Mount Pleasant Wines hosted its first major event on Saturday since opening its new-look cellar door and one of the stars of the show was a (very) moreish lobster roll.
It was one of the canapes on offer at the Spring Long Table Lunch and was so tasty that guests (or was it just me?) were chasing staff around the estate's courtyard hoping to grab another. The good news is, lobster rolls are about to become a spring staple at Mount Pleasant. On the October long weekend the winery is kicking off a Lobster Roll and Semillon Pop-Up in a space known as the Laneway (a terrace with seating overlooking the vineyards that catches the afternoon sun).
Consultant chef Justin North, in collaboration with head chef Kyle Whitbourne and his kitchen team, have sourced Eastern Rock Lobsters and chosen an artisan milk bun to create a lobster roll to pair with and showcase Mount Pleasant's semillon offerings.
"Taking into account the balance of flavours required between food and wine, we chose to use creamy yuzu mayonnaise and a semi-sweet bun to help to offset the dry semillon," North explained.
The semillon on offer in the Laneway includes the 2017 Cellar Release Elizabeth Semillon, 2022 Lovedale Semillon, and 2022 Estate Grown Semillon.
"Because of its acidity, our semillon is the perfect match for the sweet flesh of shellfish and seafood, especially lobster," chief winemaker Adrian Sparks said.
"We wanted to introduce it as a special offering to showcase the versatility of our wine and the broad range of food they can be paired with."
To celebrate the launch of the pop-up, artist Libby Haines will be painting a one-off oil on canvas piece with the lobster roll and semillon as the subject. Guests can witness Haines in action on Saturday, September, 24. Limited edition prints will be available for purchase on her website (libbyhaines.com).
As an aside, the food and wine pairings at last weekend's lunch were impeccable. For example, semillon enhanced the earthy tones of the kombu cured Hiramasa kingfish with togarishi, kohlrabi remoulade, Oscietra caviar and jersey cream; and the roasted wagyu tritip with karubi daube, confit charcoal carrots, pepperberry, fermented grape and jus worked a treat with shiraz. If you haven't yet visited the cellar door and settled in for an afternoon, you must.
Samasama wine bar
Cessnock wine bar Samasama officially opens tomorrow on North Street, brought to you by Burgerfiend's Marlene and Matt Fulham.
It's open for lunch from noon to 3pm, and dinner from 5pm to 8pm, with share plates, pizza and sweets on offer. The bar is open all day and pizza can be ordered all day.
If you want to wander in wearing your double-pluggers, think again. There is a dress code: casual, neat and tidy attire.
I spoke to Marlene this week and she says she hopes Samasama will change people's perceptions of Cessnock, which are often negative.
"I have a genuine love of hospitality but this is really for our kids," she said.
"They are growing up in Cessnock and Matt and I have met so many people who used to live in Cessnock and it's like they are ashamed of having grown up here. We want to change Cessnock's reputation by making a positive contribution to the town - to do what we can to improve the town's profile.
"We're having a soft opening on Wednesday and officially opening on Thursday, which is now a public holiday. So much for easing our way in (laughs). That went out the window. But we can do this. We've got a good team and I have so much trust in my staff, they're amazing."
And the dress code?
"We're making a point that Cessnock can have nice things. You don't have to go out for a drink and have pokies in the background, or be sitting in the middle of a meat raffle."
Public holiday
Quite a few venues are open tomorrow for the Queen's memorial public holiday, and some are going all out to celebrate the late monarch. Here are two examples.
The Criterion at Carrington has a "Great Britain-inspired BBQ lunch", bookings and walk-ins welcome, and Carling Lager and Guinness available. The Traditional English BBQ Board ($45) features beer and honey chicken skewers, garlic and rosemary lamb chops, pork sausage "bangers", bubble and squeak, mushy peas and grilled asparagus.
Boydell's at Morpeth has a five-course British-inspired degustation for lunch and dinner: chilled truffle asparagus soup with crispy quail egg, butter lettuce and parmesan; gravlax with pickled baby veg, smoked trout rillette and confit tomato; cured duck breast with duck liver pate, rhubarb and ginger chutney; herb and pine nut crusted lamb loin with spring peas, fava beans and sauce soubise; and lemongrass panna cotta with citrus shortbread, coconut and sweet basil.
Dinner at The Wood Restaurant
The Wood Restaurant at Brokenwood Wines is now open for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Executive chef Sean Townsend's four-course menu includes an eight-day dry-aged Hiramasa kingfish with pink lady apple, cultured creme and avocado seed (pair with 2016 Tallawanta Vineyard Semillon); and Jack's Creek beef with fried eggplant and cimi di rapa (2018 Verona Vineyard Shiraz).
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