St Katherine's

“St Katherine’s is all about friendship, family and food.  St Katherine is the patron saint of Shane’s family home of Zejten in Malta and the church that George was baptized in.  The selection our team has put together specializes in Greek, Maltese and Turkish beverages to compliment your dining experience.  Our friendly staff would be please to assist you with any questions you may have.

Saha and Kali orexi.”

This week I dined at St Kat’s as a part of a prize that I was fortunate to win at the Problogger Conference (#PBEVENT) that I attended in October last year.  To spend a day with Shane Delia was my lucky prize.  The opening paragraph is what you read, in three languages, when you open the beverage list at St Katherine’s in Kew, owned by Shane Delia and George Calombaris. 

Dining at St Katherine’s was a real treat and an experience I loved.  Upon arrival the team make you feel extremely comfortable.  I was greeted with “Welcome to St Katherine’s, your table is this way”.  Not only was I impressed but also I felt like they knew me.  They of course didn’t as I noted that the staff greeted all of the customers with the same enthusiasm that they greeted me with, like a friend.

Second Course

First Course

St Kat’s is best described as a contemporary modern day bistro with European influences that will suit the entire family. The setting is bright, light, airy and relaxed with the upmost professionalism at all times from the dedicated team.

I was treated to the ‘”When mum feeds me” shared lunch ($40 per person Monday – Friday).  The kitchen brigade created a menu around what was best in the kitchen that day.  This three-course spread of the best on offer that day was incredible.  Every dish was a creation of flavor and passion.  It was filling and very satisfying.

Third Course

Along with the various shared menus St Kat’s also provide al a carte dining and any dietary requirements are well taken care of.  They welcome celebrations as well as more private and intimate dining.

St Kat’s is simply fabulous – you must go there.  There is no way you won’t love it!

St Katherine’s

26 Cotham Road, Kew, Victoria.

(03) 92007 7477

www.stkatherines.com.au

Open

Monday – Friday 12noon – 4pm & 5.30 – 11pm.

Weekends – 11.30am – 4pm & 5.30-11pm.

The Loose Goose

With my Queensland holiday extravaganza over it’s time to share a little piece of it with you.  I must confess that unfortunately food was not a major component of my recent trip, which is highly unusual for me.  However, there were one or two dining highlights that I can speak of. 

‘The Loose Goose’ truly is a little hidden treasure on the Sunshine Coast.  Set in a small shopping centre next door to the Twin Waters Golf Club, I must admit that I had some concerns when arriving to see it placed next door to a real estate agency, a takeaway shop and a small supermarket.  I have tended to avoid restaurants in these settings previously due to terrible experiences.  But my preconceptions disappeared very quickly.

The setting once through the front gate was impressive.  A modern décor inside which had fresh clean lines and plenty of light with a convivial bar to sit and drink at.  We decided to sit outside on the decking by the creek filled with lily pads and a water feature surrounded by nature on the perfect balmy Queensland evening.  Additionally all the staff were friendly and helpful.

'The Loose Goose' menu was abundant.  Well thought out and sectioned nicely with share plates, oysters, entrees, farinaceous, mains, sides, cheese, dessert and liquid dessert.  It all screamed fresh, seasonal and delectable and it was fabulous to see a great selection of gluten free options.

To start we had ‘tempura whiting fillets with lime zest and aioli’ ($11) GF and the ‘beef carpaccio with caramelized echalots and potato crisps’ ($12) GF.  I am certain the whiting was caught that day as it melted in our mouths; it was so fresh and perfectly cooked.  The carpaccio had divine flavors making both dishes an impeccable opening act.

Entree

For main course we ordered the ‘angel hair pasta with blue swimmer crab, garlic, chilli and salsa verde’ ($18 entrée/$28 main) which was al dente, light, amazing and the ‘char grilled eye fillet with dauphinoise potatoes, spinach and red wine tarragon butter’ ($35) GF.  This dish was simply perfect and was skirted beautifully with a glass of Pinot Noir.

Main Course

Put simply 'The Loose Goose' is worth a visit for a clean, fresh and flawless meal with a tropical Queensland backdrop.

Food – 9/10

Service – 7/10

Ambiance – 7/10

The Loose Goose

3/175 Ocean Drive, Twin Waters, Queensland

(07) 5457 0887

www.theloosegoose.com.au

Open for LUNCH & DINNER EVERYDAY 12PM – 11.30PM

GF = gluten free

Top Five Review Posts for 2012

2012 saw the birth of my blog.  My love of food is somewhat hereditary.  That combined with my experience in the hospitality industry has created an obsession with food and my desire to review it.

The seed for me to review food was planted about a year prior to my first blog post when I was in New York with my friend.  We were dining at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at The London in NYC when over the meal I started to critique our entire dining experience.  It was fun and my friend was very encouraging of my review.

It took me the next months to manifest how I was going to turn this passion of reviewing into a reality.  After a night out at Masons of Bendigo I was completely inspired and woke at five am the following morning with the desire to write about what I had experienced.  It all just came out of me so easily and so ‘Food for You Reviews’ was created.

Ironically Masons of Bendigo is the most read post of 2012.  Mason’s have had an incredible year.  They were very new on the scene and doing a fabulous job for dining in regional Victoria.  Since my review they won the State Award in the Golden Plate Awards outshining the Ballarat and Geelong regions.

Masons of Bendigo

The second most read blog post was the Red Velvet Cake post.   After my first experience with this delight in New York City at Magnolia Bakery, I was delighted when I arrived to a friend’s birthday party to a beautiful Red Velvet Cake made from the Magnolia Bakery recipe.

Coming in at number three was my first instalment of The Sweetest Thing series.  This series was a nine part series inspired by the women in my family sharing their most favourite sweet recipe.  This post told the story of my inspiration and shared my mother in laws golden syrup dumpling recipe.

Fourth was my post on Proud Mary’s in Collingwood.  This was one of my favourite posts to write.  It was one of the only posts I wrote live in the venue.  I love the vibe in PM’s they truly do rock it!

Proud Mary's

Finally, at number five was my post on the Chefs of the Future Cooking Competition.   This post is very dear to my heart as it’s about a cooking completion I started for apprentice chefs in Mildura a decade ago.  I was asked to speak at the 10-year anniversary.  Such an honor and a thrill.

So there you go, the top five most read posts for 2012 on the Food for You Reviews blog.  I have enjoyed writing my blog immensely and am excited to bring you plenty of positive, constructive, fun food reviews in 2013.

Thank you for reading friends. xx