Stefano’s Restaurant

Go northwest from Melbourne and follow the Murray River along and you will come to the isolated oasis that is Mildura.  Basically bordering on the three states of Victoria, NSW and SA, Mildura is a known food bowl with an abundance of fresh local produce on offer.

Aside from the citrus, the wine, the salt flakes and the Mallee lamb that the region of Mildura and Sunraysia has become known for, Mildura has been notably promoted and put on the dining map by cook and restaurateur Stefano de Pieri for the past 20 odd years.

Transforming the original cellars of the historic Grand Hotel into a ‘cantina’ style restaurant in 1991, Stefano and his wife Donata Carrazza, embarked on offering diners a set menu of rustic, traditional Italian style dishes that Stefano would prepare that day. 

Over the years Stefano’s Restaurant has evolved to become one of the most recognized and respected restaurants in regional Victoria. Many have flown in from all around the countryside to experience this dining mecca that had stayed true to its traditional Italian beginnings…until now.

In late 2010, Stefano de Pieri handed over the reigns of his flagship restaurant to chef Jim McDougall.  For the first time Stefano has taken a true step away from this business enabling Jim to not only be Head Chef but co-owner.

After completing his cooking apprenticeship in Mildura, Jim McDougall broadened his horizons and worked for Shannon Bennett at Vue de Monde working his way up to Sous Chef before opening and heading up Café Vue.

Upon his return to Mildura and wanting to mark his stamp on the competitive culinary world, Jim has turned the style of Stefano’s Restaurant on its head.  He has infused it with a contemporary edge creating an absolute dining extravaganza.

Sourcing the majority of the produce locally, Jim and his kitchen team, take the art of cooking to a new dimension.  Offering either a six or eight set degustation menu, at $110 or $150 respectively, prepare to be blown away.

It’s not often that I am left speechless by my food encounters.  In fact I don’t think it had ever happened to me prior to my Stefano’s Restaurant/Jim McDougall experience.  But it did.  Still I fear that my words will not do this stunning cuisine justice.

With a menu that can be changed by the Chef on a whim, here is the listing of the dishes that I devoured on my visit:

Antipasti

House cured capocollo, melon & walnut

Loxton pork ‘caramelized’, Mildura sultana

Mackerel tartare, yuzu curd, yolk caviar

1^st – Wild Darling Yabby

Lightly pickled Shark Bay blue swimmer crab, sweet corn and toasted seaweed salt.

2^nd – Woorlong Egg Perfectly Poached

Yellow fin tuna, potato and wild anchovy.

3^rd – Murray Cod raised at Thurla Farm

Fennel, smoked butter clams and air dried pork cheek.

4^th – Risotto of Merbein Mushrooms

King brown and porcini black truffle.

5^th – River Valley Beef

Jerusalem artichoke puree, smoked wagyu, radish and bone marrow.

6^th – Cheese

Pyengana cheddar, gorgonzola picante, Buche d’ Affinois and apricot puree.

7^th - Beetroot Sorbet

Goat’s cheese and apple.

8^th – Boysenberry & Chocolate

Hazelnut, buttermilk and saltbush.

Dolce & Biscotti

Liquid lemon and white chocolate, strawberry lamington, saffron panna cotta with yoghurt.

Matched thoughtfully and impeccably with local and international wines I was truly swept off my feet.  The supreme and specialist wait staff delivered each dish on classy, apt plate ware ranging from wooden stumps to potted plates made by Shelley Panton.

If you are after the Stefano’s of old you won’t find it here any more.  Jim McDougall and his brigade are all about clean, modern, dynamic food that is delicately enhanced rather than over complicated.

It is worth the trip.  It is worth every cent.  It is pure brilliance.

Food – 10/10

Service – 10/10

Ambiance – 8/10

Stefano’s Restaurant

Cellars of the Grand Hotel, Langtree Avenue Mildura.

Phone – 5022 0881

www.stefano.com.au

Women in Beer

With ‘Good Beer Week’ now in full swing, what better time to highlight the women of craft beer and their amazing contribution to Australia’s blossoming craft beer industry.

So what is ‘Good Beer Week’ and what is craft beer I hear you ask?  Good questions.

Firstly I’ll start with craft beer.  Essentially craft beer is quality, handcrafted beer made with the four primary ingredients – water, malt, yeast and hops.  That’s right – it’s beer free of additives and preservatives.  Behind every beer, there is a story or two. Who made it, why, what influenced them, where the ingredients are sourced from – the list is endless.  The breweries are usually very small, independent operations and stick to traditional practices.

‘Good Beer Week’ is a not-for-profit festival in Melbourne and parts of Victoria that celebrates craft beer from around the world.  Born from an idea over a few beers (naturally) by like-minded beer lovers, it has experienced rapid growth with 150+ events planned for May 18-26.  The events during ‘Good Beer Week’ are vast and varied catering for the beer novice through to the hard-core beer geek.  You can learn how to make beer, what to eat with beer and more than likely work out the best way to drink beer. 

Ok, so why am I talking about this?  A few months ago I was invited to join the Bendigo Beer committee.  Before you jump to any conclusion, no it’s not a club where we sit around drinking beer all the time.

Bendigo Beer’s purpose is to promote craft beer through events and festivals as well as educating and consulting venues about craft beer.  It is also the conduit between brewers and venues.  A concept unique to the Australian craft beer industry, Bendigo Beer does this around Bendigo and central Victoria and has recently branched out into other regions with Ballarat Beer, Geelong Beer and Border Beer.

I am one of two females amongst the committee of nine very innovative, progressive and talented people with a passion for promoting craft beer.  It’s a fascinating group to be a part of.  Check out the upcoming Bendigo Beer events here

Prior to becoming part of Bendigo Beer I was a sporadic beer drinker.  Many females drink mainstream beer during university because it’s cheap and many enjoy a cold beer on a hot day.  I guess I was one of those types.  However, being on this committee has opened my eyes to a whole new world of drinking beer for the taste and that wine is not the only beverage that compliments food.

Breaking the stereotype that beer is only for the man’s world, there are some very knowledgeable and talented women amongst the Australian craft beer industry.  Stamping her mark in all things beer is Kirrily Waldhorn aka ‘Beer Diva’.  Kirrily is a Sydney based beer dynamo with 12 years experience in beer as a presenter, educator, consultant, writer and judge.  Learn more about ‘Beer Diva’ here

Then there is the tale of the two women behind the label ‘Two Birds’. A couple of years ago friends Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen created two brews, a sunset ale and a golden ale. I love their product, their passion and their tagline ‘why settle for one?’.  Their two beers are respected and gaining a big following. Check them out here

I hope you have enjoyed this little taste, there are many more stories about women making an impact in the craft beer industry that will be shared, including ‘Beer Diva’ and ‘Two Birds’ in this year’s ‘Good Beer Week’ program – check it out here

Mr Nice Spice - Part 2

It doesn’t stop there, Shane is also involved with the ‘Cook for your Career Competition’, a national competition providing people from any background the opportunity to realise their dream of becoming a professional chef.  The winner has the opportunity to complete a full cooking apprenticeship with Shane at his restaurant Maha.  “Good apprentices are really hard to find, especially now.  I’ll take someone who is 100% motivated over someone that is 100% talented because I can show them that if they work hard they can have it (all)”.  Shane believes meeting the parents and the family of his apprentice chefs is incredibly important.  He can draw on his own experiences as an apprentice working long hours in this cut throat industry and acknowledges without the encouragement or support from his family he may not have been able to keep going some days.  His advice to an aspiring chef, “Your new job is your new life, get entrenched in your work.  Go to work to work if you wan to be a chef at the elite level.  Give it everything!”

At the age of 16 Shane started his cooking apprenticeship at ‘Eden on the Park’ in Albert Park, Melbourne.  He says he participated in ‘everything’, every cooking competition around, which is where he met George Calombaris.  George was working at the ‘Hotel Sofitel’ and not long after their meeting Shane followed George where they both worked under young French chef Gabriel Martin who had trained with the likes of Marco Pierre White.  Martin went on to open his own restaurant, ‘The Treasury’ on Collins Street in Melbourne in 2001 where he hired Shane as Chef de Partie (third in charge). Twelve months later Shane moved on to be the Sous Chef (second in charge) under his friend Executive (Head) Chef Anthony Sekita at ‘Chateau Yering’ in the Victorian Yarra Valley, Shane was now 21.  A year later Sekita resigned and Shane was now at the helm as Executive Chef, a position he enjoyed for five years.  It was during this time that Shane experienced travelling and cooking in various countries of the world and he began to see new domains of cooking.

All roads have lead to here, where Shane is currently filming his very own SBS TV show that enriches and showcases all of the experiences and hard work that he has fulfilled to now.  The set of the show is a beautifully decked out Moroccan inspired kitchen.  Colour is bountiful and the aroma of the spices is incredible.  Shane looks relaxed and comfortable in this makeshift kitchen and in front of the camera.  He jokes and shows no displeasure when he has to retake a scene many times over.  He is shooting a dessert where peaches and saffron are the feature.  “He brought back about two kilo’s of that saffron from this old man in Iran.  Watch what he does with it”, the director of the show informs me, “he’s a magician!”

Every dish on the show is specifically created for this new series and they are created straight from Shane’s head and his heart from his recent travels.  Shane tells me that none of the dishes have been attempted before; he plans them then creates them on the day of the shoot and perfectly every time.  As the shoot for this episode draws to a close, Shane has delivered five delectable dishes.  That’s pretty magical!

“I can’t fail…can’t fail.  I have too many people that rely on me”, Shane informs me, “I’d let too many people down and too many people have sacrificed a lot for me to be here.  My grandfather did coming over (from Malta), my dad did coming over.  Everyone has given so much so that I can have these opportunities”.  The fear of failure is very strong for Shane Delia.  It drives him to get up every morning, it pushes him to keep improving and it energizes him to continue creating.

Over the years and since the emergence of the celebrity chef, it would be fair to assume the stereotype that all chefs are hot headed, obnoxious and egotistical.  There has been many a television cooking show that has displayed this type of behavior and led people to believe that chefs are more than just a little unhinged. Shane Delia breaks this perception, maybe even smashes it into a million pieces.  He’s passionate and driven but humble and generous.  He’s innovative and creative but grounded and authentic.  He’s a giver rather than a taker.  He’s kind and loves a joke.

A son, a husband, a father, a boss, a mate, an Ambassador, an all round nice guy on the eve of airing his very own cooking show on TV.  There is already much hype in both mainstream and social media about ‘Spice Journey’.  It’s been predicted to be one of the top food shows on television in 2013.  What does Shane Delia think about all of this hype and his celebrity status? “At the end of the day I’m just a chef.  I’m really happy being a chef.  There is nothing else I’d rather do.”

Shane Delia’s Spice Journey - Thursday's 7.30pm on SBS ONE.