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Branch news
NZIFST
A taste of passionfruit
Auckland
Auckland Branch members met in March for a five-course degustation
menu at Vinnies Restaurant. This was no ordinary
menu though. The committee asked owner/chef Geoff Scott,
who spoke at the Auckland 2010 NZIFST conference, to design
a unique menu. Hence the theme “In search of Provenance”
was created. This allowed Geoff to demonstrate how New Zealand
ingredients and food science/technology could be fused
with modern culinary skills. Geoff also was able to relate his
personal experiences to shape the evening dinner.
Our opening dish, called Fiddlers Hill goat cheese was the inspiration
from Geoff’s sons’ school trip, where they had discovered
totora berries. Geoff used an agar bath to infuse the flavour
from raspberries and to enhance a softer-type texture (aka a
Citrus baked southern blue cod
dash of molecular gastronomy). When this was combined with
the crispness of the pear, and lightly roasted hazelnuts, the palate
was truly stimulated. This set the scene for the evening.
Another key component was Geoff’s ability to match each
course with a separate wine. Some of New Zealand’s best wines
were on display and members learned how the flavours of food
and wine can enhance the overall experience. The opening
dish was matched with Framingham Dry Riesling, Marlborough
2004. This imparted a non-sweet dry finish and cut through the
dairy notes from the goat cheese.
Perhaps the best dish of the night was the citrus baked southern
blue cod – a special treat for an Aucklander! Our cod was
cooked perfectly, which was ideal texture and moisture. There
was a delicate blend of lime zest, which gave a twist to the celeriac
crème, and the saffron (sourced from New Zealand too)
aioli. Not too far behind was the dessert named “a Taste of
Passionfruit” which consisted of a vanilla cheesecake, jelly and
white chocolate, and frozen granita. Geoff took advantage of
the Isomalt properties which controlled the moisture and enabled
the dessert shape to remain intact.
Our Main, Hawke’s Bay spring lamb loin, was a topic of debate.
Geoff asked members to identify which essential oil was used in
the secret jus sauce. Most tables had confidently narrowed the
choices down to either Juniper berries or Pimento due to the
distinct woody character. Members were then surprised to learn
that Black pepper oil had been used!
The setting of Vinnies created a great ambience for members
to network and catch up with former classmates throughout
the night. Congratulations to Katy Bluett who won the value of
her ticket back in the lucky dip. Lastly special thanks must go
to committee to pull this one off and to Shaun who came up
with the idea!
Cameron McLean
April/May 2011
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