If you could only eat one kind of meat for the rest of your life what would it be? For 45 guests with excellent taste it was pig!
There are endless ways to embrace pig, the ultimate winter comfort food. We found the perfect chef to take on the challenge of creating an entire menu incorporating this glorious meat. James Metcalfe is a Hatted & Michelin-star chef who opened Saint George Dining in Chippendale in 2018. Situated on the bustling George St this cafe-by-day, restaurant-by-night is a cosy refuge from the rest of the world.
Guest braved the winter chill and arrived all rugged up at 7pm sharp. Starting strong with the pig theme everyone was served a ‘Bacon Me Angry’ cocktail on arrival. A splash of maple syrup and dash of bitters was added to bacon-infused vodka and topped with Sydney Brewery cider. It was garnished with a brandied cherry and a crispy piece of bacon. If any guests were vegetarian now was the time to leave.
For starters, James and the team served two delicious morsels – individual cups of pea and ham soup and a smoked ham hock croquette with gribiche sauce. This was the first time and not the last that we made a note to ask James for his recipe. A whole bowl of the pea and ham soup on a cold winter’s night had everyone warmed up in no time. And the croquette was crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. Two bites later it was all gone – devasting!
Not long after, a plate with three different pork dishes was served for the entree. Crispy pork jowl was topped with rhubarb and Chinatown flavours in one corner, a delicately shaved pile of aged prosciutto and fresh melon balls in the other. The third entree was a prawn carpaccio with a bacon vinaigrette.
For mains, everyone enjoyed a generous serving of pot roast spiced pork shoulder with fennel puree and spiced ginger pork jus. The crackling was absolutely perfect. James – we definitely need that recipe from you!
Now, dessert was polarizing. We do encourage our chefs to take some risks at Secret Foodies events. Some people found the smoked bacon creme caramel too reminiscent of breakfast and eggs and thought breakfast for dessert was too much. Others thought it was the most incredible dessert they’d ever tried. What did we think? It was a big thumbs up from the Secret Foodies team. We’d definitely order it again (wink wink, add it to the menu please Saint George).
Pig & Swig turned out to be a very popular theme amongst our foodies. We might need to make this an annual occasion. In the meantime, don’t wait that long to check out Saint George Dining if you haven’t already. A seasonal menu of more than just pig awaits.