Chloe’s Club newsletter six July 2009

Welcome to our July newsletter. In August and September 2009 are celebrating the culinary travels of our head chef Johnny Triscari who returns this week after eating (literally) his way through France and Spain and our Sous chef, Rebecca Stubbs who has recently travelled and worked in Japan as part of her prize for the 2008 Lexus Young Chef of the Year Awards. Rebecca was also recently a contestant in the 2009 Lexus Electrolux Young Chef of the Year in Melbourne gaining a very creditable second position. Judges said the standard between contestants was so close it was been a difficult task to choose an outright winner and also favourably commented upon Rebecca’s ability to work clamly, without multitudinous additional equipment and deliver a world class menu. They also pointed out that her youth made her a strong contender for the future.
The passion for food in our kitchen is clearly celebrated on the plate at Chloe’s and it is a happy marriage between our kitchen and the excellence and dept of our cellar. In August to celebrate Rebecca’s journey and explore a different style of cuisine with wines from our cellar, we are Going Japanese; Rebecca Stubbs will present two Japanese inspired degustation menus matched with wine from our cellar. Degustation menus they will run against our normal menu. The menus will be available Friday and Saturday 21 and 22, and 28 and 29 August, 2009. Telephone +61 8 8362 2574 or email the restaurant for reservations.
In September Johnny Triscari will write two special menus that sum up the most interesting food of his travels and they will be presented with especially matched wines from our extensive cellar.

Owner and sommelier
Images from the left — black eggs cooked over sulphurous water in the volcanic region of Hankone, perfectly pruned Japanese garden, cherry and plum wafers at l’Osier — all images in this issue of the Chloe’s Club newsletter copyright © Rebecca Stubbs.

August degustation dinners inspired by Rebecca Stubbs
japanese journey — email the office with your enquiry

images from top — Mongolian Sumo wrestlers Asashoryu and Hakkuho both of whom are Yokonzuna, the highest level in sumo wrestling and below the entrance to the Yoyogi park where the Meiji Jingu shrine.

Menu One
Friday & Saturday 21 & 22 August, 2009

Soba noodles and a seaweed salad
08’ Cascabel Mclaren Vale Roussanne / Viogner
~
Mulloway grilled Namban style with pickled watermelon
07’ Yalumba Pewsey Vale Gewurztraminer
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Duck dumplings, king mushrooms and broth
00’ Shinus Victoria Merlot
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Beef fillet with grilled eggplant, miso and peanut
06’ Pizzini King Valley Sangiovese
~ Red miso soup, rice and pickles
NV Lustau Los Arcos Dry Amontillado Sherry Solera Reserva
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Toasted green tea ice cream and black bean cake
06’ Poonwatta Golden Eden Ratafia Riesling
~

Menu Two
Friday & Saturday 28 & 29 August, 2009

Sashimi with ponzu and wakami
08’ Bridgewater Mill Pinot Grigio
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Fried garfish with watercress sauce and pickled ginger
02’ Genders Mclaren Vale Chardonnay
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Ramen with pork belly and water chestnuts
07’ III Associates Mclaren Vale Semillon Savignon Blanc
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Duck, wood fungus, daikon, carrot and toasted rice powder
08’ Permutations Pinot Noir
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Red miso soup, rice and pickles
NV Lustau Los Arcos Dry Amontillado Sherry Solera Reserva
~
Cumquat sorbet, fruits and ginger syrup
05’ Delatite Late Picked Riesling
~

$140 per person food and wine

Tokyo, Japan is an ultra modern city full of ancient traditions, technology and individualism. Japan has evolved rapidly taking knowledge from around the world and applying it masterfully on its own soil. From architecture to food it is an amazing country to visit. During my two weeks stay, I ate far too much, visited the Tsjukii fish markets and Mt. Fuji. I took part in a tea ceremony, saw sumo wrestle and worked a week at Salt, Luke Managan’s restaurant in Japan as part of my prize for coming second in the 2008 Lexus Appetite for Excellence competition.
Food for the Japanese is an obsession especially when it comes to quality of produce. Unlike Western diners they are happy to have less but want the best. Japanese see food as being more a ceremonial event that pays intimate attention to every detail from the service to the exquisite crockery. Ume–No–Hana restaurant was a great introduction to classic Japanese cuisine. Many courses of varying textures and flavours, an important factor in Japanese food, were served. Everything was delicious and beautiful to look at. The stand out dish was silken tofu – made at the table with a fragrant clear corn and king crab soup poured over with baby steamed fern fronds and shisho leaves to add as wanted.
There are many European and fusion restaurants in Japan. Daidaya in Shinjuko is a good example of fusion, their grilled foie gras with black bean sauce and poached daikon was sublime. Fragrant with a crunchy topping, the salty sauce complimented the fatty fois gras perfectly. L’Osier, a Michelin 3 star restaurant that specialises in French cuisine, shows how adaptable the Japanese are with European flavours and textures. The restaurant is relatively simple, seating around 50 in a room tastefully decorated with art. Highlights include a dish of three types of clam diced with raw vegetables, Beluga caviar and urchin roe tasted of the sea. Fennel foam added a light aniseed flavour to enhance the dish further. Their petite fours trolley has an amazing selection of finely made sweets and chocolates to choose from at the end of the meal. The wine list was not as large as I expected but had many notables, the 1990 Alsace Riesling Grand Cru Hengst, Josemeyer was drinking beautifully. All the crockery at L’Osier is hand made by a local glass blower and every dish presented as a wondrous work of art.
It will be interesting to go back in the future and see how the young Japanese change the direction of their culture. Their want for individualism shows in the many genres and subcultures they have, the Harjuko girls and boys are a good example. Whether they will keep their traditions is debatable but Japan will always be an exciting and fascinating destination.

sous chef

images right
tuna auctions at the Tsukiji fish markets
and the oh so cool, stylised young Japanese Harajuko girls.

Meet our head chef Johnny Triscari

July 8, 2009