Let Them Have Cake, Savouries Too

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday November 19, 2008

JENNY TARRAN

SEVERAL years ago, Snows Patisserie owner Jason Cox moved the cooking of his sweet treats out of the kitchen of his original Junction location due to lack of space.

As his wholesale business grew, Mr Cox was forced to find a larger kitchen space to deal with the orders so the kitchen at the original Junction outlet was left unused, that is until three weeks ago when Mr Cox added savoury to his already sweet menu.

Those looking for a sugar fix and a hit of Peaberrys coffee had always been able to head to Snows on Union Street, but three weeks ago Mr Cox opened up extra dining areas, spruced up the kitchen and let chef Chris Blatchford design breakfast and lunch menus and now you can drop in for a savoury breakfast and lunch, although no one will look strangely at you if you order cake for breakfast.

Along with the large menus, the dining area has several fridges and freezers full of packaged food to take home, from sweet sauces, to house-made preserves, curries, confit duck, pickled cucumber, tapenade and quiches. Add in the fresh bread and the cakes and desserts and you can easily cater for a small or a large party at home.

"There was always a plan to expand to do more food and when we had to move the kitchen out to do more wholesale then we had the space," Mr Cox said.

"You can come and have lunch and eat your cake as well."

Adding savoury just added to the choice, but Mr Cox said that the emphasis was on sourcing ingredients from the Hunter Valley whenever possible, such as Cornucopia eggs, Binnorie fetta and Peaberrys coffee.

The breakfast menu at the moment features Cornucopia organic, biodynamic eggs done any way with Snows sourdough, $11, or try a saffron tortilla with roquet, Binnorie fetta and a smoked paprika aioli, $13, or vanilla and citrus poached berries with almond biscotti and double cream, $11.

The lunch menu includes dishes like warm salad of shredded duck with baby spinach, blue lentils, poached pear and pomegranate molasses, $19, and blue simmer crab and fresh king prawn salad with watercress, avocado, mango and lime aioli, $24.

Snows Patisserie is open for breakfast and lunch from 7am until 5.30pm Monday to Friday and from 7am to 4pm on Saturdays, closed Sundays.

Grill skills

ON Monday Newcastle Kitchen and Cutlery's resident chef Glen Herival will be firing up the barbecue for a special cooking class.

The class will be all about beer and barbecue cooking, two things dear to chef Herival's heart and he will be teaching a range of different barbecue techniques. The class will be held in the purpose-built teaching kitchen in the Brunker Road, Adamstown kitchenware store and is priced at $75 a person.

For bookings telephone 4969 4188 or go to nkc.net.au to view the other courses available this summer.

Puddings on the boil

IT certainly smells like Christmas in Adamstown at the moment as the Adamstown Pudding Project steams away.

The team in the purpose-built kitchen at the Adamstown Uniting Church are expecting to mix and steam about 11,000 kilograms of pudding this year with proceeds going to the church's various community programs.

This year the project is making traditional, low-fat and gluten-free puddings and they are available from the church on the corner of Brunker and Glebe roads, Adamstown, and at the Newcastle City Farmers Market.

The traditional and low-fat puddings are available in several sizes from a $12 500g pudding up to a 2.5kg pudding priced at $55. The gluten-free pudding is available in only one size, a 500g pudding priced at $15.

The Pudding Project stall at the church is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday, with a later closing time of 6pm on Thursday night. The stall is also open from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

The Pudding Project can also be found in the craft aisle of the main Cattle Pavilion at the Newcastle City Farmers Market at the Newcastle Showground, Broadmeadow, this Sunday and December 7 and 21.

For further information or for large orders telephone 4952 2724.

jtarran@theherald.com.au

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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