The Taste Test

Who decides what’s on the menu at the Epicurean Centre? Meet the people who apply their tastebuds to sampling chef Cate Hardman’s latest offerings and matching them to wine

BY Ylla Wright

In every restaurant there’s a table that stands out, perhaps for its outstanding view or secluded location, and the Epicurean Centre is no exception. Hidden in the kitchen, away from the welcoming buzz of the dining room, is head chef Cate Hardman’s chef’s table. This unassuming spot is home to one of the most anticipated events in the Brown Brothers calendar – the new season’s menu testing and wine matching session. With the relationship between food and wine at the heart of the Epicurean Centre’s philosophy, selecting the perfect wines to match Cate’s rustic, seasonally driven menu is a labour of love. An invitation to pull up a chair on the tasting panel is not to be turned down.

Taking time out to revisit some favourite dishes from the current menu, panel regulars company director John Brown, senior winemaker Joel Tilbrook, wine education manager Steve Kline, cellar-door supervisor Ernie Menichelli and public relations manager Scott Darkin join Cate to reveal the process that goes into finding the wine matches featured on each new menu.

For Cate, the quarterly wine matching is the final step in a process that starts with her thinking about the time of year for which she’s creating the menu, the fresh produce that will be in season, and the style of food people will want to eat. While cold weather calls for hearty, stick-to-the-ribs stews and braises, spring’s warm, sunny days suit lighter dishes.

“I do have potential wine-matches in mind from the start”, she laughs. “But they usually get thrown out the window when we’re all sitting around the table deconstructing the dishes.”

As Cate oversees the serving of today’s first offering, a white bean, anchovy and parsley fritter with Swiss chard and saffron, Scott explains the steps the panel take to come up with the wine matches.

“When each dish is served, we’ll taste it, nominate which wines we think will work and then try the food again with each of the different wines”, he says. “There have been occasions where there’s been something in a dish that we haven’t been able to match, but most often we’re able to suggest a slight change that will bring the flavours into line. For example, adding a little lemon juice or a particular spice.”

Each of the panel members brings their own area of professional expertise and personal tastes to the table, so the discussion is wide-ranging, knowledgeable and fiercely debated. Up to six wines can be in contention at any given time.

“We used to make it really hard for ourselves and try to find the definitive wine for each dish”, confides Ernie. “But sometimes there is no one perfect wine so now we’ve agreed to come up with two or three wines that work with each dish.”

“There are often several styles of wines that will work with the food and that’s where personal preference comes into play”, agrees Steve. “For instance, I could happily drink the chenin blanc we’re trying now with this dish but for me the bitterness in the greens and saltiness of the fritter need a crisper sauvignon blanc.”

In most cases the panel’s favourite wine match for each dish is listed first on the menu, with other matches offering diners a choice. “It’s great to challenge people’s thinking by going for a really unexpected match”, adds Scott. “A red wine with chicken, for example. Everyone thinks that you have to drink white with chicken but it’s not always the case.”

While the old rules of wine-matching – white wine with white meat; red with red meat – may have been relevant in the days when meat and three veg reigned supreme, Steve is quick to point out that Australia’s maturing and increasingly multicultural palate has seen those rules thrown out the window. “Forty years ago meat meant roast lamb or roast beef but now meat dishes incorporate flavours

from a whole range of other cuisines – Italian, Moroccan, Indian …” he says. “More often than not, it’s what you do to the meat that determines which wine you drink, rather than what kind of meat it is.”

With the arrival of Cate to talk the panel through the next course, a slow-roasted goat, pancetta and green olive ragu with chestnut gnocchi, the conversation switches to a discussion of the respective merits of two wines that might suit the dish, the 2006 Nero d’Avola and the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. The softer Sicilian-style wine gets the nod from the panel.

“The fruit structure of the Cabernet is OK but the longer tannin structure dries out the mouth”, comments Joel. “For me it goes well with the first mouthful but after that you can’t taste the delicate flavours of the food as well. The Nero d’Avola finishes when the food finishes so you go into the next mouthful with a fresh palate.”

“The Cabernet would be better with richer flavours, like a steak”, adds John.

Steve points to the Nero d’Avola as a perfect example of how the Epicurean Centre’s wine matches don’t just open up the full potential of Cate’s culinary creations but also open up new wine varieties for visitors. “Very few people know what a Nero d’Avola is but once they try it, they love it”, says Steve.

With a glass of wine built into the price of each of the dishes on the menu, why not take a chance and try something new? “When you’re paying $40 for a bottle of wine at a restaurant, you’re pretty game to go for a wine that you know nothing about – but here you’re only committing to one glass”, comments John. “I think it’s fair to say that people who come to Brown Brothers are looking for new experiences.”

Roast quail served with earthy lentils, bitter radicchio and a sweet apple and currant salad proves harder for the panel to match, causing a momentary lull in the conversation as they consider the respective merits of a fruit-driven 2006 Sangiovese and a crisp 2008 Vermentino.

“The hard thing about food and wine matching is that often if you put all the components of the dish on your fork a wine will match but if you try the same wine with just one component it doesn’t work quite so well”, comments Ernie.

“I quite like the Vermentino with this but if I was just having the quail and the lentils, then it would probably go better with the Sangiovese.”

At the end of the day, say the panel, the best matches are the ones that, as a diner, you don’t have to think about too much. “For us, it’s not necessarily about anyone saying ‘wow, that’s a fantastic match’”, says Scott. “But if a wine clashes very badly then it can ruin the meal or make you think that you don’t like Sangiovese. We want the experience of eating at the Epicurean Centre to be seamless.”

As the group turns its attention to a question of which wine to serve with Cate’s offering of ripe gorgonzola picccante drizzled with chestnut honey, the first of the lunchtime orders start to roll in. Out in the dining room, the diners settling in for a long, leisurely lunch may not realise it, but they’re just about to the enjoy the fruits of the panel’s labour.

Ylla Wright is a freelance food writer.