I am sitting in the Green Room of Quay and a comely dessert winks at me from a plate. A voice to my right says
“Peter Gilmore is my pimp”
The voice belongs to Quay owner John Fink. Apparently this dessert possesses magical powers and he has used it many times to charm a date. But I shan’t get ahead of myself. Allow me to rewind a little.
Earlier that evening, we are seated in front of the upstairs kitchen in the Green Room of Quay restaurant, ranked #27 in the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. I am a guest of Electrolux and one of a lucky bunch of people who are privy enough to attend a masterclass with Peter Gilmore. Gilmore is the new ambassador for Electrolux along with long standing ambassador Tetsuya Wakuda. The upstairs kitchen in the Green Room has been fitted out as a domestic kitchen with an Electrolux induction cooktop and steam oven.
Chef Peter Gilmore
This evening we are being shown how to make a dish that will appear on an upcoming menu as well as a dish that he considers one of his signature dishes. He starts by popping a large crab claw in the steam oven which he places in a vacuum sealed bag to keep the juices in and to reduce mess.
Gilmore inhales the aroma of the summer truffle
He then produces a summer truffle-these are usually thought of as lesser truffles with the winter truffles being the prize at $2,000 a kilo. The summer truffles this year though are wonderfully fragrant and much better priced at $800-$900 a kilo. He shaves it into some milk heating in a saucepan and to this he adds to some eggs to make a custard. He then takes a small round dish and pours a little in it and wraps this in some cling wrap and places this in the steam oven to steam it to a wobbly, delicate texture.
White squash grown specially for them in the Blue Mountains
Next up is some white squash. He uses a Japanese mandolin to slice the squash paper thinly and he will then briefly blanch it and brush it with oil. He tells us of how he has a farmer in the Blue Mountains that grows special produce for him. The farmer started off growing things exclusively for Quay but they became so popular they have now expanded to supply to other restaurants. Gilmore uses a fashion analogy and explains that there are some things that for the first season the farmer will grow an item exclusively for Quay but for seasons thereafter they can sell the same item to the other restaurants.
Cracking the crab claw
Prising out all of the meat
It’s time to deal with the large crab claw. To make an amuse bouche for the crowd of seventeen of us, he wraps it in a teatowel and hits it with the knife to crack the shell. He extracts about 100grams of meat from the crab and separates it into small pieces. He separates some eggs and whisks the whites and adds these and the yolks mixed with crab to them and folds the whole mixture so that it retains the fluffiness of the whites while still combining the components.
Adding the crab and egg mixture to the 100C oil
He then takes these to the induction cooktop which is set to setting 2 which takes the saucepans of oil to 100C and gently poaches them in the oil. The oil isn’t crackling or sizzling and he gently turns them over to cook on the other side where they end up a pale yellow shade.
The dish!
Then the enticing aroma that we’ve been inhaling all this time is revealed and that is the delectable crab stock which he ladles into bowls (their hand made bowls are supplied by artisans in NSW, Queensland and Victoria) along with ribbons of the barely cooked white squash and lastly our cloud puff crab meringues and we each get a bowl of this. I take the spoon delivered to me by white gloved hand and it is as light as a feather or a first kiss. It is melts in the mouth and perfectly combines with the slightly viscous crab broth and mild tasting white squash.
And if you ever wondered if a chef like this ever makes mistakes, he tells us of his first kitchen disaster where he set his kitchen alight cooking chips while his father talked on the phone. He put out the fire with a towel but not before some damage was done to the house. His father’s only regret was that he hadn’t left it burning for another five minutes so that the entire house could be repainted!
Slicing the breast from the quail
Up next is a dish that he considers one of his signature dishes, the quail. He takes out the custard from the steam oven and it is perfectly wobbly. He then takes a quail that has been partially cooked and takes off the breast with the knife and trims it. He adds the quail to a saucepan of butter set on low which will gently poach the quail.
He then shows us the other two components which are a chestnut and walnut puree as well as a pumpernickel, morel and ethical foie gras pudding. He explains that ethical foie gras comes from Spain where geese are not force fed. Instead they harvest the geese just after their natural pre winter gorge on food where they fatten themselves up naturally. He tells us that because they aren’t quite as fattened up, the foie gras is not as ideal for slicing and pan frying but is good to use here.
Plating up time
The quail done, he then glazes the quail breast with a quail stock glaze which is made up of 5 litres of quail stock reduced down to a very small saucepan full. This gives the quail gloss and colour. To the serving bowl he adds the truffle custard, chestnut and walnut puree, quinoa, puffed rice, the quail, the pumpernickel and foie gras pudding and then lastly tops it with more shavings of the truffle. He presents it to us proud as a papa to much applause telling us that we will be tasting the dish as part of our five course degustation tonight.
The signature quail dish
Smoked eel and egg white pearl, sashimi hiramasa kingfish, pickled kohlrabi, octopus, nasturtiums, white dashi jelly served with 2008 Petaluma “Hanlin HIll” Riesling, Eden Valley
As for us, we’re invited to ask him questions before we adjourn to our table to have our first dish. I must admit that I missed out on discerning most of these components as the predominant flavour of smoked eel and kingfish and pickled kohlrabi stole the show so to speak. There was a glassy jellied sphere of dashi jelly that popped with a light saltiness and the pickled kohlrabi was served as thin discs that enveloped the super finely chopped egg white pearls to appear as a flower.
Native Fresh water marron, rose salt, organic pink turnips, jamon de bellota cream, oloroso caramel, society garlic flowers served with Natural Selection Theory Pear Cider, Coromandel Valley
The marron is lovely and tender and is paired with an unexpected rose salt, whole baby pink turnips, some jamon de bellota cream and an olorosa (Spanish sherry) caramel which gives the whole dish a surprising but potent sweetness which juxtaposes against the lightly savoury garlic flowers. And yes I had a Pretty Woman moment when my spring onion bulb flew off my plate and onto the carpeted floor. Oops! Slippery little suckers…
Butter poached coturnix quail breast, pumpernickel, morel and ethical foie gras pudding, walnuts, quinoa, truffle custard, milk skin served with 2008 Terrebin Pinot Noir, Marlborough
This was the dish that we had only just seen him make. I must admit that I wasn’t particularly taken with the texture of the quail, it was very similar to a raw chicken breast texture which I am so used to avoiding and it is quite different to a pink centred duck breast which I am used to eating. Still the rest of the dish was good with a creaminess from the truffle custard and milk skin and a richness and spiciness from the pumpernickel pudding.
Berkshire Pig jowl, maltose crackling, prunes, cauliflower cream, perfumed with prune kernel oil served with 2009 William Downie Petit Manseng, King Valley
Oh my… this was very good. As soon as it was put down and we inhaled the prune kernel oil we were all united as one seventeen person entity drooling and murmuring over this dish. Peter had earlier told us that when he first made this dish he wanted to have a crackling on it but the Berkshire pig jowl has a very thick layer of fat on it in between the meat and the crackling. So he added crackling with the use of maltose sugar to simulate crispy, crunchy crackling. And we are disappointed to learn that it’s not as simple as sprinkling sugar on top and then blowtorching the bugger to all hell. It’s much more complex involving making the maltose toffee, crushing it up and then reassembling it. Ah well, best just eat it right? And the proof is in the eating of this dish. It is utterly wonderful. The pork jowl is buttery soft with a silky cauliflower cream, stewed whole prunes and that amazing crazy crunchy maltose crackling.
Interestingly it is paired with a wine that is a sweet wine and is a favourite of many here including me. It is made in the high altitude area of King Valley of Victoria from a winery who lost an entire vineyard of grapes in the Victorian bushfires. The winemaker William Downie decided to experiment with a new type of grape called the Petit Manseng and the result is this sweet wine that could almost double as a dessert wine although less sticky and is just made for a dish like this.
Preserved Wild Cherries, Coconut cream, Chuao chocolate crumble, cherry juice nad chocolate sorbet served with Claude Courtois Vin de Mistille, Sologne
Our dessert is what had the owner John calling Peter Gilmore his pimp. Apparently his dates have all been served a dish of this and well let’s just say that he considers it his primary seduction tool. Don’t say you weren’t warned! 
I take a spoonful and it is sublime. I had expected a chocolate ice cream from the presentation but the technique is more airy. The chocolate crumble made of Amedei chuao (my favourite dark chocolate) is so soft and airy along with the coconut cream pudding and light coconut shavings that look like desiccated coconut but taste like coconut air. Yes it could probably remove some buttons …
And the other surprise? The bowl which was made for them by a potter that placed her hand on the base of the bowl and slung it on her shoulder to give that distinct shape.
We leave with a signed copy of the his Quay cookbook which contains a foreward from Thomas Keller and some Quay truffles. The book is a hardback tome that is full of texture and ideas and although I admit that I’m not likely to attempt any at home, the book will stay firmly on my bedside “food porn” collection.
So tell me Dear Reader, what is the dish that would or has seduced you?
NQN dined at Quay and attended the masterclass as a guest of Electrolux
Quay
Upper Level Overseas Passengers Terminal Circular Quay West, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9251 5600
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56 Comments | Add your own
wow – you are one lucky gal!!
Yum! What a fun masterclass. The truffled dish looked so pretty and delicious, and that dessert – with the preserved cherries – wow…
You get to do absolutely the coolest things, Lorraine! How fabulous. The presentation alone is breathtaking. Food porn indeed.
That dessert is marvelous and what fun to have it served in that dish! I love that story.
You lucky girl! What fabulous looking food.
My all-time favourite is Neil Perry’s Stir-Fried Quail from Spice Temple. It is delicate and full of flavour and texture, and the meat sits on a bed of savoury egg custard. Mmmmmmmm.
You got that up quick! What a wonderful experience! The dessert I agree has calling powers – looks YUM.
This looks positively amazing. I can honestly say that you blog is one of the things that gets me through my arduous work days (that and healthy snacks!).
Normally I don’t take to super-haute-cooking, but your description of the flavours here makes me want to jump in and try (after saving up my money of course …and flying to Australia).
Fabulous work as usual! I’m counting the days until we can get your book in Canada.
-BBC
A friend been to there and wasn’t wow-ed by it. Having said that, perhaps, the kitchen was having a lousy day.
The food looks really interesting and refreshing from here though.
It’s got to be the dessert!!! That looks soo good!
What an amazing experience, I was drooling over his book at the bookshop the other day
I am considering trying his dessert off the essential ingredient Sydney site.
Fantastic review Lorraine. It was a sublime, yet also surreal, evening, one definitely for the memory bank. Agree with you on the quail…I actually found it hard to cut through, not one of Peter’s finest. The ultimate dishes of the night were certainly the berkshire pork jowl with that divine maltose crackling and of course the sensual ‘pimpin’ dessert. Trust we shall meet again soon, best wishes in doing the final touches to your book…can’t wait to read it.
Sigh. A steam oven. Sigh.
I had visions of one in my very near future until our roof sprang about 6 different leaks.
Boring domestic maintenance.
Would give most anything to have been a birdie on your shoulder! What a fabulous experience, even for you!
Very special taste memories: for some reason remember having perfectly steamed sea trout with just tiny steamed potatoes and a perfect hollandaise at the seafood restaurant next to the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway. Simple things are the hardest to get just right methinks. This was!
Of course the food all looks amazing, especially the crab starter, but I just want that handprint bowl, send me one, pretty please? =)
Lorraine….you are a foodie temptress and all this so early in the morning, you had me drooling!… actually dribbling on my key board. Can’t believe I have not as yet been to this beautiful Sydney restaurant…that will have to change now. One consolation is that at least I do have an Electrolux induction cook top which I absolutely love and swear is the best cook top ever! Now all I need to do is acquire those recipes and play.
Susie Q
uh-maz-ing!
Peter Gimore’s dishes are the prettiest! I had a gorgeous berry meringue dessert at Quay that was beautiful to look at and even better to eat.
Fabulous! Especially the photo of him sniffing the truffle! LOL
I celebrated my 40th birthday at Quay with my partner back in November and I must say it was the most amazing experience i will never forget..I still am raving on about it..lol..we had the full courses with matching wines..mmmm on a gorgeous summer evening!
Divine divine divine in every way!
Oh, My…. The Wild Cherry dessert would get me under the sheets quickly!
I have been seduced by the image alone.
One of my Favorite Lines: “And yes I had a Pretty Woman moment when my spring onion bulb flew off my plate and onto the carpeted floor. Oops! Slippery little suckers…”
Miss Thang, you have me hooked with your words & images & lush food.
Thank you for the distractions from reality.
xx
Wow…..
I have one word for you Lorraine: JEALOUS
No, make that SUPER JEALOUS!
Hmm! It all looks splendid – never had a bad meal at Quay. I think the amuse bouche sounds fantastic. I’m worried about how one puts a steam oven into a vacuum sealed bag – “He starts by popping a large crab claw in the steam oven which he places in a vacuum sealed bag” but perhaps that’s what earns him the kudos.
ohhh how fun~I want to learn from a professional chef~
Gorgeous!! I ooze of envy!
retiredfoodie – hold it: hasn’t something you have written in absolutely good faith come out
‘funny’ on the other side? Ask Lorraine, I do it only too often!!
Amanda – say we win the lottery together – steam oven for each?
SusieQ – at least you’ve got one!
Butterybc – me too to a large degree! Jealous – you’re going into spring!!
Barbara – the ever increasingly used term ‘food porn’ IS addictive!
foodnutszz – I think we all agree!
Ahhhh! So jealous!!! I am dying to go to Quay ever since a friend told me about the snow egg and the 8 texture chocolate cake *dreamy sigh*
It makes me feel better that you say the book will stay in your food porn collection not your make every day. It all looks amazing but I would never try it at home!
I can’t think of the most seductive dessert I’ve had but it would definitely involve chocolate and berries of some description.
you lucky thing Lorraine. Can I come too next time?
Don’t think I’d be trying those at home either – can you imagine the washing up!
WOW! HOW extraordinary, TRUE!
FANTASTIC new ambassador for Electrolux with Tets too!
Berkshire Pig jowl, maltose crackling JUMPED out at me!
Simple (NOT lol) dish, but sexy as can be!
YEARN experience like this with BOTH ambassadors, TRUE!
BEYOND words!
P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S!!! WHOO HOO!
THANKS!
Lucky you to have gone through such a wondrous, delicious experience!
That is some expensive dish you got to enjoy!! How exquisite…and I don’t really know the difference between summer or winter truffles since I’ve never really got to try it. Is it the flavor or the fragrance that is “lacking”?
so many pretty dishes and lucky girl to have a masterclass with Peter Gilmore.
A pimp who’s honest enough to admit he makes mistakes and uses Chuao chocolate in his desserts? You know what, the world would be a better place if all criminals were like that
OMG I cannot tell you how blessed I think you are to have all these amazing opportunities. Well done Lorraine. Maybe one day I’ll get there! x
Mmm, I’m going to have to go for the pig jowl. It looks so crispy and juicy that I think that’s all I’d need to be very, very happy for awhile. Well, that and some of the wonderful sweet wine to accompany it.
This looks like such a fun class and superb that you got to taste the creations at Quay. Dreamy
Sheer Genius!
Can’t pick one dish that would or has seduced me but fine-dining does it for me all the time. It has a lot to do with tiny, tasty morsels, the variety of delicate flavours so cleverly balanced. After all it’s an Art!
Must get back to Quay soon but would opt out of the quail dish, not too fussed.
How COOL, that bowl!!
Preserved Wild Cherries, Coconut cream, Chuao chocolate crumble, cherry juice nad chocolate sorbet served with Claude Courtois Vin de Mistille. YUM!
Looks like a wonderful experience!
Wow! Ain’t you the lucky girl! What a great experience and fascinating as well to watch the magic of a great chef. The food looks incredible. And very cool bowl! And yes, two servings of that very sexy dessert, please…
I once hit the twitter top ten in NZ after saying the gelato from @giapo which is made with love and all natural ingredients was better than sex. I think @Giapo gelati could do it for me every time …)
Ohhhh was this Monday? I was there to have a look at the green room for my wedding n saw chairs set up in front of the kitchen n was wondering whether they’re doing a demo!
Life is never too tough when your invited for a meal at Quay! Great story once again.
Few things get my clothes off but a perfect steak is close
Oh I felt I was there too! Thank you!
“Oh my Goodness the Chips!” his dad must be a forgiving fellow.
omigod – that dessert looks incredible. The sorbet looks so incredibly glossy and the thought of the coconut cream sends shivers down my spine! I would very happily be seduced by that dish.
What a meal!
Wow what a fantastic experience! So jealous! I wasn’t impressed by the quail either when I had dinner there some months ago. The pig jowl looks and sounds delicious though. Love the hand print bowls!
What a fabulous evening- it’s such a special place. Seduction for me is simple; pour me a glass of wine, give me a bowl of tortellini and have someone else do the washing up. I can be a cheap date.
ah, it looks AMAZING and totally delicious.
was supposed to go here in my birthday recently but bailed due to the stupid enormous ships docking longer than they were scheduled to.
i will probably never get over it
until i finally make it to quay.
Oooh, I like the look of the quail, but the marron is the prettiest dish. Gosh, I think a steak cooked medium rare with thick cut spicy potato chips and tomato sauce would seduce me …
The food at Quay always looks incredible – it’s so… pretty!
I love the plate the Berkshire Pig jowl is served on… Haha!
Wow, would love to get to Quay one day! I too have the cookbook – I think it may be a bit beyond my weekend cooking adventures, but it is beautiful.
What a great evening! Does he have the induction wok burners too? We use our vacumm pack sealers for much more interesting things at work… like vacking down someones phone (without them knowing) and hiding it in 100 lts of curry or sauce and ringing it non stop.
I love chocolate sorbet, especially when its rich and dark like that one, yumm…
Thanks Lorraine, just booked for my next trip to Sydney, I had such a big list that you reminded me to put him on top!
Had an amazing experience at that restaurant, unforgettable.
Now most other restaurants are a bit disappointing.
Wow what an amazing experience!
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