Chef de Cuisine Alan Compton puts his finishing touches on a dish

“Forty seconds! It better be ready” says Alan Compton the Head Chef at Bather’s Pavilion. There are 15 plates of food in front of him at the two tier pass and all of them are in various states of dress (or should that be undress?). “Thirty Seconds, are you ready?” and the younger chefs yell back simultaneously “Yes Chef!” and then “Twenty seconds, why aren’t you ready?“. A chef stumbles and swears and dashes around the corner to grab something. “Ten Seconds hurry up!” says Alan and faces are taut with studied concentration as the final flourishes are put onto a dish. Welcome to the wonderful world of a high end restaurant kitchen. And a little warning this story is long but interesting so settle down with a cup of tea or coffee.

Plating at the pass

This event was my number 1 pick of the whole Sydney International Food Festival programme. Having never really been in a kitchen for an extended period of time (ok I had visited the Gordon Ramsay RHR and Petrus kitchens and that was exciting but that was for about 15 minutes) but to get up close and personal was something that I’d always wanted to do. I should admit that I’ve never wanted to open a restaurant myself which is why I haven’t really gravitated towards trying out for Masterchef, preferring to write a cookbook instead or a regular book. Somehow the hours, hard work and sheer difficulty of the business particualrly in restaurant saturated Sydney put me off. I’d also heard that many chefs were also angry, unfriendly, egomanical divas so I was a little trepidatious before entering the hallowed kitchens of Bather’s Pavilion (or just “Bather’s” to locals). I realise that I”ve eaten at all of Dansereau’s restaurants from Kables back in the previous century B.B. (Before Blog) to the Bather’s Pavilion Cafe also B.B., Bather’s Pavilion Restaurant and The Bather’s Pavilion Kiosk.

Serge shows us the view from the top balcony

I was sent the information sheet. I was to wear black pants, a white t shirt, minimal jewelry and rubber soled shoes. Ransacking my wardrobe I realised that a) I don’t have any plain white tshirts and b) the only rubber soled shoes I have are black patent leather ballet flats and c) I’d have to leave my cocktail rings behind.

Balmoral Beach

At 5.30pm this Thursday night Mr NQN and I arrive along with the other 14 people that have signed up for this once in a lifetime opprtunity. This is the first year they are doing it and we are handed a blue and white striped apron. Serge emerges in his chef’s whites and greets us and takes us upstairs to show us the building. We’re shown the view from the upstairs balcony which is a stunning view of the blue hued waved Balmoral Beach and then sit down in one of the function rooms.

He tells us about the history of the building and his history coming to Australia and the challenges he had to face with developing new produce and how at the time it was he and Neil Perry and Stefano Manfredi who were helping each other out and sharing their new discoveries of things such as Wild Mushrooms. At the time there were only a few types of lettuce: Iceberg, Chicory and Mignonette. He talks about his partnership with Vogue editor Victoria Alexander who fought for years with the council to get the site (which was originally a changing place for people who went to the beach) to be made into a hotel and with Dansereau they finally settled on making it a restaurant.

The Blue Room (private dining room)

He also shows us his next book which is yet to be sent to the printers and is in a yellow ring folder to be called the “French Kitchen” which is a more home style based book as is the trend now. His first book “Friends and Food” won the Julia Child prize for best cookbook and interestingly, all of the photography in it was done by Danserau himself after taking a short course on camera basics. He also conducts yearly tours of France on top of running the cafe, restaurant and kiosk. How he manages with two young kids is something of a miracle.

The Pastry Kitchen

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My stomach was growling and I was sure everyone could hear me. I looked around but everyone else pretended to be doing other things. I had specifically saved my stomach for tonight. No matter how much I was tempted, I had to keep focused and my eye on the prize. The prize being a dinner as a guest of Japaz along with some of my fellow bloggers thanks to the fantastic Yas from Hungry Digital Elf.

Pacific Oysters with Wakame dressing

I dive right into the dishes – there’s no time to waste with my stomach urging me to go for gold. I love my oysters and these plump, creamy Pacifics are perfectly paired with a wakame dressing.

Razor Clams with preserved Lemon Dressing

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Bidding farewell to the North Shore is a sad goodbye. For years, I’d always thought that there wasn’t much in the way to eat around here but I was sorely mistaken and set straight by many loyal readers who pointed out great finds in the area. Living close to Neutral Bay meant that I had a range of fantastic Japanese food within 10 minutes and one of my favourite places was Japaz, a Japanese tapas place. I later learned from Yas from Hungry Digital Elf that Japaz also has a cafe called Atomic Espresso across the road and they happen to serve Katsusando (Fried Pork Katsu Sandwiches) from Thursdays to Saturdays. Only 20 of these sandwiches are made on these days and if you want to nab yourself one, you need to ring ahead and reserve your “sando” (Japanese for sandwich).

Evidence of my Limited Edition lunacy

Yes this is a Limited Edition Sandwich. The two words Limited Edition can either bore or excite someone. Sadly I’m one of the latter. If I hear that only a few are available of something, the desire to covet and own one of these things is exponentially increased. The Louis Vuitton Murakami collection was one such instance of instant smitteness. I had to have the Murakami Retro bag. I rang LV and put my name down and pestered them every few days to see whether a shipment had come in. When it did, I bought it, used it and then after a big fat raindrop plopped on the cream leather trim (you can probably see it on the right of the bow), stowed it away in its dustbag for years, just in case it ever got marked again, taken out only on occasions where a dress or outfit specifically matched the colours. I never said I made sense did I?

Cappucino $4

This afternoon Mr NQN and I find ourselves on the small Atomic Espresso cafe on Wycombe Street in Neutral Bay. The chef from Japaz walks past us and gives us a quiet Irasshaimase and nod. The waitress is friendly and we tell her that we are here to collect our Katsusando and have lunch so we order coffee and a pasta dish that she recommends. It’s called Atomic Espresso so we have high hopes for the coffee and we’re not let down. It’s a great, full bodied coffee.

The Limited Edition Pork Katsusando $15

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