Black Caviar: Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup 2014 preview

Beer

I attended the Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup preview dinner courtesy of Melbourne Racing Club and Haystac.

Well. Hello! My month’s absence was mostly an unintended hiatus. I can’t even really say that I was busy? We returned home from our holiday, I hung out at home for a bit, went back to work, and blogging just went on the backburner (much like editing holiday photos oyyyyy).

However, one thing I did do in the past month was this dinner at Caulfield Racecourse.

Now I do have a confession to make. 10+ years in Melbourne, and despite living not particularly far from the Flemington Racecourse, I have never yet been to the races. But that is changing this year. Thanks to Haystac I’m heading to the Caulfield Cup next weekend, and I also attended this preview dinner for the Black Caviar restaurant at Caulfield Racecourse.


Soft goats curd with edible soils and heirloom carrots

Dinner began with some pretty damn fancy canapes – this was a soft goats curd with edible soils and heirloom carrots. The goats curd was relatively mild, and its creaminess and slight muskiness complemented the soil element, which was made with mushrooms and olives.

Sashimi grade tuna with textured green apple and sevruga Caviar

The second canape was this pretty sashimi grade tuna. On top of the diced tuna was an green apple salad, apple caviar, some green apple and wasabi sorbet and it was topped with a sevruga caviar. Very fresh with a touch of sweetness and spiciness.

Table arrangement

After champagne and canapes, we moved into the restaurant kitchen where Chef Ian Curley (from the European) did a cooking demonstration for us while he cooked our main course: John Dory with an oyster and mussel escabeche.

Olive oil

This is the escabeche – which a whole bottle of olive oil went into. Wowee.

Fish cooking

The John Dory fillets were simply fried and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Plating up

And it was plated up on a quenelle of mashed potato, flavoured with smoked eel.

Fricassee of John Dory with Oyster and Mussel escabeche

Tadah! Fricasse of John Dory with oyster and mussel escabeche. All kinds of deliciousness. This was a really good Spring dish – light (if we ignore all that olive oil) and fresh but still with lots of flavour.

Crown Golden Ale

Along with a glass of Chardonnay, we drank Crown Golden Ale, a new ale that was launched this year in the Crown line.

Rhubarb and ginger pudding with mint caramel ice-cream

Dessert was a rhubarb and ginger pudding with mint caramel ice cream. A comfort dessert, and very enjoyable.

Crown Ambassador

Dessert was accompanied by tastings of two limited edition Crown Ambassador vintage ales. We sampled a vintage from 2009 and one from 2012. The Crown Ambassador series are beers that have been specifically produced to be unique and specific to that year. They can also be cellared, and letting them age for a few years brings out more in them. While both had sweet malt and caramel notes, the 2009 one was richer and more complex. They’re not beers that I would have had the chance to try normally, so I feel privileged to be able to sample them.

Herbs

Now to everyone heading to the races this season – have fun! And uhhhh what on earth should I wear??