Bulla Cream Masterclass with George Calombaris
I feel like I’ve been starting a lot of blog posts with “I was one of the lucky bloggers chosen to..” and this is no exception. I was lucky enough to score an invite to the Bulla Cream Masterclass with Bulla Cream ambassador and celebrity chef, George Calombaris. Last year, Bulla ran a competition that asked Australians to upload their best original creme recipe, and ten lucky winners with their partners would win an all expense paid trip to Melbourne, to join George in a cream masterclass.
The lucky winners were put up in the luxurious Langham hotel overlooking Southbank. We all hopped on a bus and headed down to RAW Materials in Footscray.We were greeted with gorgeous canape to get our taste buds flowing.
Australia now has a proper crème fraiche! After lots of research, Bulla is proud to release their crème fraiche, so now we can make all those recipes we’ve seen Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson do, without using substitutes. This is great, as we now have a choice, I remember having to buy crème fraiche a while ago and there was only one brand on the market. And who wouldn’t trust the Bulla brand anyway?
We then gather round the kitchen, Masterchef masterclass style to watch George and Paul cook. On the menu, which the competition winners will have to recreate for lunch:
- Duck and Blackberry Pie, Mushroom Sauce and Coffee Crumble
- Potato, Cabbage and Bastourma Gratin
- Cypriot Grain Salad with Pomegranate and Crème Fraiche
- Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse, Pear, Red Wine and Spice
From there, it was up to the competition winners and their partners to cook up a storm for us all to dine on. They were broken into four groups; two focusing on the mains, and the other two on desserts. With an hour and a half to replicate what George had cooked, with help and supervision from a few chefs from George’s restaurants.
Then, it was time for us all to sit down with George and have the lunch the winners had been busy preparing.
The flavours were fantastic. A few people on the way home agreed the coffee crumble wasn’t necessary. The duck and berry combination with amazing mushroom sauce was divine. This could be easily made at home for your next dinner party.
The Cypriot Grain Salad with Pomegranate and Crème Fraiche was absolutely delicious. George had told us it was very popular at Hellenic, and it’s not hard to see why. A fantastic combination of flavours, textures, and colours. The sweetness of the raisins, and the crunchiness of the nuts… I can’t wait to make this at home.
I’ve made the olive oil chocolate mousse before, so I know it’s good. But the group was mixed on the verdict. This was most likely caused by the fact that one batch was fairly runny and oily, whilst the other was creamy and delicious. The praline crunch won everyone over though.
To see the winning recipes, or more on Bulla, head to www.creammasters.com.au
Iron Chef Shellie attended the Bulla MasterClass thanks to Media Moguls and Bulla Cream.
hollypop
great pics (as always) shellie!
so many things i want to eat.
mmm.
Allan
oMG…….. so MUCH FOOD !!!!!! love it!
too bad george doesn’t like bloggers haha
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed
This is fabulous! What a great time it looks like. I love the look of that salad. & love the sound of the olive oil mousse too. & yay for bulla creme fraiche – I adore creme frachie.
Heidi xo
Mez
Awesome photos honey!!!
Hamish despises GC…. too many industry stories hahahaa I won’t show him this post ahahaha I get so sick of hearing about it. :/ :/ :/
Michelle
I always think that his surname is Calamari. T_T
Sefie
Funny, I’ve used King Island Dairy crème fraiche for ages. But it’s always good to have a choice between different brands!
chocolatesuze
ooh that prawn kataifi is so purdy
Adrian in Food Rehab
ooooh! How excitement. I love the colours of the salad…diggin Pomegranate right now. You and George..best buddies! LOL
marcellina
How lucky are you!!! I’m curious to try the olive oil chocolate mousse!
Hannah
Okay, so I was planning to be all nice and good and say that I’m really just delighted that you were able to attend this and tell us all about it…. but NO FAIRSIES! *pout*
😛
GourmetGetaways
Ohh! I could not be more jealous!!!
What a fantastic opportunity, and so much gorgeous food!
Jennifer (Delicieux)
Wow, what a wonderful competition to win and a wonderful opportunity. Congratulations Shellie! It looks like you had a wonderful time, who could blame you though. Everything looks absolutely divine!
And YAY for bulla creme fraiche!
Carmel
Shellie your descriptions are perfect! And being one of the lucky ones there taking part gives me enough credit to say the day was great…the food was devine (? the choc mousse) just looking at your pics makes me want to do it again 🙂
Cherrie
Great photos! Looks like you had another great day of eating 🙂
Susan
Wow you are very lucky. All the food looks great and also good that you are able to cook it at home without any fancy equipment.
Helen (grabyourfork)
The grain salad does look rather delicious. I like the cute pans of gratin too.
Keely aka The Richest Girl in Bondi
Great pics, and how good is George’s olive oil??! I don’t normally get excited about oil, but you can actually taste the difference with his
Iron Chef Shellie
Yes! You certainly can!
penny aka jeroxie
What a great day… I just wish that we could cook as well. but it was still fun going around and tasting 😛
kate
Looks so good. Where can I get a recipe for that outstanding looking duck and blackberry pie? Is it published anywhere?
Iron Chef Shellie
Not sure! I can scan a copy of the recipe I was given and send it to you next week if you would like
Kate
That would be awesome! Thank you so much Shellie!
Jenn Brigole
What a pleasure to have experienced the whole thing. The Potato, Cabbage and Bastourma Gratin absolutely looks fabulous. I’m sure if I was there, my senses would have been on over load. 🙂
msihua
HE HAS HIS OWN BRAND OF OLIVE OIL?? Oh my… I’m not surprised really.. hahah… the grain salad looks sooooooooo pretty!
angie
George will always be the short bald guy that bops up and down on MasterChef! =D But I do love his food.
Ellie (Almost Bourdain)
What a fabulous occasion!
April @ My Food Trail
LOL at the girl putting the pomegranate seeds on the plate… looks like the apron didn’t do it’s job!!! She’s got crap (looks like cream) all over her arm!!