Gala Wine Dinner at the White Swan

Well its wine dinner time. This is the big one for us! There are special guests, hotel management and VIP’s, members of government, big wig wine importers, other 5 star hotel management, Chinese food press and of course the people who have paid me to come here, nerves in the kitchen are a little high or maybe just mine, I am a little titchy about what is going on and the kitchen guys are doing their best to disregard my instruction under the guise of not understanding English. It is all I can manage to stop the ducks from being roasted at midday for 7pm service, these cooks just love to be well prepped in advance. The butter sauce buerre blanc was made yesterday (a big no no, must be made within a 30min window!) so in the bin it goes. I manage to take control of the risotto, one thing I have found Chinese like to cook the bejesus out of! So time has come and a swarm of staff appear in the kitchen maybe 20 chefs and 25 wait staff. I am thinking this just a little extreme for 50 guests! As I would do the same with 5 of each! Anyhow given the go ahead it all goes wild, we manage to put out 7 courses in 2 hours with 7 matching wines. I am told this is how the Chinese like it fast and hard so just shut up big foot… funny I was under the impression this was MY signature Australian dinner. Following this a sous chef informed me too much sauce, see there I go thinking is this my dinner? Anyhow I ignore the comment and carry on saucing lambs at lightning pace… after dinner I do a little talk on Australian food and wine and also the wonderful part of the world I live, and then meet and greet some great people. In the end everyone loved it Phew. Chef gives me the Day off tomorrow for lunch with the manger of the Westin Hotel and I decide a day by the pool after that is definitely in order!