Writers in Residence Dinner

The iconic Harbour Rocks Hotel, a member of the M Gallery Collection part of the Accor Group, invited us to an evening of arousing conversation from the inspiring literary mind of B. Michael Radburn, author of atmospheric and emotionally-charged novels, intertwined with a memorable food and wine affair. This carefully curated evening was designed with writers, readers and thinkers in mind and did take us on a culinary journey, with dishes inspired from the buildings fascinating past lives; from its beginnings as George Evens Loft to the colourful history of Sydney’s most prominent woman of the night to its transformation into the Harbour Rocks Hotel – a stunning celebration of this unique building. For that particular evening, most invited people were journalists or members of the Tourist Trade and we were lucky enough to reconnect with an old mate of my wife that we had not met for over 15 years.
Each hotel in the M Gallery Collection evokes its own memorable story that can be experienced through the hotel’s special features and characteristics. Prolific Australian authors will be ‘in residence’ at different hotels, to bring these stories to life by creating an exclusive short story inspired by their M Gallery experience. B. Michael Radburn was the first Australian author to be invited in Sydney.  
The Hotel Lindrum in Melbourne will write the second chapter with writer Jane Gilmour (of Colette’s France), in residence also in October. The Writers in Residence dinner with Jane will be held on Thursday, 30 October. Limited spaces are available at $160 per person at felt restaurant for a decadent four-course dinner with matched wines. 

I entered the competition to win an invitation to the Sydney event by allowing my photo to be taken at the mock-up library set up by the hotel at the launch of the SMH Good Food Month at the recent Pyrmont Growers Market and to have it posted on Instagram!
You had to choose a giant bookmark adorned with a great saying to hold while your photo was taken; ridicule doesn't kill. Sorry...

How I won a dinner for two at the Harbour Rocks Hotel - ridicule doesn't kill!

B. Michael Radburn and wife Mel were the true stars of the evening

This building has had multiple lives and I believe we had our first invitation for lunch in Sydney in a previous iteration of this hotel a mere 17 years ago! We were made to discover a beautiful Pewsey Vale Riesling from the Clare Valley, as our host was Swiss and liked his Riesling: it was a pleasant way to get acquainted with Australian wines.
And now, having lived here for almost two decades, we were offered to sample a four course dinner with matching wines, without counting a beautiful Crowded House Sauvignon Blanc from NZ before the dinner started.
B. Michael, or Baz as he likes to be called, did a very good job at entertaining us with reading some excerpts of the short story he had written over his recent stay at the hotel, but even more so by letting us into the emotions, dreams and reflections that his stay triggered and finally informed his writing. It was a fascinating insight into a writer's life and process and my own words would not do justice to the meanders of Baz's own mind. So, I was determined to read one of his novels before starting writing this review. It was fitting that our "showbags" miraculously contained a copy of each novel: The Crossing and Blackwater Moon, which I read first. It makes for fascinating reading and, as in Tim Winton writings, the "australian-ness" of the prose and his poetry might escape a foreign reader. As a matter of fact, it took me years to appreciate and enjoy the specialness of the Nature in this country, but on the other hand, my Dad who never had the chance to visit was very fond of Tim Winton's novels. So, there is some of that same slow pace and evocative description of the landscape and the life of small communities, and how they cope or relate with world issues which trickle though their lives eventually. Blackwater Moon is set in the 60s and 70s and there is not much technology around to connect a small rural community near what one guesses is the Hawkesbury river, apart from newspapers, television and word of mouth. Having said that, Baz manages to write a gripping story, full of twists and turns, but also deeply rooted in human nature, good or mainly bad here.
This blog is not yet a book review site, so after letting you know that I totally enjoyed reading Baz's prose, I will return to my core subject matter: Food and wine!
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The dinner

The Scarlett restaurant was reconfigured for the night to accommodate the twenty guests and their hosts.

This building is about 150 years old, and there was no reskinning of the buildings in those days. Sandstone it was, and sandstone it is today. The warm lighting did get the most out of the stone's colour and texture, and it made for a very welcoming and confortable venue. The only thing that I though could have been done better would have been to relocate or lift up the light pendants on the right side of the room, as they were almost touching people heads, but no one was injured so it's all good. Those lights are normally entered on the smaller tables as seen below on this photo from the hotel's website:

The normal configuration of the tables and the appropriate lighting at the Scarlett Restaurant

The menu...just in case you didn't realise!

Canaletto Prosecco Brut NV Veneto, Italy to go with the first course

First course - Caramelised fig, golden beetroot, aged balsamic and walnut

Second course - Confit Pork Belly, Gnocchi, Ham Hock, Peas

Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Margaret River, WA - Everybody seems to enjoy themselves

Third course - one of my favourites tonight - Roast Beef Fillet, sautéed mushrooms, asparagus and potato and roasted bone marrow! Keith Tulloch ‘The Kester’ Shiraz, Hunter Valley, NSW

An intellectual pause during which Baz enlightens us on his writing process. Note that nobody is drinking the beautiful Shiraz, but his words instead...

And finally, dessert! Chocolate Mousse salted caramel, yoghurt sorbet - one word, amazing!

Red Claw Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

And the conversation continued well into the night...

Thank you Accor and the M Gallery for the invitation. Thank you Baz for entertaining us with your stories and insights in the life of a writer. The food was excellent, the wines and their pairing with the food more than adequate and the beautiful setting made it even more enjoyable. I will be back, as they say in the movies!