Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Update - Theatre Of Ideas Tickets Still Available

A three Michelin-starred chef who, along with her father, interprets modern Basque cooking with often astounding technique, Elena is the fourth generation of the Arzak family to head the kitchen at their inspirational and ground-breaking restaurant. Her approach to food is equal parts chef, historian, scientist and alchemist. “We like taking risks because without risks you don’t move forward”, she says. She could also have added that without risks, you won’t be counted among the world’s best. 

Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, have been called “the most fashionable figures on London’s food scene right now”. The self-titled jellymongers invented a walk-in cloud of breathable gin and tonic, created a jelly banquet for 2,000 people, flooded a building with four tonnes of cognac punch that visitors then boated across before drinking and have made the humble jelly a substance of subtlety and wonder.

We are very pleased to announce that our spectacular jelly event with the Jellymongers, Bompas & Parr has now SOLD OUT! The Espy will be packed out on the 10th of March this year and we want to thank everyone who has supported this event. Sorry to anyone who has not been able to secure a ticket, we tried to extend the tickets for the event but it is now full and we have a waiting list that is growing.

All is not lost though if you had your heart set on seeing Bompas & Parr as there are still a few tickets available for the hugely popular 'Theatre Of Ideas'. Plus, not only will you get to see the Jellymongers but Chef Elena Arzak from the feted 3 michelin restaurant,  'Arzak',  will be making the long trip from her home in San Sebastian to attend as a special guest.  

Here is an official comment from Melbourne Food & Wine and we hope to see you there!!! 

Theatre of Ideas presented by LifeStyle FOOD Channel

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 March, 9.30 – 12.30PM

Theatre of Ideas rolls into town during Melbourne Food and Wine Festival dishing up a titillating selection of names that are kneading and shaping the world of food as we know. Enjoy a morning of cerebral gastronomy and food-meets-kooky-art starring Elena Arzak and Jellymongers Bompas & Parr. A chance to get up-close and personal with the London food scene's hottest tickets and a woman regarded as the "most exciting female chef on the planet."

Limited single session tickets to this exciting event are now available. Book now!

http://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/gastronomy-masterclass/masterclass-events/theatre-of-ideas

Victorian Flood Update - Supplier Spotlight: Jonesy's Milk

Jonesy's flooded farm in Kerang, Victoria.

Where does your milk come from?

Well the weather has really given Australia a battering in the past few months or so. There were the devastating floods and cyclone Yasi in Queensland, ferocious bushfires in Western Australia, there were heat waves in Sydney and massive flooding in Victoria. It has been a terrifying time for many people and huge amounts of the population are experiencing varying degrees of hardship attributed to these natural disasters. Although we were thankfully safe and relatively dry here in Melbourne a number of our suppliers and associates bore the full brunt of nature's destruction. Banana crops were devastated in Queensland as were sugar plantations, these will take a massive effort and a long time before they are back up and running. This will also affect pricing of these products across the country. We are due to open our 'Sweet Studio' in March and have to factor all of these issues into our start up costing and plan. Here in Victoria, the flooding has crippled local producers and the knock on effect of supply, quality and pricing of fruit, vegetables and other items will be significant. Our fantastic supplier of milk and cream, Jonesy's, were unfortunately hit extremely hard in the recent rains. As you can see from the top picture, not too much is left of their main farm. Jonesy's produce fantastic dairy produce and pride themselves, rightly, on their superior milk and cream products including non-homogenised goods. The flavour is far superior to anything you can find in the supermarket and we wholeheartedly endorse buying these sorts of ingredients from local quality producers. Below is a message from the team at Jonesy's on the recent troubles and their plans to carry on trying to produce fantastic milk! 

To All Our kind customers who have been enquiring about us, thankyou so much for your thoughts and wishes during this difficult time, it has helped enormously to know there are people concerned about our welfare here,  We are all a bit shell shocked at the scale of the flood.

As you can see from the photograph our main farm 2500 hectares is under water, our sons’ house along with one of the houses on the dairy have been flooded as well as the “Jonesy’s office” we have lost most of our hay and silage,  a  good crop, all pasture, shearing sheds, equipment, fencing, and are contending with a large amount of damage across the farm. We travelled by boat between the farms all the way without having to get out due to the depth of the water, and we believe a lot of the water will need pumping to disperse it.  We have chooks, dogs, sheep, cows and even a kangaroo resting in what little land you can see in the photo in our backyard, as they all migrated to the only place above the water. Thankfully our house was built some 100 yrs ago on what appears to be the highest point on the property.  Given “Tragowel Estate” was one of the biggest properties in its day around 50,000 acres, this was obviously not an accident.  We currently have family living with us, Christie and I have moved the office also to the house,  and we are trying to make the most of it.

Thankfully our dairies did not flood, and the “Jonesy’s cows are safe, and we are making alternative arrangements to move them to a new home so they can keep their feet dry!, as their paddocks are under water and feed is going to be an issue.

There is a large amount of damage right across the area, and we feel for other families who have lost houses and dairies and most likely their livelihoods, we are more fortunate than most and count our blessings, even though our losses are heavy.

A big thankyou to Melinda and Christie and the team for keeping things running as normally as possible, Christie had to evacuate with her family as well, and she took her computer, mobile,  and work with her so she could keep your deliveries going, as opposed to taking her own belongings.  Thankfully her house was safe when she returned!, but it is this attitude and help that is keeping us going. A big thankyou to all of you for being patient with our limited phone lines etc, and any disruption that have occurred, we are most grateful.

We are trying to set up a newspage on our website to post more photos and information about the farm, as we would like to keep you all informed.  The Jonesy’s concept is about helping farmers and giving you a good product to sell, it is your involvement not just as customers but as friends that motivates us, and we are always thrilled to hear how much people like your coffees’ etc., or a new customers comes on board, and although we are small we want to  continue to give you the best and better service. We have had numerous offers of help and to our amazement the offer of a fundraiser, and it is really giving us the strength to face it all so again thankyou all so much and stay in touch.

Thankfully Yours

Wayne & Rhonda Somerville and the team at Jonesy’s

PS. Drink lots of milk!

We hope you all understand the importance of local producers such as Jonesy's and try to support them wherever possible. Here at Burch & Purchese we will try, wherever possible to procure and promote, fine local produce and pass that on to our customers in 'Sweet Studio' in 2011. Our thoughts go out to all persons affected by floods, fires, cyclones and the rest here in Australia.

http://www.jonesysdairyfresh.com/index.html - Jonesy's Milk

Interview With Bompas & Parr in Feb 2011 Gourmet Traveller

There is now only just over a month to our event with the Jellymongers: Bompas & Parr at the Espy. The Melbourne Food & Wine festival is always a highlight on our calendar and this year is set to be our biggest and most important with our events at Der Raum and the big one at the Espy coinciding with the launch of our new 'Sweet Studio'! Ahead of Sam (Bompas) & Harry's (Parr) arrival to these shores, the guys at Gourmet Traveller interviewed them on their work and the upcoming event with us on March the 10th. Click on the link below to the article and please use the links below to purchase tckets for any of the events.

The BIG COUNTDOWN starts soon!!

Gourmet Traveller - Feb 2011
http://gourmettraveller.com.au/bompas-and-parr-at-the-melbourne-food-wine-festival.htm?rcid=9784&mode=rcid

Sweet Architextural - Mar 2011
http://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/gastronomy-masterclass/masterclass-events/chef-winemakers-dinners/bompas-parr-sweet-architextural

Reinterpreting Dessert
http://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/event/1475

Bompas & Parr
http://www.jellymongers.co.uk/

New Year, New Start & Fresh Expectations

The holiday season seems like so long ago now, we have a feeling that this year will fly by. Lots of preparation is in being put into place for our grand opening of 'Sweet Studio' later on this year. We have been working on all aspects of the business from staffing, overseeing building works, training manuals, packaging..........the list goes on and on.

With all of this happening we managed to take some time last week to work on the cakes for the shop.

Refining finishes, compiling a photographic library and recording recipes and weights for food cost were on the agenda and we were very excited with the results.

A big thanks must go to executive chef John Savage at the Sofitel hotel in Melbourne for the use of the facilities in the culinary academy, we appreciate the help and support we have received from John and look forward to welcoming him into our boutique once we have opened.

So much was gained from working through all of our cake range last week and we have lots of changes to implement, sometimes as a chef we are clouded in judgement on certain products or dishes. Valuable feedback can be gained and it is imperative to have non chefs try out your food. Many points were raised that sometimes you don't see as you have been working to closely for so long. So with all of the feedback on board from our tasters and with working out better production methods and practical finishes we hope to have an outstanding product to present to the public by the time the doors are open.

We are so excited by what this year may offer for Burch & Purchese and we will work extremely hard in many areas in order for us to achieve our goals.

We plan on working on, in no particular order and not limited to:

• Improving ourselves as pastry chefs and as business owners.
• Ensuring our customers receive the very best product we can provide.
• Working hard on training our staff and promoting our trade.
• Taking nothing for granted and appreciating our opportunities.
• To try to give back to those who are not as fortunate as ourselves.
• To collaborate and partner with talented businesses and individuals to enhance our brand, their brand an our industry.

We hope you enjoy the images and we will keep you updated as always on the progress of our opening.

QUICK REMINDER! We still have a few tickets left for our 'Sweet Architextural' event at the Espy in March and we have some very special surprise guests in store for those who plan on attending. Check out the link to the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival here for more details.

Happy 2011 To All Our Readers

Well the silly season is all over for another year but that does not mean the fun stops! We are preparing ourselves for our busiest and most exciting year to date. Plans for our 'Sweet Studio' are well under way and builders have started to construct, we expect to be open on time and as you can imagine it is pretty full on here at B&P HQ. We will reveal more about the retail store later on this month but we can tell you it will be a very exciting year for all involved with Burch & Purchese.
We are also working on our events with Der Raum and Bompas & Parr for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival in March and we have added some new and wonderful special surprises for the latter. Tickets are still available for the 'Sweet Architextural' event at the Espy with Bompas & Parr and enquiries should be directed to cath@burchandpurchese.com.
Summer is well under way here in Melbourne and we have been taking advantage of the fantastic produce available to us by making light and summery desserts and jams, spreads and cooling sorbets. We have also been working on a caramelisation technique for Jaina white chocolate from Chocovic. This is achieved by caramelising the milk and yoghurt solids in the chocolate and works fantastically well in a plated dessert with a sharp yoghurt ice cream (see above).
We wish all of our readers a fantastic 2011 and we will share with you more information on our opening as soon as we can. HAPPY NEW YEAR from Darren & Ian xx

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BURCH & PURCHESE!!!!

We just wanted to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of our readers, customers, pastry lovers and supporters!! It has been a massive push to the end but we are working hard to open a SPECTACULAR shop in the first part of 2011. Plans are going well and we are refining and improving on our product every day.
Here are some images of our seasonal work including our white chocolate snowmen, our modern take on 'Yule Log', our chocolate Christmas trees and some of our images from last year. We will post once more in 2010 in between Christmas & New Year but for now have a fantastic time and eat lots of yummy things, MERRY CHRISTMAS & lots of love Darren & Ian xxxx

Latest Wedding Cake Creation 12.12.10

Wow! What a busy month, they don't call it the silly season for nothing. We have been flat out with orders for our chocolate celebration cakes and here is a shot of one of the latest for a wedding between a lovely couple John & Helen. A summery theme of lemon, vanilla and pistachio was chosen by the happy couple. We have layered Heilala vanilla & white chocolate mousse with fresh silky lemon curd and a crumbly moist Iranian pistachio sponge. It was sprayed with our signature velvet chocolate spray and finished with one of our 'avant garde' chocolate pieces. We hope John & Helen had a fantastic day, which we are sure was fantastic as it was held at Hellenic Republic (yum!), and we wish them all of the best for the future.
We will post some festive desserts and chocolate pieces that we have been working on in our next instalment, but until then, enjoy the season.