Australia Week Moscow - May 2005

Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from Dining Downunder were invited to host an Australian Cuisine Promotion at the RadissonSAS Slavyanskaya Hotel, Moscow from the 10th – 20th May 2005 as part of Australia Week in Moscow festivities.

Australia Week Moscow is the most important trade event in 2005 for Australian businesses exploring growth opportunities in Russia. The week was a unique opportunity for Australian business to promote and demonstrate a variety of quality Australian goods and services to interested Russian importers and business people. Events combined an exhibition, networking receptions and cultural events.

Australia Week was officially opened by the Australian Governor General, Michael Jeffery and acting Mayor of Moscow, Yaleriy Shantsov on Tuesday the 10th May. As part of the Governor Generals speech, Michael Jeffery said

“I also hope you will sample some of the magnificent Australian cuisine and wine available in this hotel’s Talavera Restaurant during the Australian Food and Wine Week. Two of Australia’s finest chefs (Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie) have come to Moscow to prepare a selection of dishes using Australian ingredients that are renowned for their quality, taste and purity.”

Read the Governor General’s full speech here.

After the official opening, the Australian Governor General met with both us to discuss how indigenous ingredients provide positive financial and cultural benefits to Aboriginal communities around Australia.

The first event on the Australia Week in Moscow calendar was a cocktail reception for over 450 guests of the Australian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Mr Robert Tyson. The reception kicked off with a number of dances by Aboriginal dance group Descendance and then came the food. With over two days to prepare the reception included various native inspired Australian canapés together with fresh Moreton Bay Bugs, a carving station of Australian grain feed Black Angus Beef, mini lamb burgers with bush tomato relish and QLD king prawns with Mountain Pepper BBQ sauce. On the sweet side there was Wattleseed Pavlova with wild fruits, Rainforest parfait and Chocolate wild peppermint mousse with riberry confit to name just a few. Days after the reception event, both Vic and I were still receiving compliments.

From Wednesday onwards Australian cuisine was available in both the Talavera and Amadeus Restaurants. In Talevera Restaurant, which usually features fine dining Mediterranean cuisine, we offered an Australian à la carte menu with dishes such as kangaroo larb, paperbark smoked borscht and grilled barramundi with lemon myrtle mash and quandong confit. Each evening over 50 guests (20% over average numbers) experienced our unique menu.

Apart from fine dining Australian style, a more casual Australian menu was offered in both Cafe Amadeus and in the Lobby Lounge. The most popular dishes were the Wildfire spiced wontons with bush tomato chutney; Red Desert Dusted steak sandwich with Illawara plum sauce and beer battered barramundi with chips and wild lime tartare.

Another highlight of the Australia Week Moscow was the Australian Brunch in Cafe Amadeus, which featured crowd-pleasing performances by Aboriginal dance group Descendance on Sunday the 15th May. The Australian inspired menu included a wide selection of salads and seafood together with soups and an array of other hot dishes. Three live cooking stations offered pasta, omelettes and crepes all with Australian native ingredients. Guests were able to sample a wide range of authentic Australian dishes – paperbark smoked beetroot salad, wattleseed duck with quandongs and Wattleseed Pavlova with wild fruit coulis.

Apart from the Australian Food and wine being offered, Austrade hosted a 4 day exhibition for Australian companies looking to export their products to Russia. The full list of participants can be found here.

The week long event was sponsored by Emirates Airlines who provided return airfares from Australia to Moscow.

Dining Downunder would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the staff at the RadissonSAS Moscow and we would like to offer special thanks to the following people who really made the event a compete success;

Joergen Rathjen, General Manager, RadissonSAS Moscow
Tony Higginbotham, Executive Chef, RadissonSAS Moscow
Björn Hörberg, Executive Sous Chef, RadissonSAS Moscow
Gregory Klumov, Senior Trade Commissioner, Austrade Moscow
Natasha Smirnova, Business Development Manager, Austrade Moscow
Dan Tebbutt, Consultant, Austrade Moscow

Regent Seven Seas Mariner - November 2005

When the Regent Seven Seas Mariner recently visited Australian shores, Australian celebrity chefs Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the cooking show, Dining Downunder ™ were invited on board as part of the Regent Spotlight on Wine and Food from the 8th to the 11th of November 2005.

During the five day cruise from Sydney to Hobart, Chefs Vic and Benjamin held a series of cooking classes using native Australian ingredients in every day cooking. Each of the cooking classes consisted of two dishes which were then available each evening in the main restaurant, The Compass Rose.

The Australian menu onboard included:

• Creamy cauliflower soup with West Australian marron scented with lobster oil and Oz Lemon

• Seared kangaroo fillet with Yakajirri rosti, aniseed myrtle mushrooms, quandong confit and crispy enoki

• Lemon Aspen Sorbet

• Wildfire spiced Tasmanian ocean trout fillet on paperbark smoked kipfler mash topped with pineapple and riberry salsa

• Rolled Wattleseed pavlova with wild rosella coulis

Whilst onboard the Mariner, Vic and Benjamin also presented an Australian Steakhouse menu in the La Veranda restaurant, which served a range of Australian steaks and game meats including kangaroo loin, emu steaks and crocodile tail served with native flavoured sauces including a sweet Kakadu plum sauce, Mountain Pepper BBQ Sauce and a wattleseed mushroom sauce. As many of the guests were American, Vic and Benjamin also served up an Australian style pork ribs with Illawarra plum sauce which proved quite popular.

During the cruise down the east coast of Australia, all Australian menus was accompanied a selection of both white and red wine by Wolf Blass. The chefs were also joined by Wolf Blass’s Chief Winemaker, Chris Hatcher who conducted two very popular presentations on Australian wines.

The Regent Seven Seas Mariner is the world’s first all-suite, all-balcony ship, as well as the first to offer dining by the famed Le Cordon Bleu® of Paris in Signatures, one of four single, open-seating restaurants. Catering to only 700 guests, she is one of the most spacious cruise ships afloat. For more information on Regent Seven Seas Cruises visit www.rssc.com

After arriving in Hobart, Vic and Benjamin spent time travelling around Tasmania visiting food producers, restaurants and wineries sampling the best food and wine Tasmania has to offer as an exploratory visit for the 2nd series of Dining Downunder™.

Australian culinary training event at the Casino Zollverein - April 2004

Australian Celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the popular Australian cooking show Dining Downunder ™ were invited to Casino Zollverein in the town of Essen (nearby Düsseldorf), Germany for a 1 day training course on using Australian native foods.

The Casino Zollverein is acclaimed but for its world reknown restaurant which serves, so called New World Cuisine. The restaurant is considered the “best restaurant in the entire Ruhr-area” – in a place full of contradiction: The Casino Zollverein in the former compressor-hall with its 6-meter high concrete-pillars uniquely combines modern interior design with rough industrial charm.

To add to the kitchen brigade’s vast knowledge, Vic and Benjamin spent the day teaching the Casino Zollverein chefs about the unique flavours of Australian cuisine. In a combined effort with the 14 chefs in the kitchen, we prepared dishes such as Paperbark smoked snapper, Chicken Supreme with kumara and Lemon myrtle sprinkle (Oz lemon); Wattleseed pannacotta and gumleaf sorbet to name a few.

By the end of the day, the chefs from Casino Zollverein were each experimenting with Australia ingredients in their own sections and it was exciting to see these highly motivated German chefs being creative and innovative with the Australian herbs and spices.

In 1932, Zollverein was regarded as the most beautiful mine in the world (sic). The architecture was setting benchmarks and still fascinates visitors today. Now, The bar-area, the restaurant and the lounge unite to an aesthetic and unique sight. The constant industrial elements harmonize with constantly changing interior details and decorations.

For more information about the Casino Zollverein, visit www.casino-zollverein.de

Touch and Taste Australia in Prague – March 2004

Australian Celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the popular Australian cooking show Dining Downunder ™ were invited to host Touch and Taste Australia in Prague, from the 18th to the 25th of March 2004 at the Corinthia Tower Hotel. Touch & Taste Australia was reportedly Prague’s largest ever culinary event held in the Czech Republic since the countries independence in 1993.

Touch and Taste Australia took over 6 months of planning and was organised by Petr-Vodvarka from Austrade and hosted by General Manager, Christian Grange of the five star Corinthia Towers Hotel.

Touch and Taste Australia was officially opened by Patrick Lawless, Australian Ambassador to Poland and the Czech Republic. The opening event started with a short cocktail party featuring cocktails including Iced Riberry Martini, Wild Lime Caipiroska, Spicy Akudjura Bloody Mary with various native Australian inspired canapés. Then guests made their way to the main restaurant, to experience a 4 course set menu with matching Australian wines. The menu consisted of;

• Kimberley coconut soup
• Lemon aspen sorbet
• Akudjura crusted lamb rack with Alpine pepper mash and Illawarra plum sauce.
• Wattleseed Pavlova with rosella coulis
• Lemon Myrtle Tea

The final event of the week was a Hospitality Luncheon where all the General Managers, Food and Beverage Managers and Executive Chef from Prague hotels joined us for an afternoon to experience the unique flavours of Australia. The lunched kicked off with a cocktail party in the kitchen, where various canapés and dishes were being prepared. This gave the opportunity for guests to ask questions. Then the main course was served, with the highlight being an Aboriginal entertainer taking stage.

Other successful events during Touch and Taste Australia were an Aussie Brunch for over 250 guests, a Wine Degustation Dinner for 100 and a daily mini trade fair highlighting the best food, wine, fashion and products from Australia.

Big thanks to Christian Grange, chef Martin Jiskra, Marcus Bauder, Linda Nejezchlebova and the entire kitchen crew of the Corinthia Towers Hotel.

Australian Event at Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket - November 2004

Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie hosted an Australian Cuisine Promotion at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuketfrom the 27th November – 1st December 2004. The promotion was held in two of the resorts restaurants; The Teahouse Restaurant and The Market Place Restaurant.

Each evening in The Market Place Restaurant Vic and Benjamin presented a cooking show to guests, cooking a variety of dishes including; Paperbark Smoked Sea Bass with Mango Chutney, Wok tossed Wildfire Prawn Noodles with Wattleseed, Phuket Lobster with Lemon Myrtle & Wild Lime Confit and a Rainforest Parfait. While watching the cooking show in the Marketplace Restaurant, resort guests dined on a buffet of Australian dishes and salads together with BBQ local seafood.

The Teahouse Restaurant was the venue for the Gala Dinner on Monday the 29th November and played host to over 70 resort guests, local expatriates, media, chefs and general managers from other Laguna Resorts. The menu included an Australian tasting plate of Gumleaf prosciutto, Lemon Myrtle smoked salmon bushetta, Kangaroo with mango & wild mint salsa, wild herb fetta, paperbark smoked oysters with wild limes.

We would like to thank Thai Air, who not only sponsored the Australian Cuisine Promotion, but provided return airfares for Vic & Benjamin.

A special thanks to the Sheraton’s General Manager, Andrew Jessop, Executive Chef, Glen Roberts, Director of Food & Beverage, Torsten Richter and all the kitchen staff, particularly Executive Sous Chef, Suwin, Pastry Chef, Prageet & Chef de Partie, Prawit.

Australian Corporate Event at the Solamar Hotel San Diego - June 2005

Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin were invited to San Diego to cook Australian Food at the official launch of Constellation Property Group at the new Solamar Hotel during June 2005. The corporate event was hosted by Eugene Marchese, who is recognised as one of Australia’s leading architects and Managing Director of Constellation Property Group.

The company launch was held at Jbar on the rooftop deck of the Solamar hotel and the poolside area was transformed to a showcase of all things Australian including Australian food, Australian design and fashion and Australian Music. Eugene used the parallel of these areas of Australian innovation as a measure of what The Constellation Property Group is all about.

Beside the pool, the chefs set up a hot and cold buffet under a stylish canvas marquee as well as various live cooking stations serving Wattleseed mushroom risotto, Paperbark smoked oysters, Australian lamb cutlets with Illawara plum chili sauce and sugarcane shrimp on the barbie with a rainforest lime splash.

The Solamar Hotel and Jsix Restaurant is headed by Executive Chef Deborah Schneider, who is well known in San Diego for her innovative style. Deborah’s menu features Coastal California cuisine, showcasing fresh, innovative, seasonal foods inspired by the region’s 2000 miles of Baja coastline, area farms and wines from Washington to Baja California. Both Vic and Benjamin were certainly inspired by Deborah’s cooking style and we are looking forward to reading her new cookbook on Baja Cuisine which is to be released during 2006.

Vic and Benjamin would like to thank all the people that made this corporate event happen including Eugene Marchese, Katherine Kasparian, Deborah Schneider, Ed Nesfield and all the food and beverage staff from the Solamar Hotel.

Australian Event the Hyatt Regency Guam - April 2005

Australian Event Grand Plaza Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur - May 2005

Australian Guest Chef Dayle Merlo of Dining Downunder™ will take centre stage for one week at the famed Parkroyal Grill at Grand Plaza Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur. from the 10th -17th May. The Australian Cuisine Promotion is being sponsored by Malaysia’s national carrier, Malaysia Airlines and Cherikoff Food Services.

Dayle Merlo, Executive Chef of Bistro C Restaurant, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia, has more than 20 years of experience and during this time has made various TV appearances and been featured in various magazines such as Vogue, Gourmet, Queensland Living, In Flight and Wallpaper. Chef Merlo was also featured in the Dining Downunder™ television series, which has aired in 32 countries and led to his involvement at other Australian Food Promotions by Dining Downunder, most recently, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The Parkroyal Grill’s special promotional menu by Dayle Merlo includes entree, main course and dessert items. For entrees, patrons can take their pick from Natural oysters with watermelon, basil & fruit spice salsa: Lemon aspen cured salmon gravalax with asparagus panna cotta and alpine pepper grissini; Australian beef and riberry tart garnished with a frisée of paperbark smoked beetroot salad; Akudjura butter grilled scallops with a snow pea, shaved fennel, wattleseed & orange salad; Warm salad of paperbark smoked lamb, eggplant, spinach & fire roasted peppers with quandong.

Irresistible main course offerings comprise King prawn, riberry, fruit spice & plantain banana curry, Oz lemon rice,chilli mango & native lime relish; Eye fillet of prime Australian beef, akudjura & wild mushroom crust, smashed roasted kumera, broccolini, sticky jus; Wildfire spiced baby chicken, Oz lemon & coconut risotto, seared choys, jus lie; Alpine pepper roasted duck breast & Illawarra plum braised leg, parsnip gnocchi, Kenyan beans, plum glaze; Crisp skinned, Red Desert dusted barramundi fillet, crab mash, asparagus, confit tomatoes, native lime and rosella beurre

Three mouth-watering desserts are available to help diners end their meal with the perfect sweet note – Wattleseed pavlova with passionfruit and banana and espresso brittle; riberry and apple crumble, acacia ice cream; and rosella jam bombolini and aniseed myrtle semi fredo. In addition, patrons can also compliment their meal with a range of fine Australian wines.

Dayle is one of a select handful of Ambassador Chefs for Dining Downunder and who are taking Australian cuisine to the world. Dining Downunder Ambassador Chefs are Australian cuisine specialists who focus on promoting the country’s unique offerings including aromatic herbs, pungent spices, tangy and flavorsome fruits, rich nuts and a collection of infused oils, sauces, syrups, extracts and more. These are incorporated into enticing menus and our chefs highlight the essentials of using Australian native ingredients and presenting an authentic Australian food style.

Rhode Island Clam Chowder Festival - June 2006

Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the Australian TV cooking show Dining Downunder have once again been invited to cook at the Rhode Island Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-off on Saturday June 3, 2006.

Hosted by the Newport Yachting Center, The Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-off is considered to be the largest international Chowder Cook-off in the world and this year marks the 25th anniversary the popular annual chowder event. The clam chowder festival is the original and longest running chowder festival in the world.

Competing against 30 of America’s best restaurant and chowder chefs, Vic and Benjamin will be required to cook about 140 gallons or 500lt of clam chowder and be ready to serve the expected 25,000 people which will visit the Chowder Cook-off.

This year the chefs will be once again competing in the Creative Clam Chowder category and will be cooking a clam chowder which will be flavoured with a combination of native Australian flavours including Lemon Myrtle, Wildfire Spice and Paperbark.

Last year, Vic and Benjamin placed 2nd in the Creative Clam Chowder category with their Wildfire Spiced Clam Chowder. Apart from the Creative Clam Chowder category, other categories include Best Clam Chowder, Best Seafood Chowder, and Best Clam Cake.

Last years Clam Chowder Recipe is here.

For more information about the Rhode Island Clam Chowder Festival visit Newport Festivals website.

Australian Event at the Hilton Osaka - June 2006

Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie will be hosting an Australian cuisine event at the Hilton Osaka from the 19th till 26th June 2006.

Each evening during the week long event, the chefs will feature an extensive Australian buffet and live cooking show each evening in Checkers Restaurant.

The chefs will also be preparing both lunch and dinner set menus in the Hilton Osaka’s fine dining restaurant, Seasons Restaurant.

Apart from the Australian buffets and set menu options both chefs will be conducting cooking classes using authentic Australian ingredients. Guests will be able to participate in these classes and learn how to use ingredients such as Wattleseed, paperbark, Alpine Pepper, lemon aspen, yakajirri and rosella. Cooking class participants will then enjoy a light lunch and Australian Wines.