As another year wraps up and we’re all saying ‘I can’t believe this year has gone so quickly’, we thought we would give you a quick recap of the best bits from our blog… 

January 

Rockpool Bar & Grill Perth Opens

The year kicked off with the opening of our newest restaurant, Bar & Grill Perth at Burswood. Who would have known back then that RB&G Perth would be awarded 17.5/20, 2 Chef’s hats, Restaurant of the Year and Winelist of the Year in the WA Good Food Awards 8 months down the track… well, if you ask Neil he will probably tell you that he thought it was a lock.

February

Rockpool Floodlight Dinner

Straight off the bat for February was our Floodlight Dinner to raise money for the devastating Queensland floods. A combined effort between Phil and The Four in Hand’s Colin Fassnidge, it was a truly great evening.

Rose Bay Flood Relief Dinner

Later on in February was the epic Rose Bay Flood Relief Dinner – 5 restaurants set up along the Rose Bay promenade to serve 1000 guests. Over $850,000 was raised for the QLD flood victims – an amazing effort. And really – could you ever ask for a better table than that?

March

The Ultimate Dinner

It doesn’t get much better than this – Neil Perry, Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck), Thomas Keller (The French Laundry), Andoni Aduriz (Mugaritz), Guillaume Brahimi (Bennelong), Phil Wood (Rockpool) and Catherine Adams (Rockpool) cooking you dinner. Well, maybe if they’re raising money for charity as well… This year’s Ultimate Dinner was the best yet, with over $280,000 raised for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

April

Ultimate Food!

 

Armed with our professional photos, we took an in-depth look at the Ultimate Dinner – the Chefs, the action, and most importantly the food… 

May

Noma, Copenhagen

Whilst we were nose to the grindstone here at Rockpool, Neil was off on his Northern Hemishpere holiday. He kindly sent us photos of all the nice places he was eating at, just to remind us that he was indeed “working” whilst away… Noma, in particular, looked amazing. Probably why they’re rated the best restaurant in the world..

Rockpool 1989 – 2011

We love nostalgia here at Rockpool. That’s quite lucky, because we’ve got plenty of it! When we came across some old photos, we didn’t hesitate at putting together a little photographic journey into the past.. I still can’t believe that this is the upstairs dining room Rockpool!

Burger Wars!

Organised by Time Out Sydney Magazine, Burger Wars pitted 6 of Sydney’s best burgers against one another… Pickle, or no pickle? Sesame seed bun, or no sesame seed bun? Whose burger would reign supreme, and which Chef would be crowned the burger master???

Saturday Afternoon at the Borough Markets

 
 

On what appeared to be the best summer’s day in London history (what? Blue sky?), Neil spent the afternoon casually wandering the amazing borough markets.. By all accounts, this is one of the best markets in the world. And after seeing this, we believe it.

The River Cafe, London

Neil’s gastronomic tour of London continued with a trip to the iconic River Cafe. This food made us all drool over our keyboards..

June

The Best Feedback Letter… Ever!

Yeah, so no photo for this one, but I guarantee that you will not read a better feedback letter in your lifetime! If only they were all like this…

Making Butter by Hand - Rockpool Sydney

Butter. It comes from the dairy section at your supermarket, right? Ever wondered how hard it would be  to make it yourself? Read on….

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

 

 

Neil popped in to Heston’s newest restaurant in London, where he’s been turning long-forgotten recipes into modern day classics. Love the Meat Fruit c.1500.

Buvette, West Village, New York

Across the Atlantic and on to NY, Buvette is one of the cutest restaurants we’ve seen – and the food looks pretty damn good as well! Neil was given the tip by US Chef magastar Mario Batali, who joined he and Sam for lunch.

Making Bread by Hand – Rockpool Sydney

When the kids down at Rockpool decided that they would start making their own sourdough in-house, we had to get down there and blog it. Making bread is a true labour of love… If you’ve ever wanted to know the effort that goes into making your own sourdough, take a look right here.

July

Eataly, New York

After returning from his holiday research trip, Neil handed over the rest of his snaps which included his trip to Eataly – 20,000 square feet of Italian gastronomic goodness in the heart of NY. The photos don’t do it justice – the place is huuuge.

The Sorrentine Peninsula, Italy

As if we weren’t feeling a bit left out of the whole “eating our way around the globe” thing yet, B&G Head Chef and Pastry Chef Khan and Catherine sent us snaps of their Italian holiday. The first edition sees them travelling through the Sorrentine Peninsula, a place of incredible beauty and delicious food… 

Naples, Italy

 

Part 2 of Khan and Catherine’s journey was up the coast to Naples, and then on to the outskirts of Rome to the Osteria di San Cesario, and the kitchen of the legendary Anna Dente.

Rome, Italy

 

The final installment of Khan and Catherine’s journey, where it’s all about pizza and gelato. If that’s not heaven then I don’t want to go!

August

Rockpool Menu Circa 1996

 

Remember I told you we love nostalgia? When we found an old menu in the attic at Rockpool it brought a tear to our eyes, and not just from all the dust we also uncovered in the process. Stacked with Rockpool classics, the prices are practically bargain basement for a 3 hat restaurant nowadays..

Rockpool’s City 2 Surf Wrap Up

Ah, yes, Team Rockpool’s finest hour – well, actually only a couple of us managed to crack the hour mark, but we all tried our hardest and in the process raised a whopping $206,262.00 for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Apart from raising money for our favourite cause, it was a pretty fun day after we got to the finish line. Bring on 2012!

Rockpool Truffle Dinner Teaser

 

 

So when Neil and Phil decided to go all out and serve more truffles that we’ve ever seen to just 15 lucky diners, we pulled out our iPhones and got snapping. With the pro photos ‘being developed’, we gave you a little tease… who was that masked chef?

September

Rockpool Sydney Winter Truffle Dinner

  

With pro photos in hand, we could really delve into what was without a doubt the most extravagant dinner we’ve ever seen. 1.5kg of Tasmanian truffles for just 15 lucky diners… the smell in the kitchen was intoxicating!

Truffle Hunting in the Southern Highlands

You’re probably think that chef’s are obsessed with truffles, right? Correct! Whilst some of us were punishing ourselves by running to Bondi (all in the name of charity), some lucky staff from B&G Sydney took a trip to the Southern Highlands for a spot of truffle hunting..

Spice Temple Melbourne Hunan Dinner

The first of the Spice Temple Melbourne Regional dinners was the Hunan dinner – and it was a great success. Rather than the usual spectrum of cuisines at ST, Neil focused in on the Hunan Provence – think spicy hot, home-style cuisine without the Sichuan numbing.

October

Spice Temple Melbourne Imperial Dinner

 

Spicy T’s second regional dinner was the Imperial Dinner – dishes from between 221 BC and 1911 AD. With colourful names such as ‘Playful Dragon and Phoenix’, ‘The Most Delicious Dish under Heaven’  and ‘First Ranking Official Pork’, the question we had was would these dishes stand the test of time?

November

Victor Churchill, Woollahra

  

  

We took a look at one of our favourite shops of all time – Victor Churchill, where meat is taken to a whole new level. Vegetarians be warned – clicking through may turn you back into an omnivore..

per se, New York

Another stop on Neil’s culinary tour was at per se, one of the worlds greatest restaurants. These guys are at the pointy end of fine dining, and the food looks incredible.

Next, Chicago

 

 

The final post about Neil’s 2011 trip was from Next, the new restaurant by Grant Achatz of Alinea fame. What these guys to is pretty unique – they choose a theme (at the time Neil visited it was ‘Paris 1906′, an homage to Auguste Escoffier), cook the same menu for 3 months (they refer to it as a ‘season’), and then go back to the drawing board and come up with a brand new theme. We loved their Next Opening video… oh, and you buy a ticket as if you were going to the theatre – so if you don’t turn up, you miss out and pay in full…

December

Rockpool Pop-Up Lunch – “Cafe 1989″

 

Rockpool swung its doors open for lunch for the first time in almost 3 years with a $75 3-course menu inspired by the food of Chez Panisse. Prawns, suckling pig, cherries.. can’t go wrong!

Eating out in Hong Kong pt1 

Part 1 of Neil’s Hong Kong blog was all about yum cha and Chinese barbecue – two of our favourite subjects. Throw in a five star hotel and we’re hooked!

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All this plus recipes galore, Qantas stories, awards, Neil barbecuing a Kiwi in the name of national pride, photo shoots, more travel stories, random videos, a new book, a few give-aways, a master class or two… it’s been a big year for the Rockpool blog! Looking forward to 2012, bigger and better, and we’ve got some veeery big news to break just around the corner.. Stay tuned!!

It’s Xmas in Australia – who wants to be drinking eggnog? Besides the odd refreshing ale or sparkling wine, we reckon this would be perfect for this time of year – a refreshing, tropical fruit punch, with a bit of a kick. Plus, think of the convenience – all you have to do is knock up a big batch of this, throw in some ice cubes and let everyone help themselves.

To get the low down on what makes a good punch, I went to the best mixologist I know – Will Oxenham, Bar Manager at The Waiting Room, Melbourne.

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Quick Punch Masterclass

Classic Punch has a Ratio of 4 Parts Weak, 3 Parts Strong, 2 Parts Sour & 1 Part Sweet

So, What Does This Mean?

4 Parts:             Weak
Eg:       Juice (orange, pineapple, pink grapefruit), soda water or ginger beer/ale
3 Parts:             Strong
Eg:       Rum- look for Appleton V/X or 2 Year Old, Havana 7 Year Old
2 Parts:             Sour
Eg:       Lemon, lime, or white grapefruit juice.
1 Part:              Sweet
Eg:       Simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water)

Mix it all together in advance, to allow the flavours to bind, and leave in the fridge.

Now, taste it. Is it:     
Too sweet?      Add more sour
Too sour?        Add sugar
To intense and mouth coating (not refreshing)?        Try adding some ginger ale, ginger beer or sparkling water just as you serve it, this should add freshness.
To thin and boring?  Add a good 5-10 dashes of Angostura bitters or so and see how that works

Garnish it with heaps of fruit: small pineapple wedges, lemon and lime slices, orange slices – whatever you like. Add some mint if you want, and always use plenty of ice.

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So, now that you have the know-how, get to mixing and try our Spiced Pisco Punch for your Xmas lunch/dinner.

Spiced Pisco Punch, The Waiting Room Melbourne

100ml lime juice
500ml pineapple juice
200ml spiced pine syrup (see below)
10 dashes Absinthe or Pernod or Ricard
20 dashes Angostura bitters
400ml Pisco brandy
400ml sparkling wine

Garnishes
Plenty of oranges, limes and pineapples all cut into small enough chunks so that your guests can get a few pieces of garnish in their cups.

To make the spiced pine syrup, combine some pineapple juice with a little sugar, a few cardamom pods and cloves and a pinch of saffron. Reduce over the stove until syrupy and delicious.

Combine all the liquids in a bowl or jug, well in advance of your part arriving; mix, and leave to stand in the fridge. Taste before you serve and adjust accordingly.

When it comes to serving, pour the contents of the jug into a punch bowl, and add a couple of pieces of block ice and plenty of ice cubes.

A few weeks ago I managed to slip away to Hong Kong for a few days, call it part holiday/part research. With some great inside tips from a few friends, we had some of the most incredible meals. We were staying at the Four Seasons, which has now become one of my top 3 hotels to stay at. Read on and you’ll find out why…

A little treat waiting for us when we got to our room.

And a few more teats!

This was a fantastic Bircher muesli - and I’m a Bircher muesli freak! Travelling around the world, I’ve eaten some pretty ordinary Bircher mueslis, many loaded with too much dried fruit. This was made with quick oats and super finely grated peeled apples, so the texture was a bit finer than I’m used to. Really, a better start to the day you could not ask for.

The kitchen at the Michelin 3 star restaurant Caprice in the Four Seasons. What a beautiful setup. Caprice serves classical French cuisine, so not really what we went to HK for.

Nothing like a shiny kitchen to get a chef excited.

We did eat Lung King Heen, the other Michelin 3 star restaurant in the Four Seasons (the 4S HK is the only hotel in the world to contain two 3 star restaurants). These first few shots are from our dinner there, above is a beautiful dumpling soup we had.

Super crispy roast suckling pig and char siu pork – both delicious.

This was pretty yummy – double boiled chicken broth, with a thick layer of chicken fat on top – this might sound weird, but it enriched the soup and gave it more flavour.

This was an interesting dish, black cod with a sort of sweet/sour sauce, really reminiscent of the miso-marinated cod a Nobu.

The next day we went back to Lung King Heen for yum cha. I was immediately impressed just by their steamer baskets – the sturdiest I’ve ever seen, really well woven together. We’re going to try to get some shipped here to use at Spice Temple.

This was great – a beaten out piece of lettuce, stuffed with lobster mousse and a piece of steamed lobster on top.

A couple of my favourites here – on the left was a squid dumpling with squid mousse and chopped squid, the texture was both crunchy and soft. On the right at the front is everyone’s favourite – xiao long bao, the pork and soup dumplings.

Especially love the handles so you don’t accidently spill the soup out on the way up!

Yum! Their version of a pork bun – but with bun pastry on the bottom, and flaky pie pastry on top. Taking it to a whole new level! 

Besides being a marvel to look at, these pork and vegetable dumplings were delicious!

Some of the best fried rice I’ve eaten anywhere in the world. I guess you would expect that from a 3 star!

We also managed to get a look behind the scenes in the BBQ kitchen a the Four Seasons.

The suckling pigs in this shot have been dipped in the maltose marinade, and await the bbq pit. 

The bbq pit where they cook the pigs, shame they weren’t cooking them at the time I was in the kitchen.

Ducks that have been coated in the maltose marinade and are about to go into the giant ovens.

And here they are – beautiful roast duck. The large silver things in the background are the duck ovens – they have a large burner in the base that generate a great amount of heat, and you hang the ducks on a rail just on the inside before closing the lid to cook them.

Chef proudly shows us some char siu pork that has just come out of the oven – he gave me a piece to try and this was seriously the best char siu I’ve ever had. It was like I had died and gone to heaven.

And all this happened just within the hotel we were staying in! In the next post I’ll show you where we ate around Hong Kong.

Salad of King Prawns, Asparagus and Peas

Serves 4

2 bunches green asparagus
2 bunches white asparagus
500g fresh peas, podded
200ml olive oil, for frying
300g day-old sourdough, crusts removed and roughly torn into chunks
50ml extra virgin olive oil
50ml red wine vinegar (I like Forum)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
12 large cooked prawns, heads and shells removed, de-veined and tails intact
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 baby cos lettuces, leaves separated
½ bunch basil, torn

Snap the ends off the green and white asparagus. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the green asparagus for 4-5 minutes, or until tender and sweet. Refresh in iced water. Repeat the process with the white asparagus, but blanch for 10 minutes or until tender, and then refresh. Slice each spear in half on the diagonal and set aside.

Blanch the peas for 5 minutes, then refresh in iced water. Set aside.

Heat the 200ml olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry the torn bread, stirring, until it is golden. Lift the bread out of the pan and drain on paper towels.

To make the dressing, whisk the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the fried bread to the dressing and toss well, allowing the bread to soak up some of the dressing.

In a separate large bowl, combine the prawns, cooked asparagus and peas, cherry tomatoes, cos and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing and bread, toss well and transfer to a large serving plate. Finish with a grind of pepper.

Fresh Fruit with Lime, Lemongrass and Mint

Serves 4

2 mangoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
500g lychees, peeled, cut in half and pitted
500g cherries, pitted
½ bunch mint leaves

Lime and Lemongrass Syrup
225g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 5 limes
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 5cm lengths

To make the syrup, combine the sugar and 185ml water in a small, heavy based saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the lime zest, lime juice and lemongrass, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. Strain.

Combine all the fruit in a large bowl. Toss with the syrup and place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Gently toss through the mint leaves and serve immediately.

 

This recipe appeared in the Good Weekend, December 17th 2011

We think of this as the perfect summer side – crisp, delicious and minimal preparation! Currently on the menu at all our Bar & Grill’s, this photo was taken for us by Earl Carter down at B&G Melbourne. Worth a look for your Xmas lunch/dinner we think…

Shredded Cabbage and Parmesan Salad

¼ Savoy cabbage
½ bunch flat leaf parsley
120ml extra virgin olive oil
40ml good quality red wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
50g freshly grated parmesan

Finely shred the cabbage using a knife or a Japanese slicer and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Cut the parsley into fine shreds and add to the cabbage in a bowl.

In a bowl whisk together the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar and add to the cabbage. Add just enough dressing to moisten the salad, not to drown it. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper, then transfer to a serving plate.

Scatter the grated parmesan over the top and serve.

Following on the success of Rockpool’s first Cafe 1989 pop-up lunch, the question was being asked as to how Neil and Phil would top their previous effort. How does one surpass prawns with braised zucchini and tomato, suckling pig with peach and beautiful cherry tart as a finale?? If you answered ”with beautiful Victorian asparagus and hollandaise, slow cooked lamb with braised peas, and a cracking stone fruit crumble”, then indeed you would be correct.

With a fully booked restaurant, I snuck in again to take some shots for posterity’s sake… and to have a taste for, you know, quality control purposes…

A delicious pile of the Rockpool bread, freshly baked and cooling.

The asparagus en place in the drawer, ready to hit the boiling water.

Canapé:
Soft boiled egg, brioche, kurobuta prosciutto

A tasty little starter this one… quality:check.

Blanched asparagus drizzled with a little olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and pepper

Adding the hollandaise to the blood orange segments

Entrée:
Green asparagus with blood orange hollandaise

Summer on a plate, even if the weather isn’t playing along here in Sydney.

Carving the slow-roasted lamb. Richard Gunner grows premium beef and lamb on his farm down in South Australia and has won many awards for his produce.

Main:
Richard Gunner’s pure bred Suffolk lamb – roast and confit, with braised peas

Lamb, peas, garlic, mint… need I say more.

Not sure what was going on here, but we’re thinking of running a ‘give this photo a caption’ competition..

Dessert:
Apricot crumble with peach ice cream

Hard to beat a crumble really, especially with awesome early season stone fruit!

This Friday is our last Cafe 1989 for the year, but we’re promising more in Feb next year. Stay tuned to our facebook page and Neil’s twitter account for updates.

Steamed Snapper with Ginger and Green Onions

Serves 4 as part of a shared banquet

1kg whole snapper, scaled and gutted
1 Chinese cabbage leaf
7 green (spring) onions, trimmed
2 tsp sea salt
125ml chicken stock
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)
1 tbsp sugar
1 large knob ginger, peeled and julienned
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 large handful coriander leaves

Pat the fish dry with paper towel. With a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal cuts in the thickest part of the fish, then do the same in the other direction to make a diamond pattern. Repeat on the other side.

Place the cabbage leaf and 3 whole green onions in a shallow heatproof bowl that’s large enough to take the fish comfortably and fit into a bamboo steamer.

Rub the fish with salt and lay it on top of the onions.

Mix the stock, soy sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine and sugar, and pour this over the fish, then top with the ginger.

Place the bowl in a steamer over a pot or wok of rapidly boiling water, cover with the lid and steam for 10-15 minutes or until the flesh is just set on the bone.

Cut the remaining onions into julienne.

Remove the bowl from the steamer and scatter the fish with the julienned onions. Heat the peanut oil in a small pot until it is just smoking, then douse the fish with the hot oil, being careful as it will spit. Top with coriander and serve immediately.

This recipe appeared in the Good Weekend, December 10th 2011

With cherry season in full swing, it’s time to make the most of them. And really, we can’t think of a better way than this – make this a feature on your table this Xmas perhaps??

This is an absolute cracker. Easy to make and it looks fabulous all white. There is something really alluring about fresh cake and cream – it takes me back to my childhood, when the local cake shop made all the cakes that way. Those days has have long passed, sadly. Don’t look at this recipe and say ‘this is too long for me’. It involves just making a cake, stewing some fruit and whipping cream. It started out life as a quick version of Black Forest Cake, but once you have perfection, why add more cherries and lots chocolate? Good cooking is all about knowing when to stop. You’ll love where we have stopped.

White Forest Cake

Serves 8

Cherries in brandy
750g fresh cherries, pitted
250ml brandy
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Cake
225g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
½ teaspoon natural almond extract
9 eggs, separated
250g dark chocolate, coarsely grated
125g plain flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
100g ground almonds

Filling
180ml kirsch
375ml cream, whipped to soft peaks
 
Icing
750ml cream
125g icing sugar, sifted

To make the cherries in brandy, put the brandy and sugar in a pan over low heat and stir continuously, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. Add the cherries, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the cherries are quite tender, but still holding their shape. Remove the cherries from the liquid using a slotted spoon, and set them aside. Increase the heat to medium and simmer the liquid for 5-10 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has evaporated and you have a syrup (be sure to watch the syrup towards the end of the cooking time so it doesn’t burn). Toss the syrup with the cherries and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the cake, preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease three 23cm round cake tins, and line the bases and sides with baking paper. Put the butter, 170g of the sugar and the vanilla and almond extracts into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the egg yolks, beating until well incorporated. Fold in the combined chocolate, flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds. Beat the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture in three or four batches. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake tins, and smooth out the surfaces with a spatula.

Bake the cakes for 20 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow the cakes to cook briefly, then turn out onto wire racks lined with baking paper. Cool completely.  

To assemble, place one cake upside down on a cake plate. Drizzle with one-third of the kirsch, then spread with half the cream and sprinkle with half the cherries. Place another cake on top and repeat the process. Place the last cake on top, and drizzle with the remaining kirsch. For the icing, whip the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form, then frost the top and sides of the cake. You now have a big beautiful white cake. Yum!

From “Good Food” by Neil Perry, Murdoch Books

By popular demand, we give to you our Sesame Soy Dressing recipe (sort of!). This is an adaptation of the sashimi dressing that we have used for many years, which formed the base of the sesame soy dressing for our range. Like the recipes for Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette and Aioli, you may need to tweak this a little depending on the ingredients you use.

Now, you will probably have to make a trip to your nearest Asian grocer for this on0e, and when you get there you may have to do some searching. Japanese soy (Yamasa or Kikkoman brands are good), rice vinegar (mizkan brand) and palm sugar can all be found there. To make this a bit easier, you can skip the step of caramelising the palm sugar – you will just end up with a dressing that is not as rich, and if so just omit half of the water.

Sesame Soy Dressing

1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
140ml vegetable oil
10ml sesame oil
120ml Japanese soy sauce
120ml rice vinegar
½ small red onion, finely grated
80g light palm sugar, roughly chopped    
50ml water

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the peppercorns to a fine powder transfer to a bowl.

Add the vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and  grated onion to bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

Combine the palm sugar with half of the water and bring to the boil in a small pot over a medium-high heat. Cook until the water evaporates and the sugar turns to a light brown caramel, then add the remaining water to stop the sugar from caramelising any further – be careful as it may spatter. Lower the heat and stir gently with a wooden spoon until all the sugar is dissolved, then pour into the bowl with the remaining ingredients.

Allow to cool and whisk well before using.

Last week Rockpool swung open its doors for lunch for the first time in almost 3 years – that is indeed a long time between lunches. The occasion was Rockpool’s first pop-up lunch under the name “Café 1989″, 1989 being the year that Rockpool opened.

So what’s it all about? Inspired by Chez Panisse, the iconic Californian restaurant, Neil has set out to create a more casual dining experience. Just good, simple food, cooked well and served with the hospitality that Rockpool is renowned for. And for $75 for canape plus 3 courses, it’s a bargain. 

We’re calling it a pop-up because this is not going to be a regular fixture – just whenever Neil is available, with three dates penned in for December and maybe a couple more in February next year. Here are some shots from last Thursday’s lunch…

    
 

Pre-lunch preparation (clockwise from top left): beautiful radishes about to be sliced; peaches bubbling away in balsamic vinegar and pork fat; prawns being cleaned and butterflied; and zucchinis braising in olive oil over a low heat..

Phil using a razor to score the rolled suckling pig. The pig was first brined, then stuffed and rolled, cooked overnight in the combi oven sous vide, then chilled, scored, re-tied and finally deep fried for super crispy skin. Simple…

Riccardo putting the finishing touches on the cherry tarts…

Probably behind the knife and the calculator, a smart phone with Twitter is the most important tool for the chef.. or maybe Neil and Phil were just texting each other…

Pre-service briefing with the floor staff.

The Rockpool sourdough – honey and spelt – freshly baked and served as a single loaf to share with the Rockpool butter…

Canapé
Queensland Spanner Crab, Toast, Tabasco Mayonnaise, Peach Leaf Jelly

A lightly aerated mayonnaise with Tabasco with sauteed spanner crab meat and peach leaf jelly - very subtle flavours and a great start.

Tom all concentrationon the grill. 

Entrée
Spencer Gulf King Prawns with Zucchini and Smoked Tomatoes 

Zucchinis braised with olive oil and garlic, smoked tomatoes with olives, grilled king prawns finished with vinaigrette. A beautiful, simple starter.

A little bit of deep fryer action…

And YUM! Crispy suckling pig!

Main
Suckling Pig with Balsamic Peaches, Cashews and Braised Cavalo Nero

The aforementioned pork with peaches poached in balsamic vinegar and pork fat, with braised cavalo nero and parmesan.

Applying a few final touches before the dishes leave the pass…

Dessert
Australian Cherries and Tasmanian Elderflower

 A simple tart of cherries, frangipane and an elderflower sorbet.. a great finish.

If this has tempted you a little, there are two more pop-up lunches this year on the 9th December and on the 16th December. Call Rockpool on (02) 9252 1888 to book.