An Evening of Molecular Magic: Canapés, Northern Sydney Institute, Ryde TAFE (20 Sept 2011)

250 Blaxland Road, Ryde NSW 2112
http://www.nsi.tafensw.edu.au

An appetite for canapés

Thanks to Jay Richardson for inviting me along to this special event for an intimate gathering of family and food industry guests which showcased seven canapés to suit the theme of molecular magic. Six students helped each other in the kitchen to prepare all the food as well as organising the event under the guidance of Sharon Altman. Food was a bit slow at first out of the kitchen but once everyone worked as a team and found direction the flow of food started coming together towards the end of service. The Ceviche scallops, watermelon & mint was one of my favourites of the night. The watermelon crisps were something new for me.

I’m not actually sure what molecular techniques were at play with the Pork belly, hot apple sauce, red wine cabbage but all the flavours worked really well together. One of the most interesting canapés was the Liquid popcorn caramel froth. It looked pretty sweet but thankfully was fairly well balanced the liquid popcorn was both unusual and delicious. The final Pineapple petite fours were excellent and a true crowd pleaser. I was thinking it would have been great if the students had more time to perhaps talk about all the cooking techniques they used in their canapés to help educate those who knew nothing about molecular cooking like myself.

BTW I don't think I ever found out why there was a McDonalds soft drink cup in the kitchen as pictured above — was this one of the secret ingredients I wonder?

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Some interesting flavours to be discovered

CONS: A lot of work for something that's eaten with one bite

MUST TRY: Watermelon crisps and Pineapple petite fours

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Ceviche scallops, watermelon & mint

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Watermelon crisps — so good!

Gazpacho marshmallow, olive parmesan crumb

A little spongey in the hand

Confit King Salmon, parsley puree, lemon crisp, beurre noisette

Pork belly, hot apple sauce, red wine cabbage

Lamb loin, sweet, sour and savoury glaze, garlic chips

Liquid popcorn caramel froth

WORTH TRYING :-)

Pineapple petite fours

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

All hands on deck in the kitchen

In the kitchen

Menu and magic theme

Wines of the night

Guests enjoying the magic canapés

Six young chefs in the making

Jay Richardson family and friends

Liam Power the magician was excellent — spotted at Tharen's too

Ready to shoot and pick a card

Calm, Cool and Collected Jay Richardson (right)

The magic happens on Level 5

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