Dinner with Friends at View Restaurant
It was all ‘friends’ on deck when Matt Golinski brought some much-loved and familiar faces back to Noosa for one-night only! Tony Cox was on-hand to savour the experience.
Just before going to print, Matt Golinski hosted a four-course dinner with friends, matched with delicious wines
by De Bortoli Family Winemakers. Joining Matt and Andy Wilcox in the View Restaurant kitchen were two ex-Noosa chefs who each prepared a dish reflecting their current food direction.
Bruno Loubet (ex-Berardos and now Seeds by Bruno Loubet and Willow Vale Cooking School) kicked off proceedings with an eggplant and mushroom kebab.
I must admit that your scribe isn’t used to having a kebab at the start of the evening, more likely at the backend on the way home, but this stunning combination that had been marinated, grilled and smoked with approximately 25 spices was delicious.
The Estate Pinot Blanc from the Yarra Valley cleansed the palate between morsels as the light-bodied, minerally, dry wine allowed the flavours of the kebab to take centre stage.
Justin Miles (ex-Relish, Noosa Springs and now Windy Point, SA) followed with blue cheese stuffed chicken wings (courteously deboned) with Hervey Bay scallops, chorizo crumb and patatas bravas. This was accompanied by Vinoque Nebbiolo Rosé, again from Yarra Valley.
It was a delightful pale salmon-tinged wine with rose petal aromatics, light to medium-bodied, savoury with the thick
skins of the Nebbiolo grape delivering abundant tannins, closing dry.
Matt delivered the main, the hero being a perfectly pink centred Nolan’s Rib Fillet from Gympie, accompanied by roast peppers, smoked olives, yoghurt and tahini sauce. The Villages Tempranillo Touriga blend from Heathcote added an Iberian twist to proceedings. Tempranillo delivers red fruit flavours and juicy acid with medium tannins with the touriga, a Portuguese varietal used in port production, contributing darker fruit flavours and more pronounced tannins.
To close, Andy delivered figs with pecan sponge, praline and buttermilk sorbet, perfectly paired the Noble One Botrytis Semillon. Luscious with citrus, honey and apricot notes and cleansing acid to finish, it was a beautiful way to end a night of exquisite food and wine.
The interplay between the chefs, with Matt leading the candid interviews and commentary, provided amusement and delight. While the chefs were known to most of us, the De Bortoli wines made from non-mainstream varietals, with the exception of Noble One, were wonderful accompaniments and were not overshadowed by the superb dishes.
