Burch & Purchese Pair Desserts With Cocktails

The Berlin Bar, 16 Corrs Lane, MelbourneIan explains the dish and cocktail pairings and his thoughts behind them.
Aviator's ready to fly!

Chocolate & Cherry 'bombs'
Violet & Lemon Feuillantine.Recently Burch & Purchese teamed up with Rob from Moet Hennessy and Sebastian from Melbourne's Berlin Bar to create a cocktail and dessert pairing night. As you know we love pairing dishes and cocktails really interest us as pastry chefs. 30 people turned up for the intimate affair and were dazzled by the exceptional skills of the barmen at the bar, we also received great feedback for the light and delicate sweet treats which accompanied the drinks. The night was organised by Moet Hennessey and was billed as a progressive dinner with food and wine pairing all night for winemakers. The evening started at Oyster Little Bourke, took in the Flower Drum and finished with us at The Berlin Bar. Watch this space for more cocktail news involving Burch & Purchese.

Darren Purchese Pastry Demonstration

In August this year, Darren Purchese will be presenting a cooking class at the fantastic produce store and cookery school, The Green Grocer in Fitzroy. Fresh from a trip to Barcelona in July, Darren will showcase plated desserts using flavours and techniques from the Catalan capital. Whilst in Spain Darren will visit some of the finest restaurants including elBulli and Celler de Can Roca, so expect to see some interesting and unique creations. Darren will also be meeting up with Spanish chocolate legend Ramon Morato and we will update you further on progress in later weeks.

East, West Chocolate's Best Dishes - Ramon Morato

SPRINGTIME : White Chocolate Ice-Cream, Essence of Ylang Ylang, Orange, Rose & Mint

East, West Chocolate's Best 22nd March 2009

Burch & Purchese in association with The Press Club and Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, hosted a dessert degustation dinner in Melbourne.

Guest chef for the night was Ramon Morato, and the three combined to produce a wonderful night. The evening was hosted by Press Club chef George Calombaris and involved four desserts, all incorporating chocolate. The desserts were preceded by each chef taking to the stage to introduce and inform the capacity audience of the inspirations behind the creations. First dessert of the evening was a creation by Ian Burch, the influences and flavours of Greece were the theme and it was well received and enjoyed by all. Next up for the evening was a talk by Christina Tantsis of Sisko Chocolate, Christina created a spectacular chocolate centre piece and explained her inspiration behind it. We would like now to thank Christina for her contribution and wish her and Sisko continued success.

The second dessert for the evening was a collaboration between Darren and Ian and featured the flavours of the east. Chocolate was paired with wasabi, szechaun and lychee for a unique flavour combination which had the audience raving. An interesting sake completed this course and it was on to Ramon to present his dish. There was much excitement at Ramon's dessert, designed exclusively for his trip to Australia. 'Springtime' included a delicious white chocolate ice-cream as well as a ylang ylang crush. Other components celebrated the freshness and fragrance of Spring and included, mint, orange and rose. This truly was a beautiful dessert and Ramon seemed very happy with the response.

For the final dessert of the night the diners were treated to a unique dessert from Darren Purchese, 'scorched earth' was an interpretation of the climate and terrain of Australia. Flavours included burnt orange, bitter chocolate and was a real highlight. The dessert looked like Uluru and provided an interesting end to a fantastic night. Burch & Purchese would like to thank George Calombaris and The Press Club, Sisko Chocolate, The Cocoa Alliance, Adriano Zumbo and Ramon Morato and his team.

Industry VIP Day With Ramon Morato 19th March 2009 - Images

Darren and Ian had the privilege to watch top Spanish patissier and chocolatier Ramon Morato at work for the day in the kitchens of William Angliss TAFE here in Melbourne. Ramon invited an intimate gathering of industry professionals to promote the Selvatica range of chocolates and to pass on some of the vast experience he has gained over an illustrious career. Ramon presented six gateauxs from start to finish, all with a chocolate base and all with different flavours, finishes and techniques. A lot of information was shared in a full day of interaction and education and it was extremely good to see everyone taking notes and obviously enjoying the occasion. Ramon was assisted by chef Adriano Zumbo from Sydney and Adriano has since become a friend of Burch & Purchese. Adriano has his own successful patisserie in Sydney and it is well worth checking out whenever you are in the harbour city. Watching Ramon working with chocolate was enlightening and Ian and Darren took lots of positive information from the course. The day was organised by The Cocoa Alliance and Chocovic and both of the links to these companies can be found at the foot of this blog. Burch & Purchese have already put into practice techniques learnt on the day and look forward to showcasing them to the Australian public. Check out this link to the image gallery http://gallery.me.com/darrenpurchese#10053

Ian Burch Moderates Ramon Morato's Masterclass 21st-22nd March 2009

Ian had the unrivaled opportunity to work closely with celebrated pastry chef Ramon Morato. Ian was chosen from a select few to help Ramon produce a stunning display of cutting edge patisserie at the Langham. Ian helped Ramon in his preparation and provided insightful questions and feedback which ensured the audience fully appreciated the talent of the Catalan. Ramon wowed the crowed with his audacious 'chocolate truffle' and educated and entertained throughout. Ian said it was a tremendous pleasure to work with such a craftsman and all were happy with the outcome and feedback.

More Photos From Wicked Sunday 15th March 2009

Burch & Purchese Range Of Jams
Ian Burch Explaining His Dish
Burch & Purchese Retail Product
Gaudi Inspired Easter Eggs
Darren, Ramon & MC Cam Smith

Wicked Sunday 15th March 2009

Burch & Purchese had a stall at 'Wicked Sunday' on the 15th March 2009 as part of the food and wine festival. A celebration of all things chocolate was held in the Atrium at Federation Square. The Cocoa Alliance, Chocovic, Sisko and Ganache were all represented among others on a fantastic day in which the cocoa bean was the star. Burch and Purchese produced their signature artisanal products including chocolate piggy banks, chocolate chooks and a range of spreads and tuiles. A fun but exhausting day was punctuated with live demonstrations on stage at the BMW edge from some of the leading pastry chefs in Melbourne. Ramon Morato was a guest presenter and his chocolate hamburger went down a storm. Ian Burch and Darren Purchese were also on show and provided the enthusiastic audience with secrets into some of their creations. In all Burch & Purchese had great feedback from the public and Ramon seemed to enjoy himself as well. Above are photos of some of Ian & Darren's creations! Looking forward to next year.

Ramon Morato visits Australia

In March this year we were treated to the arrival of celebrated Spanish pastry chef Ramon Morato. Ramon was over promoting the Selvatica range of chocolate from Chocovic of which he is a director. He was also involved in the Melbourne Food & Wine festival and we were lucky enough to work closely with such a friendly and humble individual. Among the events in which Burch & Purchese collaborated with Ramon, were the popular East, West Chocolate's Best dessert dinner at The Press Club, Ian Burch moderating Ramon at his Masterclass at the Langham, and Wicked Sunday. More details on all of these events will be posted later but we just wanted to thank Ramon and his team Nuria and Marta, they were a pleasure to work with.