Chefs of Merivale Gala Dinner and a Backstage Tour

Pre-dinner canapés

March 2009 was all about the Merivale. I warn you that this post is probably going to mention the 'M' word in excess so please bear with me just one more time.

To say the maiden March Into Merivale festival was successful would be an understatement. Frankly if this festival didn't succeed in making its gastronomic presence felt on Sydney's dining conscious then I don't know what will. Thankfully it did, with special events booked out and their $33 lunch and dinner specials flying out the door. So on that note the festival had to end the very same way it began - with a bang. A chef collaboration and some amazingly good food wouldn't hurt either.


The Launch Party was covered at great length by Sydney food blogs and fortunately it got the right people at Merivale to notice including (apparently) Justin Hemmes himself...and his father! (If this was true then my heart just skipped a beat). Impressed by the blog buzz around the festival, Merivale generously emailed an invite to a group of Sydney Food Bloggers for an exclusive tour behind-the-scenes of The Ivy Complex as they prepared for the festival finale Chefs of Merivale Gala Dinner.

Upon reading (and rereading) this email, I nearly dropped my laptop. 

Behind the Scenes at Merivale

This memorable night began at the infamous kitchen where the pre-dinner canapés were prepared by Akira Urata (Teppanyaki), Nobuyuki Ura (Sushi E) and Shimpei Hatanaka (Sushi Choo). I say infamous, as this was the kitchen where that risqué nude photo shoot took place. And in case you were wondering, yes, the chefs really did get their kits off proudly in front of each other.

That was then...

The Merivale kitchen is now used for more conventional purposes

Ever the professionals, the chefs went on their prep work unfazed by the less-than-typical attention from a group of starry-eyed bloggers. Chef Urata was at his usual friendly and humble self (darn he really is a nice guy). And Richard Johnson seemed to take the attention in his stride. It turns out he is a football man (and a Totti one at that - most unfortunate - *smile*). And here I thought he was talking about Merivale with Howard!

Prep area

Not that I mind (I'm a Liverpool FC girl myself) but what I love more than sport is food! And let me tell you how nice it was to take photos at our leisurely pace and sample the canapés without the push and shove that was present at the Launch Party.

Left: Richard Johnson

Right: Nobuyuki Ura (Sushi E)

The sea of appetisers was a sight to behold. There's just something about little food...they're just so precious. Especially if they're colourful, and intricately presented. And served on spoons.

I was going to refer you to grabyourfork for details of each of these delicious morsels, as Helen's memory is almost extraterrestial (and mine is far from it). Unfortunately every single blogger was inflicted with temporary amnesia (I suspect our memory failed to work on the account of happy tastebuds). After a covert email operation we have come to a general consensus on what these canapés are. Take it with a grain of salt but rest assured they were fabulous.

Quail Saltimboca - quail breast and sage rolled in prosciutto and served with spicy tomato relish

Tuna tartare with finely diced green and red tomatoes served on a lavosh cracker

Salt and pepper calamari with a spicy miso dressing - served on a butter lettuce leaf and garnished with a slice of deep fried lotus root

Fig and lobster garnished with finely julienned pink lady apple

Tuna topped with scallop and flying fish (tobiko) roe with a ponzu dressing

I tried not to think about missing out on the Gala Dinner. After all we were experiencing an all-access pass into the Merivale kitchens and meeting the chefs. That was amazing enough. However after the tour we found out that we were actually staying for the gala dinner. And we have our very own table. All six courses?, we muttered to each other. Why yes, of course. Gasp. 

First I silently condemned myself for wearing my tres casual outfit (obviously I didn't expect we'd be sitting as guests to a Gala Dinner later that night) then came the resounding thud of my 50kg body dropping on the floor of Uccello in supreme happiness. Not really but I did have to suppress a squeal.

The Chefs of Merivale Gala Dinner

As with their Launch Party, the chefs of Merivale came together in one room once again to prepare a six-course degustation (and matching wines) with tickets selling at $300 per head. This night of gluttony was all for a good cause with the proceeds heading over to Camp Quality.

Clockwise from top-left: Uccello with the Ivy Pool in the wee background (don't let the photo fool you - the room was extremely dim and yellow), table setting for the Gala Dinner, the table of chocolate mignardises.

Tonight it was held at Uccello alongside the ultra exclusive Ivy Pool. After a brief introduction with Peter Doyle, we became voyeurs once again and were in awe of how smoothly the six chefs worked together in the rather small kitchen of Uccello without resorting to knife fights. Ever the dessert lovers it wasn't long before we noticed the table of chocolate mignardises sitting pretty next to trays and trays of focaccia.

Trays of focaccia bread

While guests enjoyed pre-dinner canapés elsewhere, us bloggers relaxed with our drinks in the poolside cabana. The Ivy Pool was impressive but sadly photos were a definite no-go. Soon we were seated at our bloggers table in the middle of the room, where we were immediately served with glasses of sparkling water and focaccia. Again our excitement peaked when we saw the menu and our first wine was poured by the sommelier. Fortunately for us, we didn't have to wait long for the first course to arrive.

The bar between Uccello and The Ivy Pool Club

The trademark Merivale light fittings in the Ivy Pool cabana

The Feast

FIRST COURSE

Tartare of Bluefin Tuna, sweetcorn, wasabi, avocado and soy-truffle dressing (Daniel Hong – Lotus)

2008 Leo Buring Riesling ‘Leonay’, Eden Valley S.A.

The dinner started with a triumph of textures and flavours. Truthfully I’ve never tasted anything like it. The dollops of wasabi (which were shaped like adorable peas) was the perfect level of nose-burning spice and the salmon roe was as usual, fun to pop in your mouth. It was perfectly tempered with the sweet soy-truffle dressing and the cool tuna tartare, which was incredibly soft and melt-in-your-mouth. It married perfectly with the young, crisp riesling, which was a bit drier than most rieslings I’m use to. Bestill my beating heart. It was so amazing, it made Helen giggle in delight.

SECOND COURSE

Raviolo of Lobster, with Asparagus and Mushroom (Massimo Bianchi – Uccello)

2007 Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo, Campania – Italy

It was always going to a challenge to follow after the mind-blowing first course but this was still impressive. I loved the mushrooms and mopping up the asparagus sauce with the side bread of focaccia was a must. The wine was gloriously light and mellow, which was perfect with the subtle flavour of the lobster raviolo.

THIRD COURSE

Steamed Baby Snapper Fillet with Sand Crab, Snow Peas, Oyster Mushrooms,

Ginger-Shallot Vinaigrette (Peter Doyle – est.)

2007 Moss Wood Chardonnay – Margaret River, W.A.

The title for dish of the night was always going to be between Lotus’ Tuna Tartare and est.’s Chinese-inspired snapper. The light, melting texture of the white fish really shone through and I’m a huge fan of steamed seafood with ginger and shallots. Seriously, seriously good. But then again what else do you expect from the master of Modern Australian cuisine?

FOURTH COURSE

Quail and Porcini Ballontine with Sicilian Lentil Salsa (Simun Dragicevich – Bistro CBD)

2005 Curly Flat Pinot Noir – Macedon Ranges VIC

The initial sarcastic comment of “yay, lentils” by Howard was immediately shot out of the window when he actually declared the lentils to be the best part of the dish. They were good but I’ll have more of the ballontine thanks (and those adorable handmade potato crisps).

FIFTH COURSE

Roasted Eye Fillet of Beef, Golden Shallots, Creamed Spinach

and Tarragon Jus (Christopher Whitehead – Mad Cow)

2006 Clarendon Hills Syrah ‘Moritz’ – Clarendon S.A.

My stomach was starting to feel it but there was no way I was going to let dinner defeat me! It certainly helped feasting on a fillet of beef that was incredibly tender and juicy. Though the inside of the fillet looked more like rare, the texture was perfect without any chewiness. Perfectly accompanied by the sweet shallots and the tarragon jus, which was thankfully not too strong with its aniseed flavour. The accompanying shiraz was so deep and full-bodied that my hairs literally stood on end.

SIXTH COURSE

Chocolate Marquis, Caramelized Hazelnuts, Cinnamon Cream (Lauren Murdoch – Ash St. Cellar)

1995 Quinta do Noval Colheita Tawny Port – Portugal

Oh Ms. Murdoch, how I worship thee for this delectable creation! On return to my table in time for dessert, I was immediately accosted with groans and comments of “best dessert ever”.

The soft chocolate biscuit base, the dense chocolate mousse filling and the darkly rich chocolate ganache coating – it was a sugar death worth dying for! And chocolate and hazelnuts is honestly the best combination. Ever. The ganache topping was so rich and thick that I had to pass it off to Howard who was none too disappointed at having to polish off other people’s desserts! Sadly though, the Marquis defeated me but I only have the previous five courses to blame (not that I was complaining of course!). Still this was one of the best chocolate desserts I’ve ever tasted. Oh. My. God.

The incredible dinner was finished with tea, coffee and mignardises of cocoa dusted truffles and chocolate morsels filled with a sweet cherry liqueur. By this stage I was silently thanking myself for not wearing my skinny jeans.

March Into Merivale Exposed

In the kitchen of Uccello

The chance to watch Peter Doyle in action and nine other top chefs working together to bring tonight’s feast to life, and then actually enjoying one of the finest meals I had to date, was an opportunity too good to be true. It was a fitting finale to the successful March Into Merivale festival and the satisfied smiles on our faces said it all.

Christopher Whitehead (Mad Cow) and Peter Doyle (est.) plating up the first course

March Into Merivale has certainly achieved what it set out to – to expose its line up of restaurants and show off the talents of their chefs, which no doubt has made an indelible mark on Sydney’s dining scene. And word by those in the know is that Sydney can look forward to more from Merivale in the future.

Uccello Head Chef Massimo Bianchi (left)

And as for me, it finally opened up the world of Merivale in more ways than most and I had the privilege of seeing things that I normally wouldn't have on a day to day basis, for which I am grateful. A big thanks to Melissa and Merivale for an amazing evening. Now plans are in place to take Mr S. to Lotus and Teppanyaki asap for a meal or two (I confess he was slightly jealous).

Party empire? What party empire? Forget the bars. My Merivale is now all about the food. And I am all better for it.

Now to stop saying the word "Merivale" for at least a week.

My god I love these lamps...

Disclaimer - Tonight's Gala Dinner came courtesy of Merivale. But rest assured that my reviews are always 100% my own and never ever are they influenced by anything other than my own tastebuds.


UCCELLO
Level 4, The Ivy Complex
320 George Street, Sydney 2000
(02) 9240 3000


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