MasterChef recap: It s the battle of the prawns but only one curries favour
Ben Pobjie
Photo: Supplied
It s Beat the Brigade Week on MasterChef, which means today the amateurs must defeat the Fire Brigade, tomorrow the Girls Brigade, and on Wednesday the Fifth Armoured Brigade.
Wait, no, it s something much more mundane: they just have to beat the staff of famous restaurants. Well, when I say famous …if you live in Melbourne you might ve heard of them.
The amateurs, still shaken by Conor s exit and the realisation that it is possible to make an ice-cream so awful that even MasterChef judges won t enjoy it, arrive at the kitchen to find the judges standing…OUTSIDE the building? WHAAAAAAAT? The amateurs are stunned by this shock twist. As if that wasn t enough, suddenly a whole bunch of professional chefs walk into the garden. They stand there intimidating the amateurs with their low pay and post-traumatic stress disorder.
I ll give you a little tip, Adam said heroically, with Eric appearing flustered. You don t fillet [big fish] like a small fish, he began. There s a big bone down the middle [of the fish]. So you ve got to do it in two go s.
Cheeky: You don t fillet [big fish] like a small fish, Adam (pictured) began. There s a big bone down the middle [of the fish]. So you ve got to do it in two go s
Finding the backbone, he continued: Just do a little incision, run your knife along there. Then you go back again. And you ll feel the spine of the kingfish.
Adam D Sylva and Monika Frkovic open Boca in Ivanhoe
Gemima Cody
Photo: Kaylene Tan
It may be five months later to the party than expected, but Coda chef Adam D Sylva and Monika Frkovic s Boca Gelateria is not going to disappoint now it has finally swung open its mint-green doors in Ivanhoe.
Boca draws on nostalgia for inspiration, with flavours that reflect D Sylva s Indian and Italian heritage and career, plus some classic favourites. Frkovic says the coconut sorbet is a standout, an old D Sylva recipe from his time at Longrain, and there is also a chai that uses a Tonka recipe with fresh ginger and toasted spices.
Seven silver linings from Victoria s lockdowns: How chefs and restaurateurs made the pandemic work for them
Dani Valent
Photo: Eddie Jim
It was the year that pushed the state s restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs to the brink. But bright spots have emerged that may change dining forever.
A year ago, a few weeks into our national COVID-19 lockdown, Victorian hospitality operators were already hoping to use pandemic-enforced disruption as an opportunity to create permanent, positive adjustments to an industry that has been notoriously tough on bodies, minds and balance sheets. A year and a couple more lockdowns later, the state is open, eating and – in some pockets at least – thriving.
Like icy poles for adults: Melbourne gelaterias are liquoring up
Gemima Cody
Photo: Supplied
News of a booze-free bar for consenting adults dominated food headlines last week, but gelaterias are returning serve with new liquor-laced iced treats.
In Brighton,
Little Sky has teamed up with Adelaide Hills distillery Applewood to create a pastel-toned line-up of popsicles with flavours including a strawberry, watermelon, mint and gin sucker and a Brighton espresso martini, made with Applewood s coffee liqueur, Gippsland jersey cream and cacao nibs.
Piccolina is also working its RSA at the luxe new Swan Street store to deliver three cocktail-inspired granitas using Four Pillars gin. There is a take on the negroni, a limey southside and a pine-lime Singapore sling that adds in pomegranate juice and Bloody Shiraz gin.