From the Editor, Leigh O’Connor.
Whatever your destination in life, there are many adventures to be had along the way.
Whether planning a family getaway, romantic rendezvous or simply a dinner at a destination restaurant, we all dream of the perfect location to escape reality for awhile and feel like we are worlds away from daily routine.
This week is all about destination dining from where to find restaurants that offer something truly unique to wine tasting at cellar doors around the country and travelling off the beaten track to find what you are looking for, we have you covered. Marie-Antoinette Issa tells us which regional restaurants are worth the road trip, along with the best Aussie outdoor barbeque spots for your next thrills on the grill experience.
For our Chef Chat, we head to Sandalford Restaurant in Caversham, where Alan Spagnolo heads the kitchen at this award-winning venue in Swan Valley Estate. With a career spanning more than 35 years, including a stint in Cairo, Egypt, ‘Spanish’ Alan – as he is fondly called – designs signature dishes and menus reflecting the restaurant’s new era of philosophy.
Celebrating a marriage of Modern Australian and contemporary European cuisine along with the flavour of Western Australia’s seasonal produce, expect to indulge the senses with hand-rolled pasta dishes, wood-fired pizza and artisanal produce. Alan shares a stunning recipe for blue swimmer crab and ricotta crespelle – an elegant and flavourful dish that can be presented in any season.
Don’t miss our guide to what’s Fresh and In Season this week as we celebrate the start of Summer mangoes with tips on buying the perfect fruit – just use your nose! – how to store them and how to tell when they are ripe. We also serve up three delicious recipes for grilled mango and caramelised brioche, fish tacos and fresh mango salsa, along with a cheeky sweet and easy mango frosé cocktail.
Are you here for the right Riesling? Check out our curated guide to weekend wine tasting at five venues from Victoria to South Australia and Queensland, we have the destination for you.Expect to sample unique cool climate wines along with reds, lychee wine and liqueur and signature Petillant Natural wines from Red Poppy Estate.
There are many restaurants around Australia where you can dine amongst history and splendour…we show you six you need to put on your bucket list when looking for destinations to impress family and friends; we also discover five restaurants where native ingredients such as lemon myrtle, saltbush and finger lime shine on the plate.
Sit back, read on and dream of your ideal destination!
