Class Action

Some are still confused about what happens at a cooking class here at Sunnybrae.
It’s a well known principle that what happens in class stays in class. So I can’t tell you the best bits like the the request for a blow [torch] job for the rice pudding or Daniel’s Monkey Mia joke and such but here’s a few clues. Don’t worry we also cook with some focus.
We have fun, learn a few things, muck up a bit and always sit down to a memorable lunch that has brought out some wonderful stories from our guests. I always learn some great tips, culinary trivia and special techniques from our visitors. And hopefully they receive the same.
Over the yearsI have given and been to many classes. With this new format I wanted to create an atmosphere of camaraderie, a discovery of some unusual special seasonal ingredients, use some less familiar meats and seafood, but most importantly breakdown the barriers that can hold back learning. We do this by treating the class exactly how it is; that is, cooking a special seasonal multicourse lunch to be ready by 1.30. I teach the principles that lead to an understanding of why a dish works rather than looking at a strict recipe and show practical ways of co-ordinating the timing to keep stress levels at a minimum. Home cooks and professionals for that matter are often at a loss to work out how to time the preparation and plating.
We begin with a coffee and short discussion that starts to build a group dynamic and by the end of the class many new friends are made. Cooking together does that. A skilled surgeon working with a grandmother, while her granddaughter works with a retired policeman. There are no barriers in the kitchen you need a good sense of humor, and take a bit of guidance. The ability to tell a good yarn is as good as a perfect brioche. We try to get to the finer details of bread, stocks, where to get stuff all the while keeping the time in perspective while double peeling the chestnuts and shaping the bread.
The when, how much, what to bring and so on can be found on the right sidebar. Its every Monday but we are going for a short break so the next available classes are from June 8 which is the Queen’s Birthday weekend.

And then there’s the Sex Kitten Salon but that’s another story.

Dolcetti a Sicillian Sweetheart

There is a new star on Victoria Street!

Dolcetti the new pasticeria by Marianna Di Bartolo.
Many will know of Marianna’s delicious Sicilian pastries from her previous bakery in Brunswick but this is the realisation of a dream. Located in a shopfront at 223 Victoria Street West Melbourne, 2 doors down from Don Camillo [best original intact 50’s cafe in Melbourne] is must-do pilgrimage for pastry lovers. Superb hand made delicacies, to die for bombolini, exquisite panna cotta pastries with vanilla wicks,

nougat to dream about, tiny jewels of pastry in a reincarnation of the site of a 1960’s original cake shop. While doing the renovations she found the original terrazzo floor made up of samples of left over tiles indicating a frugal but stylish original owner. The tiles extend all the way into the kitchen. But its not the tiles but the sweets that cast a very bright light... wow!

Market to Market

Markets are a joy to cooks; they are a shortcut to the soul of a city. No glossy brochure or guidebook can bring a visitor so close to the heartbeat of a new destination. There is an innate simplicity to traders selling their wares side by side or on the street without the paraphernalia of corporate image to hype up a sale. Caveat Emptor-- at a market what you see is really what you get.
I have to confess that when travelling the first cab off the rank is usually taking me to a wet market at midnight or the fish market under the Brooklyn Bridge at dawn. Is it still there?
We are off to Japan in late May and I can hardly wait to see the way that the Japanese markets work.

I visit Victoria market and Footscray each week to supplement all the local seasonal specialities. I need the accents and counterpoints to complement the local and seasonal as well as what our dry garden is providing. Not only is it a joy to go shopping but a market breakfast and lunch are a highlight of the week.
The new regime of Sat and Sunday lunches and a class on Monday makes this possible.
Diane and often take our weekends in Melbourne on Tues and Wed with a market crawl on the way back early on Thursday.
This morning the markets were full the glories of autumn. Pomegranates and persimmons radicchio Treviso kohlrabi. The first of the really good chestnuts. I also scored some good sweetbreads, big turkey livers, ripe fecund figs, soft bones of pork, goat shanks.
I can’t seem to write a menu without seeing the produce first.
Some windfall local grapefruit arrived earlier in the week as well as some samples of pure Wagyu that was finished on grass from a local grower, but I still can’t finalise the menu till Saturday morning when we know exactly what’s going to be here.
I honestly think this is what keeps me going, the challenge of balancing what the garden, the markets and the back door provide.
I can’t think of another city in Australia that provides so much choice.

Whats your favourite Market?

I’m not sure if it’s wise to let this out but we are on Skype [late adopter] at george.biron
Call me old fashioned but I won’t twitt.