Marieke's Art of Living

Art of Cuisine at Cutler & Co

The perfume wafting through the room as the first of the plates were served was quintessentially 1980s. In the recent film in which Meryl Streep really steals the show as Julia Child, she and Paul discuss over a revelatory fish dinner the perfect word to convey the delectable aroma and sensuality of beurre blanc and they decide on “tangy” to convey the ethereal acidic wine and vinegar reduction enriched by an emulsion of copious butter. The dish being served was Andrew McConnell’s tribute to Australia’s greatest Sous-chef Janni Kryitsis, who served 17 years under restaurant doyennes Stephanie Alexander in Melbourne and Gay Bilson at Berowra Waters and Bennelong before launching his own MG Garage. The amuse bouche was brioche with poached bone marrow and a red wine sauce.
From the one hundred diners who had assembled in the gorgeous room at Cutler + Co on a typically wintry Melbourne Sunday, rose a sigh of immense pleasure.
The sauce evoked memories of nouvelle cuisine when it was first popularised, and it came to denote a continental sophistication in this country. It was also a signature dish repeated and perfected every day of service at that restaurant on the Hawkesbury River and showed how the classically “old” can always be new again.

The lunch was born from a curiosity to learn about the directions, influences and aspirations that mould the new generation of cooks and how this might augur for future dining.
It came from a desire to celebrate unsung heroes, the hard working talent hidden for long hours in kitchens, and to provide an antidote to the curse of the celebrity chef, many of them no longer at their stoves but rather promoting themselves and their multiple businesses and books as a brand.
In keeping with the current zeitgeist, these young chefs were invited to collaborate on a Degustation that puts love, passion, craft and skill on the plate rather than luxe and extravagant ingredients.

Gentleman amongst chefs and surprisingly humble to boot, Andrew McConnell (“The Age” 2010 Chef of the Year) once again agreed to an exploratory collaboration volunteering not only his divine Fitzroy space but his chefs at Cumulus, the young Josh Murphy as well as John Paul Twomey from Cutler & Co. Wanting to balance the genders and metro/rural, I also invited Brooke Payne from Momo, Leilani Wolfenden then floating at Comme and Anthony Simone from Bright in NE Victoria.

Shy but eager, they were asked to consider some of the following thoughts when designing their dishes:
influences + mentors, personal dishes, ‘haute barnyard’ produce vs molecular magic, food memories, forgotten vegetables, what bespeaks the season, what resonates about Melbourne, metro vs rural sensibility, an element of theatre, cooking in clay, straw, salt, platters vs plated, and slow cooking.
In keeping with showcasing second chefs and second cuts we invited David Bicknell from Oakridge in the Yarra Valley to come up with matches from their brilliant second tier, Over The Shoulder range of wines and David Baker to provision his brilliant local malt whiskey for this thoroughly pleasing menu:

MENU Seconds to the fore August 2nd, 2009

Toasted Brioche, bone marrow and red wine sauce (a tribute to Janni Kyritsis)
NV Larmandier Bernier Blancs de Blancs Champagne

Ox and rooster broth with cappelletti, smoked tongue, parmesan, lemon and zabaione by Anthony Simone from Simone’s of Bright
Over the shoulder Pinot Grigio 2008

Jerusalem artichokes, green beans, celeriac and horseradish, Meredith Chevre, baked in clay by Leilani Wolfenden from Comme
Over the shoulder Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Red Mullet fillets with coriander and citrus, roasted in vine leaves with fennel brandade by Brook Payne from Momo
Over the shoulder Chardonnay 2008

Slow cooked pork neck and crispy tail, wild weeds and parsnip by Josh Murphy from Cumulus Inc
Over the shoulder Shiraz Viognier 2007

Chocolate and prune ganache with milk sorbet by John Paul Twomey from Cutler & Co
Oakridge Late Harvest Viognier 2008
Bakery Hill Classic Malt, Single Malt Yarra Valley

Prior to the lunch I spent time with all these young chefs, but sadly not Anthony who lives too far away, to get in touch with their special “mojo” in their working environments.

Anthony Simone exudes the charm and ebullience you would expect of his Perugian heritage and was born to cook. From childhood, he spent time waiting and washing in his parents’ acclaimed regional restaurant run by mother, Patrizia and husband, George for over two decades in northeast Victoria. Here he joined them as chef a few years ago after cooking experiences in Umbria and Le Marche as well as at McConnell’s 211 where he realised “what was missing in his life”.
When he wrote to me excitedly accepting the invitation, he had just broken down 2 free-range black pigs, (dressed weight 150kgs each) to make 230 salami, 4 guanciale (unsmoked bacon from the cheek or jowl), 24 cotechino, coppa (head terrine), stuffed trotters and Italian sausages!
This is how he described his career so far: I have been cooking for the past 6 ½ years …, my cooking has always revolved around my family and friends, in Australia and Italy. My cooking style has been developed from my mother’s influence but chiefly my two nonnas who are amazing old world cooks. From my nonna in Italy came an understanding of game, meats and wild greens, and my nonna in Australia a passion for breads, pasta and preserving. But the most important thing that all three of those women taught me was to remember that food is more than just fuel, it has a life of its own to which you impart love, care and lots of herbs.”
This spiritedness was completely evident in the delicate golden broth distilled from an ox and rooster stock. The consommé was garnished with divine cappelletti filled with the meats and smoked tongue, and finished with a zabaione and a dusting of parmesan. The dish was understated yet purely elegant, and ever so refined by perfect technique.

Seemingly understated also was Leilani Wolfenden’s clay parcel of winter vegetables. And yet it had been weeks in the conceiving and the experimenting: researching and sourcing the right clay, judging how much to pre cook the vegetables before they are wrapped, what temperature to cook the parcels at so the chèvre was only just melting. It was a superb surprise package with the fun of breaking open the clay to taste vegetables that had maintained their full integrity of individual flavour and texture yet beautifully unified by the Meredith goat cheese and sharpened by the horseradish. A perfectly dressed salad was served at the table.
Leilani’s intensity might at first glance not bode well for the pressures of a fine dining kitchen. Hailing originally from a New Zealand farm she had the bold initiative to camp at the door of Donovan Cooke and Phillipa Sibley-Cooke’s restaurant until they gave her a job. Their Est Est Est cookbook had convinced her that this was where her future lay. After they finally took her on, she confessed they ran a wager book to see how long she would last. Four years later and a hell of a lot of perseverance and possibly a lot of tears too, she left for London with a swag of talent and skill under her belt and with their blessing and contacts for cooking jobs in Europe.
Experiences with Michelin-starred Phillip Howard at The Square and Marcus Wareing at Petrus (before he split with his old mentor and friend Gordon Ramsay), did not specially endear her to big kitchens, but she loved her few seasons cooking on private yachts that plied the Med. Returning to Australia she assisted Daniel Southern at Bistro Guillaume, and briefly took her first head chef's position.
Her partner, a former chef, is now training in nutrition at the Natural Therapies College and her heart is increasingly drawn to producing food that is technically brilliant but in synch with the seasons and respectful of the environment in terms of production and progeny. Perhaps an organic café in Northcote or Brunswick?

Red mullet (aka Rouget, Barbounia), is amongst my favourite fish: sweet, fragile and nutty. Its scarcity means it is up to 55 Euros a kg in Greece, but definitely worth seeking out when it is in our local markets.

Brooke Payne’s original idea was to serve a single fillet to keep the portion size in keeping with the overall lunch, but this dish was to be all about timing: 100 portions to come out at once, marinating time monitored so as not to pickle the fish, and cooking time managed to preserve the delicacy of the dish. To avoid these risks of timing it was decided to wrap 2 fillets into the one vine leaf. It emerged a triumph: moist, beautifully balanced, and beguilingly simple.
The dish had been evolved with her staff in Greg Malouf’s Momo where the vast kitchen has an unusual preponderance of young female chefs. The atmosphere over which Brooke presides has a youthful buzz, focused activity and hip music to fuel the inevitable adrenalin of mis en place that leads to a seamless service. Having never loved school, Brooke apprenticed early to Jacques Reymond’s pastry section and discovered her true love: cooking. A stint with Bill Marchetti taught her about pasta and Italian cuisine. She has now been with Malouf for 8 years and mastered not only the techniques and spice nuances of Middles Eastern food but also attributes to him her lessons in building a balanced team, “working with them to achieve the desired result from a gentle and level headed approach”.

What is there not to love about Cumulus Inc? But working there means managing in a tight space and pumping fabulous food out all day.

Josh Murphy seems improbably young and exceedingly calm and gentle in this bustling environment, where he manages a considerable cooking staff and a seasonal, produce-driven changing menu. The day I arrived he had just taken advantage of a box of nettles (one of nature’s most powerful greens) sent courtesy of their fishmonger, to be blended with oysters into a delectable pureé and served with little house-made sausages.
To alleviate the boredom of a convalescent period after an accident as a teenager in Tasmania, Josh turned to cooking for his family, and having found his passion took himself to Melbourne to seek a career that started at a Port Melbourne pub. He then moved to work under Michael Lambie, followed by Andrew McConnell at Circa. After being Andrew’s Sous chef at 312, he accepted the position of Head Chef at Cumulus where he has been since its inception.
He has an obvious rapport with Andrew and has learned the most profound respect for ingredients, especially non-mainstream and artisanal- produced ones. That legacy and his admiration for Janni Kyritsis’ “Wild Weed Pie” shone in his dish of Slow cooked Pork with wild greens. He is yet to travel and is being encouraged to go and expand his cooking horizons in – not London – but rather Scandinavia, Belgium and Spain.

For many diners the most anticipated part of any meal is the dessert. In a balanced meal le grand finale needs an element of luxe, should not be cloyingly sweet and needs to uplift a palate that has already savoured a multitude of textures and flavours. I agree with Alan Koehler:

“Dessert should close the meal gently and not in a pyrotechnic blaze of glory. No cultivated feeder, already well fed, thanks his host for confronting him with a dessert so elaborate that not to eat it is simply rude - like refusing to watch one's host blow up Bloomingdale's.” 
 (Madison Avenue Cook Book)

or perhaps with Graham Kerr:
"I prefer to regard a dessert as I would imagine the perfect woman: subtle, a little bittersweet, not blowsy and extrovert. Delicately made up, not highly rouged. Holding back, not exposing everything and, of course, with a flavor that lasts."
 (The Galloping Gourmet - 1960s)

John Paul Twomey’s chocolate ganache certainly fulfilled all these criteria as a fitting finale to this lunch. His play on tea and biscuits was made into magic as the chocolate was underscored by prunes, the ice made from milk, and the caramel crunch seasoned with pepper. It was rich but not heavy. With that special Yarra Valley whiskey it was a marriage made in heaven.
This Irish man of few words and an enigmatic smile hails from Cork and has loved his seven years in Australia (now home) where he has worked in some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants – Radii and the Botanical with Paul Wilson, then Circa, the Prince with Andrew McConnell where he was sous chef, before going as head chef to 312, the role he continues now at Cutler and Co. The day we chatted, as he meticulously sliced dozens of fillets of precious tuna for his mis en place, a sense of extreme order prevailed as a multitude of jobs were executed in a confined space with his team working in studious concentration, the odd joke interrupting their seriousness but never the flow of work.
These young chefs, with their disparate personalities and kindred love of cooking, melded on the day of the lunch into a supportive and caring team. The discipline and cooperation was as impressive as the complete absence of pretension of any kind. Indeed there was a quiet confidence and happiness in the dishes they had executed. In the way that sometimes a picture is more powerful than words it was also the case that the beauty on each plate was the expression of their considerable creativity and generosity more than the words these shy chefs were able to muster in front of their appreciative audience.

The gleeful noise level of the guests, the crescendo of which was unlike a restaurant experience, was testament to the success of the day. And hats off to the suave, elegant and very polished service team who had to reset the restaurant for another 100 diners due an hour later.
In these young and passionate hands, we can expect to eat extremely well into the future.

© Marieke Brugman

THE RECIPES “Seconds to the Fore” Lunch

Leilani Wolfenden’s Clay parcels of Season’s Vegetables
In Her own words:

“Well, here goes: umm, the type of clay I used, I could not be sure of unfortunately. I sourced it from Walkers Clay in Croydon, and it was so reasonable, the actual clay was $12 for 10kg, then I paid 30 odd bucks to get it sent out because I had no idea where Croydon was, or how to get there. (The clay would have been Earthenware/Stoneware)
The majority of the clay was rolled about 5mm thick, and that’s when it worked best, in my opinion. As long as you've got a water spray bottle ready as you roll, it's easy. Use a rolling pin, pretend you're rolling pastry, and spray with water when the clay seems to be getting a bit tacky. As long as the clay is kept damp and cold, it will be fine for ages. So rolling it all then leaving in the fridge between pieces of glad wrap or plastic would be totally ok, just keep airtight.
I took a guess with cooking temp thinking that clay is cooked in a kiln at a high temp, so thought I'd use the same approach with a commercial oven 220 Celsius for 12 minutes for my little parcel, and I figured by the time the clay was hard, then the filling would be hot. I felt safe with that because everything was pretty much prepped before hand, so although I was cooking the clay, the filling was just being reheated. (Vegetables used at Seconds Lunch were Jerusalem artichokes, green beans, celeriac and horseradish)
If I was cooking something, I'd try a slightly lower temp, for longer. For optimum cooking I would say, have a hot tray in the oven ready, then slide the clay on, so the clay starts cooking instantly on the bottom.
It probably shouldn't be parceled too far ahead- A couple that I did the night before went a bit soggy on the bottom, maybe 12 hours at the most? So it would be fine to prep in the morning for that night, but not to have sitting wrapped in clay overnight.
At the moment (late Spring), I'd maybe use a pea purée, some beautiful spring veg like asparagus, baby leeks, some carrots maybe tossed in some Sauternes and butter before hand. It's important to have something that acts as a seal between the clay and filling- what ever leaf it is- spinach, cabbage, maybe a vine leaf?”

Red mullet fillets w coriander and citrus roasted in vineleaves w fennel brandade.
© Brooke Payne

6 x 200g red mullet (or goat fish)- filleted and pin- boned
6 large vine leaves - rinsed of excess brine
1 bunch coriander - washed, chopped
2 lemons - zested and juiced, plus extra juice
1 tbs sumac
6 cloves garlic - finely sliced
6 bullet chilli - finely diced
1 heaped tablespoon fennel seeds - roasted and lightly crushed
>olive oil
sea salt / pepper
500g fresh baby fennel - washed and cut to roughly 2cm dice
250g Sebago potatoes - same as the fennel
For the fish:
Marinate the fillets in the coriander, lemon zest, juice and sumac for 15 minutes, the juice will start to cook them so you need to time this precisely.
Arrange the vine leaves on your work surface, vein side up.
Cut off the stalks and trim each leaf so they are just shorter than the length of the fillets. Place one fillet skin down on the leaf, then place the other half on top.
Roll the vine leaf around them to make a neat bundle.
For the brandade:
Heat oil in a heavy based pot, add garlic, chilli and fennel seeds, cook out over a low heat til soft and caramelised.
While this is ticking over, steam the fresh fennel and potato, then add them to the pot. Beat and mash with a wooden spoon, mix should be a little lumpy and rustic, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
In a hot large nonstick pan fry the bundles of fish in oil to achieve a crispy, coloured leaf. Turn down the heat and cook for a further 2-3 minutes on each side.
The fish should be just under-cooked. It will continue to cook as you are
serving it.
Garnish with baby parsley, fresh sliced shallot, lemon dressed salad.

Chocolate and Prune Ganache
©John Paul Twomey

3 earl grey tea bags
1 cup boiling water
20 prunes
10 oz of good quality chocolate
1 1/4 cups of heavy cream + 1/2 cup
Bring water to boil add tea bags leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
Remove tea bags add prunes and leave to soak overnight.
Bring 1 1/4 cups of cream to boil remove from heat add chocolate let stand for 2 minutes.
Stir chocolate mix together till smooth and glossy
Beat 1/2 cup of cream and with mixer till soft peaks.
Drain and chop prunes roughly.
When chocolate mix has reached room temperature fold in whipped cream.
Add prunes and set in moulds in fridge.

Anazc biscuit mix

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon of golden syrup
1 cup butter
2 tablespoons of boiling water
1teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.
Melt syrup and butter together.
Mix bicarb soda and boiling water together add to butter mix.
Add dry ingredients.
Place 1 tablespoon on greased tray .
Bake at 150 for 20 minutes