Duck fat roasted potatoes (L), Kumatoes (R)
I think a lot about sustainability and make a conscious effort in my life to reduce, reuse and recycle as well as to consider and limit my use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources. Now I’m certainly not fanatical, but I think my upbringing on the farm ensured that this interest is also focussed on how the food I eat is grown, and making informed decisions about what I buy and eat in that respect. I’ve spoken here before about this subject, and I have another post in the works about food sustainability so an invitation to dine at MUMU Grill for a Take it Slow dinner was timely as well as delicious.
MUMU Grill chef and owner Craig Macindoe is a great supporter of sustainable, organic, local and in season produce, something that is sorely missing in the Sydney dining scene. This dinner is all about highlighting the best sustainably grown meat combined with the philosophy of the slow food movement.
We start with buttery 18 month Jamon Serrano, which disappeared very quickly when the plate got to our gaggle of food bloggers. Soon enough we are seated and some of us are mourning the passing of the Jamon, when our first course appears.
Slow roast Arcadia Saltbush Lamb done 2 ways:13 hour shoulder plus grilled cutlet with pea and mint puree and kumato chutney with Mache.
The Arcadia Saltbush Lamb cutlet was cooked to perfection, undeniably gamey and tender with a deliciously caramelised crust, its companion mashed peas was a little ho-hum in comparison. I loved the cauliflower gratin that the 13 hour roasted shoulder slices rested upon. Wintery and homey with a crisp golden top, I would have been happy with this and the cutlet alone, though the kumato chutney was a nice foil for the lambs inherent fatty richness.
Aged Taralga Springs Rib Eye Roast 100% grass fed beef slow roasted for 4 hours of with Duck fat potatoes, green beans and bone marrow sauce.
Prior to our main we learned about grass fed vs grain fed beef, and then were able to taste some wonderful grass fed beef. The squished, crisp and tender duck fat potatoes won me over,. Unfortunately the chunks of bone marrow I had imagined were absent from the sauce, though to be honest at this stage the richness of the sauce is just perfect.
Wines for the evening were from Polin and Polin, and it was a vertical tasting, meaning that we tasted Limb of Addy Shiraz from a series of different years. I am not much of a connoisseur, but the wines that I tasted were very drinkable, and I do like Shiraz. Though I am little disappointed that our table missed out on tasting the the Shiraz with dessert, the pairing of a non-dessert wine with a chocolate dessert seems really interesting, was a shame to not try it.
Chocolate and Raspberry Square with wattle seed ice-cream and Belgium chocolate tile
The dessert was rich with bitter dark chocolate which was wonderful with the tangy raspberry sauce. The topping piece of chocolate was nice as was the ice cream, though wattle seed flavour was a little too subtle and seemed to get lost amongst the boldness of the chocolate. My main problem with this dessert? Not enough! I could have eaten 3 portions of this, thats how much I liked it.
Being my fathers daughter I don’t believe everything that I’m told. I can see that this meat is more sustainable than what is generally on offer, and it definitely has great flavour, but is it really sustainable? The answer to this depends on your definition of sustainable of course. I think it is wonderful to support growers who are making an effort with the environment and producing a great product, but isn’t there more that can be done? I did noticed that the word ‘organic’ was absent during all these discussions. If something isn’t organic, then how sustainable is it?
I think that those of us who are interested in these ideas need to come up with our own guidelines about what is sustainable enough, and not just on these special nights, but every day. I am still figuring mine out, questioning myself and what I’m being told about certain products.
If this dinner was designed to make us think more about where our food comes from, and to arm us with a little more knowledge about the important considerations in these decisions, then it has certainly worked for me, and maybe now I will be able to find the answers to these lingering questions.
I dined courtesy of MUMU Grill, along with other bloggers Yas, Karen, Lorraine, Mel, Helen, Simon, Billy, Suze and Richard. Thank you to Craig from MUMU Grill, and Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella for inviting me.
MUMU Grill
70 Alexander Street, Crows Nest, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9460 6877
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7 Comments
Quite a thoughtful post. Was quite interesting to get your point of view about the slow food night.
Though there wasn’t any mention of organic, does that mean that it wasn’t? I’m a bit iffy about the whole organic thing being better or even organic. To what I understand at least, there is organic and there’s “organic”, in the same way there is grass-fed beef and “grass-fed beef” i.e. the ones finished off with grain feed.
Curious to see what your thoughts are on that matter.
Simon: Thank you.
Regarding the organic thing: to be Organic and to be able to label your product Organic you need to be certified Organic by one of the certification bodies. To become certified is very difficult, an expensive and long process. The farm I grew up on is certified and has been for a very long time, but an assessor still comes around once a year to re-test the soil to confirm that the farm still complies.
I am not sure whether organic is necessarily better in this scenario, but knowing the reason why they aren’t organic would give a few more clues. For instance, many fertilisers used conventionally require a cubic fuckton of oil to produce, if a grower is using such a fertiliser then it isn’t really sustainable, though the purchasing public would never know.
I have a post in the works looking into this a little more.
Thanks for the considered comment
I’m looking forward to your next post, since it’s awfully difficult to decide what sustainable is. I hadn’t thought of fertiliser for livestock, but I guess I should have thought of pasture improvement and feed crops. I keep telling myself that every little bit counts, and I hope there are enough people willing to do a little to keep things sustainable.
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Quark Cake
Interesting post.
2B organic or not that is the question. Grahame Stone (Arcadia Salt Bush Lamb) does not go for Organic certification because it would mean drastically increasing the food miles the lamb has to travel ( to certified abattoir). Peter Clay is not certified as he sometimes uses fertiliser on the grass. I hope the night raises discussion about sustainability and health which is obviously doing. thanks for the interesting blogg. Craig (chefmumu)
Mostly, speaking to the farmer will give you an idea of their farming practices, and some of them follow organic practices without certification, as Lili said, it is a long and difficult process. Organic farming is without doubt better than conventional. Organic food doesn’t always taste better. It depends on the variety of the produce, the growing conditions, the shipping and handling, how long it has been since it’s been picked. A ripe conventionally grown tomatoe will taste better than an overripe one. But, putting food miles aside, and I’m reffering to getting the product from the farm to your plate, organic farming practices are undeniably better for the farm/environment. Organic pest control rather than chemical, usually better water saving practices, tastier varieties, heirloom varieties, varieties that taste great but havev thinner skins making it unsuitable for travelling, or ones that are too big or too small for supermarkets, ones that fell out of favour in the uninformed general consensus. Organic is great because it causes less soil erosion, and it uses crop rotation that doesn’t deplete nutrients, organic fertilisers that don’t pollute… I don’t know where to stop.
Now Craig, not to criticise, as the dinner looks great, but how does Serrano ham fall inline with the slow food movement’s ethos of local and seasonal? Just a question, not an accusation. Are your kumatoes from Victoria? I’ve never tried them, how do they taste like?
SydneyCider’s last blog post..Eveleigh Market and Eating Locally – Homemade Mayonnaise, Celeri Remoulade and Smoked Trout
Arwen from Hoglet K: Yes there is lots of non-organic chemicals that go into the production of livestock, and the actual animals get dipped in pesticides too (though I’m sure they have lessened the harmful effects of these slightly, since they used to use DDT for it!) Im glad that my post got you thinking
Craig: One reason for consumers to demand organic is that they know they can trust the producers are doing what they claim as the regulatory body enforces the rules. But just being organic doesn’t automatically mean that they are sustainable, of course.
Thanks for the information about the farmers, much appreciated.
SydneyCider: Agreed! You make some great points, and I never actually thought about the jamon in those terms, probably because it is undeniably delicious!
Jamon is unbelievably good, but perhaps more suited to a Slow Food evening held in Bercelona…
SydneyCider’s last blog post..Red Wine Wagyu Beef Roast with Beetroot Puree and Mustard Leaves
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