We are thrilled to have had Mathew Hart, Executive Chef at Balgownie Estate on board for Food for Thought Melbourne. The event was held last night at Central Pier Docklands. As part of the six course degustation guests were treated to a ‘smoking hot’ dish of smoked spiced spring chicken, sticky apricot chutney and sage thyme jus created by Mathew.

Prior to the event Mathew kindly took some time to chat with us about; his support of the Foundation, relationship with stroke, the Yarra Valley and his cooking style.

In February 2012, Mathew joined the dynamic team at Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort & Spa as Rae’s Executive Chef. He has worked in kitchens in South Australia, Melbourne and the United Kingdom. He has professional experience in some the valley’s more notable restaurants including The Vines, Chateau Yering and Tokar Estate. It is certainly safe to say that Mathew is somewhat of a Yarra Valley connoisseur!

Why did you decide to support the National Stroke Foundation at Food for Thought?

There are a lot of the charities that I would like to get involved in. I think it’s important to do what you can to support research and other families who might be struggling. It sounds like such a great event; not only is it for a good cause but it also a night of reflection and celebration.

Do you have any personal connection with stroke?

My friend’s wife had a stroke last year. She was in here early thirties. Fortunately she is okay now.

You are a specialist in Yarra Valley produce. What do you consider signature produce that represents the valley?

I am very keen to use lots of local growers and suppliers. Brads zucchini flowers are quite big and everyone is getting them in the city now, which is great. There are also lots of fruits and berries out and about. We have our own veggie patch at Balgownie Estate and use a lot of those vegetables in our recipes.

The dish you have chosen to cook at Food for Thought is very interesting. Is there a particular reason that you chose it?

One of our signature dishes is wine smoked beef. We are on a vineyard so when all of the grapes are off we can take the clippings and use them for smoking. It’s a new concept that we brought in since I have been there. If you choose the beef it comes out smoking on the table!

A song that you like to listen to when you are preparing food?

Warren G, Regulate

Balgownie Estate
Melba Highway
Yarra Glen VIC 3775
www.balgownieestate.com.au
+61 3 97300774

If you have taken time to explore Melbourne’s lovely laneways you most likely would have stumbled upon the iconic Gingerboy sign nestled in Crossley Street. Behind the vibrant, fluoro sign is the renowned restaurant of the same name.

Food for Thought chef Leigh Power is Head Chef at Gingerboy. His professional experience is diverse and whilst he has a background in classic European cooking (he worked at The Treasury, Melbourne) he has always had a passion for Asian flavours. Fittingly Leigh worked for two years as Sous Chef at Gingerboy and in 2011 was promoted to Head Chef.

Leigh took a moment to chat with us about why he has chosen to support the Foundation and the foods that he loves. He has even shared a handy cooking tip and recipe. Thanks Leigh!

Is there a particular reason you are drawn to the National Stroke Foundation?

Yes, my Grandfather had a stroke a far while ago. Fortunately he is okay and still alive but I have certainly seen the negative effects of stroke. It has been very hard for my Grandfather. I hope that I never have to live through anything like that.

What inspires you when you are developing recipes?

Well the food here at Gingerboy is based on hawker markets and hawker stalls throughout Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. I have always had a passion for Asian flavours (even though my background is in European cooking). Most recently I spent time in Spain. The food there was amazing so I have tried to draw a lot from the Spanish food. It’s the freshness of their food that I love, especially the seaside restaurants in San Sebastian. I found the pinchos and tapas to be so colourful and I think that the Gingerboy food is certainly like that.

A food that inspires you is… soy.

What dishes get your top recommendation on the Gingerboy menu?

There are a few things on here that I really love. I love slow cooked food, so the duck leg is slow braised. The ox cheek that is on now is really beautiful too, it’s marinated for 24 hours.

Where do you source your products?

We try and source most of our produce locally as we want to promote the sustainability of Victorian farmers. We aim for mostly Australian produce and we are trying to implement that with our wine list. We even have a Gingerboy Pinot from a maker in Geelong.

Do you have a handy cooking tip for our readers?

Yes I have an easy one for avocados: If you want to cut your avocado before it is time to serve keep the stone and put it back in the avocado. This will stop the avocado from oxidising because the stone takes on the air in the actual avocado.

A song that you like to prepare food to is… Foo Fighters Generator

Gingerboy
27/29 Crossley Street Melbourne VIC 3000
www.gingerboy.com.au
(03) 9662 4200

Soy cured ocean trout, tumeric, coconut caramel and pickled daikon

This dish has become a bit of a gingerboy signature, the soy cures the trout nicely over night. The trout melts in your mouth as the fat makes it nice and creamy to eat. The dressing uses fresh tumeric which adds a great colour and flavour to this dish.

Serves 4 as a banquet

Ocean trout
600 g ocean trout filet, skin of and deboned
600 ml light soy sauce
4 star anise, lightly toasted
3 lemons, zested and juiced
4 spring onions, white end only washed and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
30 g ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon castor sugar
Tumeric, coconut caramel
150 g palm sugar, grated
80 ml water
60 ml shiso vinegar
150 ml coconut cream
10 g tumeric, peeled and finely chopped
6 spring onions, white end only and finely sliced
3 large green chillis, finely sliced
80 ml lime juice
2 pinch’s sea salt
Pickled chinese radish
1 small white radish, peeled
1 cup coriander leaves, picked and washed
250 ml sichuan pepper pickle

Ocean trout

Place the ocean trout into a small deep tray, then in a mixing bowl place the rest of the ingredients and let it sit for 10 minutes so the flavours can infuse.

The ocean trout will take 20 – 24 hours to cure, so pour the liquid over the top. It should be covered with the curing liquid if so cover with cling film and place in the fridge, if it is not covered completely with liquid you will need to pull it out after 10 hours and flip the trout over. Once cured take the trout out of the marinade and let it sit on a clean tray ready to be sliced. Set up a chopping board and place the trout down and using a very sharp knife, slice gently about 1 - 2mm in thickness then lay it down on the tray. Once sliced cover with glad wrap and reserve on the fridge until needed.

Tumeric coconut caramel

Place the palm sugar in a pot with the water and put it on to the stove on a medium heat. The sugar will turn to a nice golden caramel which takes about 6 – 8 minutes, then add the turmeric and chillis and wait for 30 seconds before adding the coconut cream and shiso vinegar. Bring back to a gentle simmer then turn it off as you need to melt the caramel back down, take of the heat and reserve on the side. Once cool add the lime juice, salt and spring onions.
Pickled chinese radish

Peel the outside skin of the radish and discard, then using the peeler peel the radish from top to bottom in to a bowl, you should end up with ribbon looking pieces of radish. Place them into a bowl and then pour the pickle liquid over the top, and let it sit on the side for about 20 minutes.

To serve

Place 8 -10 slices of ocean trout on the plate in a neat circle, then 2 tablespoons of tumeric, coconut caramel over the top and around the trout. Mix the coriander through the radish then place neatly in the middle of the trout.

If you wander along quiet, leafy Drummond Street Carlton you will find the elegant, unassuming and award winning restaurant Embrasse. Embrasse is a French term that literally means ‘embrace’. This meaning perfectly sums up the way in which head chef and co-owner Nicolas Poelaert approaches his profession, with modest love, dedication and passion.

Nicolas’ experience as a chef is ridiculously impressive having worked in some of the world’s best restaurants in France, Scotland, London and Australia. This includes time at Michel Bras’ Three Michelin Star restaurant in southern France, Laguiole (be sure to Google Laguiole when you have a moment for some beautiful visuals!)

Nicolas will be creating the all important final course of the evening at Food for Thought - dessert! Nicolas kindly took some time to chat with us about his; career, love of foraging for edible wild flowers and herbs and his personal connection to stroke. He has also shared his father’s onion soup recipe with us. It is very simple to make and looks to be the perfect dish to warm our cockles during the winter weather.

Why did you decide to participate in Food for Thought?

It is very hard to make a choice about which charity to support as there are so many different causes in the world to be involved in. I think that a stroke is really one of those things that can happen to anyone, young or old. It can happen to me. It can happen to my wife and my son. It can happen to anyone. When I first started in Australia I had a very close friend who suffered a stroke. We also had a young chef when I was working in the south of France with Michel Bras who had a stroke while he was swimming at the beach. He ended up as a paraplegic as he was taken away with the water and hauled over the rocks. It is all so very unfortunate.

How have you found opening your own restaurant?

I had been a chef for the last fifteen or sixteen years. When you are just a chef all you need to concentrate on is cooking. When you are an owner you have to look after your staff because you really can’t do anything without staff. Looking after your customers is an important thing too. You also have to make sure that there is toilet paper; that the delivery of cheese arrived; that the delivery of fish arrived and of course the wine. It is not just about cooking. It is everything.

Is there a particular moment that you decided you wanted to be a chef?

I still think about being a chef. I still think every day that I want to be a chef. If I am plating up a dish and I know it is really good beef; and I know it is really good pork; and I know it is really good carrot; and I know it is a really good herb; I just know this is good. It is an honest and humble dish. I know it is good and I get butterflies. That is pretty much all I can do as a chef. I still love it.

Are there any particular ingredients that you like to use in your cooking?

Yes vegetables are a big part of who we are and what we do, herbs and flowers in particular. We work with different farms, different spaces in Victoria where they grow organic or non-organic produce. We don’t have one particular vegetable supplier. Farmers call us and say what they have and that helps us to determine our menu. We also go to the market about three of four times a week. We grow some herbs and flowers ourselves. I also go foraging every morning before work and pick a lot of wild herbs and flowers when they are around. We work closely with the seasons and Mother Nature.

Do you take much inspiration from all of the places you have lived?

I think so. But really I still source a lot of inspiration from the first place I worked as an apprentice, in the north of France. The restaurant was called La Meunerie. I also take inspiration from Michel Bras. It is all about the philosophy of the dish that is important. It’s the purity and the freshness of the dish. It’s the approach to the vegetables, herbs and flowers. We often design a dish as we are coming back from the market. In the past I have worked next to a dishwasher which was inspiring. When someone dropped a dirty plate I would get ideas from looking at all the pretty colours on the finished dish.

A song that inspires your cooking…

Anything by the Kings of Leon. I particularly like their last album.

Embrasse
312 Drummond St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053
03 9347 3312
www.embrasserestaurant.com.au

My father’s onion soup

We have used this soup recipe many times at Embrasse especially on our Sunday lunch menu. This soup has always been a favourite of my and reminds me of my childhood.

You can make a large batch of this recipe and freeze it for at least 6 months.

4 to 6 portions.
Put a large soup pot on a very low gas.

Start peeling and slicing 15 large brown onion, 6 medium size potatoes, 1 garlic glove.

Start browning the onion in the hot pot with a little olive oil and a table spoon of caster sugar. Do not cover.
Cooked slowly until brown, this process may take a while, the onions will start melting slowly and their natural juice will evaporate.

When the onions juices have completely evaporated, keep stirring regularly until their colour change to a nice golden colour.

Add the potatoes, the garlic and a spring of thyme, cover with water or chicken stock and cook on a low gas for 40 mins.

When the potatoes are cooked, switch off the gas and start blitz the soup with a hand blender until a smooth texture.

The soup will always taste better the next day.

Back at home, my mum and dad will always served this soup with gruyere cheese and crispy sourdough bread.

Hi, my name is Anna Hickey (Marketing and Publicity Coordinator at the Foundation) I thought I would take you through a bit of the behind the scenes action for Food for Thought Melbourne.

What is Food for Thought you ask? It is a key fundraising event on our calendar. It is an exclusive evening of fine dining. Or as we like to articulate: a feast for the senses – sight, sound, touch, smell and of course taste.

We have been running Food for Thought for the last three years and it is now held in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart.

Melbourne is first-up this year and is set to be held on Thursday 24th May. We have had a wonderful response to this event and have sold out of tickets! What a brilliant outcome.  If you haven’t bought tickets to Melbourne have no fear, there is always Hobart (19th July) or Sydney (4th October).

We really do have some amazing chefs lined up for Melbourne. I have been busy over the last week or so interviewing them all. I can personally verify (on-top of their unbelievable credentials) that guests are set to experience a six course degustation bursting with creative culinary delights!

So who are the chefs?

Michael Fox Henry & The Fox
Mathew Hart Balgownie Estate
Riccardo Momesso Sarti Restaurant
Scott Pickett Estelle Bar & Kitchen
Nicolas Poelaert Embrasse Restaurant
Leigh Power Gingerboy

When you have a moment do check-out the chef’s respective websites, peruse their delicious menus and perhaps book a table for a special meal. I ducked out for lunch at Henry & The Fox last week with some colleagues and was delighted with the food that Michael Fox made. This is not surprising though given that he was awarded the The Age Young Chef of the Year (2011) award. I am looking forward to visiting the other restaurants for a meal soon.

I am thrilled to let you know that we are partnering with MiNDFOOD magazine as part of Food for Thought. MiNDFOOD note on their website they are a publication for: “Smart Thinkers - news, society, health and wellness, environment, culture, travel and food, shopping, lifestyle and much more”. I recommend that you follow them online for some great tips on life. I recently made a Chermoula Snapper Fillets with Fregola Salad. It is an autumn dish on their website. It was easy, delicious and fresh. Spot on.

In the lead up to the event we will be sharing; recipes and tips from the chefs, articles relating to senses from MiNDFOOD and a few more surprises along the way!

So as you can see, there are lots of exciting things in the mix at NSF.

Stay tuned for more Food for Thought updates.

If you have any questions please contact me on:ahickey@strokefoundation.com.au

Meet Sarah Cullen
At just 14 Sarah collapsed with a stroke during a school game of hockey. After an agonising challenge to regain her motor and speech skills she suffered a second stroke at the tender age of 16.

The two strokes threatened to cut short her education, independence, and dreams of a career. But fear gave way to determination – Sarah finished year 12 and has a degree in science.

“I have come to see my stroke as a gift. Nobody would ever want to have a stroke but it has made me do and experience things I never would have otherwise.”

Sarah is one of the stroke survivors whose strength and courage will be celebrated at the Food for Thought Sydney event.

More about Food for Thought Sydney

Eight life-size, thought provoking portraits of stroke survivors will be featured at an amazing dinner hosted by Joanna Saville, co-editor of the SMH Good Food Guide and the Director of the International Food Festival and featuring eight of Sydney’s best chefs.

Food for Thought combines the best food and photography and celebrates the lives of stroke survivors. As one survivor said “I live my life. Not the one that stroke gave me.”

Join Adriano Zumbo, Alessandro Pavoni, Colin Fassnidge, Giovanni Pilu, Leanne Beck, Riccardo Momesso, Richard Ptacnik and Soren Lascelles as they combine their creative expertise to serve up an unforgettable seven course degustation menu, with complementing wines.  During the dinner guests will be treated to a cooking demonstration by each of the chefs who explain how to recreate their dishes.

Food for Thought is being held at Doltone House in Pyrmont Point NSW on Thursday, 13th October 2011.

www.foodforthoughtsydney.com.au

Ishbel was just seven years old when she suffered a massive stroke in 2003.

She had fallen out of bed when her father found her in the middle of the night. No one knows how long it had been since Ishbel’s stroke so clot-clearing medication was not an option.

With no more warning than Ishbel’s sudden and severe headache on that hot summer’s day before she went to sleep, Ishbel’s life took an unexpected turn. To this day, and despite many tests and checks, there is no explanation for the stroke.

The stroke left Ishbel paralysed on the right side of her body, unable to talk and walk and she spent months in and out of hospital, although she remembers being allowed to go home for Christmas: “That was the best, not to have to spend Christmas in hospital,” she says.

Right-handed, Ishbel has managed to teach herself how to write with her left hand but has muscle constriction on the right which can be painful.  She remains resolutely upbeat despite the fact she can’t run – she can, after all, swim with the best of them and walks with the aid of a splint.

Her mum says it was the seven-year-old Ishbel herself who led her through the recovery process. “I am dragged on by Ishbel every step of the way”.  Those first days and months after the stroke were a haze of “just getting through”. “I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself or even Ishbel”. “There was just so much to do. There wasn’t time to reflect. We just had to manage.”

Overall, her mum says she feels her family is “just incredibly lucky to have Ishbel with us today”. She insists Ishbel’s story is one of true survival and that her young daughter has shown courage and strength beyond her years. “I feel incredibly proud that she has survived everything in her own way and with an amazing resilience and determination. I thought at one stage that our worlds might shrink but in actual fact I’d say that my perspective has enlarged.”

Ishbel herself wants to work in a hospital one day. “I’m not sure doing what but they just do such amazing work and I want to be a part of that.” Her options are still open – the year 9 St Vincent’s College student was recently treated to a personal master class with Sydney chef Simon Sandall from Opera Point Events Just ahead of the National Stroke Foundation’s annual Stroke of Art – Food for Thought event, Ishbel spent an afternoon with Simon at the main kitchen of the Opera House.

To see a Video shot at the Food for Thought exhibition.

Matt Lee Photography: food for thought

Cooking can be an activity that presents challenges for some stroke survivors, but it remains one of life’s necessities and, for some, great pleasures. Depending on where you are at in your stroke recovery journey you may be feeling frustrated at not cooking the way you used to. After the terrific response we received from readers when we recently posted our NSF colleague Emma’s recipe for a one-pot dish we thought we’d have a peek at the web for ideas other people have had – and kindly shared – about how to get around in the kitchen when your body responds differently to the way it used to.

TIPS:

• Bench tops: If bench tops are at an inconvenient height and modification is too expensive a butcher’s block or similar, height-adjustable table can be helpful for food preparation.

• Knife: A rocking knife can make it easier to chop with one hand.

• Chopping Board: Securing a chopping board to the bench prevents slip.

• Bowls & Pots: Bowls and pots can be secured to a surface with non-slip pads.

• Reading: If reading fine print is a problem, you can organise to have spices and other small items placed into a bigger container with instructions or use-by dates, etc, copied in large print.

• Frozen Veges: Frozen vegetables can be a healthy alternative when chopping is too difficult.

• Regularly used foods:  spreads, bread, cereal, can be more accessible if they already opened and at eye height.

• Oven mits & Pan holders: Make sure oven mitts and pan holders are in clear view.

• Preparation: Look for recipes that healthy and can be prepared in large amounts without using too many pots (such as casseroles and soups).

• Safety: We think safety is paramount, whether you go back to cooking hot meals or even just a snack for yourself, so if you can, have someone look over your kitchen for any potential hazards.

Happy eating!

Go to an Independent Living Centre for modified utensils