"This blog is dedicated to my IT “geek” friend – you know who you are!!"

Toward the end of April it is Tez and my wedding anniversary. Over the years we have ensured that we have had some memorable events. Usually Tez does the planning and implementation. This year we had not planned anything specific and I had asked friends on Facebook what we should do? I had some fabulous suggestions, with a few ideas involving “barefoot in the park” type activities. Well, as many of us realise, Debra means “buyer of shoes”,  so it was not barefooted; but there was certainly a focus on feet.

Yes new shoes….naturally!

As it happened we were in London!! So where to for our dinner celebration? As per normal procedure with Tez, he
started to do his usual “research” on what are the best restaurants listed in London. After an hour or so of watching him on Google, I thought I needed to assist and find somewhere or we would starve!!!!..…..I picked up the phone and dialled the restaurant that I had just been reading about in a magazine.

“Dinner by Heston Blumenthal” the lovely voice answered, after 2 rings. “Hi, my name is Deb and we just arrived from Australia. It is our anniversary and I was wondering if you would have a table for two for dinner tonight?” “Let me see what I can do,” she responded.

So a reservation was made for 10pm – second sitting. I was quite pleased and advised Tez we had a booking. So he continued to undertake his research to find a “local pub” where we could have a pre – dinner drink. Now just as Tez does not quite get the “magic” that I see in bag and shoe shops – I don’t quite get the same “bells chiming” for me when we walk into dusty, smelly old pubs with seats that feel like they will break under me if I breath. Nevertheless, we stopped and had a pint ‘n G & T at the “Nags Head” in Knightsbridge before dinner. He thought it was a great pub! Full of character and personality – apparently!!

From the website:

din·ner (noun)

The main meal of the day, taken either around midday or in the evening.

A formal evening meal, typically one in honour of a person or event.

From Old French disner

Check it out – it is worth a little visit http://www.dinnerbyheston.com/

After our drink at the Nag’s Head we had a stroll round the streets and found our way to the bar at the Mandarin, a little early, but it was only a few minutes before a table was ready for us.  
 
“Dinner by Heston Blumenthal” is located at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel just over the road from Harrods, so it was not the original 3 Heston establishments out of town,  we were dining at. The menu was quite stunning. Old British fare adapted to
21st century dining with the usual unusual style of Mr Blumenthal. Each dish was described by its year of origin (or century) and where possible, the original source of the recipe quoted.

So for Tezza’s dinner he ordered:

For dessert Tez had, Tipsy cake (c.1810) with spit roast pineapple.

I ordered:

And my dessert was, Brown bread ice cream (c.1830) salted butter caramel, pear & malted yeast syrup

Unfortunately, we did not get to meet the main man himself, but the head waiter Danilo, was very friendly and attentive and after nearly all other guests were gone, he offered to show me around the kitchen. Naturally I was rather shy and said “Oh, I couldn’t impose!” – Like hell, I was out of my chair so fast and spent about 40 minutes chatting and having a good look around. Amazing kitchen with a number of Heston designed ovens and the detail in which food preparation and cooking was explained was certainly comprehensive. I was so thrilled to be treated to the time and discussion.

We had a wonderful evening, a memorable and delicious meal and yet another fabulous anniversary memory created.

As we were leaving we had a look in the private dining room – with the a very unique adornment hanging on the door:

HAPPY 17TH ANNIVERSARY TEZ  love from DC  XX

Remember when the movie “Love Actually” commences and the voice over talks about the arrival lounge at Heathrow Airport always showing “love all around” as people arrive? Whenever I land in London, I always think of that scene and the amazing emotion that can be witnessed at the arrival hall when people see others they love ……I also think of something 
my dear Andrew once said to me “that the kaleidoscope of humanity is most visible at Heathrow Airport where every race, culture or nationality can be seen any time of the day”. It really is just that. Whenever I arrive in London, I am always in awe of the WOW factor that still hits me. Ohhh ....I do LOVE LONDON.

Being fortunate to go to a work related meeting recently, meant I could have a London hit.

Remember our Guest Chef Lloyd Morse from January classes? Since his return to London he has been working at the River Café. So we thought it would be great to dine there. Lloyd was on a night off, so he was able to join us for dinner, after a quiet ale at a nearby pub first. Jules, (one of my bestie girlfriends)  who lives in Markington, near Harrogate in North Yorkshire, came down to meet up with us for an overnight visit and joined us for dinner. Also another young friend who is living in London for a while, Liz from Geelong, was also available. So with great company and a table booked – we headed to the restaurant the night we arrived.

Jules, Tez & Deb

Now you know Tez and I enjoy good food and wine……Well our dinner that night did not disappoint. We selected some starters to share. This included langoustines and the sweetest, thinnest most delicious type of prosciutto.

Sweetest prosciutto ever tasted

We then each chose our “primi” course. Each of us selected something different and a lot of sharing of different pasta, risotto and seafood dishes between the five of us, each one of us claimed we had chosen the best dish!!

For “secondi” course, I chose veal shins slow cooked – YUMMY!!!! I was so busy eating my plate I can’t remember what the others ordered!!

We were so busy eating we forgot to take photos!!!

Then we had to decide on dessert - to make it easier we decided on a shared dessert plate and a shared cheese platter…..nothing more can be said - but DELICIOUS!!

Shared dessert plaate

We had the most wonderful evening, scrumptious food and the pleasure of the company of three splendid friends  - would we go there again?? ABSOLUTELY ….
DC xx

Remember a few blogs ago I stated that I was going to try something “NEW” every week??? ….Well I have been. So many new things to taste – some things are just little tastes and other things are major food/taste production events. Anyway there have been many things; blood sausage,  raw fish, seaweed cured fish, clams, (seafood appears to being featuring well!!??), amongst others.
 
Other new things – whisking by hand …… with plenty of mod cons in my kitchen I have not had the need to hand whisk before – but recent classes suggested it makes a difference.

Whisking up a fury here!

Now that Katey and Jasper’s classes are completed, we are busy preparing for the next guest chefs, appearing early June, including cooking classes for kids.
 
Work life has been busy also, I am preparing to fly out today to London for an international meeting in relation to my day job. I have to eat, so I am sure some opportunity to try a few new places will be possible!
 
Another first was an executive “team building cooking class” I delivered recently. The CEO and Executive team requested to spend some time together “re-affirming their team spirit” without being bogged down by normal work routine. So, I created a cooking class that involved working in teams and preparing food that was enjoyed at a shared table at the end of the session.
  
I have to say, I am quietly pleased with how it transpired. The execs made some great dishes and appeared to really enjoy being taken out of their normal comfort zones. An interesting observation was that the males in the group seemed to have more experience and interest in cooking than the females (by their own admissions).
 
Of course, it took some empathy and explaining to make them realise that a ”sense of urgency” in the kitchen differs from that at the corporate board table!! Feedback was positive and they were a great people to have fun with in the kitchen. 

Also delivered some of my “Social Media for health professionals” professional development sessions to several health services in the Hume Region recently. I do love being able to share what I have learnt over the recent years about this phenomena. You know it doesn’t matter how many bad stories people tell me, I remain optimistic ….’cos I reckon bad dudes will always do bad things and we just have to remain positive and override it.
 
This recent media article (which is in relation to the Boston bombings) - really sums it up , in my view.
 
Had a great article featured in the Latrobe City Council Business newsletter recently. A lovely young woman named Lauren interviewed me and represented PCCS in a great piece for the newsletter.
 
We also had a fabulous feature in a local glossy magazine called Gippsland Lifestyle….Did you see it?
 
Well boarding call is now being heard ….Talk to you from London – or when I return, if I don’t have enough hours in
the day!! ;-)  DC xx

DC & Tez "selfie" off to London

Jasper Avent is a quiet, almost reserved young man, who does not fit the picture of those “larger than life” Chef personalities we are often exposed to in popular press and media. His journey and interest in food is an interesting one and his impeccable attention to detail in his cooking made even the most inexperienced of us in his classes believe we
could cook 3 star!

Jasper Avent with Debra Cerasa just before class.

Jasper delivered two classes – quite different in content. The first class was simply called “Asian influences”. Having lived
for some time when he was in his early 20’s in China, his knowledge of flavours and technique was fantastic. For a noisy chatterbox like me, I had to remain quiet and listen attentively – but it was worth it to learn so much about tastes and simplicity in food preparation. Jasper’s Asian influences featured snapper, duck and eggs – doesn’t sound much but the taste sensations were incredible. Fried eggs with a coriander salad means that fried eggs for brekky CAN NEVER be the
same again. We even scaled and gutted the fish – FIRST time for everything for this noisy chatterbox Italian cook!!!!  UMAMI (ooh – mar –me) - was the word Jasper taught us – that is simply the word for the fifth savoury taste sense ….

The following day Jasper took us on a journey of “meat and sauces”……well the Sunday roast and gravy has certainly been upgraded now!! Using Rabbit, duck and quails, Jasper treated us to some amazing skills and techniques, that us beginners were able to confidently think, “ I can do that!!”.

The knives are so important

Following the classes Jasper joined the participants for dinner and we feasted on:

We also shared a platter of duck breast on a serving of carrot purée.

So succulent … 
And completed by Rabbit Loins in smoky bacon served with silverbeet purée.

Jasper’s bio: 
While still an apprentice at Lake House Jasper won the Thierry Marx Career Development Award and was sent to France to do a month at Chateau Cordeillan Bages.

Jasper preparing for duck class

Jasper began working in kitchens when he was 17 as a kitchenhand. His love for cooking began when he was sometimes allowed to cook. From there he travelled to China and spent two years learning about the culture and food. When he returned, he began his apprenticeship and bought Larousse, which he now calls his bible. He moved through restaurants in Melbourne such as Pearl, Ezard and Cuttler and Co. He also spent a lot of time at Lake House in Daylesford. He and Alla Wolf-Tasker worked well together creating dishes and sourcing the best produce he could find. After 5 years of on and off working at Lake House, he now works at Albert St. Food and Wine in Brunswick as the Sous Chef for Phillipa Sibley. Jasper is a big fan of Asian flavours, and is extremely passionate about meats and sauces.
 
If you have enjoyed reading this blog you may be thinking how hard it all sounds. Can I just say, thank you Jasper, for making this all achievable for those of us attending the class who are absolute beginners but went away thinking – “Yep, I could have a go at this or this or this”!!!
 
What do you think – does it sound too hard ??
DC

Katey Rodgers is an awesome young woman, who was so coy when I first met her and she shyly described how a regular customer at her current employer’s restaurant “Albert St. Food and Wine” tagged her in the Melbourne press as “Melbourne’s Soufflé Queen”. Katey was introduced to me as a “pastry chef who was so passionate about her work”. While talking with her and discussing the possibility of her taking some classes at Plough Creek Cooking School, that passion became very obvious. I was so pleased when she agreed on a date to deliver some classes for us.

April 6th was a class of “Pastry and Tarts” and the next day, April 7th, we had a class of “Desserts” based on custards and of course, Katey’s acclaimed Soufflés. So to say we were “treated to sweet treats that were truly inspiring” would be underselling Katey’s skills and passion. We had fun working our way around pastry and learning so much about how to do it properly, in a short cut way and what makes the differences between a good tart and a great tart.

Once Katey completed her Soufflé and Custard dessert class....Well, all I could think about was “what was I eating before, that was named Custard”?? Obviously the tag of "Melbourne's Soufflé Queen" was appropriately acknowledged. What we
learnt in class that day was simply incredible. Thanks Katey – and I have spoken with Katey since and it looks like we have a Chef who is keen to rerun to do more classes later in the year.

Katey’s bio: 
Two of the first cookbooks Katey ever received were Est. Est. Est. (Phillipa Sibley's book from her first restaurant) and Season to Taste (Liam Tomlin). 

Katey’s passions are jam making, soufflés and rolling pastry. 
 
Katey began her apprenticeship when she was 15 years old at Flying Fish Restaurant in Pyrmont. It opened her eyes to fresh fish and the market runs, where there were towers of beautiful fruit from the farm that day. She continued through to 
Quay, and was placed on Pastry, where she found what she was best at, and  what made her most happy. From there she did Pier, Coast, Flying Fish again and then went to Bistrode. She learnt about some classic English cooking, and a lot about Asian style as well. After working at Bistrode she moved to Daylesford and began work at the Lake House. Alla taught her about even fresher food picked from the garden just before service. After a year of lake house, Katey now works at Albert
St. Food and Wine as Pastry Chef with Phillipa Sibley.
 
During the class we had a visit from WIN TV news – waiting to get a copy of the video to share with you all soon. It was cool!

Have you always been afraid to make soufflés and real pastry??? Tell us why? 
DC

 


 
 
 

In one of my other lives, I post a weekly blog that is short and targeted to a specific audience, which obviously relates to the professional role I have. The blog has received some interesting feedback and interest. I thought I might share it here with you one this blog.

http://multiplesclerosisaustralia.wordpress.com/

DC

I started to write a blog recently, as it had been almost 2 weeks since my last one. But it turned into a rant. For some
reason – don’t know why – I did not post it. It is now well over 3 weeks since my last post and I have been in a strange space of floating feelings…..Mmm…. How do I express this? I seemed to lose my taste buds for a couple of weeks. It 
seemed that a few things left such a “bad taste in my mouth” (figuratively speaking of course – hence the rant blog). Days have passed and I am now in a better place and my taste buds seem to have recovered. I have decided to delete
my previous rant and not burden my blog page with it. I must confess though, I think it did me some good. Had to get a few things out of my system and that is exactly what blog/journals/sharing are meant to do!!

So tonight is the Saturday of the long weekend (if Easter is important to you – then I wish you well for your festivities), for others it is a long weekend to chill, read, watch movies, COOK & EAT!! 

Had a great cook up last night and cooked a wonderful meal with snapper fillet and fried green tomatoes, accompanied by very tasty fennel and orange salad. Of course the normal offerings of desserts and cakes were made available after a day of baking. I pulled out a couple of very old and well used recipes and as always they did not disappoint. I really must
get round to scanning them all onto the computer. Just like the stains and marks all over the pages from days gone past. It is hard to get that same feel on the computer screen.

We had another cooking class at Plough Creek recently, Moroccan cooking. Wow were there some fantastic flavours shared that night. The aubergine cooked on “Wilma Webber” was turned into the best baba ganoush I have ever tasted. Beef cheek tajine and a semolina cake with the sweetest syrup. Yep – Yummy!

Right at the moment Tez is playing his guitar and singing ….. He thinks I should be having a bop while he pretends to be Paul - or is John that he fantasises about being??? He is attempting a gorgeous song right now “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon. Wonderful words ….Stunning sentiment. So I think it is time for a glass of wine and some reflection time, as I think
about all the beautiful boys I have known. DC xx