Postcards & Morsels - Paddock to Plate Feast

Appetite for Excellence Hunt & Gather Dinner Menu (image Hilary Wardhaugh)

Fresh produce was the focus of the Hunt and Gather Dinner held recently at the Terrace Cafe in Canberra as part of the Appetite for Excellence program. Finalists were treated to an inspiring five-day adventure that gave them the opportunity to experience first-hand the passion of producers in regional New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

The tour included visits to Regal Mushrooms on the outskirts of Sydney; Melandra Park Organic Pork; Country Valley Farm at Picton; Bermagui Fisherman's Co-op; Tweenhills Chestnut Farm at Hoskinstown; McAsh Oysters at Bateman's Bay; Gilmore Brae Heritage Beef at Batlow; Small Cow Farm at Robertson; the Wagga Wagga Abattoir; as well as Clonakilla, Ravensworth and Majura wineries; and the Capital Region Farmer's Market in Canberra.

'All that we've have seen and done over the last few days has really made me appreciate fresh produce even more,' one young chef explained to me with gusto.

Guests at the Hunt and Gather Dinner enjoyed a superb menu that included canapés of smoked tongue and deep-fried tripe (Tommy liked those!); freshly shucked oysters with passionfruit gel and geranium flowers. This was followed by beef carpaccio with radish, baby beetroot and aioli; tender potato gnocchi with seared local mushrooms and mushroom cream; poached rockling with surf clams, salted cucumber, baby turnip and tatsoi greens. (Note: I'm positive I saw those same baby beets at the Capital Region Farmer's Markets earlier that morning and I know the mushrooms and fresh walnuts came from the markets too!).

Perhaps my favourite, and a dish that made many pairs of eyes light up, was a platter of succulent, slow roasted pork belly with chestnut and apple stuffing. This was followed by the surprise of the evening... a dish titled 'cheese on toast', that we all expected to be cream filled profiteroles with chocolate sauce; which delightfully turned out to be profiteroles filled with blue cheese and a deliciously salty Vegemite sauce. 

Moreish candied walnuts were served with Tumba hills honey and thyme baked camembert from Small Cow Farm; and the meal was finished with a platter of sweet milk panna cotta, yoghurt sorbet, chocolate cookies and milk tuile.  Wines from Clonakilla, Ravensworth, Mount Majura, Barton Estate and Rutherglen accompanied (perfectly) each course. 

What more can I tell you, the evening was excellent from beginning to end. Please enjoy these postcards and morsels from the event.

Tumba Hills Honey & Thyme Baked Small Cow Farm Camembert with candied walnuts, bread and lavoche

'Cheese on Toast' - an amazing-tasting profiterole with blue cheese and vegemite!

Celebrating fresh produce at the Capital Region Farmer's Market in Canberra - image courtesy Appetite for Excellence

Founded in 2005 by Luke Mangan and Lucy Allon, Appetite for Excellence is a national restaurant awards program designed to inspire, educate and nurture the emerging talent who are the future of the hospitality industry. Mangon and Allan recognised that the hospitality industry needed to support the next generation. The program has evolved over the years to an event that rewards all aspects of the industry: Young Chef, Young Waiter and Young Restaurateur.

And the winners are:

Electrolux Australian Young Chef 2012
Winner: Stewart Wesson, 23yo, Bridgewater Mill (Adelaide Hills)
Runner Up: Michael Fox, 29yo, Henry & the Fox (Melbourne)

Electrolux Australian Young Waiter 2012
Winner: James Audas, 23yo, BLACK by ezard (Sydney)
Runner Up: Alexander Tuckett, 25yo, Pilu at Freshwater (Sydney)

Electrolux Australian Young Restaurateur 2012
Winner: Katrina Birchmeier, 32yo, Garagistes (Hobart)
Runner Up: Daniel Wilson, 35yo, Huxtable (Melbourne)

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Sincere thanks to Phee Gardner and the Appetite for Excellence team for inviting me to attend the Paddock to Plate Feast event in Canberra. Congratulations to each of the winners, and very well done to the finalists for presenting such a superb dinner (both in terms of food and cooking, as well as service and attention). Best wishes for your future in the industry!

Please note, the photographs were taken by the writer, unless otherwise stated in the captions. For a feast of photographs from the evening, visit Rebecca's Inside Cuisine.