Phat 4 Da Flava

By Jackie McMillan
jackie@alternativemediagroup.com

Butter, lard, beef dripping and ghee! At last there is a book on the market that reminds us that fat is ‘critical to the flavour of our food: without it, meat has no real taste.’ With the ‘f’ word so despised, I asked author Jennifer McLagan how scary it was to release a fat book like Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes in today’s market’ Jennifer said: ‘I didn’t think a book on FAT was that crazy and I was never scared by the idea. I knew it would be controversial but I didn’t realise that it would meet with such resistance especially in the world of New York publishing. The book took a long time to sell but finally the Canadian publisher then the US publisher (in California) came on board and FAT will be published in the UK next month. Many people are now saying what a timely idea ‘ if only they had said that three years ago.‘

If the idea of eating fat has been beaten out of you by diets and quasi-science, perhaps you’ll be interested to hear Jennifer’s claim that if you eat ‘the right fats, and you’ll probably lose weight.‘ This is because fat is satisfying, and digests slowly, so you’re less likely to snack between meals. To give you a taste of the book’s tone, you only have to read the chapter headings: ‘butter: worth it’; ‘pork fat: the king’; ‘poultry fat: versatile and good for you’; ‘beef and lamb fat: overlooked but tasty’. Apart from all the recipes, there are lots of sidebars, quotes and asides that help explain the history and culture surrounding our favourite fats.

Another place you can go to revel in food with flavour is Taste of Sydney, a rather spectacular event taking place over four days from the 12-15th of March, 2009 in the lush, green surrounds of Centennial Park. You’ll be able to select from a menu of three signature tastes from fifteen of Sydney’s hottest restaurants. I was lucky enough to get a tasty preview myself, and while it was hard to pick favourites, I’d suggest that chilli lovers should keep their eyes peeled for Longrain chef Martin Boetz and his zingy spicy pork sausage betel leaves with pickled ginger. The wonderful Wagyu Beef ‘ Bourguignonne’ offering from Matthew Kemp at Restaurant Balzac was the best thing I put in my mouth; with a cute little organic grass-fed wagyu burger from Justin North at Becasse running a close second. The food prices at this event will start at eight dollars, a far cry from the normal menu prices in any of these esteemed restaurants ‘ so don’t miss the opportunity to try them all without breaking the bank. Wash it all down with a glass of premium wine like the Chandon Vintage Brut Rose 2004 at the Chandon Bar.

I’ve held off on mentioning the very exciting opening of Black Star Pastry in Newtown because rather than just telling you it’s there, I wanted to tell you about their actual products. So after some extensive research, I can report that the Lamb Shank and Vegetables in Red Wine Pie ($6.50) is a real contender for Sydney’s tastiest pie ‘ both the pastry and the filling are excellent. The chalky goats’ cheese in their Leek and Goats’ Cheese Quiche ($4.50) oozes quality; the rich yellow curd on the Lemon Curd Biscuit ($2) would give my dearly departed Grandma a run for her money; and the less said about the Rosewater and White Chocolate Macaroons ($3.50) the better. After all, I am a late riser, and if I tell you how good they are, you’ll buy them out before I get there. Leave me one of the restaurant quality cups of White Nectarine Jelly on Panna cotta ($5) too please’

One final place to feed your fat fetish is at the newly opened Formaggi Ocello in the St Margaret’s complex on Bourke Street, Surry Hills. I popped in and boggled at the size of their cheese ripening room! Their range of cheeses was pretty impressive too; possibly Sydney’s widest! I added two new cheeses to my own platters this week; the sensuously creamy Chevre Fromage D’Affinois ($90/kg) and one of the most pronouncedly truffled cheeses I have tried to date ‘ the excellent Bianco Sottobosco ($90/kg). The price tag on the 150 gram Beppino Occelli Butter ($8) is slightly prohibitive, but it’s pretty damn fly for a white wedge of butter phat.

Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes
By Jennifer, McLagan
RRP: $44.95 Simon and Schuster

Taste of Sydney
12-15th March, 2009
Centennial Park ‘ Brazilian Fields
www.tasteofsydney.com.au

Black Star Pastry
277 Australia Street, Newtown
Ph: (02) 9557 8656

Formaggi Ocello
Shop 16/425 Bourke Street, Surry Hills
Ph: (02) 9357 7878