We had no idea of what was in store for us...
To be selected as the 27th best restaurant in the world by some very hard markers means you need to be pretty damn special. Only one Australian establishment made the 2011 S.Pellegrino list of the World’s Top 50 restaurants.
For what turned out to be a very special occasion, we were invited to eat there by our daughter, herself a cook of considerable repute.
Peter Gilmore’s Quay has a spectacular location on Sydney Harbour, looking across at the Opera House from a vantage point on the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Few restaurants in the world could match this setting.
Regular followers of this blog will know that Mevrouw T and I are not terribly familiar with fine dining. Though we were naturally curious to see what a serious chef does to distinguish himself from hundreds of thousands of others, leaving only 26 people in the world adjudged to be doing a better job.
That the food will be perfectly cooked and elegantly served is a given. Gilmore’s food is presented as edible works of art.
Salad of yellowfin tuna. Those things that look like peeled baby tomatoes are in fact curls of tuna.
Salad of pickled rhubarb entree with violet flowers.
Line-caught bar cod with spring vegetables
Slow cooked coturnix quail breast
Berkshire pig jowl with prunes
Chestnuts, grain and seed risotto
Roasted fillet of grain-fed beef, truffle-infused potato puree
Jackfruit icecream on jackfruit granita.
Wild cherry compote, coconut cream, chuao chocolate crumble - pretty much pure evil
Jewels - raspberries, rose, strawberry, meringue.
The very special surprise came as a celebrant popped out of the crowd and informed us all that that this was not the expected birthday luncheon, but a wedding. The bride quickly slipped into something less comfortable but spectacular, Mevrouw T and I were asked for our blessing, the deed was done, the stunned father of the bride had no time to prepare a speech but gave one all the same, and everybody was very happy.
Except perhaps Mr Gilmore the chef. His food never quite received the attention it deserved. We need to go back there some time.
For an event like this, even Quay's food can wait.
Richard Tulloch's LIFE ON THE ROAD 
Wow! Please give our congratulations to T & L, and to you and Mevrouw T as well. Whatvan amazing event!
How fantastic, Congratulations all around. Very special.
Thanks Jonathan and Ine. We’re still reeling a little, but are absolutely delighted of course.
Fabulous!!! Congratulations – on having such an imaginative daughter. What a way to do it!
Congratulations – a fabulous meal and, more importantly, a son-in-law!
Great Story
… did the Hobbit make it up from Melbourne ?
That’s one disadvantage of doing things this way, TwoGun. You can’t invite the extended family without letting cats out of bags. We’ll celebrate in Melbourne when we’re down there later in the year.
What a wonderfull surprise!!!! Congratulations!!! Send my best wishes to the young couple. And give Mrs. T a big kiss.
Hello Richard,
Het lijkt me heerlijk eten daar + een fantastisch uitzicht!
groetjes van de van Putten’s
Ja, A en K, als jullie naar Sydney komen, gaan we met ze allen er naartoe! Het is gratis om de verrekijkers te gebruiken om de Opera House te studeren. (Gelukkig weet ik niet eens wat een kopje koffie kost .)
Fijn om van jullie te horen, en nogmaals jammer dat ik de wandelvergadering moest missen.
Ook gefeliciteerd uiteraard met jullie dochter!.
De wandelreunie was ouderwets gezellig. Sonja had heerlijk gekookt en we hebben nagenoten van de Alpen dankzij alle foto’s (ook die van je). Volgende week vliegen K en ik naar Zkinthos (eiland zuid west van Griekenland): een beetje zon na de slechte zomer.
groetjes
Wow! Congratulations, Richard and Mevrouw T. What a wonderfully inventive wedding – definitely unforgettable for everyone! May your daughter and new son-in-law be blissfully happy together for the rest of their lives. 🙂
Thanks Reggie. It was certainly unforgettable, and everyone is very, very happy.
Congratulations to all. The food looks great too!
We’ll need to try the food again some time…when we have time to concentrate on it. Meanwhile at least we have the pictorial record of the food and the event.
Prachtig, wat een mooie verrassing. Gefeliciteerd, ook van mevrouw T. aan mevrouw T.
Congratulations. Done in great style, with an attractive outlook for such a beautiful bride. We even noticed that you were wearing a tie Richard ! Did you have to borrow it once the beans were spilled or was it a precaution against spilling them ?
Love Iain and Ana
I’d been warned that there was a very strict dress code at the smart restaurant and that everyone was supposed to make an effort. I tried not to spill beans on the tie, and the choice of colour matching the bride’s dress was pure luck. The suit belonged to the groom Luke, and I probably won’t wear it again until there’s a funeral.
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