13 Christmas Desserts of Provence, Darlinghurst
I know this post is a bit late in coming, but I could hardly not blog about an epic 13-dessert lunch! In any case, onward with the post…
So it was without any preamble or forewarning that I get a Google Calendar invite to a Christmas Dessert degustation lunch from F. Clicking on the link, I find that it’s really a lunch featuring 13 desserts inspired by Christmas in Provence, southern France. THIRTEEN DESSERTS!!!! The mere thought gave me palpitations and I’m surprised I was coherent enough to accept the invite for him to go ahead and book us in.
When the day finally rolled around, we found that we were one of the first ones to arrive at Tastevin Bistro & Bar. We were promptly ushered to the bar room, where I immediately fell in love with the quirky decor and menu.
Inside Tastevin Bistro and Bar
As more people arrived, we moved into the dining area and mingled while sipping on the refreshing Pastis appretif – a typical drink from southern France for a hot summer’s day. It was an interesting drink with a very strong aniseed / liquorice flavour that’s so strong that seemed to “numb the tongue”, as one diner noted.
Soon it was time for us to truly being our lunch. Myriam spoke about the inspiration of the lunch, where the food we’d be eating are traditional southern French cuisine.
Mixed Provencal Antipasto with Olives and Home-Made Bread
I thought I didn’t like olives – well, rather, I only am partial to them on my pizzas or in my 6-inch chicken fillet sub – but these olives were a lot different to the ones I’ve had. The sharp, saltiness I usually associate with olives was surprisingly absent, but that’s not to say it wasn’t flavoursome. In fact, these olives were packed with such smooth, rounded flavour that I found myself reaching for them again and again.
The incredibly smooth, almost cream-like, pate quickly won our adoration, as well as the light-yet-hearty chicken spread that was absolutely divine. The salami and terrine were delicious also and although Myriam had spoken about how southern French residents would take their time with the antipasto over languid conversation (I imagine it to be probably somewhere outdoors in a shaded area), urging us to do the same, we found to our dismay that in our hunger and the scrumptious fare in front of us, we kind of… well.. gobbled it all up.
Traditional Bouillabaisse with Sauce Rouille and Croutons
Hungry for more, when our waiter brought out the croutons with the rich and tangy rouille sauce, F and I quietly sneaked a couple in before our Bouillabaisse arrived.
The “soup” was amazing rich and robust in flavours, but it amazingly wasn’t at all heavy. Myriam explained that a Bouillabaisse would have a component of the soup be “bouill” (brought to a boil) and then “abaisse” (slowly reduced the heat to a simmer), then add another component of the dish and the whole concoction be “bouill” / “abaisse” again. This is done for the major components of the soup, so it took a long time to cook this dish, but oh! The flavours were just worth it.
Almond Calissons, Chocolate Nougat and Chocolates
Finally! The desserts are assembled in the middle of the room and Myriam explained the significance of each dessert to Christmas, which I’ve sadly forgotten but it was interesting to know that each dessert had a purpose and reason why they were there.
The almond calissons were shipped direct from Myriam’s mother in France, which I thought was dedication! They tasted kind of like almond shortbread – quite nice actually, but it was the chocolate nougat that stole my heart. I found myself getting up to grab a piece and then another without quite meaning to.
Most of the chocolates were from Boon (one or two were specially commissioned flavours if I recall correctly), a favourite chocolate place of mine, and so it goes without saying that the chocolates were of the highest standard and utterly delicious!
Chocolate Mendiants, Fresh Melon and Watermelon, Dates, Brioche with Sultanas, Grapefruit Marmalade and Lavender Panna Cotta with Orange Sorbet
The chocolate mendiants, which also came in a dark chocolate form, were a resounding success across the table. The creamy chocolate and nut combination was lifted with each chew of the sweet dried fruit pieces.
Taking a break from all that chocolate and we moved onto the surprisingly moist brioche with sultanas. On its own it was scrumptious and I couldn’t help but wish I had a cup of tea with me to complete the tasty experience. That said, the grapefruit marmalade was a welcomed substitute for the tea wish, as the ever-so-slight tartness of the marmalade paired harmoniously with the brioche. (If anyone has a recipe for this I would love to try it out!)
F adores his floral desserts and this was no exception. Whilst a little more firm and not as creamy as the panna cotta we both know and love, it did boast a decent kick of lavender to satisfy his tastebuds. The highlight of the dish was definitely the orange sorbet, as everyone on the table had their plates dipped to the side to capture as much of the juice with their spoon as possible.
The fresh melon/watermelon combination and dates were also another a delightful break from the slight sugar high I discovered I was experiencing.
Dark Chocolate with Hennessy XO Cognac; Jean Conrie and Myriam
As a special treat, we are all given a taste of Hennessy XO cognac paired with a dark chocolate, cinnamon and orange peel treat. We were given an interesting talk by Jean Conrie on the development history of the original Hennessy cognac to what it is today.
Although we were unable to fully appreciate the Hennessy to its full extent (F isn’t a fan of brown spirits and I rather not taste the alcohol I’m imbibing), we were advised that taking a long, deep sniff of the cognac before eating the chocolate, which would give us a glimpse of its warm and complex characteristics as we ate its companion piece.
Martin Webster and his Team
Myriam introduced Martin Webster, the executive chef, to each table as we lunched and I managed to miss the photo opportunity while he chatted with us before being whisked off to the next table, much to my dismay. As we lingered over the remnants of our lunch, I noticed that Martin was in the kitchen with his team. Luck would have it that he didn’t mind having his photograph taken and insisted that his team should be in the photo as well since they worked as hard as he had (which I thought was lovely of him).
In the Goodie Bag
As a little surprise, Myriam told us that we have little goodie bags to take home with us. The chocolates were from Kakawa and of course, it goes without saying that they were delicious.
Thanks Myriam for putting together a wonderful southern France inspired lunch at an equally wonderful venue: Tastevin Bistro and Bar. And I’m sure I’ll be back to Tastevin to sample their menu soon!
Tastevin Bistro and Bar
Level 1 292 – 294 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010
Ph: (02) 9356 3429
Web: http://www.tastevin.com.au/
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By squishies
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This article was written on 08 Jan 2011, and is filed under Dessert, French, Lunch, Sydney, East.
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Wow, looks truly amazing! Luckily you had all those savouries first huh?
Hehe true… But knowing me, I could have done just the desserts too
That is pretty awesome. I went there for dinner but I can’t remember what I ate lol
LOVE olives, especially stuffed green ones
Just reading this post I feel like I am in a food coma. Great looking lunch and an amazing effort by Myriam for organising such an event.
Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last [type] ..Yay New Camera – Tangy Honey & Mustard Chicken
Oh gosh that looks like a heavenly day surrounded by desserts. Lucky you!
Wow! How good do those chocolates look? Absolutely divine.
Thirteen desserts sounds like my kind of Christmas indeed!
So it wasn’t just thirteen desserts but also a few courses of regular food too? Sounds like one hell of lunch!
Favourite dessert of the day?
My fave dessert was the chocolate mendiants in the dark chocolate. The slight bitterness of the chocolate just made the dried fruit and nut flavours pop. You can imagine how happy I was to open the take-away box and find them in there as well..
if you can’t, something like this
Definitely the chocolate nougat. It was smashing!
13 desserts sounds like a great lunch to me! I love antipasto as well. So good to share a platter and a bottle of wine with someone.
I’m also glad that you were served some savouries before you hoed into the desserts! What a novel way to draw people in, although I would have liked to have seen something more of their regular menu which presumably contains more than desserts!