Advertisement

The Forager: Gorgeous food, Barossa Fino

Oct 22, 2014
Chinese 5-Spice Free Range Duck - one of the dishes on the menu at Gorgeous Table participating chef Karena Armstrong’s Salopian Inn at McLaren Vale.

Chinese 5-Spice Free Range Duck - one of the dishes on the menu at Gorgeous Table participating chef Karena Armstrong’s Salopian Inn at McLaren Vale.

This week in The Forager: A new Gorgeous Festival food event; Fino set to open at Seppeltsfield; a second restaurant for the Casino; and a third cellar door for Geoff Hardy.

Gorgeous Table

The first ever Gorgeous Table dinner – part of McLaren Vale’s 2014 Gorgeous Festival (November 28-29) – will offer a shared feast created by six of South Australia’s best chefs.

Karena Armstrong (Salopian Inn), Peter Reschke (d’Arry’s Verandah), Tom Boden (Ellen Street Restaurant, Maxwell’s Winery), Paul Baker (Botanic Gardens Restaurant), Phil Whitmarsh (Daniel O’Connell) and Stewart Wesson (The Flinders Street Project) will each contribute a unique dish as part of a three-course shared platter-style dinner following canapes from 2014 MasterChef runner-up and McLaren Vale local Laura Cassai.

“I love the concept of collaboration that this dinner promotes – it’s reflective of the whole festival and the McLaren Vale region,” said Armstrong, chef and owner of the Salopian Inn at McLaren Vale.

More information about the dinner and other events at the two-day boutique music, art, food, wine and cultural festival can be found here. Tickets for Georgeous Table are available individually for $150, or as part of a weekend package.

Fino @ Seppeltsfield

Sharon and David resized

Fino’s David Swain and Sharon Romeo.

Sharon Romeo has never operated two restaurants before, but the front-of-house dynamo – who has run Fino at Willunga in partnership with chef David Swain for the past eight years – says she is up for the challenge.

“I’ve got a lot of energy and David and I are on the same page – that has allowed us to grow,” says Romeo.

“We were given a wonderful opportunity by the major shareholder of Seppeltsfield, Warren Randall. He wanted a destination restaurant at his cellar door and he believes in what David and I do. We’ve been talking about this for a few years now.”

Fino @ Seppeltsfield opens on November 22.

It will be located in a renovated 1850s bottling hall that has been redesigned by architect Max Pritchard to include three dining areas – the bottling hall, the verandah, and the downstairs vat room with views of the barrels in the Centennial Cellar above (Romeo calls this area “the laneway”). The venue will seat more than 100 guests – almost double Fino Willunga’s capacity.

Vat Hall resized

The Vat Hall is being transformed into a dining space for Fino @ Seppeltsfield.

Romeo says the two restaurants will share the same look (oak tables and bentwood chairs) and ethos (simple regional and seasonal food), but will offer different experiences.

“We will be offering a classic a la carte menu featuring Barossan produce such as Schu Am Berkshire Pork, Savannah Chickens and Hutton Vale Lamb – unfortunately there is no ocean in the Barossa! – and an eclectic wine list of Australian wines including all the Seppeltsfield house wines and fortifieds. We will also have a bar menu for drinks and snacks.”

Romeo expects to divide her time between the two restaurants and continue to hold front-of-house roles. “Ideally I will spend three days in the Barossa and two at Willunga – I love working on the floor. I love service.”

Fino @ Seppeltsfield will be open for lunch every day and for dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Bookings open from the start of November.

Another new restaurant for Casino

Internationally renowned New Zealand chef Nic Watt has been signed on and renovations are already underway at the Adelaide Casino for a second restaurant.

Like Sean Connolly, the chef whose Sean’s Kitchen restaurant recently opened at the Casino, Watt also has a restaurant at Auckland’s SkyCity – MASU, a Japanese robata restaurant and bar.

Emma Hack resized

Artist Emma Hack working on a major piece for Madame Hanoi.

At the Adelaide Casino, Watt will open a French Vietnamese bar and bistro called Madame Hanoi, to be located at the site of the former Loco Bar. Significant changes are being made, including the addition of a mezzanine floor, but these will be sympathetic to the heritage of the Adelaide Railway Station building. Artist Emma Hack is  creating a large signature mural for the space.

According to sources, Watt has been spending a lot of time in Adelaide recently, checking out the food landscape and getting acquainted with the city.

Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy

Hand Crafted By Geoff Hardy resized

Some of the Hand Crafted By Geoff Hardy range.

Local winemaker Geoff Hardy has just opened a third cellar door, this time for his Handcrafted by Geoff Hardy range of alternative varietal wines.

The tiny cellar door located next door to Somerled Wines at Shop 2, Main Road, Hahndorf, has been designed to give the brand its own identity outside of Hardy’s other brands: Pertaringa at McLaren Vale and K1 by Geoff Hardy at Kuitpo in the Adelaide Hills.

The Hand Crafted range includes new and emerging varieties such as Gruner Veltliner, Nero d’Avola, Montepulciano, Graciano, Teroldego and Lagrein.

“I’ve always been interested in trialling varieties relatively new to Australia and I’m particularly excited to be able to showcase this range of wines,” Hardy said.

“This new cellar door will not be your average cellar door, but somewhere where you can experience something out of the ordinary and broaden your knowledge about the amazing variety of wine styles out there.”

The cellar door will feature sit-down tasting options with flights of either four or eight alternative varieties. There will also be a Chinese version.

More information can be found here.

Hoosegow marks Day of the Dead

Hoosegow chefs resized

Hoosegow chefs Somerled and Hamish preparing kid (baby goat) for slow cooking on charcoal.

Charcoal grill Hoosegow at 419 Magill Road, St Morris, is building a great following in the food scene with dishes such as its signature charcoal chilli chicken burger with rocket, shredded carrot, fresh mint, jalapenò aioli and fat chips.

Chefs Somerled Mackay and Hamish McLean have created a Latin American feast for their November 1 Day of the Dead Dinner, a Mexican holiday feast in remembrance of family and friends who have passed on. Tickets are $65 and bookings can be made here.

La Boca’s express lunch

Another establishment with a Latin flavour, the Stamford Plaza’s La Boca Bar and Grill, has introduced a $15 express lunch menu.

La Boca serves traditional Argentinean food and wine, with chef Nicolas Arriola skillfully cooking beef ribs, whole pork and lamb over the asado.

During October only, InDaily readers will receive a complimentary serve of traditional flatbread with homemade dips with the purchase of any main meal – just mention InDaily to redeem the special offer.

Yangarra cellar door a winner

Gen Molloy resizedYangarra Estate has taken out the MADEC McLaren Vale Cellar Door Person of the Year for the second year running, as well as this year’s McLaren Vale Cellar Door of the Year.

Cellar Door manager Genevieve Molloy was again acknowledged for her regional wine and tourism knowledge and customer service. Yangarra was also recognised for its excellent retail and tasting environment.

Drew Noon MW was awarded the Clive Simmonds Memorial Trophy for outstanding service to hospitality and the promotion of McLaren Vale.

The McLaren Vale Cellar Door Awards were established in 1985 to encourage excellence in customer service.

Events

CheeseFest 2014 – October 25-26
Australia’s largest cheese festival, CheeseFest, is back for its ninth year this weekend, showcasing South Australia’s local premium cheeses alongside other artisan foods, wines and beverages.

New additions will be the Foodland Mozzarella Bar, where visitors can watch the local La Casa del Formaggio team stretch warm, fresh cheese and sample the product at the bar accompanied by specially matched wine and beer; and Sprout Cooking School’s Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis’ hands-on cheese cooking classes (bookings essential).

But our tip is the new Tuckers Natural Picnic Trail, which for $50 includes a picnic rug, cheeseboard and knife, two 110g packets of Tucker’s Natural gourmet crackers, one 50g tub of Tucker’s Natural Fruit Paste, two $10 Cheesefest tokens to be redeemed at any cheesemaker’s stall for product, and a Tucker’s Natural carry bag.

More information here.

Royal Adelaide Wine Show Dozen Launch and Tasting – October 25
The Royal Adelaide Wine Show Dozen Launch and Tasting at the National Wine Centre allows wine lovers to taste a selection of the winners from the 2014 Royal Adelaide Wine Show held earlier this month.

The Show Dozen was first launched in 1989 to introduce consumers to different varietals and wine styles, and to showcase wines that have won trophies or medals acknowledging their excellence.

The event will be held from midday until 4pm and tickets cost $15 at the door.  More information here.

Fleurieu Peninsula Produce and McLaren Vale Wines Dinner – October 29
This event is part of the National Wine Centre Wine Dinner series which puts different food and wine regions under the spotlight.

The Fleurieu Peninsula event will be hosted by the small-batch winemakers of Vale Cru, a collective of McLaren Vale winemakers who band together to introduce consumers to wines that express the diversity, people, geology, winemaking and sustainable farming methods of the region.

A menu which features flavours synonymous with the region has been designed to match. More information about Wine Centre events can be found here.

Picnic at Marble Hill 2014 – November 16
Tickets have gone on sale for the 2014 Picnic at Marble Hill, the annual one-day festival of artisan wine and food from the cool heart of the Adelaide Hills. Last year’s picnic sold out early. Tickets can be purchased here.

 

FWD Subscribe Story Banner

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.