WINTER

DINNER 29 June 2014

Our dining concept is based on the idea of celebrating seasonal changes.

Each quarter we will shape the menu and dining experience to showcase the memories, stories and feelings of each season.

More than just seasonal food, we want to start fun conversations about what makes Brisbane unique thoughout a year. It could be the Ekka in winter, purple Jacarandas in spring or the scorching sands in summer.

We hope to enhance the characteristics of all ingredients and to tell you a story about our shared habitat each season.

WINTER DINNER29 June 2014

Warm apple juice

+ Snacks Preserved quail eggsCauliflower with cheese and scallop roeSteamed Murray cod buns

Sprouted wheat and honey sourdough with cultured butter

Grilled oyster with greens and chilli

Preserved vegetables, pork and egg

Salt baked quail with quail feed

Roast leg of mutton with onion kraut, turnip and seeds

Local honey and milk served in bees wax

Applewood charcoal with smoked macadamia

+ SweetsSpiced hot chocolate marshmallows Mandarin mochi

Dried apple and herb infusion tea

In an age of global placelessness, our cultural notions of winter sometimes feel much more like that of the northern hemisphere.

We’ve become nostalgic of times when we have lived overseas and winters felt like a real adventure and snow was a crazy novelty. Even the annual fake ice rink in King George Square or short escapes to the Granite Belt might be telling us something of our desires to be somewhere else colder.

While Brisbane’s seasons can feel less dramatic, there is a uniqueness and many quiet joys to celebrate this season.

Welcome to WINTER.

WARM APPLE JUICE On arrival, warm apple juiceserved as a cocktail

WARMING DRINKS On cold days, herbal teas, hot chocolates or mulled wines are like hello hugs for hands.

GRILLED OYSTER WITH GREENS AND CHILLI Charcoal grilled oysters from Nambucca, grilled beach greens, warringal green vinaigrette with smoked chilli sauce

WINTER BEACH BBQ We are lucky enough to still be able to go to the beach in winter. Childhood memories are filled with oysters straight on the grill and winter surfing.

*List from South East Queensland Local Food Wheel (2011) www.ecofriendlyfood.org.au

WINTER FRUIT & VEG

JUNE- AUGUSTAvocadoBeetrootBroad BeansBlueberriesBrussel SproutsCustard AppleCauliflowerCitrus fruitPawpawLeekSpinachStrawberries

AUGUSTCarrotSquashPumpkinBasilZucchiniEggplantTaro

+ SnacksCAULIFLOWER Poached cauliflower, smoked cheese curd and scallop bottorga

+ Snacks STEAMED COD BUNS Steamed Murray cod fat bread, cod head brandade, cod cream and roe

WINTER PRESERVING To preserve full flavours and keep produce during winter, techniques like pickling, drying, salting, spicing and curing were all created to carry full flavours

PRESERVED VEGETABLES, PORK AND EGG Roasted and pickled onions and garlic with winter green soup, cured pork jowl and salted egg yolk

GAME BIRDS Migratory birds often appear in winter feasts because in the wild when they “flew south for the winter”, it made them easy and tasty targets.

SALT BAKED QUAIL WITH QUAIL FEED Salt dough roasted quail from Toowoomba with a quail parfait, roast bone sauce and shoots and seeds that it may have eaten

+ Snack PRESERVED QUAIL EGGS Warm pickled quail egg with a spice coating

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON WITH ONION KRAUT, TURNIP AND SEEDSButtermilk marinated, slow roasted leg mutton from New England area, with fermented onion, roast turnip and gravy

MEATY ROASTSWinters are filled with slow cooking, hearty meats and big roasts with family.

LOCAL HONEY AND MILK SERVED IN BEES WAXHoney collected in South Brisbane served with toasted pudding, mead and local milk

SEASONAL HONEY Local honey is a great marker of seasons. It changes flavour and colour through the year and will always naturally reflect what plants are growing and flowering at the time.

APPLESApples are at their best in winter. They are often grafted plants therefore the seed and fruit varieties don’t often match...which is kinda weird and cool.

APPLE WOOD CHARCOAL WITH SMOKED MACADAMIA Apple wood parfait coated in apple ash with grilled apple juice and smoked macadamia milk

+ SweetsSPICED HOT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS Marshmallows you toast with a chocolate core

+Sweets MANDARIN MOCHI Japanese sticky rice with mandarin jam

TOASTY FIRESFireplaces are certainly not a Brisbane architectural necessity, but any excuse for sitting around a fire is still always toasty fun.

MANDARINSEvery winter, mandarins fill school lunch boxes. In the playground you will find there’s only two people in life - seed swallowers or seed spitters.

DRIED APPLE AND HERB INFUSION TEADried apple and herbs picked from Southbank Parklands as a tea with local honey

Like all seasons, winter helps us mark our time and place.

We might not have the fashionable coats of London and Melbourne, or the snowdays of Toronto or Tokyo... but it’s safe to say Brisbane is a unique and special place to be.

Enjoy the rest of your winter season. May you indulge in warm hoodies and cozy flannel PJs while you can.

HIGH FIVES & THANKS

Thanks to the awesome teamAlex Beasley Amrit Pandey Blair ColemanChris BentleyChris JohnstonCameron PraegerDavid DoRozarioJohnny WalkerJoanne WineckaMurray CoulterSarah ThompsonShunsuke Nakamura Tom Newman

Thanks to Marc Sheldon (Flugente) and Angela Hirst (Wandering Cooks).

Special thanks to friends, family and colleagues who continue to support us.

Please send us your favourite seasonal memories to help shape

the next edition.

CONTACTBen Devlin & Yen Trinhboyandbird@gmail.com

boyandbird.wordpress.com

The next season is

SPRING