Truffles are not just for culinary elitists and food wankers. That was hopefully the message put across by Slow Food Perth’s down the road lunch at this years Mundaring Truffle Festival held a few weeks back. Of course if you call yourself a culinary elitist or frequently get called a food wanker, then you’ll also fit right in.

Being a Slow Food Perth member, and sometime committee meeting attendee, I was very proud to see such a great response to the lunch from people of all walks of life, interested in trying some truffles for themselves in a setting that isn’t necessarily anything to do with haute cuisine.

Slow Food Chef extraordinaire Vincenzo Velletri once again crafted a simple, honest, but delicious meal based around the now famous Manjimup Black Truffles, which the festival celebrates. We started with truffled bacalau (salt cod) balls, then bruschetta with truffled mushrooms and roast capsicum, moving onto an epic truffle (stirred by these very arms) risotto with shavings of fresh truffle over the top.

The main dish for the day was a whole wood oven roasted pig, boned out and stuffed with herbs and more truffle shavings. It was served with oven roasted potatoes, mushrooms, and a roast capsicum salad. A truffle sauce, a sprig of rosemary, and another good shaving of fresh truffle over the top completed things.

Finally poached pears with a berry sauce and truffled cream finish what was a wonderful meal. Though not one I actually could partake in. As a committee member I was up the back, stirring risotto, shaving truffle, taking photos, getting in peoples way, and generally making a nuisance of myself. Whilst this mean I couldn’t sit down and enjoy the meal in the comfort of the marquee, what it did let me do was create the mother of all staff lunches.

A thick piece of fresh bread, layered with roast pork, crackling, truffled gravy, and shaved black truffle over the top. Not too shabby a snack by any stretch of the imagination, and perhaps one of my favourite truffle experiences to date.

It was a great day, and thanks to the many volunteers it came together nicely. Overall I was very impressed with the whole festival, which to me did a lot to further the appreciation of truffles and the burgeoning industry in WA around them, to the general community. There were many options over the course of the weekend for people to smell, touch, and taste truffles in a way that didn’t cost them the earth. Be it a truffle risotto or a pizza with truffle shavings.

It’s definitely the kind of event I enjoy going to, In a beautiful setting up in the hills with locals and travelers all enjoying something new and different.

Make sure you book your tickets for next years lunch, and make time to check out the festival yourself. Also do check out Aun’s fantastic blog over at Chubby Hubby. He’s based in Singapore and made it down to the truffle festival recently too. His photos and words are a wonderful summation of the event.

How good was it ? It was awesome. So many coffee people in one room, sharing tips and tricks and blends and beers. I was massively proud to be amongst so many people from such diverse backgrounds, all getting into the spirit of things.

We had coffees sent from all over the country, including some fantastic beans from Eureka. We had Black Sheep and Blue Horse, and beans from every coffee producing continent on earth (well I think we did anyway).

There were people from cafe’s all over the city, as well as a good turn out from local roasters. Five Senses and Fiori were well represented and had brought out a stack of great single origins to try. Standouts for me were the Mao’s Blue Horse Ethiopian Harrar from Fiori, and a Sumatran from Gayo Mountain by Five Senses.

There was an impromptu cupping which gave the a bit of background to story of the coffees and the processes they’ve gone through before ending up in our cups, and then the latte art smackdown took centre stage.

The competition was fierce… almost as fierce as the sledging from the gallery. There were some great pours, some not so great pours, and some mind boggling 3 dimensional pours… in the end, the man with the skills to pull it off was none other than Jackson of Tiger, Tiger. Who took home a fine swag of booty courtesy of the nice folks at Sunbeam.

The jam was also a swan song of sorts for Jen Murray, our current barista champ here in Perth, who will be heading over to Canada for a while shortly, leaving the Perth coffee scene much less cooler than when she arrived. Much love to Jen on her travels, and well done for putting together such a sweet sweet event all on the whimsical prompting of yours truly :)

Check out the photos and see what you missed out on if you were too cool to show up :)

                                                       

You’ve seen it here, you’ve seen it on Cafe Grendel. You’ve seen it in cafe’s… It’s spoken about in hushed whispers in coffee shops and espresso bars all throughout the city… all the cool kids are totally coming along (isn’t that right Mooba?) that’s right… it’s the Barista Jam !

This coming Sunday… this very weekend, the first proper barista jam will be going down at the WA Barista Academy in Northbridge. It’s a chance for everyone either in or on the fringes (peering gleefully over the shoulder) of the Perth coffee scene. You are all invited, regardless of your preference for coffee machine, roaster, grinder, tamper, fair trade, direct trade, share trade… you get the picture. Leave the ego at the door (mine fits in a custom designed warehouse), and enjoy some great coffees, food, beers, and have a crack at taking away some prizes in a winner takes all latte art smackdown !

Be there or be L7.

Perth Baristi – Come on down !

Jen Murray from the WA Barista Academy is organising a Barista Jam ! What’s a Barista Jam you ask ? I don’t really know, but there will be coffee, and beer, and music, and competitions, and prizes. It’s going to be held at WABA (135 Lake st, Northbridge) on Sunday the 8th of June, running from midday til whenever people decide to leave…

Baristas, Roasters, and anyone with a nose for good coffee are invited to come along and bring their grinder and beans, to share the love and see what kind of shots other people are pulling. There’ll also be a few impromptu competitions over the course of the afternoon (with some prizes being donated), such as a latte art smackdown, and a few other things.

The idea is that anyone and everyone with a love of quality coffee is invited (regardless of who you work for or what coffee you use) to come down and meet up with others in the scene and talk coffee (while drinking beer), without having to serve any customers :)

So if that sounds like you then book it into the calendar now ! Jen says that if you want to bring a grinder along (and you should !) then give her a call on 9328 7675 or an email at jennifer@baristaacademy.com.au

It would be really great to get everyone there. We’ve been in touch with Barista Magazine too, and I’ll be taking some shots from the day which will hopefully make it into the next edition.

More details are they come to hand !

** Update with prizes !
Sunbeam have kindly donated the following prizes for the day:

EM6910 Machine
EM0480 Grinder
Bang Bang Knock Box

If you haven’t marked this one in your calendar… do it now. And the more grinders people can bring along the better… Get on it baristas !

Those crazy cats at Tiger, Tiger are holding the next edition in their series of coffee and cigar tastings this weekend (Sunday the 9th September from 2pm).

It’s run by Tiger, Tiger and the cigars are brought along by Josh Devlin (of Devlins Cigars), with the idea being to match quality cigars with excellent single origin coffees.

I went along to one a little while ago and spent a great afternoon smoking a lovely Cuban cigar, the Bolivar Belicosos Finos (thanks for the info Josh !). It was paired with a fantastic Indian “Selection 9″ single origin roasted by Fiori.

The tasting coming up this weekend however, will feature a single origin Cuban Altura roasted by none other than everyone’s favourite home roaster (and member of the Matt and Grendel mutual appreciation society) Grendel :)

Places are limited, and tickets are $30 each, which gets you a cigar and a whole whack of coffee… enough to have you jumped up in no time at all.

Check out the details on Tiger, Tigers (shiny new) website.

Ever wondered how you can turn your insatiable need for caffeine into an all day affair ? Sure you’ve got your morning latte covered, and the midday piccolo and afternoon ristretto is a done deal. But there’s still that lingering need to fill the void between after dinner and bedtime with as much coffee as possible (doctors advice may differ).

Enter the Epic Espresso Signature Drink Workshop ! Not only can you fill your head with all sorts of interesting coffee related facts, but you can also learn a few tips and tricks on how to make some stunning coffee based dessert drinks, meaning you’ll never have to take too long a break from your caffeinated lifestyle.

Tonight’s signature drink workshop was the brainchild of Epic Espresso barista Jeremy Hulsdunk. Jeremy should know a few things about creating espresso based drinks… His creation of a pancake themed signature drink helped take him to first place in the 2006 W.A Barista Championships.

The format for the night was straightforward. A group of coffee lovers of varying levels of experience, gathered around to sample excellent quality coffees and learn a little more about how to work with flavours to create new and interesting combinations. We started with a double ristretto of the Ugandan Bugisu Sippy Falls AA, an excellent single origin coffee. Not everyone was used to drinking ristrettos, but after some dubious initial reactions due to the intensity of flavour in that tiny little cup… the consensus was resoundingly good. Flavour descriptors ranging from floral, citrusy, sweet, and smokey were thrown around, with none necessarily being wrong.

Then it was onto another fantastic single origin, the Bali Gunung Batur. This time in the traditional cupping method used by coffee tasters to determine varietal qualities and defects in coffee. The process is basically grinding a set amount of coffee relatively coarsely, adding water at a specific temperature (a little below boiling), and then breaking the “crust” of coffee grounds to inhale the aroma, before slurping the coffee down, aspirating it as much as possible in order to spread it out over your palate. Somewhat like a wine taster would when judging wine, and with probably as many (if not more) different ways of describing the flavours.

Jeremy gave tasting notes and points of interest on each coffee, and a fielded questions with consummate ease while explaining his choices for the evenings selection.

Then it was onto the signature drinks. We made two different styles, one called Strawberries and Cream, and the other called Espresso Fondue Martini.

A certain someone has promised a write up of the Strawberries and Cream, so I’ll cover the Fondue Martini. It was a rich and luscious concoction. Melted chocolate, espresso, and vanilla infused cream, with roasted hazelnuts on top and fresh fruit pieces for dunking. Take a minute to check out the photos of the night below before scrolling down for the full recipe straight from the horses mouth.

                                 

Espresso Fondue Martini

Methode ala Jeremy

1) Before you begin, infuse the cream with raspberries and vanilla by placing the cut vanilla pod and raspberries into the cream and stirring with vigour ! Let them stand together for a while so the flavours infuse nicely.

2) Place the melted chocolate (melted in a double boiler / microwave ) into a martini glass to fill just below half way (or more or less depending on how much of a chocolate fiend you are).

3) Pour a shot of espresso over the top of the chocolate.

4) Now add about 50 ml of the infused cream. Which should sink into the espresso / chocolate mixture with a layered effect.

5) Next sprinkle the top with the crushed roasted hazelnuts (an ingredient that compliments espresso and chocolate fantastically).

6) In true fondue style, go for the healthy option and dip fresh fruit into the dessert… making sure to stir up the chocolate and combine all the wonderful flavours for maximum effect.

It was a great night and a lot of fun for everyone. Check out the Epic Espresso website for details of when the next one might be. Thanks again to Jeremy and Corey for being excellent hosts. Here’s looking forward to plenty more great events, and more excuses to drink great coffee at all hours of the day ! :)

P.S – Apologies to anyone who has been trying to comment… I’ve moved to a new host and had inadvertently turned them off

We’re back online now :)

Vegetarians… I’d advice you to stop reading right now… Vegans… run for the hills. The rest of you carnivores… carry on.

Is there anything quite as wonderful as a well made sausage ? I think not… Well ok, maybe a couple of things… but good sausages are definitely up there. Top 10 for sure. So it will come as no surprise that when I heard Slow Food Perth were planning a day of old school sausage making, I jumped at the chance.

I’ve got to say I’m really starting to like these Slow Food events. A bunch of people who love food and wine as much as I do all getting together to learn about it and enjoy themselves, and possibly devouring vast sums of magnificent produce. What’s not to like ?

The title of this event was “The Best Cuts”, the setting was the home of chef Vincenzo Velletri, Slow Food chef extraordinaire, and one of the W.A representatives at the Terra Madre, Slow Food’s international conference, last year.

So our task was to turn a 120 kg pig into as many sausages as possible. A specially slaughtered pig was obtained from Spencers Brook Farm, an organic pig farm specialising in Berkshire pigs. Although ours was a large white pig formerly named “Chubby”, who we were told had led a happy life out on the farm for many years. So with knives and cutting boards at the ready, we filed into the kitchen at Vincenzo’s house in West Swan to begin the work.

These were no ordinary sausages to be thrown into a grinder and spat out the other end. But hand cut and mixed sausages of Monte San Biagio. Made as true to the origins as possible.

                                     

The Monte San Biagio sausage is now a part of the Slow Food presidia, which means they are actively being preserved and protected. So making them wasn’t simply a case of throwing a bunch of random ingredients into a grinder and spitting sausages out the other end.

Vincenzo cut sections of the meat into large chunks and then a production line of people helped to work it down into tiny cubes small enough to look like mince meat, but with much more body and texture than you’d gain from grinding it. The cutting took all morning. Which is why I suppose Italian families might only do this a couple of times a year, and why you’d get the whole family involved. It’s a lot of work. But short breaks for coffee (with maybe a little grappa), and marmalade crostata, made things fly by pretty quickly.

Then finally the cutting was done, and it was time to mix. Sea Salt in large quantities is added so the meat cures properly. Then it’s just crushed coriander seeds, dried chilli, and white wine. Mixed through the pork and combined well by the hands of a bunch of enthusiastic slow foodies.

So while we let the sausage mix settle, it was time for lunch. Another helping of the wonderful polenta with sausage mixture poured over the top. But this time I got to help make it :) A team of strong armed helpers took turns stirring a massive pot of polenta until it was just right, while I cooked down some of the sausage mixture in a pan with a little olive oil and white wine.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, another team of helpers were making fresh pasta using biodynamic flour and semolina from Dayle Lloyds Eden Valley Biodynamic Flour. Dayle had happily driven the 3 hours to Perth from Dumbleyung that morning to be a part of the day and bring some wonderful flour to use.

Lunch was again a sumptuous feast. Polenta and sausage, Fresh fettucini and passata, Italian broccoli, salad, fresh bread, wine, and when we thought it was all finished, more pork steaks seared on the bbq and drizzled with home made olive oil.

Our bodies rested and our souls restored, it was on to finish the job. Another group of likely ladies (Sharon included) took hold of the intestines that were to hold the sausage mixture, and squeezed all the air out of them (sadly I missed out on this bit). Then still more teams of people fed the sausage mixture into the funnel that pipes it into the intestines. The interesting thing being how easy Vincenzo made it look, and how hard everyone else did :)

Still, it was a great learning experience, and a lot of fun. We ended up the day with 4kg (count em!) of sausages to take home, which I promptly hung in the laundry to dry out. Being over two weeks ago that we went, I’ve since started using them to great effect… slicing pieces on their own for antipasto, and using it much like my beloved chorizo (which has taken a temporary backseat), in an arrangement of pasta and omlette style dishes.

How do they taste you ask ? Fantastic… Very spicy from the amount of chilli that went into them, and with a robust coriander flavour that becomes more or less intense depending on which piece you bite into. I’d highly recommend anyone give it a try. Just find your nearest Italian family and get stuffing !

Many thanks again to Slow Food for organising the event, and here’s looking forward to the next one :)