SIFF Food Bloggers' Secret Dinner

Clockwise from top-left: the long-anticipated message; can you guess where the secret dinner was?; our lovely hostess Lili; gotta love a kooky clock

Have you ever allowed a stranger to dictate your dinner plans? I certainly haven't but on this Saturday night I found myself checking my mobile pedantically as I awaited for an sms that was going to tell me where to go in 3 hours. It sounds so deliciously secret agent-ish no? The concept of a secret dinner isn't a new one but it brings on a small sense of excitement and exclusivity. I've always wanted to experience it but had no way of knowing how to get an invite.

As part of the Sydney International Food Festival, three food bloggers - Fouad from The Food Blog, Lili from PIkelet and Pie and Trish from Forque - decided to host their own secret dinner and immediately I wanted in. I thought I had no hope, seeing as shortly after I emailed them, I saw that they weren't accepting any more bookings! So naturally, I might have squealed when I found out that two seats had my name on it. The venue was top secret and on the day - in my own kind of James Bond moment - my 'assignment' beeped through while I was shopping telling me to head to...

*drumroll*

...Fix St. James

Now I could see why Lili was so excited about their choice of venue. It was the most perfect and intimate venue to house 30 hungry strangers and it doesn't open on Saturday night. Perfect. Joining me tonight was Steph, who was more than happy to step in when The Captain couldn't go. There wasn't so much 30 strangers, but more like several groups of friends so not as much random mingling as I would've liked. But heck, we were there to eat, not socialise are we not?

Water served in beakers? Ultra nerdy chic!

The focus tonight was about cooking food that our hosts loved and cared about. We started off with a platter of appetisers. I'm not a huge fan of tentacled beings but I actually quite liked the Pickled Octopus that was derived from Trish's family recipe. It was perfectly cooked and thankfully not so 'pickled' and tangy. Fouad's Jamon and Manchego Croquetas paid homage to Melbourne's MoVida and these were beautifully creamy and just melted in your mouth. But it was Lili who brought out the moaning animal within with a simple Tartlet of Persian fetta and the most amazing, orgasmic tomato jam I've ever tasted. Even the pastry was delightfully crumbly. Seriously. If she doesn't post the recipe for the jam soon, I might have to start stalking her.

Appetisers and the beautiful ceramic platter that was specially made on the night by ceramic artist Sylvia Marciante-Green. (Yes Steph and I considered stowing it in our bags at one point!)

Entrée was again, Lili's own Tea-smoked Ocean Trout with cucumber, coriander and pickled Uralba beetroot that was harvested from her own family farm. I'm not a fan of beetroot but it was amazingly sweet and it paired perfectly with the fish, which of course, was phenomenal as all smoked foods tend to be!

Entrée: Tea-smoked ocean trout with pickled Uralba beetroot

It was a bit of a wait for the main and my O'Leary Riesling was slowly making its way to my head but it was worth it. Fouad's Confit Duck with Moghrabbiyeh, chorizo and caraway was an impressive size and any stomach rumblings were long forgotten after a few bites. I loved it, so much so that I picked every trace of meat off my bone. Moghrabbiyeh is a Lebanese pearl couscous and my most exciting discovery in the last few months. I loved the texture and it resembled a chewy pasta more than standard couscous (which I don't eat). Naturally I climaxed with every bite of the chorizo. I'm definitely going to head to Auburn soon to hunt down 'moghrabbiyeh'... once I learn how to pronounce it that is.

Main: Confit duck with moghrabbiyeh, chorizo and caraway

At this stage my stomach was busting out of my knickers and I cursed myself for wearing my dress instead of a moo-moo but there was still dessert to come. The first sounded intriguing with a Strawberry and agave sorbet with avocado mousse. By god it was good. Amazingly, this dessert had very little additions and extra ingredients and the whole thing was about as pure as you could get. Another discovery was the use of agave, a natural sweetener derived from a Mexican cactus and is the perfect vegan substitute for honey.

Dessert: Strawberry and agave sorbet with avocado mousse (seriously, SERIOUSLY good)

As if we weren't spoiled enough, I eagerly awaited for the Raw Honey Mousse by Trish as I absolutely adore honey-flavoured desserts. The mousse was the way I liked it, creamy but not overly so. My favourite would have to be eating the crumbled bits of Greek aniseed biscotti or paxamathia, that was heavenly slathered with the orange syrup. Honey and citrus? This dessert was made for me baby!

Dessert: Raw honey mousse with paxamathia crumble and orange syrup

Being in the dark as to where dinner was held and not knowing what you will be eating was truly something different but in the end it was always about the food which just outshone everything. And it helped having a great venue in Fix St. James to enjoy it at. My first secret dinner was certainly a fascinating experience but it was the food (especially the desserts) that I will long remember.

The Food Bloggers' Secret Dinner for the Sydney International Food Festival was held at Fix St. James on 24th October 2009 at $65 p.p.

Hosted by:

Fouad Kassab - www.thefoodblog.com
Lili Roby - www.pikeletandpie.com
Trish Lathourakis - www.forque.com.au