Thermofest is a reward trip for Thermomix consultants that have been successful (In this case it was July – Nov 2015) I only just made it in to qualify on the last day of November! This year it was also a celebration of Thermomix in Australia’s 15th birthday! What better place to celebrate than Sydney!!
Day 1 Monday 7th March
Everyone arrives from their various states & even some people came from NZ. Our flight from Hobart was delayed so we were the last to arrive at 4.30pm. We were collected at the airport & driven to our Hotel – The Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. We collected our goodie bags & checked into our rooms, with just enough time to get ready for our masquerade ball.
Saying Hi to Grace Mazur – Managing Director of Thermomix in Australia
Surprise – Dani Valent is here too!!
So excited to finally meet my bestie from the Marketing department -Krystle, she was also my personal photographer 🙂 I can’t wait to see the photos she took!
All our 12 Tassie girls all wore the same mask a red one & we all wore black dresses. We were dropped off & had to walk towards the Opera House, where they had a marquee set up right on the water front in front of the Opera House. We were starving so luckily there was lots of food including my 2 favourites – the prawns & freshly shucked oysters – shucked right in front of you & you could choose if you wanted lemon or tabasco or natural YUM!! The even served Janz – Tasmanian sparkling wine so we were in heaven. I loved meeting new people & catching up with friends I had made on the Emerald Class Trip to Paris in September 2015. We also had entertainment, music & dancing!!
(Thanks to Sam for letting me share some of her photos in this post)
Day 2 – Full day seminar
We got to find out about some new Thermomix news, including new products like the gorgeous Thermomix aprons we are modeling – available in May for Mother’s Day. There was Thermomix branded Lindt chocolate too! We all got a copy of Dr Igor Tabrizian’s new book Staying Healthy. We had David Koch do a mentoring session & The Futurist, Rose Herceg – so insightful, thought provoking & inspirational!
But my favourite parts were the cooking segments from top Chef Mark Best with Dani Valent who was announcing the launch of her new cooking video site Dani Valent Cooking – I have signed up already but it is due to be launched in May – So exciting!! Mark Best’s orange ice cream with orange sherbet recipe will be on the recipe community soon.
Donato Toce from Gelato Messina did a presentation & cooking demo for us too, it’s great to see how passionate he is about creating the best quality & everything made from scratch, we all got to try one of his creations too – So awesome!! I love hearing how chefs use the Thermomix & being inspired to try new things. Gelato Messina also run cooking classes using the Thermomix – I would so love to go to one of those.
Then there were awards & recognition, so many high achievers in the room & they certainly deserved to be thanked for all their hard work & effort.
Harbour Dinner Cruise – Nautical theme, I instantly thought Pirate because I love pirates & Johnny Depp (I was born on his birthday!) And I think because everyone was dressed up we had even more fun with some crazy dance moves coming out!! Belinda even did the splits!!
Day 3: We had a free day due to having to cancel a breakfast event, so after 3 of us missing the Manly ferry we decided to go to Watsons Bay for a relaxing lunch. Another Ferry ride out to the Star Casino to sample some Gelato Messina, and stop into Zumbo’s.
Sam, Arwen & Rebecca we found our letters!!
Then it was the Gala Dinner!! Some ladies had spent all day getting their hair & make up done!!
It started with a laser show, there was a photo booth but every time we got close to the start of the line we had to go back in for more presentations & awards. When we finally got to go into the booth – they were having technical difficulties so we had to take our own photo!! We had a yummy 3 course sit down dinner but due to the lighting you couldn’t get any good food pictures! The top awards for all of Australia were presented – congrats to everyone’s massive achievements! Then it was time for one last night of dancing, we had Frankie J Holden & Kate Ceberano to entertain us & then our awesome DJ & singer from the cruise again.
What a fantastic Thermofest, so great to meet so many inspiring consultants, group leaders, managers & special guests, to reconnect with friends & have a great time. I’m so grateful to have been on board for this Thermofest. Thank you Thermomix in Australia for organising this awesome event! I wonder where the next Thermofest will be??
This is the first recipe I posted on the Thermomix recipe community & I started with a Thermie Green theme, all my recipes were the colour green!! I love this recipe because it is so quick & easy. And we normally have a lot of silver beet in the garden to use up. My mum used to make a version of this recipe when I was little, she made it with a wholemeal pastry though & steamed the silver beet first. Oh & my first Thermomix you tube video is of me making this recipe – it’s a bit embarrassing!
Heat oven to 180 degrees (for fan forced) - 200 degrees.
Place Parmesan cheese into TM bowl process for 5 seconds on speed 10. Set cheese aside.
Add garlic clove process for 3 seconds on speed 7.
Add spinach leaves or silverbeet leaves, cream cheese, eggs, salt & pepper & dill (if using) process for 5 seconds on speed 7. You may need to scape down the sides of the bowl & repeat.
Pour mixture into greased quiche dish.
Sprinkle with reserved parmesan cheese.
Bake for 20 - 25 until lightly brown on top.
You can always put this mix on top of your favourite pastry or mountain bread - it also is a great filling for mini quiche.
500g mix of other green vegetables in season - zucchini, beans, peas, broccoli or cauliflower.
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbs fresh coriander chopped to garnish
2 tbs fresh mint leaves chopped to garnish
Instructions
Heat milk for 20 mins/90 degrees/speed 2.
Add the vinegar & stir for 1 min/speed 2.
Place a nut milk bag into the simmering basket into a clean sink or container and pour in the contents of the TM bowl to drain the curds from the whey.
Rinse the ball off whey in the nut milk bag under some fresh water.
Place this ball still in the bag & simmering basket into a container into the fridge with a weight on top to allow all the excess liquid to drain out. making sure the drained liquid will not be in contact with the whey. It is best to do this over night or for a few hours.
You can then cut your paneer into pieces ready to use in the curry recipe.
Place all the dry spices & plain flour into the bowl & dry roast 3 mins/Varoma/speed 1.
Allow to cool for about 5mins & then mill for 1 min/speed 9.
Add garlic, onion (& any optional fresh spices) chop for 3 secs/speed 7.
Add oil & saute' 3 mins/Varoma/speed 1.
Add tomatoes, dates, sweet potato, salt & pepper (& cauliflower if using) cook for 3 mins/100 degrees/reverse/soft speed.
Add remaining veggies & cook for 15 mins/100 degrees/soft speed.
Gently fold in the paneer & garnish with fresh coriander & mint.
Serve with steamed rice, freshly made rotis & apricot chutney.
Oh WOW, someone pinch me – 4 awesome friends – we all entered the ballot to win a table at the Fat Duck pop up in Melbourne, (along with thousands of other people), we said whoever wins it will take the others & we won it twice!! I still remember where I was when I found out, Nicole & I just burst into tears of joy & excitement when Charlie rang to tell us. Then Nicole got her email later the same day to say we got another spot – 2 lunches, one in May & one in July. Suzie & I decided we had to go twice (more Heston meeting opportunities!!) Oh and an interesting fact they have 8 Thermomix in the restaurant – it just became a work trip – the lengths I will go to, I’m such a dedicated Thermomix consultant. The $500 per meal was an investment in our culinary education & there is no way I have ever regretted it. The foodgasms, memories & tears of joy will last forever! I will be telling my grand – kids about the 2 times I dinned at the Fat Duck, if they will care to listen 🙂
Unfortunately this was the closest I got to meeting or even seeing Heston in real life!!
The Fat Duck restaurant was relocated to Melbourne for just 6 months. Â Before we went to the fat duck we were emailed a video to watch here is the closest thing on-line to what we were sent – Like a Kid in a Sweetshop.
4 friends: Jo, Suzie, Nicole & Arwen
Jo even booked hair & make up for 9am!! Suzie & I did ring our hairdresser to make sure we had done our hairstyles right for our big adventure! We all met a 1/2 hour before our booking for a celebratory glass of bubbles. Is this really happening?? Dreams become reality?! Will Heston be there?? OMG I can’t breathe I’m so excited!! I even brought my Heston books for him to sign in case he was in town. I wanted to bring my model 5 Thermomix for him to sign too but thought that might be over the top – just slightly?! (As it turned out Heston was not in town for our visit, we had just missed him!!)
A surprise entrance to The Fat Duck
Then we were taken to our seats & given the extensive wine list bible!! We had a glass of champagne to mark the extra special occasion and we met our amazing waiters and sommelier – we all decided on matching wines and then the first course was upon us – Aerated beetroot with horseradish cream – Melt in the mouth flavour bomb! This set the scene – we were in for the foodgasm of our life!
Aerated Beetroot
Our waitress arrived with a trolley with liquid nitrogen and a siphon you could choose which flavour Nitro Poached Aperitif you would like: vodka and lime sour, gin & tonic or tequila & grapefruit. The girls choose Gin & tonic & I choose the grapefruit one. I had tears in my eyes it was so awesome! It was so cool (pardon the pun) because you got to watch each one being made at the table & then watch each friends reaction. It was like being a dragon you have to put the whole thing in your mouth and then the cold “smoke” from the dry ice would come out your nostrils, it was an amazing start to our wonderful afternoon.
Red Cabage Gazpacho with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream
Our next dish, did I mention there were 16 courses? How perfect are those quenelles of mustard ice-cream? An amazingly, gorgeous balanced dish.
One of our waiters name was Cameron – he was given the nickname Cambo fairly early on (he was one of the few Aussies in the Fat Duck team). Cambo gave us our frozen savoury icy poles know as lollies and explained that you could either lick or suck them, we of course we burst out laughing & even made poor Cambo blush. They were actually so delicious I really loved the chicken liver pate one that looked like a golden gaytime and the salmon and horseradish swirl and of course there was the one that looked like the rocket ship that was the flavour of a waldorf salad. This was one of my new favourite dishes!!
Ok so I might need to change that this is my new favourite dish!! Jelly of Quail, Marron Cream. Caviar Sorbet, Oak Moss & Truffle Toast (homage to Alain Chapel)
We were first presented a tray of moss & these Fat duck films in the middle of the table, they served the dishes in front of us & told us to eat the film & as we did this our waiter poured water from the tea pot into the moss to create a magical sensory moment, cold “smoke” came out  it was like it was infused with truffle or maybe that was just the smell coming from the dish in front of us so earthy, it was absolutely intoxicating and dramatic. Did I mention how much I love truffles?
We thought our table must be the most excited table there with our exclamations of oohs, ahhhs & WOWS!! We tried so hard not to watch other tables that were ahead of us in the service, so we didn’t spoil our surprise but that was way too difficult. We also had quite moments where we carefully tasted the amazing food with lots of mmmmm’s happening.
Something as simple as freshly made butter, top quality salt & bread was so seriously good!! Smoky sourdough bread, so crusty it made lots of crumbs on the table cloth, lucky they had a very posh device to scrape the crumbs off the table!!
I don’t recall having eaten snails before now but of all the iconic Heston dishes to be served today this did have me intrigued. I am happy to report that the Snail Porridge (Joselito Ham, Shaved Fennel) was absolutely delicious, a gorgeous green colour and amazing fresh flavours and textures.
Roast Marron – Shiitake, Confit Kombu and Sea Lettuce – Art on a plate – but everything on the plate has a purpose, flavour, texture to marry the whole dish together. Umami at the best; such delicate care & precision has gone into each & every dish so they all look & taste the same.
MAD HATTERS TEA PARTY! Jo was so excited for the Mock Turtle Soup she burst into tears of excitement as soon as the first part came to the table!! A glass tea cup with a quail egg & miniature mushrooms with such tiny details. Our waiter Cambo opened his case filled with gold Pocket Watches and these all went into an individual glass teapot of hot water, you jiggled the watch like a tea bag to reveal the watch was actually covered with gold leaf an included the most amazing mock turtle soup broth. Oh and did I mention in the centre of the table there was placed a mad hatters platter complete with hat & the most delectable toast sandwiches you have ever tasted!
The Sound of the Sea – I knew this would be the dish that I would absolutely love, uncontrollable silent tears of joy streamed down my face, and I do not apologise in any way for this reaction to a dream come true to be fully immersed in a dish I have looked forward to experiencing for so long. I also have so many fond memories & connections with the sea. (As I write this I am welling up all over again.) Nicole had tears too as she revisited precious memories of her grandfather shucking oysters on the seashore. It was truly amazing to hear the sound of the sea, to see your beautiful plate in front of you and to smell and taste the wonderful textures and flavours. It was a moment of pure serenity – the calm & quiet relaxing sound of the waves, brought about quite a sereal moment of being in the present moment, eating mindfully with the energy of the busy restaurant completely out of your mind. The sound of the sea in our ears was all we could hear as we calmly slowly & carefully tasted our plate. I didn’t want this moment to end. This is my happy place. We watched each other’s reactions without speaking. I really felt like I was on the seashore – an edible wave in front of me complete with foam, the crunch of eating “sand”, soft & salty sea sponge & fresh seafood. Our waiter even brought us some tissues. We did ask if we could keep the seashells but we did have to give them back unfortunately.
Salmon poached in a Liquorice Gel: Endive, Vanilla Mayonnaise and Golden Trout Roe: This amazing salmon dish was gorgeous delicious beautiful!! Oh & Cambo showed us his pocket watch – apparently all the waiters have them 🙂
Lamb with Cucmber: Green Pepper and Caraway. A lamb dish that looks like an amazing piece of art, included lambs hearts & lungs – Suzie who had previously been a vegetarian had no idea what she was eating, thank goodness!
Hot & Iced Tea – this messes with your mind!! Just like the Katy Perry song it’s hot & it’s cold!!
Now onto desserts, the Botrytis Cinerea as seen & made on Masterchef 2015 later in the year was simply stunning – another gorgeous art piece that tastes amazing with awesome texture and technique, beyond belief. You can see how it was made to look like grapes on a vine, and for some weird reason it got the nickname of the celebration of the balls?!
The Not-So-Full English Breakfast: We had a delicious breakfast a cereal box with Heston on the front – the cereal was dried carrots & parsnips and a the special milk bottle was filled with parsnip milk. The earl grey infused marmalade jam with edible chocolate lid and our wonderful waitress brought a trolley along with more liquid nitrogen and cooked special bacon & egg ice cream with “scrambled” Fat Duck Eggs and served with crispy pancetta on brioche. It was so amazing, with surprise, theatrics & taste sensation all rolled into one.
Whisky Wine Gums – with one of the whiskies even from Tasmania!
Hooray, we got to go into the kitchen & meet the chefs including head chef Jonny Lake oh & they all signed our Heston cook books!!
Last but not least the final course – Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop – amazing sweets to take home or eat at The Fat Duck 🙂
Tea & coffee, yes please – it means we can stay just a little bit longer – I don’t want this epic foodie journey to be over NOOOOO you can’t make me leave – oh Rachel is ironing the table cloths for the next dinner seating which is just moments away!
Our final moments at the Fat Duck Melbourne; we were the last to arrive for the lunch service & the last to leave. Our puzzle pieces are added to the big puzzle, a cheeky selfie from Cambo, we said our goodbyes to our new Fat Duck friends with Suzie & I warning them – we would be back in July!! What on earth could anyone ever do after almost 7 hours of such pure foodie heaven? Watch out for the next post with our The Fat Duck – the sequel post!!
My 5 Star review on the The Fat Duck at the Crown facebook page: “I’m in my happy place at the Fat Duck, I feel so lucky to have dined here for lunch. Heston thank you for creating this epic fun filled delicious foodie journey for us to enjoy. Your team are absolutely awesome & made our experience so special. I can’t wait to meet you some day soon, so I can thank you in person.”
(Jo was very lucky to get the last table at the last sitting at the Fat Duck Melbourne which was actually the Fat Duck’s 20th birthday so they had a 20 course meal with a few different dishes & some of the same – she will appear on episode 3 of the series Inside Heston’s World, keep an eye out!)
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