Much munching as Maitland makes music
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday March 30, 2011
FOODIES will be tapping their toes and picking through the tasty offerings lining Maitland's city centre this weekend as the third annual Maitland Taste Food, Wine and Jazz Festival gets under way.Like the city's Aroma Festival, the two-day Taste event was introduced as a way of promoting the delights of the Hunter Region to locals and visitors alike, festival organiser and Maitland City Centre manager Peter Clough told GT."Prior to this, the CBD of Maitland didn't have any signature events, so we introduced two main food and beverage events into the mall and the city centre," he said."It was something we believed the community should have."Maitland is the fastest growing residential area in the state and a lot of people are unfamiliar with the city centre, so we thought food and wine and jazz would be a good way of drawing them in."There's not a lot of food and beverage in the CBD because it's an older city centre."But the fact that the Taste festival and the Aroma festival in August have attracted so much interest and support I think tells us we need more coffee shops and restaurants in Maitland."The event would not only highlight the food and wine of the region but also its history, its chefs and its people."We're showcasing some celebrated Hunter Valley chefs so people can see the great variety of food and produce we have in the region."We think jazz goes with food and wine - you could argue all music goes with food and wine, I suppose."But we've got some great bands from the Hunter, Sydney and Central Coast performing."It's more toe-tapping jazz, so you can walk around the festival and soak up the atmosphere and feel like you might break into dance at any moment."Demystifying the duckTHE executive chef at East Maitland's Old George and Dragon fine dining restaurant Gavin Forman will demystify duck during the festival's Chef Showcase."People are scared of duck," Forman told GT this week."They cook chicken all the time but not duck, so I'm going to show them how to take it apart and what to do with all the bits and pieces."Using a whole duck, I'm going to do a breast, a duck liver pate, and a confit leg sausage . . . in half an hour," he laughed."There might be a bit of, 'This is how you do it and here's one I prepared earlier'."Duck can be found on most Hunter menus at the moment.Why?Forman is convinced it's because people just don't cook it at home."Everybody I've spoken to, including the suppliers, has noticed that people go to restaurants and order duck," he said."Everybody has duck on the menu because everybody knows that people don't go to the supermarket, buy duck and go home and cook it. It just doesn't happen very much."So it's just a matter of educating people."Flavour-wise, duck is such a better option than chicken."But there's this misconception that it's really difficult to work with, so I'm going to try to demystify it."I really wanted to take something that people don't do at home and show them how easy it actually is."Forman is pleased to be part of the festival because it promotes Hunter Valley food and wines."I'm using duck from Redgate Farm in the Hunter Valley and I've got a casual chef who works with me who grows a lot of vegetables, so we're going to use herbs and garlic from his garden," Forman said."When I stand up there, everything I'll be using will have come from within a 20-kilometre radius."Naturally slow foodMATT Dillow, from Pokolbin's Verandah Restaurant, will team with Helen Dyball from the Hunter's Snails Bon Appetite to show festival-goers how to prepare fresh escargot in a garlic butter sauce.Dillow will also demonstrate how to make a Moroccan spice marinade from scratch."I just wanted to use something local and something that a lot of people don't make at home," Dillow said."Snails are a delicacy in France."So I'll be cooking them while Helen talks about them."The Verandah Restaurant will also have a food stall at the festival."We'll be doing our famous cumin and cayenne calamari with lime aioli," Dillow said."We just wanted to be involved to make the locals aware of who we are and where we are."We thought we'd take our restaurant food to them with the hope they'll come and see us at the restaurant one day."Other chefs involved in the free Chef Showcase events include Amorelle Dempster from Hunter Slow Food, Barry Meiklejohn from the Lass O'Gowrie and Jose Miguel from Arnotts Bakehouse Restaurant.Lesley Taylor, from Restaurant Deux, will show festival-goers how to prepare an entree, a main and a dessert; The Arty Heart's Kylie Margretts will host cake decorating sessions; and John Murphy, of Mansfield Catering, will demonstrate his "30-minute dinner party".Pick the perfect partnerDRAYTON Family Wines senior winemaker Andrew Leembruggen will host one of Saturday's wine and cheese matching sessions.Leembruggen will team with Redgate Farm's Carolyn Scott to talk about how and why wine and cheese are such a happy match."I just moved back to the Hunter Valley from another winemaking area, I was working in Griffith for a little while," Leembruggen said."I live in Maitland as well, so I was keen to get back out into the area."Plus I love talking about food and wine - wine in particular."Leembruggen said more festivals like this should be encouraged in the region."I think we need more events like it in Maitland because it's probably a bit under-represented for things like that, especially considering the vineyards are on the doorstep and are so much a part of the region," he said."In terms of the wines at the festival, we're going to be looking at what the Hunter does best - semillons, chardonnays and shiraz."We'll look at wines from 2007 and 2005 - so something with a bit of age - that are great accompaniments to food."Leembruggen and Scott will be talking wine and cheese at the festival from 2.30pm on Saturday.The wine and cheese sessions cost $12 (the price includes a festival wine glass) and will run between noon and 4pm each day of the festival.Reservations are required.Monsters take the cakeTHERE'S also something for the kids at Maitland Taste.Marilyn Carr, in association with Hunter Community College, will host cupcake decorating classes with budding cooks."It can be creative and it's a bit of fun, and it's something that they can share with their parents," Carr told GT."The children will be taking away the cakes they decorate. I'll make them and they'll decorate them."My plan is for them to use fondant - a rolled icing - in bright colours to decorate the cupcakes."I'm hoping to be able to decorate three cakes with them in that time."For the decorations I'm thinking along the theme of a chicken ahead of Easter, something pretty for the little girls to identify with - some flowers and things like that - and maybe something like a little monster for the little boys."Zanetta Odorico is also running hands-on Kids in the Kitchen cooking classes for Hunter Community College at the festival.Classes cost $10 each and will be held between 10.30am and 4.30pm on Saturday and until 1pm on Sunday.Bookings are essential.The Maitland Taste Food, Wine and Jazz Festivalis on from 10am until 6pm on Saturday and until5pm on Sunday. To reserve your space atticketed events, phone 4934 1981.Hunter Valley escargotIngredients2 dozen Hunter Valley snails100 grams butter50 mls Hunter Valley olive oil2 cloves garlic (crushed)1 lemon zested and juice separateSea saltCracked pepperMethodsGET a pan hot and add butter and garlic.When it starts to sizzle add the garlic, wait 30 seconds, then add the snails.Toss around nicely, keeping pan on a medium heat for 45 seconds, then add lemon zest and a splash of the juice.Serve with some fresh bread such as sourdough to mop up the flavour of the juices.- Recipe courtesy of Matt Dillow of The Verandah Restaurant, Hunter ValleyTASTE FESTIVAL CHEF SHOWCASE PROGRAMSaturday, April 2:€“ 10.30am - 11am: Amorelle Dempster (Hunter Slow Food)€“ 11.30am - noon: Gavin Forman (The Old George & Dragon)€“ 12.30pm - 1pm: Kylie Margretts (The Arty Heart)€“ 1.30pm - 2pm: Barry Meiklejohn (Lass O'Gowrie)€“ 2.15pm - 2.45pm: Barry Meiklejohn (Lass O'Gowrie)€“ 3.15pm - 3.45pm: Jose Miguel (Arnott's Bakehouse Restaurant)€“ 4pm - 4.30pm: Jose Miguel (Arnott's Bakehouse Restaurant)Sunday, April 3:€“ 10.30am - 11am: Kylie Margretts (The Arty Heart)€“ 11.30am - noon: Matt Dillow (The Verandah Restaurant) with Helen Dyball (Snails Bon Appetite)€“ 12.30pm - 1pm: Gavin Forman (The Old George & Dragon Restaurant)€“ 1.30pm - 2pm: John Murphy (Mansfield Catering)€“ 2.30pm - 2.50pm: Lesley Taylor (Restaurant Deux)€“ 3pm - 3.20pm: Lesley Taylor (Restaurant Deux)€“ 3pm - 3.50pm: Lesley Taylor (Restaurant Deux)
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