Who wouldn’t want to dine under the stars?
The balmy breeze, black night sky and twinkling stars added the midas touch to our alfresco dining experience.
The Brisbane foodie scene is buzzing right now, made all the more exciting and glamourous by the gorgeous Balfour Kitchen at the Balfour Hotel (a Spicers Retreat Property) in New Farm, Brisbane.
Secret Foodies guests arrived at 7pm sharp after receiving the secret location just two hours earlier via sms. To set the tone for the evening and help everyone mingle a glass of Handpicked Wines Prosecco was handed to each guest upon arrival. Curious foodies, return guests and newbies wandered upstairs, bubbly in hand, to explore the gorgeous sitting areas and rooftop bar of the multi-level, century-old classic and contemporary Queenslander.
Sam Giles, General Manager of this Spicers Retreat Hotel and Restaurant showed great attention-to-detail with every little detail thought out for the evening. He’d created an elegant ambience of fairy-lights and fire-lamps in the open space creating a warm intimacy for our guests.
As the bubbles flowed and guests started making new foodie friends everyone began to be seated for dinner. We started with an entrée of Fraser Island Spanner Crab, Sichuan, Pickled Kohl Rabi (you can check out the recipe here), paired with ‘Handpicked Wines’ Handpicked Riesling, Clare Valley, 2013.
Next up was the main and the dish everyone was talking about well past dessert! Everyone was eager to know how the chef had infused so much flavour in to the tea-smoked duck breast with balsamic, radicchio, orange and cocoa nib. This delicious main was paired with a Handpicked Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, 2015.
Wild Strawberry, chocolate aero, buttermilk sorbet and mint dessert teamed with a bold Handpicked Moscato from Piemonte (2015) completed the evening beautifully.
Head chef William Wallace completed a magical evening when he came out to share some stories with everyone. It was an evening filled with great wine, delicious food and of course, fabulous company.
This was our last event for 2016. We’ll be back in 2017 with more delicious events.
Until then, merry Christmas and lots of foodie love,
x Michelle
The Balfour Kitchen at Spicers Retreat
37 Balfour Street, New Farm, QLD 4005
(07) 3358 8888
https://spicersretreats.com/spicers-balfour-hotel/dining/
Insider Tip: Balfour Kitchen also do an amazing high tea daily from 11am for $55 per person. To check out the menu and learn more click here.