On 13th December 2010, our Christmas Gala Dinner was held at the beautiful Marriott Hotel in Pitt Street, Sydney.
The diners were greeted with a glass of Champagne, by the professional and lovely staff, followed by 4 different �amuse-bouche � artistically presented:
-Small kangaroo tartlets
-Oysters with lemon granité
-Small skewers of cheese, tomatoes and basil leaves, the latter one shaping it all into a sail.
-Verrines of very refreshing tomatoes gaspacho.
After this first degustation we took our seats in the elegantly set functions room, to be served an appetizer:
The potted duck rillettes, house pickled cauliflower, braised cherries and sour dough crusts.
The charming Chef Harry Callinan, and sous-chef Desmond, wanted to bring a French touch to the Christmas dinner, by serving some “rillettes � For me personally it brought back some good memories.
Of course they were not the “Proust Rillettes � but the one that Rabelais {15C French writer and Philosopher} and 19C French novelist Honoré de Balzac mentioned in their writings, except that here, duck meat was used.
The rillettes are pieces of lean meat slowly cooked in fat, shredded and combined with spices, then packed into jars. They are normally served with French gherkins called cornichons. But Chef Harry Callinan intentionally substituted the cornichons with some small pieces of house-pickled cauliflower, which brought an acidic note to counterbalance the richness of the meat. On the other end, the braised cherries added a subtle sweeter taste to it. All served on a wooden board. Personally I liked it, as I am opened to new experiences!
It might not please the purists, but I think we have to be opened to new ideas.
Paired with this appetizer was a 2009 Ronco del Gelso Pinot Gris from Italy.
The entrée consisted of a Free-range egg omelette, sweet Alaskan crab, baby leaves, and shellfish cream. The delicious omelette was presented in a non-traditional way like a cup cake. Here Chef Harry Callinan played minimalist, on the beautiful sauce, which was scarcely scattered on the plate.
To accompany the dish, a 2008 Hirsch Riesling Zobing, Kamptal, from Austria, which was perfect with the crab.
To clean the palate, a lime and pepper sorbet was served.
The main-course: Grass fed tenderloin, cep little pie, pea mash, kipfler discs and Shiraz jus, was a succulent, tender piece of meat {from Southeast Queensland}, cooked to perfection. It was a delight, and such a first class meat needed a good wine .It was paired with a 2006 Coates organically grown Syrah from MacLaren Vale in the Barossa Valley, which was sublime!
For the cheese, Chef Harry Callinan got out of the traditional cheese platter, and surprised us with a Gorgonzola mousse and fig paste lavosh sandwich: 3 circles of crispy lavosh bread with the cheese and the paste in between, served with a jelly made out of Botrytis Semillon wine. Delicious!
To accompany this course, a 2007 Dario Coos Ramandalo wine was served.
We concluded the meal with a voluptuous dessert of a white chocolate cherry tart, spiced mulled wine reduction and almond biscotti, topped with a red sugar lattice, artistically displayed.
Wine: a 2007 Grande Maison Monbazillac from South West of France.
Coffee and chocolate truffles were then served, and everybody enjoyed each other's company.
Yolande Lebreux.
Vice-Chargée de Presse.
Bailliage of N.S.W.