Tom's back block - archive
July 09 Edition
Canowindra 100 Mile Dinner 22nd April - Part of Orange FOOD Week 2009
What a night and certainly one that to put in the calendar for next year. The event was the feature dinner of the week for the Foods Of Orange District (FOOD) Week. The brief was simple – to have a dinner using regional produce and encourage everyone to think about purchasing regional produce.
The dinner was in the main street of Canowindra which was closed for the night. Tables were setup in the main street, decorations put up, wine and food stalls set up on foot paths and all in the space of 3 hours. Does not sound that hard but it was for 300 people and everything had to be brought in.
I will give you a quick rundown of how the night went
Ready!!
(Photo: David Isbester - River Bank Gallery)
Guest arrived and started with some local sparkling wines, apple cider or strawberry vodka cocktail. This was matched by freshly baked flat bread in a large portable pizza oven that was situated at the end of the street. It was on the southerly end of the function and as luck had it that night the wind was blowing from that direction – beautiful smoky baking aromas floating through the function.
Next we sat down for entrees (Table and seating allocation were expertly done by Mum, Dad and Margaret Wallington. I honestly think that there is nothing Dad would rather do than organise seating arrangements and them write up the master document so that everyone knew where to sit- no one missed a seat!)
Set!!
(Photo: David Isbester - River Bank Gallery)
Open platters on the tables awaited us of Oven roasted rosemary and garlic mushrooms, cold smoked Pork and Pepper thyme sausage, Manners & Borg 100 mile Terrine, Slow roasted tomatoes & Pickled Pears. There was also local olive oils with sourdough for dipping. (Big fan of the Straninero Olive Oils) That was a meal in itself, however more was to come.
The mains and deserts were provided from Bathurst, Canowindra, Orange & Mudgee. Each person received a serving or each regions mains. It seemed like a logistical nightmare looking at it – however we managed to get 300 people 4 different mains and all hot. By now I think there were not many people that were complaining of the lack of food.
Go!!
(Photo: David Isbester - River Bank Gallery)
The mains served were:
Canowindra – Daube of Wagyu & Wallington Shiraz, organic baby turnips served on organic Dutch cream mash
Bathurst - Lamb Proveneale Pie served with Spiced Eggplant Mazu
Orange- Seared Mandagery Creek Venison with walnuts, confit potato and blackcurrant jus
Mudgee - Roast Ormiston Free Range Pork with Poached Quince
Next desert! Again the emphasis was on regional produce and they did not disappoint.
Bathurst - Lemon Tartlet served with fresh Raspberries
Canowindra – Hazelnuts and Organic dark chocolate meringue with Mascarpone and figs in Syrup
Orange - Chestnut Bavarois and Apple Jelly & Apple Chips
Mudgee – Fresh Curd with Mudgee Honey and Pistachio
To go with all of this was regional wine which certainly added to the night and maybe the dancing later on- there was a great Jazz band that we had playing on the side of the street.
Altogether it was a fantastic night and we look forward to next years dinner.
If you were looking for more information there was a great interview on Classic FM the other day about slow food. Have a listen http://www.abc.net.au/classic/throsby/#listen
Also for more info on the 100 mile diet http://100milediet.org/get-started/getting-started-guide
Make sure that you try and make it next year – however be warned as tickets sold out quickly this year and we had over 200 people on the waiting list!
