Learning from the best
“The etiquette is not to wait for everyone’s meals to arrive.”
The whispered advice of my next-door diner may be cause for angst at the Post Institute, but at La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, dining graces are occasionally forced to play second fiddle to the joy of eating.
“We respect the food and the chef so we’re expected to start straight away before it gets cold.”
In this case, it’s a bit of a moot argument as the chicken galantine on my plate is already cool to the touch, but the point is clear: these folks are serious about their nosh (yet are pleasantly free of any pretension or uppity-ness).
Originally established in Burgundy during the 13th century and resurrected in 1950, La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is a society dedicated to the preservation of fine dining traditions.
For this event, the West Australian chapter – referred to as a bailliage – of La Chaine has organised for five of its best chefs to join forces with Challenger TAFE hospitality students to cook and serve a five-course meal at the school’s Quinlan’s Restaurant-cum-training-facility with each chef in charge of a particular course.
From the students’ perspective – this exercise provided invaluable hands-on experience and the chance to learn from some of the local scene’s shiniest stars. For the diner: a progressive dinner that called in at some of Perth’s best neighbourhood bistros (and derivatives thereof) on the one tank of gas.
The evening-proper was kick-started by Soren Korberstein of George Street Bistro who prepared the aforementioned cold starter.
Ex-1907 and soon-to-be Wild Poppy maestro Graeme Shapiro and his silky just-set sugar-cured salmon followed before Bouchard head chef Todd Stuart combined slices of juicy smoked duck breast with deeply-flavoured, bone-out links of twice-cooked ox tail to salivating effect.
Scott O’Sullivan’s dessert assiette finished the night on a high and prompted much debate over which morsel was the standout sweet. For my money, it was a toss-up between the Red Cabbage signature Black “Cherry Ripe” Cheesecake and a luxuriously silken coffee parfait, but with the exception of the rhubarb tart (hey, I grew up in an Asian household – rhubarb was nowhere to be seen come dessert time, let alone anywhere on our food pyramid), all were unequivocally FTW.
Bookending the evening were the canapés and petit fours of Challenger TAFE chef Phil Westwood – each mouthful a vote of confidence for the future of the state’s hospitality industry, as were the friendly, maroon-jacketed wait staff who completed service efficiently and unobtrusively.
With La Chaîne operating on a two strikes and you’re in policy (pending getting sponsorship from two existing members), only one question remains – when’s the next do?
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