Happy 1st
Birthday 'Food for You Reviews'.
It was a year ago today that Food for You Reviews was born - created
and launched. It all happened in the
blink of an eye after abruptly waking up on this day 12 months ago at 5am. The birds had only just started chirping and
I had an uncontrollable desire to tell the world how I felt about my dining experience
at ‘Masons of Bendigo’ from the night prior.
If I really reflect on it, the seed for
this blog was well and truly planted a year prior to its launch when I was in
New York City with my fab friend Gab. We
were dining at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at ‘The London NYC’ when I just
naturally started to critique the entire spectacle – the meal, the staff, the
decor. Being a fashionista rather than a
foodie, Gab was fascinated by my analysis and supportively suggested that I
pursue reviewing restaurants in some way.
The food passion I have is in my
blood. There is no doubt about that for
me. Formally learning about the
hospitality industry when leaving secondary school seemed like a natural
progression for me. Food and I are a fit…like
bangers and mash or peas and carrots.
Recently I revealed my identity on this
blog after being anonymous for the first 10 months. That for me was a massive decision. Even though my appetite for reviewing all
things related to food is solid it doesn’t automatically mean that I am
confident that people want to read about what I have to say. Let’s face it every second person is a food
expert these days! However, I did let
you know who I am and I’m glad about that. To read the post Who Am I? Click here
To celebrate the first anniversary of Food for You Reviews I thought it would
be apt to revisit the place that I first reviewed and re-review them. So this week I went back and dined at Masons
of Bendigo.
Masons celebrated their first birthday a
few weeks ago and I’m sure they would agree that it has been a spectacular year
for them. In many ways they have had an
incredibly positive impact on the dining scene in Bendigo. They have successfully introduced a share
plate style of eating incorporating local Central Victorian produce that
Bendigo was ready for.
One year on and Masons have not altered
from their opening style of share plates so that your dining experience is
enjoyed to the utmost. The night that I
went to re–review they were at capacity, demonstrating that what they are
delivering is being widely accepted.
We shared from the ‘savory bites’ section:
Baked
Rockwood Cottage lamb and pinenut kataifi cigar, Meredith sheep’s milk yoghurt
$7
Bagshot
Muscovy duck spring rolls, Chinese sausage, blood plum and hoisin dipping sauce
$9.50
From the ‘larger dishes to share’ section:
Ballotine
of Yapunyah chicken, fresh figs, Istra pancetta, sarladaise croquettes, organic
leek, peas, jus gras $24
Roasted Kent pumpkin, cheddar cheese, hazelnuts $12
12
hour Inglewood beef cheek braised, sherry carrots, stuffed zucchini flowers
with caramelized smoked onion, pancetta, red wine sauce (special) $27
Each dish looked like a work of art and delivered
on flavour. The Masons menu is very well
complimented with a solid wine list and some terrific craft beers. The real highlight of the night was our
waitress Jess. She was beautifully
professional and held herself with a wonderful calmness and confidence during
service. Congratulations all round ‘Masons
of Bendigo’ on a successful first year!
Coming up in this, the second year of Food for You Reviews, are some exciting
things. The blog will be having a big
make over very soon with a hot new look.
I will be introducing a new series called ‘Quick Q 10’, where I will
interview chefs, barista’s, sommeliers, restaurateurs and other hospitality
types of interest by asking them 10 quick questions. Plus I will also have some interesting
feature stories and of course more reviews.
THANK YOU, all of you, for reading my
blog. Thank you for allowing me to
pursue one of my dreams and giving me a full size smile every week when I
publish my post.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'FOOD FOR YOU REVIEWS'!
(Insert party poppers, champagne and birthday
cake here!)
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