I’ve taken a few days to write this post, because I wanted to make sure the superlatives I’m about to use were really justified. I’m happy to say they are:
Brooks “of Canberra” is the best dinner I have ever been to.
I meet fellow blogger Rachi and fellow Twitter personality Caroline in the rooftop terrace at the Burbury Hotel (the same precinct as Malamay and Maple and Clove) in Barton where the night begins with champagne. The sun is setting and there are sweeping views towards Mt Ainslie and Parliament House. The lovely owners of The Boathouse, Aubergine and other popular and high-end Canberra restaurants are in attendance, which is the first indication to me that we should expect this to be good.
Looking towards Mt Ainslie from the rooftop terrace
The dinner is organised by Peter Bell (now back at the reopened Parlour Wine Room). There’s not a lot of info on the Good Food Month website, but I’m ready to go with the flow. We quickly learn that Brooks of Melbourne has essentially relocated to Canberra for the night, bringing their sommelier, their front of house, and the team to put together the meals – not to mention chef Nic Poelaert.
We take our seats at our beautifully made up table, and rearrange things slightly to make room for our blogging tools: our phones and cameras!
The menu is a real tease!
What would you expect from a menu item described as ‘ginger and carrot bread with chicken liver’? A terrine? At the very least, something very basic.
But no. This is what we get:
Carrot and ginger bread with chicken liver
It’s … well, there’s no other word for it. It’s beautiful. There’s ‘soil’ on the bottom of the carrot. There’s a stalk. The shell is perfectly crispy. After some confusion about how to eat it, we’re instructed to use our fingers. The gingerbread and carrot flavours of the crust complement creamy chicken liver. It’s divine.
Biting into the ‘carrot’
Dish two is an egg which has been slow cooked in a curry, and placed in a lovely, creamy, rich corn soup. The egg yolk oozes out. It’s again delicious. Both dishes are a perfect match the NV Champagne de Souza.
Egg in corn and miso soup
Look at that gorgeous rich yolk!
Rachi and I are invited to see the construction of the meli-melo (or hodge-podge) of vegetables in the room behind us before the vegetables are placed on the dish.
Pretty!
But the finished dish which comes out with the Nick O’Leary White Rocks riesling looks very different: a large plate of mostly local and fresh ingredients. Our sommelier Matt Brooke tells us that chef Nic regularly forages for vegetables himself in Melbourne.
Meli-melo of vegetables
There’s a lot of food on my plate. And, as many of you have realised, I’m not normally the biggest fan of vegetables. But a dish like this makes eating vegetables fun and a little exciting.
I made a rainbow!
Our next dish is another marvel. It’s Moreton Bay bug, but the bug is coated with Japanese shiso oil and tapioca flour to become a snow. The snow is hard not to blow everywhere (I’m a bit hopeless like that), but combines so well with the nutty mussel custard. The 2011 Vouvray Marc Bredif from the Loire Valley is another delicious match.
Moreton bag bug covered with Japanese shiso oil and tapioca flour snow
Sommelier Matt comes around with the next wine – his own! The chardonnay from the Macedon Ranges is paired with rockling, beetroot butter, peas, raspberry and apple.
Sommelier Matt with his very own Vinero Romsey chardonnay
Rockling paired with the chardonnay
Showing off the effect of the beetroot on the colour of the fish
It’s very pretty, but it’s my least favourite dish of the night. The firm texture of the rockling isn’t offset with a taste explosion like I’d been expecting. The use of raspberry and apple seems controversial for the sake of it, rather than adding to the flavours and textures on the plate. Regardless, it’s still very easy to eat – just doesn’t have the wow factor that the others do.
With this in mind, I’m sceptical about our next dish. It’s wagyu beef with a burnt potato crisp and burnt carrot and mimolette sauce, paired with Eden Road’s Long Road Shiraz.
Beef with burnt vegetables and mimolette sauce
I’m a little horrified that I’m expected to eat something so obviously burnt (only sausages really work with a burnt flavour)… but it’s the most extraordinary dish. This is how beef is meant to be. The texture and tastes here defy words. The potato isn’t burnt at all. It melts into the beef. The beef is cooked perfectly. I want more of this.
We beg Matt to tell us exactly how this dish is done, and he kindly obliges. Potato is mashed with Japanese bamboo charcoal (giving the blackness) and spread thinly on baking paper. Once it’s cooked, it’s lifted off as this thin ‘burnt’ potato crisp. I was completely fooled and am still in awe.
Peter Bell serving the Braida Brachetto d’Aqui
It’s time for the first of our desserts and it’s both delicate and luscious, served with Braida Brachetto d’Aqui – a sparkling red dessert wine.
Cheesecake, rose, licorice and mushrooms
Cheesecake and mushrooms? Rose and licorice? It works. The ingredients are soft and gorgeous, and the bite of the licorice and cheesecake lifts the flavours of the rose and mushroom.
And then: the piece de resistance. Again, we’re welcomed into the terrace area to witness some of the finishing touches of the ‘Forest Floor’.
Forest Floor creation
Hardly any imagination is needed to consider that we’re really eating forest floor foliage
The Henriques and Henriques 15 year old Boal is served as an earthy match to the dish we’re about to receive.
The completed forest floor dish
I can’t even begin to tell you what’s on this dish. The mushroom has a mousse top and meringue-like bottom. There’s moss-like mint and and pork crackling. This is a dinner we don’t want to end.
Nic Poelaert and his team come out and thank the guests and the staff before chatting with each of the tables. I try to make Nic promise to come back within 3 months. I don’t know if I succeeded, but I tried!
It’s been the most extraordinary experience, with gorgeous company. My only regret is not taking a pic of my beautiful dining companions!
Date: Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Cost: $185pp (which seems perfectly reasonable given the amount of effort that’s gone into this)
Food creativity: 9.5 (out of a possible 10)
Ability to take photos without a flash: 6 (out of a possible 10) – the lights remain bright and it’s no bad thing. The ‘restaurant’ is intimate enough without light dimming.
Canberra region wines on wine list: Two of the seven wines are Canberra region wines – and we’re reassured it’s for their quality and match to the dishes, not just because Brooks is in Canberra.
Waitstaff pretentiousness: None. The waitstaff, particularly Matt and Anna, build rapport quickly but remain professional throughout.
Worthwhile factor: Highly worthwhile. It’s a big call, but this is the best dinner I have ever been to.
Want more: This was a once-off for Good Food Month in Canberra. Brooks is in Collins Street, Melbourne.
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In The Taratory 
WOW That looks amazing Tara. The images are superb. The description has my mouth watering.
It was even more amazing than it sounds and looks. I really struggled with this post in trying to do the night justice. Just amazing. I know you would have enjoyed it!
I reckon you got a bargain for the price looking at the complexity of the dishes.
I agree! Particularly given they did it outside their normal restaurant.
This is rather unfair Tara when we can’t try it for ourselves!
I know, I know! If I hadn’t experienced this myself I would be REALLY mad at me for writing this. But we CAN start a campaign to get Nic back here ASAP!
How did you even find out about it? And YES to getting a campaign started!
It was part of Good Food Month – I think I must have signed up to receive some alerts about it through CT/SMH and this popped up: http://canberra.goodfoodmonth.com/details?deal=122636. It was also advertised in the Canberra Times hard copy paper I think. It was up for about six weeks but I found the Good Food Month website to be sorely lacking/hard to navigate!