Green Smoothies – local and delicious!

April 13, 2012June 4, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

I’ve been banging on about green smoothie goodness for a while now, and here by popular demand is a post dedicated to the what, why, how and where of it all.

Green smoothies are quite simply the result of blending ripe fruit and raw leafy greens together with water.
I like to add lots of other good things to my smoothies, like chia seeds, LSA mix, coconut oil and flaxseed oil, gubinge and maca powder. These collectively do great things for your system like help lower cholesterol, increase metabolism, maximise nutrient absorption, balance hormones, enhance memory function and much more.

The health benefits of green smoothies have been well documented, but Victoria Boutenko’s book ‘Green for Life’ (and subsequent Raw Family website) is perhaps the definitive guide on the subject.

In Victoria’s own words, green smoothies are good for you because “greens are the most nutritionally dense food available on the planet. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, proteins, and phytonutrients. What better way to consume them than in a delicious green smoothie? The fresh ripe fruits dominate the flavor of the greens and the absence of any fats maximize the absorption of the nutrients. These two factors make the green smoothie the most epic nutritious concoction the world has seen to date. Adding even one cup of green smoothie a day to one’s existing diet can dramatically improve anyone’s health. And the best part is, nearly everyone already has what they need to make a green smoothie sitting around in their kitchen right now!’

Another health benefit of the green smoothie is that unlike juicing, you actually retain and consume the fibre which is essential for a good digestive system and helps eliminate toxins from the colon.

A really handy tool recommended to me by a mate is the iPhone app from Raw Family, which gives you ideas for green smoothie combinations, as well as the nutritional value of each of the ingredients – you can get the app here.

So down the the basics – how do you make a green smoothie?

You’ll need a blender, some water, and whatever (preferably seasonal) fruit and fresh leafy greens you fancy.

The types of greens we eat at home (and grow ourselves) are: spinach, lettuce, bok choy, choy sum, kale, and silverbeet (chard). And if we don’t grow it, we buy it from the lovely folk at Ceres, or at one of our local farmers’ markets – see here for your nearest one. We also like to shop at Organic Gertrude in Fairfield, who are kind enough to provide information on where all their fruit and veg comes from, and you can see how many food miles your goodies travelled to get to you!

You don’t need a big garden to grown your own vegies – friends of ours have built an amazing greenhouse on the balcony of their apartment, and we’ve gone down the permaculture route, using existing wine barrels containing our lime and lemon trees, and have planted all our greens around the base of the citrus plants.

<Insert local produce rant here> I’m passionate about supporting local business and farmers, and avoid buying fruit, vegetables, meat (or dairy if I can help it) from the supermarkets. I’d rather know where my food comes from, and thanks to the most excellent work from the good folk at the Victorian Farmers Market Association, as well as the Locavore Edition with their Field Guide to Victorian Produce, it has never been easier or more enjoyable to connect with your local producers and get your food on the the day it was harvested. There’s also the added bonus of being able to sleep at night, knowing the wonderful people who spent their time growing your food are being fairly paid for doing so. <end rant>

Which fruit you select is entirely up to you, but the ones we have had the best results with include bananas, pineapple, mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, watermelon, and some dates for extra creaminess. We try at all times to utilise what’s in season, with the exception of pineapples and bananas which we use year round.

It’s important not to overdo it on the fruit, since fructose is still sugar – but a few well chosen pieces will have your smoothie tasting super-delicious, and you won’t even realise you’ve just drunk a cupful of spinach. And take it from me, if my 7 year old is happy to drink one of these bad boys every single day, then you won’t have a problem downing some of this green goodness!

It’s usual to start with the fruit, so roughy chop your fruit, only peel the obvious ones like bananas etc, core your apples and pineapple etc, take out pips from peaches and so on. Add fruit to the blender jug with at least 1 cup of water. Now is the time to throw in all your awesome additions like the chia seeds, coconut oil etc. Start blending, and once it’s nice and smooth start adding your spinach, lettuce etc. Cucumber is also a fantastic smoothie ingredient. Again, don’t peel it.

Listed below are some ‘beginner’ combinations to get you started – once you get a feel for it, you’ll know what works and what you like, so just experiment and have fun with it. Just remember to rotate your greens and don’t eat the same ones every day. There are many to choose from, so it isn’t hard to do.

1 cup berries (any kind), 2 cups fresh spinach, 1/4 inch fresh ginger, water

1/2 bunch lettuce, 1 cup strawberries, 2 bananas, water

2 big handfuls mixed baby greens, 1 pears, 1 mango, 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 handful of spinach, 2 bananas, 1 apple, 1 cup water

1 cup spinach and 1 pear, 1 cup water

Once you’ve cut your teeth on these, start getting stuck into the chard, kale, choy sum, etc. You’ll love it!

Some more great recipes from Victoria Boutenko, can be found here. There are literally hundreds of websites dedicated to green smoothie goodness, and everyone has recipes to share so get googling!

Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.veryediblegardens.com/iveg/green-smoothies

http://greensmoothiegirl.com/

http://www.vitamix.com/household/Health/green_smoothie.asp

http://rawfoodhealthwatch.com/raw-food/green-smoothies-recipe/

http://cheekychimpsmoothies.com/green-smoothie-recipis/green-smoothie-recipes/

Greenhouse by Joost – Part II

March 8, 2012June 6, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

The Greenhouse by Joost has been delivered into my lap so to speak – assembled literally outside my building, so that I pass it 3 or 4 times a day. I’ve been delighted to be able to sneak a quick piccolo in each morning before work, and just soak up the green-ness of it all, enjoying the warm welcome of a cheerful team who appear as happy to be there as I am, as well of course as admiring the work of infamous Iron Chef/Perth Greenhouse/Danish master shoulder-rubbing Matt Stone and his killer ink. For a more detailed post on the actual Greenhouse concept see my previous entry here.

Lunch has inspired a second post, just simply because I love it, it’s too pretty not to take pictures of, and I can’t get enough of the place.

We started off with some sublimely refreshing drinks, a house-made lemonade and a ginger ale, served in the ubiquitous jam jars, and decided between us to have the spicy chicken, with quinoa and yoghurt, and the pumpkin, chickpea tagine with green chilli yoghurt.

Both were bursting with flavour, fresh, spicy, healthy and quite perfect in their simplicity. Gorgeous.

Oh, and did I mention you can buy the lovely dishes, coffee cups and glasses at the counter, and take a slice of the green heaven home with you? The philosophy behind the design, according to the man Joost himself, is presenting food in pots and terracotta makes you think back and connect with how your food is grown and where it comes from.

They also have organic cotton t-shirts for sale, emblazoned with ‘green’ messages, including the one I bought which says ‘Imagine buildings that grow food’. Imagine indeed.

I’m going back again tomorrow!

Green Awesomeness at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

March 1, 2012March 5, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

If you’ve been anywhere near Queensbridge Square on the Yarra River this week you would have seen a hive of activity as the Greenhouse by Joost was built for this year’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

Today it is open, and is a magnificent homage to sustainability in its entirety.

From the building materials used, to the food sourcing and production, to its furniture design, it is a lesson in green awesomeness. And the coffee is ACE.

Chef Matt Stone (from the Greenhouse in Perth) will be cooking up a green storm, with a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu using only fresh local ingredients, so local the wheat is being milled on site, and the yoghurt and butter is made from organic milk and cream delivered daily.

There is a gorgeous rooftop garden and bar overlooking the river, full of plants for the kitchen, and herbs line the exterior walls in terracotta pots in a vertical garden. The electricity comes from unrefined canola oil, the walls are formaldehyde-free plywood and the glue is made entirely from soybeans. This place is so sustainable they’re even harvesting human urine to use as crop fertilizer for a farm in Daylesford. I’m probably a little more interested in this than I should be – if you are similarly fascinated, you can read more about this in detail here.

Joost Bakker is the visionary architect of the Greenhouse space, having created the original back in 2008 in Federation Square in Melbourne, and then creating the whole restaurant in Perth.

He is quite simply my HERO, and I’ve never been so proud to be Dutch!!

As anyone who knows me can tell you, my 2 biggest passions are food and sustainability so this has me jumping out of my skin with excitement, much like I did when I first visited the Greenhouse in Perth last year.

The calendar of events for the Greenhouse over the coming weeks is nothing short of senstational, naturally the dinner with great Dane Rene Redzepi is sold out, however there is a veritable smorgasbord of other options to whet your appetite.

I’m booked in for lunch with Rosa Mitchell, for some homestyle Italian cooking on March 14^th.

You can view the whole timetable here.

There’s even a free iPhone app for the MFWF which you can download here.

Get involved Melbourne, this one’s going to be HUGE! Much like my waistline after all the eating I’m going to be doing. Buon appetito, y’all!

Top Ten Desserts for 2011

February 23, 2012March 5, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

You may have noticed we got around a bit last year. My tastebuds had an absolute flogging at the hands of many seriously good offerings, some of which I am going to share with you now, in the form of my Top Ten Desserts for 2011.

Now I know I should give up sugar, or at least cut down (which I have made a concerted effort to do this year) however I freely admit to letting the calorific hair down for these treats and it’s only right you should know about them. They.Were.That.Good. Please enjoy the following food p*rn, in no particular order. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it. And being that one of my New Year’s resolutions is to eat even more locally grown and sourced food, I’ve got a whole lot more foodlove to share from our fair city so stay tuned!

1. Ilona Staller’s Bombe Alaska

2. Rockpool‘s Devil Food cupcake

3. Bistro Guillaume’s giant salted caramel macaron

4. St Katherine’s Mister Whippy

5. Cafe Vue’s Chocolate mousse cake

6. Miami Fontainebleau’s Key Lime Pie

7. Seven Seeds’ Meringue cup cake

8. Sarong Bali’s Duck egg and ginger custard with cashew nut icecream

9. Disney World Resort’s Boardwalk Bakery Red Velvet Cupcake – note the icing to cake ratio here

10. Grossi Florentino’s canoli

And 2 extremely refreshing and delightful beverages we enjoyed regularly (but responsibly of course) were:

Dal Zotto Puccino Prosecco

Rekorderlig Pear Cider

The Sustainable Living Festival, Melbourne

February 20, 2012June 4, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

Birrarung Marr on theYarraRiver in Melbourne was transformed over the weekend into a festival of awesomeness – 2 long rows of marquees displaying unimaginable goodies, winding along the river, and tantalising with the aromas of local, healthy food.

The happens every year in February, and is jam-packed full of fantastic events, speakers, information-sharing and workshops, all well as stalls stocked with new and innovative products and services and people just bursting to share the love.

During the course of 3 hours we saw Perma Pete giving a talk on how to make your own cider, learned that we can plant complimentary herbs around our citrus trees from the folk at http://www.VeryEdibleGardens.com, saw the gorgeous Joyce from http://cyclestyle.com.au/ with her glamorous array of bike accessories, and fell in love with the most stunning Bachhara www.bachhara.com silk kaftans made in Bangladesh from the ladies at http://sevencanaries.com.au/marketplace/sevencanaries/ .

I tried locally-made, cruelty free mineral make up from http://www.adornmineralcosmetics.com.au/ (it was excellent), found sweat-shop-free organic fair-trade undies from Etiko http://www.etiko.com (they were funky!) and got some fantastic solar energy information for our home, as well as beautiful raingarden inspiration from Melbourne Water http://raingardens.melbournewater.com.au/, and picked up my much coveted copy of the Field Guide to Victorian Produce from the Locavore Edition http://www.locavored.com/field-guides/. Make sure you check out their beautiful website!

I also grabbed a rad bumper sticker from the rock chicks Victorian Farmers Market Association at the which is now proudly proclaiming from the rear of my car that ‘I don’t buy food from strangers’. Classic. (photo credit for this particular image goes to VFMA) . We topped this off with a chat to the lovely ladies at making sensational curry mixes right here in Melbourne at No Worries Curries which are going straight into my slow cooker!

And to keep our strength up we visited http://www.misterniceguy.com.au for a spectacular coconut and lime creation, and the lovely folk at AllPress made us a cranking piccolo late, no mean feat considering they were making it in a tent.

We came home energised and excited about all the cool stuff we saw and sampled and inspired by the passion and creativity of all the exhibitors and participants. Mission accomplished!

Akasha Retreat

February 8, 2012February 8, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

2012 has well and truly begun, and one New Year’s Resolution we won’t be breaking is to continue to keep as fit and healthy as we possibly can.

With Christmas and New Year telling the classic story of annual overindulgence, I kickstarted the new year by eliminating all processed food from my diet for the month of January just to prove to myself that it could be done, and lo and behold it was actually LESS work and easier to maintain.

I ate no bread, no biscuits, no cakes, no pasta, nothing canned, or pre-prepared. If it wasn’t fresh, I didn’t eat it. And I learned how to replace sucrose with other healthier options like agave nectar, and glucose, and started making my own healthy sweet treats with nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, coconut butter, and cocoa nibs.

Even better, the husband and 7 year old were LOVING everything I put in front of them. So now of course we can’t go back to our old ways and are making much more from scratch, and continue to source organic and local produce wherever possible.

We are still having our green smoothies every day, which we have been doing now since about September 2011, as it’s just become part of everyday life. The man of the house has taken over smoothie production and now makes enough to take a bottle each to work as well, instead of just starting the day at home with a big glass of green goodness. And you’d be surprised how many raw leafy greens you can get a kid to eat every single day, if you add some pineapple and dates along with your flaxseed, LSA, chia seeds and coconut oil!

Early in January I also decided it would be helpful to take a few days out to to unwind and de-stress, without distractions. To focus on relaxation, pure and simple, the kind where you meditate, read a book, switch off your phone and just BE. (If you’re anything like me, when you’re at home you feel compelled to finish the housework or gardening rather than curling up with a good book!)

So I booked us into the Akasha Retreat Centre in Upper Beaconsfield, which as it turns out, overlooks almost the whole of Melbourne, perched high up on a hill, nestled in amongst huge gum trees.

We arrived on Friday morning and were welcomed by our host Theresa, whose skin and eyes simply glow in testament to the healthy lifestyle she promotes.

We were just in time for meditation, stretching and yoga, which was then followed by a delicious lunch on the terrace in the gorgeous summer sunshine, prepared with eggs straight from the Akasha hens, and loads of fresh homegrown organic veggies.

The afternoon was whiled away reading, chilling out, a session in the ‘detox box’ sauna, then enjoying a fantastic massage from Theresa.

Before we knew it , it was time for dinner, and another wholesome meal, this time stir-fried vegies and tofu in a homemade satay sauce, with brown rice, and fresh fruit to follow.

The second day pretty much followed the same pattern as the first, but this time starting off with a fresh veggie juice, and then a delicious breakfast of brown rice muesli, bircher muesli, nut cream, yoghurt and fruit salad.

I then opted for a Reiki treatment, which had the nett effect of putting me into such a deep meditative state I may have accidentally snored (it was very ladylike, apparently).

Lunch included homemade zucchini soup, homemade bread (which drove us crazy with the gorgeous baking aroma all morning), hommus and salad, and dinner this time was an amazing gluten-free nut loaf, served with yogurt and mint, roasted vegies, as well as a side of homegrown corn and green beans. Each night Theresa would make us a ‘sleepytime’ tea to help unwind before bed.

All our meals were enjoyed outside on the terrace with magnificent views to Westernport Bay, French Island and Phillip Island on our left, and Portsea, Mornington and Port Phillip Bay to the right. The sunsets were nothing short of spectacular, displaying colours and shades in an everchanging show as the sun sank further down, the vast sky full of fiery reds and soft pinks, dotted with silvery streaky clouds.

The resident four-legged friends also made us welcome, a gorgeous golden Retriever named Mishka, who joined us for meditation and yoga each morning, and Puss, the black fluffy man of the house who let everyone know he was the boss, but was so handsome you didn’t really mind. The Akasha goats provided light entertainment, especially when one wandered right up to the house and stuck his head through a hole in the hedge to eyeball us as we wrestled with a challenging jigsaw puzzle (another type of meditation which really worked for me!)

The weekend was a wonderful balm for the soul, free of interruptions and schedules, no rushing from here to there, just taking time out to smell the roses. Or eucalyptus leaves in this case.

Summer in Somers

February 6, 2012February 6, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

For the Australia Day weekend this year, we settled on Somers as our destination. We said goodbye to the kitties, packed up the blender for our green smoothies, and zipped down the freeway to arrive at Pankina at Somers, our rented holiday house, in just over an hour.

Without the madness and traffic jams of the Mornington Peninsula and infinitely easier to get to, Somers is a tiny spot perched on Westernport Bay, serviced by the truly delightful Somers General Store.

Having decided in advance due to the magnificent kitchen at Pankina (not to mention the full set of matching gorgeous crockery, cutlery, glassware and serving platters) that a lamb roast was indeed appropriate for Australia Day celebrations, I set about prepping dinner, including the now famous (in many homes throughout Melbourne, and beyond) roast spuds with semolina and truffle salt from the divine Mish Lilley’s blog MishDelish.

Paolo Vino was on hand of course to ensure we had just enough (several) bottles of fine Victorian Shiraz and Cab Sav to accompany the meal, and another important factor was the gorgeous girlfriends who kept helpfully topping up my glass of bubbles to aid my creative cooking juices.

For dessert we enjoyed fresh blueberries and strawberries, plain yoghurt flavoured with rosewater and vanilla and slightly sweetened with agave nectar, topped with Persian fairyfloss and pistachios.

After a morning run on the beach the next day to pound away the well-deserved (and highly patriotic) hangover, followed by breakfast at the Somers General Store, we thought it would be silly not to take advantage of being a stone’s throw from all the treats of Red Hill, and concluded that a trip to the spa was most definitely in order. A lamb shank pastie at the famous Red Hill Baker for lunch, and we left children with menfolk and entered the sanctum of the Red Hill Endota Spa, where I had quite possibly the best massage of my career, with the lovely Leith. We left having overspent on irresistably gorgeous moisturisers and scrubs, feeling chilled and truly on holiday!

The next day we visited the Coolart historic homestead for a bit of art which even kids loved, thanks to all the vibrant colours and amazing photography, and then crossed the hill to Dromana to while away the late afternoon on the beach, when the crowds had thinned, playing beach cricket, swimming and lazing about, ending up with fish and chips at sunset.

Somers is quiet, unspoilt, perfect for families, and is host to an amazing array of wildlife – in 3 short days we saw blue- tongue lizards, a tawny frogmouth which alighted on our balcony railing, 2 koalas, and dolpins.

It’s magically relaxing but close to gorgeous Chef-hatted restaurants like Montalto and the Long Table in Red Hill, as well as the fantastic Cellar and Pantry for gourmet cheese, wine, bread, and anything else you can think of, and Balnarring is 5 minutes away for supermarkets and other basics.

We can’t wait to come back and we’ve only just left! And special thanks to the lovely Gabi, the owner of Pankina, who left us the most wonderful welcome pack, full of preserves, biscuits, wine, milk, bread, coffee etc and left us wanting for nothing.

St Katherine’s, Kew

January 23, 2012February 2, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

Shane Delia, of Maha fame, opened St Katherine’s with George Colombaris, at 26 Cotham Road, Kew, in early 2011, and no one could have been happier than the locals.

Spacious, with beautiful mosaic blue and red patterned tiles, modern with clever rustic touches, and an open kitchen, it’s a place which is both cool enough for the young and unencumbered, and so family- friendly that when kids order dessert they are ushered down the back to get their own ‘Mr Whippy’ house-made soft-serve.

On the menu (which is constantly being updated as Shane regularly creates new dishes) are a number of staples which you absolutely can’t go past, including the KFC (St Katherine’s Fried Chicken) which comes in a striped red and blue cardboard bucket, and is served with house-made Japanese mayo and BBQ sauce.

My favourite salad of all time is from St Kats: the salad of ancient grains – a bowl of goodness including lentils, almonds, pomegranate seeds, current and coriander , dressed with a red wine vinaigrette. It is both sweet and sour, crispy and crunchy, juicy and satisfying, uber-healthy, and is quite simply out of this world.

The flip side of this are the chips and tarama – resistance is useless: better hot chips you’d be struggling to find anywhere and the housemade tarama is gorgeous.

It would be rude to neglect the Rotisserie, and extremely difficult in any case, with all the meats slowly revolving in front of you, with their irresistible charcoal aroma. From the communal ‘Chef’s Table’ located right in front of the rotisserie, you can you can sit and watch the team in action. It’s hard not to get mesmerised by what’s going on in front of you and forget all about talking to your dining companions.

(Pork lovers note: you can book and pre-order a whole suckling pig for a minimum of 4 people which is served up in 3 different ways and will quite simply BLOW.YOUR.MIND.)

The lamb kibbeh, with ground lamb, burgul, parsley and pine-nuts, is fresh and full of flavour, and from the wood fired oven, the pide with sausage and onion rings is a taste sensation.

And last, but in no possible way least, if dessert is your thing, this is place to bring your sweet tooth for a party it will never forget.

The homemade Mr Whippy selections include toppings like 1. loukoumathes (fried honey puffs) with orange blossom honey, and 2. salted caramel, pomegranate brownie and chocolate pomegranate sauce.

Then there’s the peanut butter parfait, with chocolate sorbet, baklava crumbs, orange blossom foam, and that’s only half of the dessert menu.

These are temptations worth driving across town for, and you’ll have to keep coming back until you’ve tried all of them.

The atmosphere at St Katherine’s is energetic, bustling and welcoming all at once. It’s always full without being crowded, and you don’t have to shout to be heard. And no matter how busy it is, the food is never far away once you’ve ordered, and you’re always treated with a friendly smile.

The staff here are passionate and knowledgeable about the food, they are bright, happy, and genuine. We always leave feeling special and I love that. You could say I’m a fan. www.stkatherines.com

Villa Gusto – La Dolce Vita

January 10, 2012January 11, 2012 | GastronoMel - Melissa Brauer

Around a sweeping bend on a road in the Buckland Valley (near Bright, about 3.5 hour’s drive from Melbourne) nestled under Mount Buffalo, you’ll find Villa Gusto – a little slice of Italy right here in Australia.

Offering divine luxury accomodation, taking inspiration from southern Italy and filled with gorgeous rich tones, authentic tapestries and centuries-old antiques (and Bvlgari toiletries in the bathroom), Villa Gusto has 7 suites to choose from, all looking out over different parts of the garden, with views to the majestic mountain above.

The ornamental garden also includes a large chook pen (nicknamed the Penthouse) full of lovely brown hens who obligingly lay their eggs for your breakfast, as well as a big organic veggie patch, overseen by a super-friendly lady by the name of Signorina Fellini, a large silky tabby-cat.

We arrive for dinner promptly, as our host Colin has advised us the meal begins at 7pm sharp. If you’ve had a wander around the garden or taken a seat on the terrazzo beforehand to take in the view, it’s likely he’ll have offered you a pre-dinner drink, and some Prosecco is definitely in order.

The King Valley wine region is right on our doorstep here, and its cool, even climate is perfect for growing fabulous Italian varietals like Nebbiolo, Barbera, Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio, Vin Santo and of course Prosecco. The first Australian-made Prosecco was in fact produced right here, at Dal Zotto Winery, and it’s easily one of the best we’ve had. Similarly one of the loveliest Sangiovese we’ve had the pleasure to imbibe comes from just down the road at Whitfield, courtesy of the delightfully affable Fred Pizzini and the team at Pizzini Wines.

But I digress. The dinner menu at Villa Gusto is thus: 4 courses, predetermined by seasonal availability, containing all locally- sourced ingredients, and based on traditional, rustic Italian fare, specifically from the south of Italy, and accompanied, if you wish (we wished), by matching wines.

We were treated to an apertura of shellfish broth, a recipe that had been passed down through the generations of one particular family in Amalfi, since 1864. This was a mouthwatering combination of vongole (pippies), mussels, a large bug tail, and a ladleful of delicate brodo. Even our non-shellfish-eating dining companion was moved to down this bowlful of goodness. This was followed by a housemade canneloni filled with local smoked trout from Harrietville, dill sauce, with black truffle (hello!) and flavoured with a splash of Vermentino, a white Italian varietal. A gorgeous combination of flavours, and the canneloni was a perfectly bitey aldente.

Secondi arrived – pollo di latte, which is quite simply, chicken in milk. But a Millawa free range chicken it was, and slow cooked all day so that it simply fell away from the bones, and served with a crunchy, crumbed eggplant slice, and some fresh steamed greens. There was a hint of chilli which warmed the cockles of my heart, and when enjoyed with a 2009 Vinea Marson Sangiovese from Heathcote, had the tastebuds doing the happy dance.

Dolci was a delightful combination of naughty and nice – some fresh local berries and nectarines, served with a canoli filled with local ricotta flavoured with limoncello (why not?) and a peach and nectarine gelato.

All the courses were spaced beautifully, leaving enough time between each for pause, reflection, conversation and digestion. The portions were perfect, the wines thoughtfully matched, and complimented nicely by some Sinatra swing, which had us all swaying and crooning (quite badly) by the end.

Whilst you can make a dinner booking without staying the night (the restaurant seats 22 comfortably), it’s hard to resist the allure of wandering down the hallway to your room to arise the next morning for breakfast at the very civilised hour of 9am to velvety poached pears, local yoghurt from the Myrtleford Dairy and freshly poached googs, with cherry tomatoes and asparagus picked from the garden, washed down with an espresso. La dolce vita indeed.

http://www.villagusto.com.au/

http://www.dalzotto.com.au/

http://www.pizzini.com.au

http://www.brightvictoria.com.au/