Dancing on My Table

A Day of FIRE

Dario Cecchini, artisan butcher from Tuscany, reminded us that our preoccupation with premium tender meats such as fillet coupled with the attitude that ‘the rest (of the carcass) is not my problem’ needs to be addressed. In the past all parts of an animal were treated equally, nothing was wasted. Broth was a saviour, lovingly prepared and tended, made from bones and offcuts. It fed many and was served for several meals.  As he butchered a side of beef and chatted about the food from his native Tuscany, describing it as ‘unadulterated’, Guy Grossi translated. Dario then boned a shank and prepared it for roasting, Cecchini style. In Tuscany many places are far from the coast making salt in times gone by a precious commodity. This tradition sees him mixing Sicilian sea salt with herbs and spices, to make the salt go further, he says; thyme, bay leaf, sage, coriander and juniper, and fennel pollen, to aid digestion. A generous amount of marrow was arranged in the middle of the opened out shank, then the shank was tied up, surrounded with onions and anointed with a glass of olive oil. During 3 hours’ cooking in a moderate oven the marrow melted keeping the meat succulent. Just before serving, a Tuscan trick, a good splash of Vin santo.

FIRE MasterClass Friday 9^th March

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

Collingwood Children’s Farm Abbotsford Melbourne

Dario and the beast

I’m not sure that something described on the menu as PIGS NIPPLES would appeal to everyone, but it certainly intrigued me. To be fair, the menu was shaping up into a culinary adventure, with more than a dozen tastes and textures on each small plate. But don’t think BIG food, shrink it all down, deconstruct, reduce, grate, fluff or foam, and present as microdots, squirts, smears, tiny tumbles, mini cubes and baby crumbles. Like works of art, of course, but it’s food, so tuck in you must. Dunk, slurp, run the finger over the plate. It’s that good. Lift up the wafer of pork crackling, munch to a shattering in your ears, Asian spices tingling the back of your nose. A bed of richest, sticky velvety potato puree. Thin shards of dehydrated carrot barely bathed in the deep-fryer until taught. Milk powder, reduced, caramelised, finished off in beurre noisette, like a scattering of crushed biscuits on the edge of the plate. Crumbled black pudding, meaty, lightly salty. Dense nuggets of fondant parsnip. A whippet of a radish a toddler could grow seemingly just a garnish, but its mustard-hot bite cleans the richness.

And the nipple. Where is it? Like a button of sweetish fat belly pork, panko-crumbed and deep-fried, it’s hidden in the middle of the melange. A discrete bite and its gone.

An exceptional dish, and just one on the menu at The Press Club, Melbourne.

Chef George Calombaris

Address 72 Flinders Street Melbourne

Yippee! I’m on my way to the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. Grotty day in Auckland – another good reason for leaving. Looking forward to dining with Massimo Bottura this evening (he’s from Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena, Italy). And tomorrow, a day of FIRE. Described as ‘an EXTREME one-off, off-site, outdoor and on-the-move twilight MasterClass that focuses on food inspired by fire. See Momofuku’s David Chang sizzle and Rockpool’s Neil Perry go for the burn. From North Carolina pit-master Ed Mitchell to Argentinian asador boys Ben and Elvis from Porteno, we’re going the whole hog.’ Now you’re jealous….

I run small and intimate cooking classes in my home in Northcote Point, Auckland.

Each class covers around 6-8 recipes, and variations or extra recipes are given.

All food is sampled and matching wines are served.

There are giveaways and prizes. New products are sampled.

All eggs are free-range from my own chickens. Lemons and other citrus are from my trees, and herbs and vegetables, well those the chickens haven’t eaten, are from my garden.

It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon – I enjoy it, too!
Contact Julie to register

Cooking Classes – Mid Winter Feast

Saturday 15th or Thursday 20th June

A mid winter feast is just an excuse to have friends around! It doesn’t have to be classic British cooking as in a mid winter Xmas feast – and this won’t be. But it will include great ideas for entertaining, and a delicious menu including comfort foods and seasonal produce.
Oh-la-la …More French with A Trip to Normandy
1.00-4.00pm approximately
$125.00

Thursday 27th or Saturday 29th June

Think Calvados, cider, cream, camembert, coquille St Jacques, crepes (all the c’s!) and galettes! A gorgeous collection, so perfect for this time of year.
And French wines, and gorgeous Calvados, too, and tasting specialties, of course.
1.00-4.00pm approximately
$125.00

General Information

Each class covers around 6-8 recipes, and variations or extra recipes are given.
All food is sampled and matching wines are served.
There are giveaways and prizes. New products are introduced.
All eggs are free-range from my own chickens. In season lemons and other citrus are from my trees, and herbs and vegetables, well those the chickens haven’t eaten, are from my garden.
It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon – I enjoy it, too!

To book a class, email your choice to biuso@clear.net.nz
I’ll reply and confirm there is a space on your chosen class, then once I receive payment, I will confirm your place.

Classes are $125.00 each

Payment can be made to:
Kiwibank
38-9011-0210194-00
J S Biuso

Please put your name and class details as identification

Classes are held at

2 Faulkner Rd
 Northcote Point (7 minutes from the CBD)
Take Onewa exit off Harbour Bridge, then second on left into Queen Street (as if going to the Bridgeway Theatre/Engine Room), then first on the right into Faulkner Road.
There is limited parking in Faulkner Road but plenty at either end of Faulkner Rd in Church Street and Queen Street.

Comments re classes

Hi Julie,
 Many thanks for the wonderful afternoon spent at your home yesterday – and the fabulous food. It was certainly inspirational, introducing me to new foods (I’d never tasted fennel) and has given me some great tips (things I have been doing wrong for years! – like over cooking the garlic!). 
The memory of some of the tastes you presented to us yesterday are still lingering deliciously. 
My family and friends will hopefully benefit from my more adventurous cooking. 
Thanks so much.
Regards 
Carol Lichkus

Hi Julie,

 thank you for the wonderful cooking class on Wednesday. We both really enjoyed the class and I tasted food in a way I never have before. You really emphasized the quality of the food to get the best out of it and I can really see why paying attention to the core product makes all the difference in the taste. The skills you showed were also really useful. Hopefully next year there will be another weekday course I can attend. Thanks again, it was great.
Regards, 
Linda Hopkins

Dear Julie, 

Meryll, Terry and I just wanted to say how much we enjoyed The Long Italian Lunch yesterday!  We enjoyed it all and you were so generous with you time and tips – not to mention all the goodies!!!! 

We are all inspired to cook a little differently now – I was especially intrigued by what you said of the Italian use of maybe max five ingredients a dish. Thank you again for having us in your home and special thanks too to your daughter for making us so welcome – it was a super day!
Kind regards, 
Pamela Kayes.

A big thank you for such a wonderful afternoon yesterday.  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole class and it was great to meet you and Ilaria (who worked tirelessly). I have always been a big fan of yours and admired your flair for food.  It has been the best birthday gift my two girls could have given me and this whole experience has truly inspired me.
Warmest regards, Ruth McWatt