Tasting Menu

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Parcs – Melbourne, City – Saturday 18 May 2024 – Dinner

Admitting that I’m confused about a tasting menu is not something I would ordinarily like to do. I feel I need to, as Parcs is the kind of place where what you’re eating makes sense, until you try to begin writing about it.

This is a tiny restaurant by CBD standards. I counted 22 chairs if you include the barstools, making for a warm and intimate room. Only a handful of staff is possible in such a small venue, and the concentration makes for excellent service. This is a model I really like.

The floor staff are complimented by the executive chef, Damien Neylon, who delivers around half of your courses. He’s not one to embellish but you can tell the pride and the deep consideration behind what is on your plate. The level of care extends to a wine list that is exemplary.

There is a strong and intentional theme here at Parcs. It’s new and with that comes a high degree of learning, which I believe will only make the menu stronger from this point. It is not perfect, but there are many excellent dishes, and no poor ones. The staff don’t speak about the theme of sustainability a great deal. Perhaps talking too much about sustainability would take away from the excellence in the ingredients and their treatment by the kitchen. I find the balance impressive.

An example of ingenuity comes in the form of beetroot that is treated like gravlax. There’s a familiarity in the snack though the beetroot itself is quite unique. Another highlight is sweet potato that somehow tricks the mind into thinking it is salmon. The crustacean sauce is incredibly delicious, and the accompaniments are novel, but somehow work. Those accompaniments are potato with bonito cured in juice pulp placed on top, in between lying the green leftover pulp that was used (direct from the local juice store), and some fermented potato, honey and garlic bread.

Even with the substantial amount of food there was no way I was leaving any of that potato bread, and we finished the savoury courses with beautifully cooked cockerel (young male chicken). At this stage there was equally no way I was leaving any of the substantial final course in the form of imperfect strawberries and rhubarb. The flavour packed strawberries must come into the kitchen resembling an ugly duckling, before they are marinated, and used to generously cover an oat meringue, with plenty of kefir cream thrown into the mix, along with kombucha scoby, which is the starter for turning sweetened tea into kombucha. There is a genuinely exceptional degree of experimentation here, and it rarely doesn’t deliver.

One dish that didn’t work for me, but was still enjoyable, was the tuna cured in bull kelp. It didn’t fall apart with that tenderness you often experience with high quality tuna, and the diced belly was not as flavoursome as I would expect. What did work for me was the wines we were trying. As if teasing me to try each wine by the glass, they seemed to be one-upping themselves. From a superb Aligote by Dubois Bernard et Fils, to a deeper and softer Chenin by Bobinet, followed by a Gamay by Chateau Cambon which is such an underrated varietal when well made, finishing with a Petit-Roy Pinot Noir from Burgundy. These are unashamedly fine French wines, well sourced by the restaurant, and all in keeping with the sustainability theme.

I feel like I’ve raved about Parcs. I believe it will get even better than the experience Catherine and I enjoyed. It would be great if it was just a little bit bigger for a casual wine and snack, but I think that is not the point. There is meaning and thought here, and the theme doesn’t dull the offering. In fact, the inventiveness feels like it partly relies on the limitations presented, and the intention to be completely seasonal and sustainable.

Parcs
https://parcs.com.au
198 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Phone +61(3)99727015
info@parcs.com.au

du Fermier – Trentham, Victoria – Friday 1 September 2023 – Lunch
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du Fermier – Trentham, Victoria – Friday 1 September 2023 – Lunch

Comfort is an expectation of many diners. At du Fermier, comfort is taken to a different level. From the entry into instant fiery warmth, into every other element, and the eventual goodbye.

There are some restaurants that purposely have an edge, extending the diner to experience new ingredients, new combinations, new technology, or new means. Some of these restaurants can be so expensive that people feel like they do not fit in. If you want to be taken care of, by people who really love what they are doing, who only want you to have the nicest time, then you might find what you are looking for at Annie Smithers’ long time Trentham restaurant.

When Annie brings out the first course, exhibiting three kinds of heirloom beetroot, with feta, rocket, and balsamic, it is like you are dining at her home. It’s a moment. We haven’t been to an Annie Smithers’ restaurant since Kyneton back in 2010 (unless we count NGV, which she has a venue), and there is no reason other than circumstance, as it was a great meal 13 years ago. We naturally tell her how glad we are to be back.

The floorstaff are outstanding. Not in a showy way. In a way that often great service reveals itself. One indication of great service is not noticing it, or rather not noticing any shortcomings. Great service is often looking forward to the next interaction with the staff, as we did on this occasion, and knowing that while they are enormously hospitable and friendly, they do take their roles seriously.

Our next course arrives and it is exciting because we are viewing the combination of duck eggs, pecorino, and black truffle done immaculately in two different ways. Catherine’s gluten-free option is a duck egg omelette that I am lucky enough to try a couple of times, generously topped with shaved local black truffle. Only a couple of times in my life have I tasted such simple omelette perfection. My dish is fresh duck egg pasta, topped with the same pecorino, and black truffle. It is equally demonstrating how delicious food can be. It is a course that we may request in the future it is so memorable.

The wines by the glass are restrained, but of high quality. We have started earlier with Champagne by A.Margaine, which is from Villers-Margery equidistant between Reims and Epernay, heading east. We’re finding a lot of restaurants want to have a Champagne by the glass, but not from one of the well known Houses, and each time we find something we would be happy to have more available to us in our own homes. The Maison Lapelus 2020 Roussanne, funnily enough from the region we are in (Macedon Ranges), is by an originally French winemaker. It is sensational, with all the texture and mouthfeel you expect from this variety, some aging complexity with French oak, and plenty of soft stone fruit.

Now I’m choosing between the Pinot Noir and the Syrah, and when it accidentally slipped that duck was the next course, I couldn’t help but honour the cliche with the Domaine des Vercheres Bourgogne 2021. This Pinot has some depth and earthiness which I like, and pairs nicely with the very generously proportioned main dish for us to share. Roasted duck breast, and confit duck leg, are served with duck fat potatoes, and roasted carrots, with a light jus, in what is a beautifully prepared dish of pure comfort. This is Annie’s cooking on a share plate, and it is delightful.

As is often the case with tasting menus, it is hard for Catherine and I to not notice the desserts going out earlier as we head toward our final, and one of our favourite courses. My dessert is the Paris Brest, which is always a hit when the pastry is properly executed. Judging by the empty plates going back to the kitchen, it was never any doubt that this was a very good quality Paris Brest. Catherine gets to try the hazelnut creme, and some chocolate mousse, with the hazelnut praline, as her dessert course, and it is still good, but the pastry is the winner for the texture (and the fat content!)

From the warmth of the greeting, to the prized corner bench seat, to the comfort of Annie’s farm to table dishes, du Fermier (“of the farmer”) is everything you could want from a dining experience. The drive to Trentham is not excessive for a day trip like we did, and the town is charming, with plenty of accommodation options, in a great part of Victoria. Annie Smithers and her team have delivered a destination restaurant that exudes care in every facet of the dining experience.

du Fermier
https://anniesmithers.com.au/du-fermier
Lunch – Friday to Monday
42 High Street Trentham Victoria
Phone 03 5424 1634
Bookings – https://anniesmithers.com.au/du-fermier

Note – since our experience and after I finished writing, I’ve realised that one of our waitstaff was restaurant manager, Bronwyn Kabboord, who won a service excellence award from the Good Food Guide and was mentioned as the “dining equivalent of a big hug”. Based on our experience this is well deserved!