Now before you say anything, yes I know I am breaking code with this post. It’s not travel. But those of you who know me could probably argue that to get me all the way to Darlinghurst on a cold, rainy night takes about as much planning as a overseas trip.
Plus, this experience seemed far too good not to write about.
It was his birthday on Tuesday, and as a present I took him to the Gelato Messina Creative Department’s new degustation restaurant. There are eight seats per sitting, and seven courses, all paired with a complementing drink. Sounds good already, right?
Course One
We started with a Feijoa and Lemon Geranium Granita served in an ice bowl and drizzled with olive oil. What? Yum.
Course Two
Tarragon sherbet, lemonade fruit compote and finger lime gel, accompanied with a cold pressed pear and black cardamom juice. Now we’re talking.
Course Three
Olive oil sorbet, confit fennel and crispy fennel with a black truffle sauce. This was served with a cold pressed roasted beetroot, rhubarb and pine tree oil juice. It was at this point that I started losing my mind. How the hell did they made ice cream taste savory?
Heston Blumenthal, eat your heart out.
Course Four
Almond gelato, potato and brown butter cream, porcini crisps and caviar, served with an organic Ahinsa Estate Orange Peko Tea. This one felt like an interesting take on the classic steak and mash meal, but about a trillion times better. I think it was by this course that I worked out that the smile plastered across his face wasn’t going anywhere quickly.
*self high-five*
Course Five
Goats milk yoghurt gelato, persimmon aged for three weeks and soaked in sake, inside a mannitol egg shell (alcohol sugar). Definitely the most theatrical of the courses, we got to smash open our eggs to reveal the most ridiculous #eggporn known to man.Willy Wonka, are you missing your golden goose?
This course was also paired with what we both decided was the best of the drinks. A cold pressed smoked red apple, mandarin zest and bayleaf juice.
Smoking seems to be the bee’s knees these days. Recently we’ve tried smoked avocado, smoked salt and now smoked red apple. It’s no surprise then that he has decided he wants a smoker, and I have decided I definitely want him to get a smoker. Shame he didn’t mention it before his birthday.
Course Six
Honeycomb gelato made from infused bee’s wax, financier sponge, and crisp bee pollen honeycomb, accompanied by a bubbly house-made ginger beer. Disclaimer: no bees were harmed in the making of this dish. All collected from the same hive, the only thing not used was the actual bee.
It was sweet, just like my date, and this wasn’t even dessert.
Course Seven
A tonka bean gelato, with vanilla mousse, coffee soil, and chocolate paper, served with a caramelised ameretto infused milk reduction. Yuuuuuuuuummmm. Thank god dark chocolate doesn’t trigger migraines, and I’m fully capable of consuming milk.*
*That was an in-joke, just in case you are confused.
All in all, it was an excellent night. Even though the food was of such high quality, the service was really relaxed and casual and they even invited you to walk around the kitchen in between service. Each course was served with more exciting utensils than the previous, and you got to keep the menu at the end of the night. Being the first night of the new menu, we were lucky enough to be treated to some petit fours at the end of the night – think candied eggplant with blackberry jam, soy sauce and siaoxing pepper, stracciatella cheese with olive oil and smoked salt, and flash frozen goats curd with lemon and licorice gel.
An unforgettable experience, and a high standard set for birthdays. No pressure, though.
Here’s hoping he had the most amazing night.
There is nothing better than seeing him smile.
Love,
E.
@gelatomessina #messinacreativedepartment #messinadessertbar
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