One of our regular chefs at Plough Creek Cooking School is a young Israeli man named Eitan Doran. He is a quietly spoken young man who has worked in many countries including  Israel, France, Italy, NZ and of course here in Australia.  Like all our guest chefs his passion for quality ingredients and good food is palpable. I have enjoyed working with him in the kitchen numerous times.

Deb & Eitan in the PCH kitchen

After many months of hard work he has recently opened his own food establishment in the CBD of Melbourne.

The Deli Counter is situated at 211 Queen Street, Melbourne.

Click the image to find them on Facebook

I had occasion to have a business meeting with a consultant recently and suggested that we meet at the Deli Counter  for coffee and after our meeting maybe have lunch. What a treat.

The venue is rustic and understated. Downstairs the counter displays freshly prepared and cooked food available on the day.  The kitchen is open and able to be observed by all patrons. No cooking behind closed doors here – you see exactly how the Chefs prepare and cook the food. Upstairs has tables and chairs and benches and provided a good space to meet and talk.

Coffee was fantastic – now this is what I call a strong coffee.

Yep – that is what I ordered, a strong flat white!! They got it right!!

As my colleague and my conversation became more intense and serious, I asked Eitan if he would mind just providing us with a lunch selection of his choice. We did not want to stop our conversation rhythm and make decisions for lunch….what a treat. Several meat and vegetable dishes were served and followed by a slice of fruit flan and an apple tart. All shared plates.

Delicious.

If you are in Melbourne and need some where for a quick coffee or a yummy breakfast or lunch…..please call in and say hello to Eitan and his team.

Happy tastings … DC

Recently I had the absolute pleasure of spending a weekend at Plough Creek Homestead. The four days I spent there came after I sent a text to Deb saying I needed a break from Canberra, almost instantly I received a text back saying “come down and stay at Plough Creek the weekend of 1 and 2 March” “come a couple of days prior to the weekend, you can relax, put your feet up and enjoy a couple of cooking classes while you are here!”

I didn’t hesitate I hadn’t been to Plough Creek and a weekend away was just what I needed for my soul, little did I realise just how much it was needed!

I arrived at Traralgon on the Thursday afternoon, I let Deb know I had arrived and Deb suggested I go to “Treehouse Living” while I waited for her to come and meet me, she was cooking Tez’s dinner and would be with me shortly. What a wonderful little store, I may have purchased some gifts to take back to Canberra.

Deb arrived, we organised what we would do for the afternoon and off I went, following Deb…..”Plough Creek here I come”. I arrived to a haze of smoke from the Morwell mine fire, something I knew would be there but didn’t quite realise how bad it would be. I unpacked my suitcase and was given a quick tour of Plough Creek Homestead and what my sleeping arrangements were for the weekend. “Wow this place is just beautiful”. 

My place of rest for the weekend.

Deb and I ventured into Morwell, it was a very eerie experience driving along the road and driving through an invisible wall into the smoke haze. It was clear and then it wasn’t. What those residents have had to put up with is incredible and I feel so lucky that I have not had to endure what they have.

We parked in Morwell and Deb said “I am heading in to these shops to grab what I need for the classes, I recommend you go and check out the shoe store just there they have great specials” Deb knows my “problem” with shoes. How could I not? What girl can resist a good shoe sale? And I didn't disappoint, I walked out with three pairs of gorgeous shoes and at a very good price too.

Pretty in pink

Deb finished the shop and we headed back to Plough Creek via the Ambulance station to say hi to Tez. Deb cooked me a wonderful “throw together” meal and we got down to the task of checking off the shopping list for the classes. 

Not bad for a "throw together" meal, I could get used to this

Day two started early with a quick goodbye to Deb as she headed into Melbourne for the day, a cup of tea in bed and a read of my book…..thinking to myself “this weekend is going to be a treat”, how much of a treat I was yet to find out. My tasks for the day were to purchase some goods for the classes in Traralgon and chill out and wait for the chefs to arrive, not too hard at all. Well the waiting become a little worrying as I found out their car broke down just out of Canberra and they had to rearrange their transport options. They did arrive at around 10pm, which may have woken me from a snooze on the lounge (a very long day indeed for them which was really only just the start). I had the pleasure of watching “the boys” prep for their classes the next day. They were both very dedicated and were quite prepared to spend all night prepping for the classes if needed. Thankfully they did manage some sleep.

Seeing the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes getting ready for a class is incredible, from ensuring the recipes are correct for the handouts, to setting up ready for students to arrive. It is hours of prep work that you just don’t get to see under normal circumstances.

First class was Vietnamese with Brad Warton, Brad has been a regular visitor to Plough Creek as guest chef but this was my first ever cooking class and I had no idea what to expect. Sitting back and getting to see what the chefs would normally be doing behind closed doors was an absolute privilege. To see this craft brought to life in front of me was a real eye opener. The idea behind the classes is to show the everyday person that anything is possible in the kitchen and no form of cooking is out of reach. This came across constantly in the class and Brad continually expressed the fact that if you have the right ingredients, prepped ahead of time then the cooking itself is a breeze. I learned to make Vietnamese rice paper rolls with master stock pork belly and dipping sauces, Vietnamese egg drop soup, Vietnamese rare roast beef salad with green papaya and lemongrass chicken and kaffir lime leaf with steamed jasmine rice. My first class was over and I could not wait for the next to start.

Brad in action

Prepping for the second class of the day began, this was a private class booked for a birthday, quite a novel way to spend a birthday and it worked well. 

The class was conducted by Sean Jarrett a chef with a wealth of experience in Asian cooking. This was Sean's first experience in the Plough Creek kitchen. This class was titled “Asian influences” and showcased some of Sean’s favourite Asian dishes. I did get to sit in the background and watch the class unfold. Sean’s experience and knowledge certainly came across in the class and he was very open to questions which continued to flow throughout the class, at times Sean had to stop cooking to talk or there may have been some mishaps. 

Sean with his first class

Classes completed for the day, time for some rest and relaxation but not for Sean and Brad they continued to prep for the next day and whilst doing so they cooked an amazing dinner for Deb, Tez, Boston (Brad’s son) and myself. I felt utterly spoiled. Dinner was followed by some entertainment with Tez on guitar and vocals, and Boston on keyboard. Then Tez and his BOSE surround sound system (inadvertently sharing it with the neighbours, he does love his music), good wine and fantastic company. What a day!

Belting out a Beatles ballad

Day two of classes and this morning it was Sean and Vietnamese tastes, with the same recipes that Brad used the day before. It is amazing how different each chef makes a recipe by putting their own spin on the dish. I got to hear of Sean’s experiences first hand and he kept us enthralled with some wonderful stories of famous chefs he has worked with and the travels he has been on. Once again open to any question and having an answer for all of them. Getting to taste each dish was a treat and I walked away from each class quite full.

The passion that goes into the food is almost indescribable and seeing a chef in the kitchen, outside of their comfort zone in a foreign kitchen and making it all work was one of the greatest pleasures I will not forget in a long time.

The welcoming feel of Plough Creek Homestead and the way the Deb and Tez make you “part of the family” really made my weekend one I will never ever forget. Oh I nearly forgot the welcome I received by Max and Connie (Deb and Tez’s Labrador babies) each morning and every time I walked out the door truly did make it feel like a “home away from home”. 

Plough Creek Homestead

Do yourself a favour and book a class, experience this firsthand for yourself I promise you will not be disappointed.

So thank you Deb, Tez, Max and Connie for making my weekend unforgettable. And thanks to Brad and Sean for opening up my eyes to the delights of Asian cooking. Oh and thanks must go to Boston for the entertainment over the weekend.

The beautiful big brother Maximillian (Max) and baby sister Constantina (Connie)

I made a promise to myself on my drive back to Canberra that I would not be a stranger to this place and I will be back! 

Until next time.

Phoebe

*WARNING*        *Spoiler Alert*

This post contains a lot of emotion and LOVE.

Once upon a time there was a girl who knew she would love to be a mother. The path on that journey was unpredictable. The destination for that girl was not to be motherhood but it was a journey along a yellow brick road that allowed her to share in many birth experiences, with many women. To this day she has never found a written word that expresses the joy, magic and beauty of what happens when a new baby is born. You need to be there to feel, to sense, to smell, to adore, to watch in awe, to witness, to experience and to marvel in the birth of a child and the birth of a mother and a father (sometimes it is just a baby and mother…)

Some of my very BFFs I have met during a pregnancy or birth experience. There is a special bond that happens and whether we like it or not – sometimes, it really is very special secret women’s business!!

In fact some of the most special memories of my life include a number of babies where I have had the privileged of witnessing their births. My wedding day included 12 children, 9 of whose births I had shared in one way or another.

To be invited to be part of someone’s pregnancy and birth is a privilege that defies description. What a rare gift it is for another to invite you into such a wondrous, special and personal experience in their life. There needs to be respect and genuine caring for this to happen. I have been invited on so many occasions. HOW FORTUNATE I AM.

The circle of life now means that some of my babies are actually now becoming parents themselves. It fills my heart with immense pride when I watch these babes become parents, when I am asked for a reference for an important job for one of my babes, when I witness a babe as they marry the love of their life, when I hear the story about how one of the babes is living their dream.

The privilege continues…..in the last two years I have been invited to share with a number of gorgeous women….the life circle continues. These days not as a practicing midwife, but as a support person –“Nonna Deb”.

This week I experienced that special gift once again. A young woman we have gotten to know over the last couple of years, invited me into her pregnancy story not long after she confirmed her pregnancy. She asked me if I was around, would I be her support person. “Yes, definitely” I responded. “I would be thrilled”.

I joined her for an ultrasound during the pregnancy and it was the first time in my career as a midwife that I actually witnessed the determination of a baby’s gender. I usually don’t want to know until the birth and then enjoy the rapture of the discovery. It was the hardest secret I have ever had to keep! But it did add an interesting dimension to the journey.

I am a great believer in the strength that women have in controlling their birth experiences. I think women do have the ability to control the environment if they believe in themselves. I also believe they often ensure things happen at exactly the right time for themselves, for a whole lot of different reasons. 

When the phone call came through that my beautiful friend’s waters had broken, I was a little surprised and yet, I was not. 

I had spoken to her in the morning and she had sounded very calm and the description she shared was not really specific. As I was leaving home to head to Melbourne, I hesitated and thought I should call by her place and see her, but given I had seen her the day before and nothing looked like it was brewing I thought it may still be a few days yet. So I headed for Melbourne.

The trip back to Gippsland from Melbourne after I received the call was probably the most “efficient” I had ever driven (read what you like into that!!) Another friend was beside our darling mother to be and she keep me updated regularly with calls and texts. (I know this is not legal but it was a pending birth for heaven’s sake!!)

So the short version of this story is that I arrived in time to be a part of a most magnificent second stage of labour, birth and the creation of a mother and son. Another family created. WHAT A PRIVILEGE to be there.

A baby and mother are born…a family is created.

Some time later when I left mother and son tucked up ready to settle for the night I did indulge in a moment of reflection and self-gratification and I thought to myself….“You can take the old girl out of the birth unit but you can’t take the midwife out of her heart and soul”. 

Only a couple of hours old

What a precious gift it is to be able to have a baby and become a mother. We need to respect and applaud every woman that is nurturing her child more highly than we do our sports people, more respectfully than we do our politicians and more lovingly than we worship our celebrities. After all, surely the greatest responsibility of all is to nurture and love the next generation?

Time for kissing and hugging

My dear beautiful friend, thank you for inviting me into such a special experience in your world…..I am lost for words……

Yep, Uncle Chess with BOSE remote in hand is introducing him to The Beatles…..All you need is love!

WOW…yes, this is a very happy place for me when I hold a new born baby tightly and snuggly ….very close to my heart. X

DC

When a chef tells you about a place to eat, especially a chef you respect, you make a mental note to try that place.

The concept of a pop up restaurant was explained to me as a venue that will be there for a short good time, rather than the long haul. Focus is on the food….not the venue renovations!

So when I found myself in Sydney recently and considering where to go for have dinner, I recalled the recommendation I had been given for Café Paci. The chef’s name is Pasi.

Well what a delight and surprise.

One tends to take a second look when a menu is handed to you that simply lists the ingredients of each course. No description - just the main ingredients. It crossed my mind that you would need to be confident in your end results to not feel that the diner needs a description of what they are to eat.

What a wonderful surprise that this menu was so clever and confident, but with humility.

Our waiter, Nick, was attentive and patient in the way he described each dish. Starters consisted of four very unique tastes. We simply did not appreciate that they were an amazing indication of what was to follow.

Zaltan our drink waiter (also helped Nick along the way) was very helpful and I was so glad to have tried a Chilean Chardonnay that really pleased my palette. I usually stick to those labels that are familiar to me and that I know I like. I do like a “chardy” that has full punch in my mouth. But the evening and venue seemed to encourage being different for a change.

This young man also delighted us later in the evening when we discovered he was from Budapest and given our upcoming plans to visit Hungary, it was great to receive a comprehensive list of places for coffee, afternoon tea and dinner to consider while we are there. Nothing beats recommendations from foodie locals!

A number of “mains” were served…..including a dish called “that’s amore”. The ingredients listed are described when the dish is served to you, as the traditional flavours for pizza, it is reasonable to say that this is not what you expect…..oh lordy, the taste was amazing though!

“That’s amore”

We opted for the cheese course also…… no cheese platter I have ever seen before tasted or looked like this.

Like no other cheese course I have ever tried!

This restaurant was voted the best new restaurant in Sydney in 2013 (I do hope I have got this correct) and I believe one of the desserts (there were two on the menu and extras) was voted best dessert by Gourmet Traveler (I do hope I have got this info correct as well….sometimes in my excitement about things I do get the story muddled up!!) Well it deserved to be…..oops sorry, I forgot to take a picture!

Simply not polite to lick the plate!

And to top off a night of super delicious food, I was able to go into the kitchen and meet the Chef Pasi…..I admire and respect the hard work that artisans of food put into their craft and then when you get to meet them and they are such nice people….it is just awesome.

Deb & Chef Pasi (sorry it is a bad image – it is my phone not your eyes!!)

Since beginning to live the dream of Plough Creek Cooking School I have met some amazing chefs. The passion and energy they genuinely pour into their cooking is really inspiring. Over the last 18months, my attitude has changed so much and my observation of those I have met, continues to stimulate my interest in food. I feel very fortunate to have such opportunities to meet so many talented people.

4 nonnas from me. WOW…another happy tasting to the max!

DC

Many of our PCCS friends have enjoyed classes with Bard Warton and learnt much from him in relation to Spanish cuisine. But like so many chefs, he has numerous skills sets in his apron pocket.

In previous posts we have shared information about Brad, he recently returned to Canberra and re-opened Parlour Wine Room following a fire that burnt the premises. The re-opening has been highly successful and squarely placed Parlour back in the good eating scene in Canberra. As often happens in my fortunate life,  I had occasion to be in Canberra recently and I was able to have dinner at Parlour and catch up with Brad. 

YEP – you guessed it - a fantastic meal was served to me and I was able to share many dishes with friends and have a quiet drink with Brad at the end of the evening.

Brad certainly has an impressive list of work gigs  that commenced at Ottoman restaurant, Canberra, delivering fine cuisine as sous chef for 3 yrs. Ottoman has had an SMH chef hat for 17 yrs.

He then worked at Parlour Wine Room, which was one of 7 nominated for best tapas/bar food in Australia by Industry Magazine 2008.

Brad found his passion for Spanish food through working with a couple of Spanish chefs in Canberra and in Ireland and is attracted to its simplicity yet unique flavours. As well as being fascinated with the way terrain influences food, not only in Spain, but globally.

He attributes his love of food to his mother, who is an extremely handy cook and Serif Kaya from Ottoman cuisine for teaching him about “palette” and balancing flavours.

Brad left Canberra in 2010 to further expand his technique and knowledge at Ten Minutes by Tractor; a 1 hat restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula, as sous chef under Stuart Bell (formally of Bocuse, Jacques Reymond and Langtons). During his more than two years there, he was part of the team that was successful in a second hat and placed the restaurant 36th in the best restaurant in Australia (2013) list.

We had numerous inquiries from people who wanted to attend classes in Asian cuisines.

Brad returned recently and delivered a Vietnamese class for us and as usual, he left us feeling very gratified with tastes along with feeling clever with our new found skills for Vietnamese cooking.

His menu included:

• Master stock, pork rice paper rolls, rice vermicelli noodle, cucumber, Thai basil, Vietnamese mint, nouc cham & fire cracker dipping sauce, pickled carrot
• Vietnamese egg drop soup
• Rare beef salad, baby spinach, bean shoots, rice vermicelli, Vietnamese mint, green papaya, cucumber, thai basil & toasted sticky rice
• Lemongrass chicken, kaffir lime leaf steamed jasmine rice

We thought we would share his egg drop soup recipe with you….

Try it and let me know what you think.

VIETNAMESE EGG DROP SOUP 3 TO 4 MAIN SERVINGS

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion sliced
• 50 gr minced ginger
• 3 large garlic cloves sliced
• 2 birds eye chillies sliced (optional)
• 400gr tinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 litre vegetable stock or water
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 tbsp palm sugar
• 5 peeled & deveined prawns per person
• ½ bunch torn coriander
• Spring onion greens (sliced diagonally)
• 4 egg whites lightly beaten
• Coriander and Vietnamese mint (optional)

Method 

Heat oil in a pot & cook brown onion till soft, add ginger, garlic & chilli, cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add vegetable stock & chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil.

Simmer for 20-25 mins to infuse flavours, (soups like this are always better the next day).

Add fish sauce, lime juice & palm sugar to taste.

Add prawns and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, DO NOT BOIL!

Overcooking the prawns will make them rubbery.

Create a whirlpool in the soup by stirring & pour in the egg whites in a steady stream.

Garnish with coriander & spring onion greens.

Happy tastings ….

DC 

If you are a regular visitor to our blog or on the mailing list for classes, you will be familiar with a chef from Sydney who has visited us a few times, Kate Spina (nee Connor). We so enjoy her passion and special interest in recent times as a pastry chef. She has had some wonderful working gigs at some very well know places in Sydney and had a fabulous spread for Christmas in the Inside Out magazine last year.

We had secured a series of classes with Kate, quite possibly her last with us for a while, due to some big changes in her life. We know we will remain in contact and she is one of our new BFF’s but moving to NZ with husband Alfie, having her second baby, Milla,  a few weeks ago and expanding her own career means she may not be down Gippsland way for a while.

Deb and Kate

Kate had shared her skills in pastry bread and dessert classes before, but each class she comes with new recipes and techniques. We were also able to feature some of Kate’s recipes in our recipe page in the latest edition of magazine Gippsland: the lifestyle.

Instead of sharing insight into the class in this post, I thought I would share one of the recipes……You can check out some of the photos from the class in the gallery on the website.


Coffee Granita

Serves 6.

500ml espresso
100g sugar

Place coffee and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into a shallow container and allow to cool completely. Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and use a fork to scrape the frozen coffee into small crystals.

Chocolate Mousse

Serves 6.

270g chocolate, 70% cocoa
230ml water

Combine chocolate and water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted and well combined Place bowl over a bowl of iced water and whisk steadily until chocolate thickens. Pour into serving glasses or leave in the bowl.

Refrigerate, covered, until required.

N.B. the water in this recipe can be replaced with other liquids. Mint tea or Earl Grey tea make a lovely mousse.

Serve… a scoop of the chocolate mousse with a dollop of sweetened cream and a heaping of granita.

Try this recipe and let me know how you find it!  Happy tastings ….

DC 

As you know we do love to dine and wine. We aspire to visit many places/restaurants and for me it is about a total experience. Something that takes me away from the every day. Something that is not like work, or play, or garden or home cooking…..away from any of our normal every day activities!

I don’t mean to sound snooty or like a “know all”, but I think we are reasonable, however discerning. We don’t expect to be feigned over but we do like to be respected by good customer service.

Simple rules of engagement!

This year for Tez’s birthday I booked a table at Attica. We had heard a lot about it and had wanted to try it for a while. Bookings are usually a few months out so I had phoned through the reservation a few months ahead. It was a week night – Tuesday, in fact. Usually Tuesday night is their set menu night where they do at times, try new dishes, they explained to me. I did not mind that concept. However this particular date was during the 2014 Melbourne Food and Wine festival, so they had a special 8 course set menu on that date. “Are you OK with that?” the person on the phone asked? “Sure,” I replied. “That’s sounds even better!”

Deb and Tez ready to dine!!

We invited Andrew and Andrew to join us. Naturally being responsible citizens we decided not to have a designated driver and booked a cab!

So now to share the food story with you……Sometimes it is best to not try and describe what you taste. Sometimes the words just can’t be found.

Suffice to say that starting off with a series of starters that included herb leaves still on their stem to dip into the most amazing “dip” set the scene for greatness to come.

Surprising dip with fresh herbs

The recipe for the “Wallaby Pikelets Maaate”  would be well matched to the Elephant stew recipe I have in the Plough Creek Homestead kitchen! :-)

We opted for the menu that matched the wines and were very pleased that we had chosen that option. All round we enjoyed most of the wine matches/choices. Only one or two of the wines were not to our palate – but hey, that is what it is about, after all. Personal taste is personal taste.

One of the most impressive things about this venue, together with the knowledgeable staff, the warm welcome, the comfortable chairs, the amazing ambience and the incredible food, is that the décor does not try to compete. It is very charcoal and understated. This is a place that is about the food, first and  foremost.

So, all in all, I understand why Attica is currently no 21 in the top 50 restaurants of the world listing!!

What a wonderful experience – thanks Attica.

4 Nonnas from me! 

WOW…happy tasting to the max !

DC