A Lousey Story

A good mate of mine was going through his late father’s papers and stumbled upon a folder that he thought I might enjoy reading. The modern history of wine as many of you know all too well, was rather rudely interrupted by an American louse that swept through the vineyards of Europe and also made a very unwelcome presence in the vineyards of Australia in the 1870’s.
The history of wine in the Geelong district has always been of interest to us as Diane’s great, great grandfather on her fathers side was an Alwin Seidel with vineyards at Ceres near Geelong. We have often visited the site of the Ceres Nursery and Vineyard, as it was called, to see the only remains, an old cellar. Wine has always been in Diane’s blood [now its mostly .05] with her great grandfather on her mother’s side, a Pierre Guillerme, being head cellarman at St.Huberts the Yarra Valley.
But back to the louse. Phylloxera Vastatrix is a small insect that feeds on and destoys the roots of European grapevines but does not attack American rootstock. The folder contained the sad story in the original government reports of how all the vines in the Geelong area were to be uprooted and destroyed.
The first report from 1878 is a short description of the spread of the insect in the vineyards with brief notes as to their size, location and condition. The second appendix in this report is an update of which ones had been uprooted and destroyed to that date.
The third report from 1880 is the Proceedings Of The Committee. This reads like a stage play with cross examinations of what appears to be rather innocent and uneducated farmers and their first reaction to seeds coming from America that appeared to be resistant to the disease. It makes heart breaking reading as so many of the names are still in the district and the place names are ones we travel through every week.
The third report from 1889 is by The Hon. J.W. Tavener, MP., Minister of Agriculture and gives a full report of the spread of the disease in France and how the problem is being addressed in Europe.

The fourth report is the saddest of all from A.R. Wallis who states...Sir- I have the honour to report that the work of eradicating the vineyards of the Geelong district within 3 miles of those that were infected ... have been destroyed.....
And that
"I am of the opinion that arrangements should be made this season to for the eradication of all the vines planted in the parishes of Barrabool, Gheringhap, and Moorpanyal: also in the Valley of the Moorabool river to the south boundary of the parish of Darravil, Germantown and Leigh road."
He goes on to say the rest are safe to leave for one more season when I guess they were all uprooted and would not return for many years.
A familiar name crops up in the first report Charles Louis Tetaz. I came across Tetaz while doing research for the Pettavel Restaurant in 2000. His great grandson John Tetaz produced a book “From Boudry to The Barrabool Hills The Swiss Vignerons of Geelong” that paints a very vivid picture of life in the wine trade in the 1860’s and 70’s. Sunnybrae was built in 1868 and reading his book brings us a little closer to understanding what life was like for these early pioneers.

It will take a bit of time to carefully read all the reports but I am looking forward to returning to an older time while drinking the very excellent new wines of the area. Time for a Prince Albert pinot....

Get On your Goat

One of the most surprising reactions our diners have is to their first taste of goat and we are often asked where to source it.

Thompson Meats at the Victoria Market have taken on the role that the now retired market legend Alf Paulet had in supplying great offal, they also sell very fine goat meat grown in Gippsland in all the convenient cuts.

Many of you will be very familiar with the sweet taste and tender texture of young goat meat. Just as many of you will be a little confused and perhaps frightened by the unjust reputation that goat meat has, as having an overtly strong flavour and aroma. This is a myth.
Young goat, sometimes called kid or capretto is as tender as young spring lamb with a subtle light aroma that does not intensify during slow cooking. Because goat is leaner than lamb sometimes a little pork fat, bacon or duck fat can help to bring the cooking to a moist conclusion. Most Halal butchers will also have goat meat as it is very popular amongst the Middle Eastern and Asian communities and sold as “mutton”. This can be confusing but Halal goat meat is usually a little older than Kid or Capretto which is under 12 kilo per carcase, more like its two-tooth equivalent in lamb. The older carcass is sometimes also called Chevon . I like them both very much and the flavour of goat meat marries well with both European and Asian herbs and spices. Once we had a wine and food society function with lots of guessing games going on and some of the local farmers were very surprised that goat could taste so good and insisted that it was milk fed lamb.
Vietnamese butchers also stock young goat with the singed skin on.

They like to cook it with the skin on slowly till it attains a gelatinous texture and use it in various traditional ways. Morocco, Italy, Spain all have a rich tradition of cooking with goat. Australia is the largest exporter of goat meat in the world.

The cartoon is of course from Michael Leunig from Goatperson And Other Tales

Penguin 1999

Follow the Gumboots and Cane Baskets

Busy week unable to post, but thought you might like to see the original photos from a story I wrote recently for the Age. Published a week ago.

The concierge at the hotel said in his best Chairman Kaga (flamboyant “Iron Chef” host) voice, “Follow the coloured gumboots and cane baskets”........

For the full story click the link below

http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2009/07/06/1246732281240.html

For the full photos click this ....http://picasaweb.google.com/sunnybraerestaurant/MarketTsukiji#

Menu Markers Notes from the Kitchen

These wonderful sea urchin were at Footscray market last week, thin shells, fine spikes very flavoursome.

The taramasalata was enriched with their heady aroma and provided a quiet introduction of these extraordinary creatures to the menu.

I wonder if I have the courage to put them on just as pictured with an accompaniment of a good pastis?

Or would I get too many shy and frightened guests?

We had a very special celebration for a dear chap in the private room who was turning 100. his daughter requested truffles and we began the lunch with scrambled eggs and onions en cocotte laced with far too much truffle. Perfect start to a long lunch. We were too busy to capture the dish on camera but we did get a shot of the special cassoulet that we are serving again this Sunday as Mademoiselle has been very clever with over 1.3kg just from one tree.

Before you think this is a viral marketing attack I have to remind you that I have no pecuniary interest in her smelly treasures other than trying to help them onto tables as soon as possible after she finds them. The dining room on Sunday was full of industry and it was a joy to surprise a few fellow cooks with a secret ingredient in the oxtail pictured in the previous post. This week we feature smoked fresh ricotta with young carrots and cauliflower. Celeriac is back again with horseradish and tongue.

A new Jamon from Preston.

The rhubarb has come good in the garden after the rain and this new tart with a bitter almond paste, poached quince and quince ice cream has hit the menu. We are slow cooking as many quinces with the residual heat of the wood oven as we can while they last.

Jackfruit are at their peak we are serving them with a saffron flavoured rice pudding and a ginger and lime ice cream. Needless to say ginger and limes are also peaking in quality right now.

I love winter frost and all. Without these winter frosts the fruit, the nut trees the truffles and the soil would be lost.

Its the un seasonal weather that really hurts.

We need a gentle flood here to feel safe for summer.