Chloe’s Club newsletter seven November 2009

Welcome to our seventh newsletter. At Chloe’s we have a lot to celebrate. Entering our 25th year is a celebration in itself, but this week we also received two of the highest accolades in the 2010 Advertiser Good Food Guide. I was humbled to receive the accolade of Legend of the Year, but thrilled to see our head chef Johnny Triscari win the coveted Chef of the Year. To that we can add to that we received three stars, a very high endorsement and one of just three South Australian restaurants to receive the three star rating. Many of you may not know that Johnny was also awarded the 2009 South Australian Restaurant and Catering Associations Chef of the Year. Johnny’s passion starts with the bread and ends with the petit fours and his obsession is our blessing at Chloe’s.

To these newest accolades we can add another very prestigious award. For the second time, (a very rare honour) Chloe’s has been acknowledged by The Federation of Wine and Food Society of Australia Award to Chloe’s Restaurant, In recognition of distinguished service to the Bacchus Club on a number of occasions in recent years, and in particular for the outstanding service on the occasion of the 70th/35th Anniversary Dinner of the Bacchus Club.

We will celebrate our recent successes at Chloe’s with a very special Chloe’s Club long table dinner on Wednesday January 20, 2010 at 7.00 pm. Johnny and I have worked closely to devise a menu that celebrates everything Chloe’s stands for in terms of seasonality, passion for food and wine and have arrived at wine matches that delve deeply into our unique cellar. To download the menu click here and to download the booking form click here

Our garden, despite the scorching heat of the last two weeks has survived remarkably well and luckily the fruit set was strong enough to withstand the heat. Many of you may not know that the Chloe’s garden is lovingly tended by our friend and former Chloe’s Restaurant chef Alan Weiss. Good rains and clever gardening have brought new life to our garden and the excellent 09 fruit set is promise of better harvests than the previous two years.

The recent travel of our head chef Johnny Triscari is celebrated in this newsletter as he shares his travel (mainly eating we suspect) experience in Spain, France and Italy. Happily our current menu is a reflection of his endless passion for food and cooking fed by the dining of his journey.

The kitchen and floor at Chloe’s Restaurant is one of the most stable in Adelaide, a factor enjoyed by our regular clients who have fairly much become part of the Chloe’s “family”. We treasure all of our guests but those we have come to know well are especially treasured. We know what they love to eat and drink and this knowledge allows us to guide them through our menu and wine list with great confidence. The random bottles opened for wines by the glass are becoming increasingly popular and this has spurred me on to find more and more interesting bottles, even open those odd bottles that seem to lurk, regardless of how meticulous our cellar management is, in dark corners waiting to be rediscovered.

Our determination not to lower the standard of our restaurant offering for our banquet operation has paid dividends with encouraging return business and tremendous customer feedback, noting that we are offering a superior experience to other Adelaide establishments. The team at Chloe’s Restaurant & Function Centre thank you for your genuinely enthusiastic feedback. Please feel free to email the office with your enquiry.

There is still time to book a unique function for your pre Christmas celebrations but Fridays and Saturdays are filling quickly. We are not open on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and will be closed from December 24, 2009 and reopen January 3, 2010.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your loyal support and on behalf of the team at Chloe’s wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2010.

Owner and sommelier

Images from the left — Sunday bull fights in Madrid, an amazing 30 different types of Jamon, the Arabic quarter of Granada — all images copyright © Johnny Triscari 2009.

images from top to bottom — the famous patterned coloured crockery of Granada and below Alambra Place of Naserine
Images right — the abundance of the local grocer on the coast of Amalfi

Travelling through Europe for my second time, I saw things very differently. More prepared to get lost in towns and cities this is where our greatest adventures were. To have experienced the crowd at a Madrid bullfight on a Sunday, also the pilgrimage of tapas bars that flows into the late evening was where we had the true Spanish experience. A bar with over 30 different Jamon in a city that is so rich in history and classical beauty was great start to Europe! We booked into Gastro Sergi Arola, one of Ferran Adria’s protégés and experienced an excellent degustation menu with wine that took five hours of bliss.
Walking through the
Arabic quarter of Granada, in Spain’s south, was a reminder of history. The Alhambra palace was the last strong hold of the Arab rule around 400 BC. There is an Arabic influence throughout the architecture and it is also deeply entrenched in Spanish food. For me it was exciting to see a fusion of cultures through history and conquests.
Barcelona, a vibrant costal city of famous artists and designers was where I ate some of the most flavoursome Spanish food. The Barcelona markets are abuzz and tapas was a must at “el Quim”. Plates of the freshest, just cooked food were finished with the produce surrounding us. Later we made our way to the beach and had dinner at Can Mojo. Dishes were so simple, fresh and wonderful, each ingredient treated with respect. Fried green chillies that were sweet, with a slightly bitter back palate from the hot oil. We couldn’t leave without eating with Jordi Vila, chef owner of Alkimia, awesome to say the least!

It was then on to the south of France, Monte Carlo, Niece and Avignon where we enjoyed the rich sun ripened produce prevalent in all food. Flowers in full bloom, the easy going local lifestyle, the terrain, the weather and the quality produce was evident and why the French make such good wine and food. Beautiful Paris, set amongst so many gardens, and the history of Versai, it was here we ate with Guy Savoy before our show at Moulin Rouge, a night that I will never forget!

Rome is a city that has ancient ruins on nearly every corner churches and coffee bars.
The beauty of Rome also lies within the seven hills that surround it. A Chianti tasting with sausages and cheese, then off too see the coliseum and dinner that night at Hilton La Pergola three Michelin star, with a view of the Sistine Chapel and all Rome at night was pure bliss.
The Amalfi coast and Capri, the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen, and the rich and famous were here too! The food was excellent everywhere, the blue grotto, small shops of wine and food in the winding streets, lemoncello, jasmine, tomato on the vine, seafood, wine and the ladies style even in beach ware.
Beautiful Florence like a chameleon changes in the light with its streets full of food fashion and gelato bars, the piazzas that ornate with ancient statues, and the smell wafting out of a trattoria of sauce and pizza, sweets to die for, the history of Florence, the Medici, Florence was to me a true Italian experience.