Kong cut the 12-hour slow cooked smoked brisket for our meaty pleasure at Vic's Meat Market
Offals on display at Vic's Meat Market
Update on July 4th: Anthony Puharich - the owner of Vic's Meat Marketdid a demo of these "Curious Cuts" at the SMH Growers Market in Pyrmont today, explaining how to use them, cook them and where they were from in the animal. Great tutorial. Here are some photos of this event. He also cooked some braised beef cheeks...Looked delicious
Anthony showing his wares under the vigilant gaze of Myffy Rigby
Hanger steak, oxtail, tongue, cheeks and more....
The solid ingredients for the sauce
And the liquids...
Et voilà ! Braised beef cheeks cooked to perfection
Mike McEnearney from Kitchen by Mike cooking at the SMH Growers Markets
After promoting the "Imperfects Picks" for vegetables, Harris Farm now jumps on the band wagon of "head-to-tail" philosophy started here by Colin Fassnidge, the cheeky - some say feisty - Chef behind the success of 4 Fourteen in Surry Hills and Four in Hand in Paddington. Brisket, hanger, offals including ears & tail - a delicacy in Spain where they are reserved for the winning toreador - which are common in France's butcher shops and beyond, are becoming more popular in Australia, in part because of their cheaper price, but also because of their heightened taste.
Victor Churchill in Woollhara and Vic;s Meat Market at the Sydney Fish Market were also early promoters, as well as Mike McEnearney from Kitchen by Mike and James Viles from Biota Dining. The good news, for me at least - is that one can now afford a "Bavette à l'échalote" and shared with friends and family a cut of meat which is rare but not dear here. In Europe, it is the opposite as price follows the rule "what is rare is dear", hence veal liver is almost beyond reach, but here it is -still - affordable. So, go and eat your hearty content of "Curious Cuts" or offals or other delicacies. 
Colin Fassnidge showing off...his butchery skills at Taste Sydney 2015
James Viles and Executive Chef Joel preparing blood sausage at the SMH Growers Markets
The new promo for "Curious Cuts" from Harris Farm Markets
And if you want to try my recipe for "Bavette ou Onglet à l'échalote", check my online recipe book!
Our recipe for Bavette à l'échalote
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 Set in the beautiful Centennial Parklands, Taste of Sydney took place over the week-end starting on Friday 13th As a food blogger, it seemed like a "have to go and report" kind of event, if one just looks at the impressive list of Chefs and providers, wineries and entertainers listed on the website. It was great to mingle with a youngish crowd, all obviously here to have a good time, and not worried about spending their well earned cash. And cash, you will need a plenty: before you can even taste anything, you will have to fork at least 60$ for entry for two and two mandatory, non-refundable plastic glasses costing 5$ each. Then you have to buy food and wine and this can easily turn into a 100$ bill or more. The first taste at Taste was quite a bad one, as I could have spent the same money for a proper dinner in some of the featured restaurants... having said that, we had great fun talking to a few people we know, like Frank Camorra who generously gave us one of his fabulous "brochettes" of lamb, or watching Colin Fassnidge butchering a piglet on stage and having the crowd in hysterics over his constant jokes and finally getting introduced properly to the lovely Kate Gibbs. We loved the brochettes from Frank so much, that we returned to buy some more and try his fabulous ice-cream. We drank a GSM from Tobreck & Vintners and Billi Billi Shiraz from Mont Langi Ghiran, a winery I had discovered at last Designex . There was great frustration in accessing the restaurants we would have like to taste, due to long queues and time constraints, as each session last really only 4 hours and you may have to wait a good 20mms at each stall. Besides we privileged watching Colin Fassnidge show. Some of the people we visited Il n'y a que Maille qui m'aille  Georges PUECHBERTY, the very French looking director of Fine French Food  The always jovial Frank Camorra on the tools  And some happy customers, including us  Alex and Manon bring together Lille and Lyon to Victoria and their skills to Mont Langi Ghiran Winery. Some of the places we would have liked to try out Couldn't even get close...  I heard good things about the Wagyu and Tuna...  Porteño: preparing the porchetta  And the endless plating up for the hungry hordes waiting outside... And now onto the Colin Fassnidge Show Kate Gibbs and Colin Fassnidge preparing for the show I don't think I need to present Colin Fassnidge to my Australian readers, but maybe I need to do it for my international readers (yes, all of you over in America, Asia and Europe...). Dublin born Colin Fassnidge has been Head Chef of The Four in Hand Dining Room since October of 2005. Since starting at The Four in Hand, Colin’s unique style has seen the Four in Hand hold one Chefs Hat for four years and adding the prestigious second hat in 2010. He has since opened a second restaurant in trendy Surry Hills 4Fourteen with Carla Jones. Learning very early that he had a passion for cooking, Colin moved to England where he did his apprenticeship at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons under Raymond Blanc in Oxford. Blanc, a self taught Chef instilled in his staff a sense of seasonality and also tasting at every stage, a trait Colin uses in his kitchen today. With a passion for travelling Colin arrived in Australia in 1999 working at some of Sydney’s most acclaimed Restaurants, including Liam Tomlin’s celebrated institution that was Banc. Colin’s Nose to Tail philosophy and his diligence for sourcing the best local ingredients has seen him turn the most undesirable off cuts into beautiful, delicious dishes. He is also now a -sometimes controversial - judge on My Kitchen Rules, together with French Chef Manu Feidel and Aussie paleo diet ambassador extraordinaire Peter Evans, " bringing sexy back to TV on My Kitchen Rules". He seems to have a great female following as well, and is a great bloke. Kate Gibbs is a Sydney-based journalist, food writer and author. She has written two cookbooks and her first non-fiction book will be released in 2015. She has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Wall Street Journal, Sunday Style magazine, Sunday Life in The Sun Herald, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Broadsheet Sydney, The London Evening Standard, frankie magazine and Cosmopolitan magazine among others. She also happens to be Margaret Fulton's granddaughter, not a mince feast, as Margaret is a a Scottish-born Australian food and cooking 'guru', writer, journalist, author, and commentator. She was the first of this genre of writers in Australia. Her early recipes encouraged Australian housewives (!) to alter the Australian staple of "meat and three vegetables" and to be creative with food. She 'discovered' food from exotic places such as Spain, Italy, India and China and as Cookery Editor, 'brought these into Australian homes through her articles in the Woman's Day magazine'. Fulton realised that chefs who did television shows tended to lose their audience. Accordingly, she remained a writer who regularly appeared only as a 'guest' on various TV shows. Her early recipes encouraged Australian housewives to alter the Australian staple of "meat and three vegetables" and to be creative with food. She 'discovered' food from exotic places such as Spain, Italy, India and China and as Cookery Editor, 'brought these into Australian homes through her articles in the Woman's Day magazine'.  And let the butcher start...  Great chemistry between these two...  And here comes the pork belly! A bit of video action - Not for the faint hearted... The ribs and the head: faire la tête de cochon = being in a bad mood...  The pork belly is crackling!  Plating up various bits of pork - everybody is watching!  Et voilà ! Well done, Colin Fassnidge  The suckling pig roasting away on wood charcoals. Photo courtesy of Growers Market Instagram feed James Viles the youngest Australian Chef to receive two hats for his locavore restaurant Biota Dining in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of NSW, was the guest of honoour at the SMH Growers Market in Pyrmont for this month. He was there (very...) early to start the fire and slow roast a whole 10kgs pig in time for the first demo at 8.30am. I was not there and almost missed the 10.00am session as I was recovering from two nights of debauchery, including first screening of son Grégoire first film as a director (Summer Nights) and another one as DoP (1919) , part of the Break program of Metroscreen, and family reunion with the Scottish side of the clan... I made it just in time to catch some leftover bits of this deliciously slow cooked cochon  After the battle....
James Viles explains to us and host PoRkStar Marketing Manager Mitch Edwards how the pig was cookedJames went on to prepare blood sausages - boudin noir - to an attentive but somehow bewildered crowd who were told that they could make this at home... A lot of collateral damage, including the host Mardi Gras outfit, happened, as fresh blood ended up splattered every where on stage and beyond. All this happened as a very cool and collected James was crumbing bread into a bowl, adding various spices and plenty salt, while telling us the story of his (young...) life and the genesis of Biota Dining. I have already reported on this, so I will refer you to my restaurants review page. Over time, James and myself have built a friendship based on a common passion for local produce and food. He has pushed the "locavore" concept to the hilt, as he grows his own herbs and vegetables on the 4-acre property and sources most other ingredients within a 25kms radius around Bowral. Exception are the selfish he brings from the South Coast and some wines, although most of them are from the region (Centennial Wines and Far Ago Hill, just to name the two I know personally). We have been foraging together and I have been gently threatened with an invitation to go hunting hare together... He is a passionate individual and very hard working Chef, who also treats his personnel very nicely, taking them in turn to such event, like Joel today, his Executive Chef. The boudin noir was absolutely stunning, one of the best I ever tasted, including the divine apple and boudin noir feuilleté at La Tassée in Lyon, a must go to place, and the black pudding experienced in Scotland, another outcome of the Auld Alliance...  Crumbing bread while entertaining the crowd  James and Mitch cracking Mardi Gras jokes while preparing the spices...  Here comes the fresh blood... fifty shades of red!  Joel helps James filling the natural casing for the boudin  Messier by the minute...not for the faint hearted!  James presenting the cooked boudin to the crowd as a new born baby...Cooked only for a few minutes at 80 degrees, just to coagulate the blood around the bread crumbs and encapsulate the spices  Cutting the boudin to fry it  They seem to like it...  Add some aioli...  Even this little girl will taste boudin noir and like it  It looks like a success! Well done James and Joel. And thanks to Mitch for being great host Somebody asked about the recipe for boudin blanc instead, and nobody on stage had a real clue, so I was asked to step in...You will find a good recipe by clicking the image above. Let's just say that the blood is replaced by white meat (pork, veal or chicken), the finest result coming from using veal ( not yearling...) and add cream to gel the ingredients together. When well made, this is a delicacy usually enjoyed as a second course (after oysters) for Christmas. It was invented in Champagne. Find the complete story by clicking the image below. A fish version and a specialty of Lyon is called quenelle and is even finer in texture and taste, best if one can find brochet a carnivorous river fish.  Boudin Blanc before cooking. Click the image for home made recipe  Boudin Blanc after cooking - Boudin blanc was invented in Champagne for Christmas. Click to learn more I did find the time after tasting the roasted pig to have a quick run through the market andd say hello to my good friends Steph Gourmet Foods, roi du saucisson, the Ocellos and their beautiful cheeses, Grower2u and their fabulous vegetables next to the Leppington Valley Farm who still had beautiful figs, Pepe Saya butter, Gina from Sweetness The Patisserie, Gilles Bonin Monsieur Garlic and in the process met Jenny and Cathy from new stallholders Garlicious Grown, sharing with Gilles and Victoria. I am sure we will see more of these nice ladies and great products.  Growers2u  Grower2u beautiful heirlom tomatoes  I bought some kifler potatoes from these people last week in North Sydney. Fabulous...  Figs are still in season and beautiful  Jenny (right) and Cathy from Garlicious Grown  The infatiguable team at Pepe Saya  The Ocello clan hard at work  Fromage  et dessert Next week, we will revisit the EQ (fox Studios) and Riverside Organic Markets, and we are also interviewing James Viles at Biota Dining over tapas tomorrow and Clément Chauvin at Les Bistronomes in Canberra on Tuesday afternoon, and staying for dinner and a review...Busy week!
 The new book of Chef Matt Moran: Matt's Kitchen Garden Cookbook Matt Moran runs an empire of six casual and upmarket eateries in Sydney and Brisbane. I am a regular of his Opera Bar at The Opera House, a nice pre-concert dinner place or an afternoon jazzy place for a drink with loved ones. I will certainly pay a visit to his garden restaurant in the middle of posh suburb Woollahra, where this latest cookbook comes from. Woollahra is also home of the top butcher shop Victor Churchill, which has recently opened an annex at the Sydney Fish Market. But before we get to his cooking demo, let's feature a few newcomers and some of our favourites regulars...and we will be starting with cheese! New and Regular sTallholders Small Cow Farm from Robertson - Southern Highlands
Small Cow Farm started in 2005 with a small herd of Irish Dexter cows. Nowadays their production encompasses brie and camembert style cheese, feta,, blue and a reblochon inspired washed rind. They were sharing with Nimbi Valley Dairy up in Northern New South Wales who specialises in goat milk and cheeses. I will have to try next time. Both companies, as well as Pecora Dairy also from Robertson are members of the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers' Association.
 Nice queue at Ocello Cheeses...  There were a handful of wine producers at the market to celebrate the start of the NSW Food & Wine Festival   New addition to the market: Doodles Creek mayonnaises, sauces and dressings extraordinaires  The entire collection from Doodles Creek  It is still high fresh garlic season and Gilles and Victoria Bonin are selling hips. Matt used their garlic for cooking  And Pepe Saya is selling more butter...  This young man from Leppington Farm is selling his figs in an auction like theatre!  And even a new Japanese outfit  Busy buddies  And another happy Chef: James Viles from Biota Dining with gardener Roy and father Iain in the background And Now, Let's Get Cooking with Matt Moran Matt Moran at the SMH Growers Market in Pyrmont  Miffy Rigby, the New Food Editor for Fairfax Media, introducing Matt Moran to the crowd MIffy Rigby has worked in food for nearly two decades as a cook, journalist, editor and events host, and at Fairfax will also work across the The Sydney Morning Herald Pyrmont Growers’ Market and NSW Food & Wine Festival presented by Citi. She was national chief food and drink critic for Time Out Australia and appears on several radio and television programs, including as a guest judge on Masterchef Australia. She has also judged the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the World’s 50 Best Bars, and various national cocktail competitions. She has travelled widely and hosted countless events, including Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, What a Wonderful World and Taste of Sydney. Welcome! Matt was entertaining the crowd with stories of his apprenticeship, recalling that he thought he would never make it to the grill and was amazed when he first managed to crack an egg with one hand! He certainly knows how to crack a joke as well!  Chef Matt Moran getting down to business....  Matt gets the full attention of the crowd Matt Moran did give us a great show, cooking four dishes in a record time. Two salads: Burrata, tomato and cucumber salad and a fig and goat cheese salad, then two meats: Sirloin grass fed and a duck and mango contraption, which I wished I had been allowed to taste! Also, a quick comment on these photos: due to the enormous crowd, it was really difficult to get the right angles and the closeness I usually achieved and I had to use my longer zoom lens all the time. Sorry folks... Matt did get all the ingredients from the market and adapted some of his recipes to accommodate what was available. Hence the name of his new book and the philosophy behind all his cooking.  The two salads are ready  And the sirloin is served...  Finally got a good vantage point, just in time for the duck to be seared with mangoes
 Happy camper...who jumped the queue  |
 In Sydney - October 2019 AuthorBorn in France, well travelled, relocated to Sydney in 1997. Archives
October 2021
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