• All
  • *
  • Cocktails
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcasts
  • Syndicate
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Wine
To kick off 2020, Maude journeyed to South Australia as the region to be the focus of their tasting menu from January through March. South Australia is in the southern central part of the country where it is nicknamed the "Wine State. It is home to Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Coonawarra. It is a diverse region that includes the coastline and the outback, providing an array of ingredients including wattleseed, quandong (a native peach), mountain pepper, lemon myrtle, native watercress, pandanus and strawberry gum, to showcase in a delicious menu. In addition to the diverse ingredients foraged, the Maude team was also influenced by the fresh seafood sourced from the coast. Oysters, mussels, cockles, limpets, spiny lobsters, Eastern School prawns, and freshwater crayfish are all thriving in the southern waters. They were inspired by chef Maggie Beer, an Australian legend who runs a cooking school and farm shop which is home to peacocks, olive groves, a quince orchard and a lake. And they visited Hutton Vale, where 3,000 merino sheep roam and are raised for their wool and meat. We began with a bottle of Rieslingfreak No. 4 Riesling from Eden Valley that was fresh and aromatic with notes of lemon, lime, white flowers and slate with bright acidity. Our meal started with two plates. One had oysters cooked in lamb fat and hiramasa (yellowtail kingfish) with finger limes. The other plate has celtuce (stem lettuce) with kumquat and coconut, and a tuile cone with wattlesead, potato and black truffle.
We started in Western Australia, then traveled to Sonoma, followed by Champagne. For the the fourth and final menu of Maude 2019, the team, consisting of Executive Chef Chris Flint, Wine Director Andrey Tolmachyov, and Pastry Chef Yesenia Cruz traveled to Tuscany, Italy. Making Siena their hub, they spent an immersive week filled with eating and drinking and now created a menu to share their discoveries. The cuisine of Tuscany is based on the Italian idea of cucina povera (“poor cooking”). It is a cuisine known for its simplicity. There are no complicated seasonings or elaborate creations, rather the focus is on fresh, high-quality ingredients. And this is exactly what Executive Chef Chris Flint executed. It was a menu that was clearly inspired by Tuscany and the presentations were simple. But the flavors were anything but simple, and paired with a selection of old Tuscan wines that my dining companions brought, our Maude journey to Tuscany was another wonderfully memorable meal. Our meal started with four small bites. 
As Maude continues to celebrate its fifth anniversary this year, what screams celebration more than Champagne?!?!  The Maude team snuck off to Champagne, the region that shares its name with the sparkling wine it produces, for an intense three-day trip to explore the food and wine. Located in the northeastern part of France, approximately 100 miles outside of Paris, Champagne is one of the great wine regions of the world. After visiting Champagne houses, local pastry shops, boulangeries and butchers, the team returned to Los Angeles to translate their experience into a ten-course menu. My friends and I booked our table for dinner and per usual, we brought the wines with us. As comprehensive and high quality as the wine list is at Maude, the regional dinners at Maude allow my friends, and sometimes me, to bring older vintages from our cellars. We started with Vouette & Sorbee Saignee de Sorbee, a rosé Champagne and then proceeded to open a series of delicious bottles included the Lanson Noble Cuvee 1989, Andre Beaufort 1990 Brut, Philipponat Clos des Goisses 1999 and Moet & Chandon White Star (circa 1970s)
Copied!