Whisky dinners are a dime a dozen these days.
Actually, that’s not true…I concede they’re not that frequent, and they definitely cost more than a dime. However, where they often become tiresome is that they are usually just no more than a regular dinner with some whiskies thrown into the equation – rarely with much thought (or expertise) being applied to match the two.
Anyone can match a whisky to a dish. It’s relatively easy to taste a dish and then reach for your nearest whisky that vaguely shares commonalities. The classics get wheeled out all the time – smoked salmon with Talisker; venison with Glenmorangie; Ardbeg with dark chocolate; etc. Yawn.
Where real skill lies is to actually match the food to the whisky. Did you catch the distinction? Who out there can taste a whisky, and then go off and create or re-shape a dish that is built around the whisky’s flavours; builds or contrasts against the malt’s texture, depth, and alcohol; and then – most amazingly of all – create a pairing where the whisky improves the dish, and the dish improves the whisky? I know of only one man who can do this. And his name is Franz Scheurer.
Franz’s chief philosophy with food and whisky pairing is some simple maths: 1 + 1 = 3. It’s not enough for the whisky and the dish to complement (and compliment) one another – they should enhance and improve one another.
Franz is a legend in food and whisky circles, and I’d be straying too far from the main thrust of this article if I was to present his CV here. Plenty has been written about him in other online and hardcopy publications (including the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Unfiltered magazine) and if you want to jump onboard, you can subscribe to his thoughts and reviews at Australian Gourmet Pages, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
The Society (SMWS) has teamed up with Franz many times in the past to present Whisky Dinners of unrivalled depth, complexity, creativity and achievement. These events have seen Franz collaborate and work with some of Australia’s best chefs – Neil Perry, Tetsuya Wakuda, Darren Robertson, Guillaume Brahimi, Jared Ingersoll….the list goes on. For this particular event, Franz worked with one of his favourite colleagues – Brent Savage, of Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Sydney.
The dinner was on Thursday 8th May, and 50 diners gathered at the restaurant to be greeted with one of Franz’s traditions: Starting the night off with a whisky cocktail of his own making. This particular cocktail, coined “Cŵn Poeth” (Welsh for white dog), used Buffalo Trace White Dog, Amer Picon and Green Chartreuse, and set the tone nicely for the evening.
The menu was as per the listing below, and the evening flowed smoothly and satisfyingly. At the conclusion of each dish, yours truly said a few words about the whisky, and Franz explained his thoughts and strategy behind the match. To help curtail what is already a long post, I’ve simply added a few comments under each course below. Sadly, the photos don’t do justice to Brent Savage’s work on the plate…
Course 1
Sweet Western Australian Prawns with Fennel, Mushroom & Shiso
SMWS Cask 76.115 (Mortlach) 18yo alc 56.5 – “Glamping in a Yurt”
This dish alone gives you insight into Franz’s brain: Who would taste a heavily sherried, meaty Mortlach, and then elect to pair it with a dish consisting primarily of raw prawns? The match worked a treat, and immediately set the bar extraordinarily high for what was to come….
Course 2
Charred Rangers Valley Beef Tartare with Black Tahini
SMWS Cask 131.2 (Hanyu) 13yo alc 55.1 – “Magic carpet in a sweetie shop”
This ultra-rare Japanese whisky was from a 1st-fill sherry cask, and Franz drew upon the smokiness in the black tahini to create an amazing fusion with the sweet, savoury raw beef.
Course 3
Pea and Buttermilk Soup & Spanner Crab
SMWS Cask 73.62 (Aultmore) 24yo alc 57.8 – “Magical, mellifluous marvelosity”
Yet another sherried dram, and arguably the most complex and sublime whisky in the line-up. Again, you see Franz go well outside the box with a pairing of very “green” flavours, using the peas and mint to good effect.
Course 4
Kurobuta Pork with Macadamia Milk, Wattle Crumbs & Rhubarb
SMWS Cask 37.55 (Cragganmore) 12yo alc 56.6 – “Surprising smoky and savoury”
The whisky must be one of the rarest Cragganmores on the planet, with a very discernible hint of peat and smoke. The textures, spices, and flavours afforded by the wattle crumbs and macadamia milk struck a resonant chord. Franz and Brent Savage worked the match perfectly.
Course 5
Aerated Chocolate, Fig Leaf Ice Cream & Lemon Aspen
SMWS Cask 53.198 (Caol Ila) 18yo alc 59.1 – “Wasabi on a California Roll”
Well, I won’t deny it, this dish was the whole reason for the dinner. When I work with Franz, I always give him free rein to do whatever he likes. This dish was the exception. The dessert is a regular on the Bentley menu, and I told Franz we were to feature it (without tinkering with it) and it was up to him to find the whisky to go with it. The Caol Ila, with its vanilla maltiness, brooding peat, and slightly tangy flavour combined so well with the dish, I was devastated when my aerated chocolate ran out!
And so that was the night that was. Yet another pinnacle in the history of SMWS Whisky Dinners, with all and sundry spellbound and delighted with the dance that had just played out on their tastebuds. For Franz, you got the feeling this was just another day at the office.
Sincere thanks are due to Brent Savage for the magic he served up on the plate, and to his team for their wonderful hospitality. Thanks are also due, as always, to Suzy Tawse, in the engine room of the Society, for handling the logistics on the night.
Cheers,
AD
PS: You might also like this article, The art of matching food to whisky
