney’s Archie Rose Distilling Co. It débuts on the ship’s maiden cruise in June and will have a stellar list of cocktails based on Archie Rose’s handcrafted spirits. pocruises.com.au FRENCH CONNECTION Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has added the river Seine to its portfolio of…

1 Harvey Norman Made from a single piece of metal, the HP Spectre X360 Rose Gold 2-in-1 laptop will be your favourite tech accessory, and it also makes a bold statement. Starting from $2,499.harveynorman.com.au 2 Crystal Cruises For adventure-seekers craving access to the world’s most exotic destinations, the all-suite yacht, Crystal Esprit’s seven-day itineraries in the West Indies provide unparalleled luxury and discovery. crystalcruises.com 3 Electrolux Keep your garments looking and feeling fresher and newer for longer with the new Electrolux UltraMix washing machine, $1,599 – the UltraMix Technology, gives better results in a cold wash. electrolux.com.au 4 Italian Tours Join a food and wine tour to northern Italy and enjoy expert guides and the delicious local cuisine. To book the October 2017 Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Tastes Tour ($7,970),…

MEASURES & EQUIPMENT * All cup and spoon measures are level and based on Australian metric measures. * Eggs have an average weight of 59gm unless otherwise specified. * Fruit and vegetables are washed, peeled and medium-sized unless otherwise specified. * Oven temperatures are for conventional ovens and need to be adjusted for fan-forced ovens. * Pans are medium-sized and heavy-based; cake tins are stainless steel, unless otherwise specified. COOKING TIPS * When seasoning food to taste, we use sea salt and freshly ground pepper unless otherwise specified. * To blanch an ingredient, cook it briefly in boiling water, then drain it. To refresh it, plunge it in plenty of iced water (this stops the cooking process), then drain it. * We recommend using free-range eggs, chicken and pork. We…

I’m not going to lie to you. There were a couple of times that we got it wrong. Trendcasting is a tricky business. No matter how carefully you polish the crystal ball or how deeply you gaze into the entrails, the future has a way of coming along and making a mockery of your most brilliant predictions. The ongoing popularity of smoking foods (GT’s Hot 100, April 2011) and fermenting them (May 2013) in restaurants can be taken as testament to their hotness, but barrel-ageing cocktails (April 2011) has proven to be a stayer in only the most out-of-touch hotel bars. We can safely say that we were on the money with Airbnb and Instagram (May 2012) being forces to reckon with in the food and travel spheres, but superconductive…

Fermenting is by no means a new concept, but in the past few years the age-old preserving tradition has seen a revival like nothing else, with fermented ingredients popping up on restaurant menus and supermarket shelves worldwide. You may already have a well-thumbed copy of Sandor Katz’s bible The Art of Fermentation on the shelf, but our own home-grown king of live cultures is undoubtedly Adam James of Hobart’s Tricycle Café and his off-shoot fermenting company, Rough Rice. The self-taught chef knows his gochujang from his doubanjiang. For the past four years he’s been making everything from Sichuan chilli paste to genmai miso in his laboratory-style kitchen. “I’m intrigued by how fermenting can heighten umami,” he says. “With just a little time and salt, you can get incredible results.” James…

Roses and spaghetti Bolognese, showgirls and mixed grills – Allie Webb’s work is all about contrasts. Vintage posters, booze labels and heavy-lined black and white prints cover the walls of Allie’s Webb’s studio on Sydney’s northern beaches. “I need to be constantly surrounded by imagery to work,” she says. As an artist, Webb works predominantly with linocut; as a designer she’s behind the graphic charms of venues such as Shady Pines Saloon, Pino’s Vino e Cucina and Restaurant Hubert in Sydney. Whatever her medium, she likes theatrics. Whether it’s the intricate image of a couple at dinner, as captured in a piece titled The Argument, or an elaborate surf and turf in Night Out with the Missus, her limited-edition prints come with a generous helping of mischief. A lot of…

What’s the food at Templo all about, Matthew? It’s Italian-European but we wouldn’t label it as an Italian restaurant; it’s just Hobart food, really. Almost all of our produce is sourced from within a 50-kilometre radius of the restaurant. I love making fresh pasta and I really enjoy the Italian culture of sharing food, too – that’s something we try to emulate in the restaurant. Favourite autumn ingredient? Fennel is always beautiful at this time of year. I like it raw with a bit of lemon on top of kingfish, or to make a nice fennel oil. I also love delicata squash, an Italian variety which we usually cook in lasagne with some Taleggio. What’s the standout dish on the menu right now? We’ve been cooking the last carrots for…

THE LOWDOWN? What is it? First up, let’s get the pronunciation clear: en-doo-yah (said with your best Italian accent). We’re obsessed with this spicy spreadable salami from Calabria. Made with a mix of pork, herbs and spices including a generous hit of Calabrian chilli peppers, it packs a punch. Why do we care? The soft texture of this intensely flavoured salami is part of its appeal. Bring the ’nduja to room temperature before you use it to get the full flavour and to allow the fat to soften. We also love its rich red colour, courtesy of the chilli peppers. The pork, fat and chilli heat add up to one amazing flavour sensation. A little goes a long way, and it lasts well in the refrigerator. Where can I get…

As the late, great George Michael once sang: “If you’re going to do it, do it right”. This is exactly what chef Matt Germanchis and his partner Gemma Gange have done at Captain Moonlite. They’ve taken over the dining room of an unspoilt (okay, mildly neglected) surf lifesaving club, one with unbeatable beach and coastline views, and modernised both room and menu without cocking it up. It’s a minor miracle and a fine argument for the power of simplicity. Germanchis is best known for his time heading both the Melbourne and Sydney versions of Pei Modern, but the roots of what he’s doing at the Anglesea Surf Life Saving Club go back further. About 10 years ago, after a stint in the UK working at Heston Blumenthal’s pub The Hinds…

Spice up your life A quick scan of the menu at Mahanakhon reveals that the food here is rather more interesting than your average casual Thai: there’s the fermented rice vermicelli known as kanom jeen alongside the pad Thai, and the soup section has northern-style chicken and dill broth in with the tom yum goong and tom kha gai. Ask for the Mahanakhon noodles done spicy if you’d like your face melted off. Mahanakhon, 270 Castlereagh St, Sydney, (02) 9264 7767 Qualis rex, talis grex Make no mistake, folks, Bistro Rex is a red-hot Potts Point scene, thick with sharp bobs, big frames and black. Lots and lots of people wearing black. Jo Ward bangs out the bistro favourites – parfait, terrine, tartare, steak frites – with a few gentle…

Match of the moment? Carrot gnocchi with shellfish bisque, with La Petite Mort marsanne from Queensland. Hardest pairing? The fish often follows a dish with a red wine, so it’s tricky. Skin-contact wines are fun – they lean towards white in weight, but have the tannins and phenolic structure of a red. Winemakers to watch? Dave Mackintosh at Arfion in the Yarra Valley. His Smokestack Lightning range is great fun: a skin-contact sauvignon blanc, gewürztraminer and pinot gris. What’s in your cellar? McLaren Vale reds I picked up working there, and some New Zealand gems, like a magnum of Rockburn 2005 “Lost Barrel” Chardonnay. The Long Apron, 68 Balmoral Rd, Montville, Qld, spicersretreats.com…

Matcha crackle cookies These chewy biscuits are a most intense shade of green, and full of earthy matcha flavour. They’re the ideal texture for ice-cream sandwiches – vanilla ice-cream would be perfect, or go for a double-matcha dose and make the ice-cream on page 88 . Prep time 15 mins, cook 12 mins (plus cooling) Makes about 18 140 gm softened butter 110 gm ( 1/2 cup firmly packed) light brown sugar 110 gm ( 1/2 cup) caster sugar 60 gm honey 1 egg 280 gm plain flour 40 gm matcha powder 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda White sugar, for rolling 160 gm (1 cup) icing sugar, plus extra to serve 150 gm ( 1/2 cup) cornflour 1 Preheat oven to 180C and line trays…

“So many of the recipes in this book are dishes that I grew up eating. If there’s something I would like you to take away from this book, it’s the feeling of honesty and warmth.” My love and appreciation for food and wine runs deep – my maternal ancestors were one of the largest wine-merchant families throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in coastal Croatia. I was born and raised in Split, Dalmatia’s largest city, probably best known for the 4th-century Roman emperor Diocletian’s palace, which forms much of the city centre. I spent my childhood years living between the old family home in Split and our holiday house on the nearby island of Šolta. Some of my most profound childhood memories are of wine-making and olive-picking in my family’s…

Sydney lights up at the ninth annual Vivid Sydney festival (26 May to 17 June), when city streets fill with light shows and performers. A zero-waste natural-wine bar will pop up at the Opera House, where the sails bear nightly light shows. In Melbourne, Indigenous artists, filmmakers and performers from across Australia celebrate Aboriginal culture at the Yirramboi First Nations Arts Festival (5-14 May). Fans of jazz and jambalaya gather at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (until 7 May) to hear the likes of Stevie Wonder and George Benson. Need a break from dancing? One cannot live on music alone, so head to the Balinese hinterland for the Ubud Food Festival (12-14 May) for dinners, discussions and market tours that highlight the deliciousness of Indonesian cuisine, the diversity…

BEST OF BRITISH The bubbles are British in first-class cabins aboard British Airways flights until September. The vintage English sparkling wine by Bolney Wine Estate in West Sussex complements the likes of Scottish smoked salmon. ba.com GROUP THERAPY This may be the nearest way to fly in private-jet style without leaving the business cabin. Qatar Airways’ new QSuite has removable privacy screens, mobile video screens and enough space to create semi-private sanctuaries for groups of four – perfect for families, friends or workshopping colleagues. The first business-class double bed in the sky, created by adjacent lie-flat beds, is even better. To suit the new communal set-up, rolling out from June this year, Qatar’s dine-on-demand menu has been extended to include sharing plates. QSuite flyers also have cotton pyjamas by The…

Author The first thing I do in Havana is drink a Mojito. It’s a tradition I’ve been following now for almost 35 years. Back then, Cuba was the only place to get a Mojito. Now you can find them anywhere, but Cuba, especially Havana, is still the only place to get a good one. The rest of the world uses the wrong rum, the wrong mint – it needs to be the local tropical spearmint – and too much ice. My first sip of the real Mojito and welcome back – I know I’m in Havana. The most famous place for a Mojito is La Bodeguita del Medio in Habana Vieja. This is not the best Mojito in town – lots of candidates for that – but it’s…

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Skillet apple pie The best way to serve this is plonked on a trivet in the middle of the table with ice-cream or cream and forks for your guests. Use firm, crisp apples here so they keep their shape and texture when baked. Prep time 20 mins, cook 30 mins (plus resting, chilling) Serves 4-6 120 gm raw sugar 5 large pink lady apples, peeled, cored and chopped into roughly 3cm pieces 20 gm butter, diced 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp pouring cream, for eggwash Thickened cream, pouring cream, crème fraîche or ice-cream, to serve Pastry top 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour 20 gm raw caster sugar, plus extra for scattering 1 tbsp lard 75 gm chilled unsalted butter, diced into 2cm cubes 1 For pastry, pulse…

SHARON VERGHIS Sharon Verghis is a Sydney freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Age, The Weekend Australian, Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald and SBS online. In her chat (on page 66) with businessman Tom Pash and Neil Perry, she found the chef to be a hardworking man who’s finally realising his ultimate dreams. “Neil’s entering the most exciting phase of his career,” she says. “Who knows what the future entails, but he’s excited for good reason.” INO KUVAČIĆ Ino Kuvačić (pronounce it “ku-va-chitch”) learned to cook in Split, the city in the Dalmatia region of Croatia where he was born. He moved to Australia in 1997, and went on to work at the acclaimed likes of Sydney’s Otto and Melbourne dining landmark Grossi Florentino before he struck…

1 Limited-edition Professional Series 750 blender, $1,395, from Vitamix. 2 Mauviel 1.8-litre saucepan, $275, from Williams-Sonoma. 3 Copper Mono hand-held mixer, $379, from Bamix. 4 Erik Magnussen for Stelton one-litre copper vacuum jug, $280, from Top3 by Design. 5 Escoffier roasting pan with rack, $429, from Chasseur. 6 Orwell salt and pepper shakers, $29.99 per set, from Academy Home Goods. 7 Stephanie Alexander measuring cups, $39.95 for a set of four, from David Jones. 8 Dualit two-slot NewGen toaster, $388.50, from JR Classic Trends. 9 Urkiola stainless-steel and PVD 200ml pitcher, $170, from Georg Jensen. 10 Salad servers, $68.50 per set, from The DEA Store. 11 Tom Dixon Brew Collection Cafetière, $360, from Dedece. 12 Canister, $49.95, from Domayne. 13 Orwell electronic kitchen scales, $59.99, from Academy Home Goods. Stockists…

Hidden down a laneway in Adelaide, Hains & Co is a nautically themed bar without the naff. Yes, there are model ships and an anchor present, but there’s also an impressive selection of gin and rum, and a long list of stellar cocktails. One of them is the Crimson Mainsail. “We created this cocktail to showcase sloe gin,” says owner Marcus Motteram. “We’ve made it with Plymouth and Haymans, and are currently using Elephant sloe gin from Germany.” A word of warning: don’t be fooled by the drink’s good looks. “It’s boozy enough to make you feel like a real pirate.” Hains & Co, 23 Gilbert Pl, Adelaide, SA, hainsco.com.au > Combine 45ml sloe gin, 15ml bourbon (Motteram suggests Maker’s Mark), 30ml lemon juice, 25ml sugar syrup (equal parts…

HENTLEY FARM Kitchener buns YARDBIRD Mushroom rice MASSI Pappardelle with osso buco ragù FRED’S Pumpkin galette with blue cheese and thyme “The Kitchener buns at Hentley Farm in the Barossa are the best. Could you get the recipe?” Joanna Hutton, Evandale, SA Kitchener buns Prep time 45 mins, cook 45 mins (plus proving, cooling) Makes 16 (pictured p30) Whipped thickened cream, to serve icing sugar, for dusting Brioche 110 gm unsalted butter, diced and softened 50 gm caster sugar, plus extra for rolling 100 ml lukewarm milk 10 gm (3 tsp) dried yeast 250 gm (1⅔ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting 2 eggs Sunflower oil, for deep-frying Rhubarb jam 250 gm trimmed rhubarb, coarsely chopped 250 gm caster sugar ½ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped Finely grated rind…

Chongqing, the sprawling city along the Yangtze River, until recently part of Sichuan province, is noted for its distinctive and assertive cooking. It’s relatively different to the cuisine of the Sichuan capital, Chengdu – spicier, more pungent and more incendiary than anywhere else in China. Chillies, Sichuan pepper, hot bean paste (doubanjiang), sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and pickles form the backbone of Chongqing’s distinctive style, creating dishes of great complexity. One of the most famous dishes from this city is Chongqing noodles. A dish that will bring tears of nostalgia to Chongqingren folk, this local speciality is mouth-numbingly spicy and addictive. Simply called xiao mian, meaning small noodles, this street food has an obscure history – some of my friends in Chongqing believe it first appeared in the early 20th…

Bar raising Cutler & Co has reinstated the bar in its latest revamp and it’s a beauty. The L-shaped bar area hugs the open kitchen and feels both spacious and intimate. The bar menu includes several potential cult dishes – abalone katsu sandwich, doughnuts with salmon roe and sour cream, a seafood platter. Add the weighty C&C wine list and smart cocktails and you get a bar that’s a destination all of its own. Cutler & Co, 55-57 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, (03) 9419 4888 Euro smash Joe Durrant and Mark Protheroe from Grossi Florentino have teamed up with chef Steven Nelson (ex-Jacques Reymond) at Fitzroy North pub, The Recreation. The result? A smart-casual bistro with a European-leaning menu (black pudding and pear tarte Tatin, grilled garfish with romesco, suckling pig…

 Please… – do wash before you arrive at work in the morning, don’t arrive after a big weekend looking shipwrecked, do eat breakfast before you arrive and drink plenty of water throughout the day, do arrive before the start time, do greet others in the morning, do wear a mild deodorant if you are prone to body odour – especially on the big days, do arrive looking like you’re a professional, do wear clean/ironed whites, don’t turn up with a jacket with a big rip in it, don’t wear the same trousers all week – especially those ones with the hole in the knee, do clean your fingernails – especially after cleaning fish or meat or digging in the garden, do keep your kitchen shoes clean, do clean your knives…

 The hottest wine trend of the decade? That’s easy: all things natural. Grapes grown with a minimum of sprays, preferably organic or biodynamic; nothing added in the cellar except perhaps a small amount of sulphur dioxide preservative at bottling. Just wine. “The trend has been overwhelmingly positive as far as wine drinkers are concerned and shows little sign of slowing down.” It’s also been the most controversial trend of the past 10 years. Critics in the industry decry the lack of an official definition of natural. They grumble about the murky, rustic and even feral flavours found in some natural bottles, and they accuse some winemakers of jumping on the natural bandwagon. But the trend has been overwhelmingly positive as far as wine drinkers are concerned (so what if the…

 The rabbits are coming. Actually, make that rabbit singular, supersize it to seven metres and crown it with gold-tipped antelope horns. Melbourne sculptor Emily Floyd’s giant jackalope makes an arresting faux-naïf statement in the forecourt at Willow Creek vineyard, the first sign that the changes afoot at this boutique winery are profound indeed. “To walk into the Jackalope is walking into my mind. I want it to provide an escape from reality.” The horned jackrabbit of North American cowpoke myth has lent its name, along with its shape-shifting personality, to Jackalope, an ambitious $40 million hotel three years in the making, and opened last month on the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne. For dedicated followers of hotel fashion, as well as those who merely dabble in five-star…

Ligurian cheese focaccia When we think of focaccia, we often think of the pillowy bread that was so popular in cafés in the ’80s, but there’s more to focaccia than that – this classic Ligurian version is the very opposite. Thin rounds of unyeasted dough enclose the simplest of fillings, in this case stracchino cheese. Baked crisp, golden brown and molten in the middle, it’s the perfect example of a dish being greater than the sum of its simple parts. Prep time 15 mins, cook 15 mins (plus resting) Makes 2 400 gm bread flour, plus extra for dusting 100 ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling 500 gm stracchino, broken into rough 2cm pieces (see note) 1 Place half the flour in a bowl with a good…

MOTHER’S DAY LUNCH MENU + CHAMPAGNE CRUSTAS + CHICKPEA, PUMPKIN AND CAVOLO NERO SOUP + BEETROOT SALAD WITH SWEET AND SOUR DRESSING + BRAISED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS + HASSELBACK POTATOES + PEAR, HONEY AND WILD GINGER BAKED PUDDING + AGED GOAT’S CHEESE AND TOASTED WALNUT BREAD Champagne Crustas This is a light cocktail that’s perfectly acceptable to drink at lunch. The base can be mixed in a jug beforehand and chill in the freezer for half an hour before serving. Makes 6 (pictured p120) 120 ml freshly squeezed orange juice 40 ml elderflower liqueur 40 ml orgeat syrup (see note) 40 ml brandy A few dashes of bitters Caster sugar, to serve Orange wedges, for rubbing 750 ml chilled Champagne or sparkling wine 6 thinly peeled pieces of orange rind,…

Four new high-speed train services are set to make travel in Europe even more accessible, fuelling a steady rise in international ticket sales by Rail Europe. Ready for spring in France, a new service between Paris and Rennes will reduce travel time by half an hour, linking the cities in 85 minutes. From mid-year, a new Paris-Bordeaux high-speed service slices an hour off the current three-hour trip. In December, travellers between Berlin and Munich will arrive in about four hours, at a speed that lops about two hours off the ride. And next year in Spain, the world’s third deepest tunnel will link Madrid and Asturias. raileurope.com.au…

FOOD Breakfast now Invigorate your breakfast and brunch repertoire with new flavours from around the world. Wake up with Curtis Everybody’s favourite Australian Los Angelino chef works his magic to break the fast. Eggs Our saucy remixes flip the script on omelettes, soldiers and sandwiches. Sausages Put the sizzle into breakfast, lunch or dinner with sausage-powered dishes packed with flavour. Masterclass: Danishes Dive deep into the twists and turns, folds and fruit of these buttery breakfast favourites. TRAVEL East of Havana While the Cuban capital is having its moment in the global spotlight, Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second city, remains resolutely Afro-Cuban. Lydia Bell takes a long drive east. Athens now The Greek capital has bounced back from the brink, its creative energy revived in districts dotted with new…