Favourite fairy tales will be given a tasty twist at an elaborate fund-raising banquet next week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The old Naroghid hall, near Camperdown, will be transformed for the event, which is helping to send budding young chefs to an international culinary event in Malaysia.
Retired chef Barbara Porter, who calls the old hall home, is behind the dinner, working with up-and-coming young people in the industry to create a five-course feast with a fairy tale flavour.
The tales of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be among the old favourites coming to life through food.
Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage will get a delicious make-over through a roast pumpkin and fennel soup. A cream puff oozing with smoked cheddar cheese and chives serves as Beauty from Beauty and the Beast fame, while a touch of chili represents the Beast.
There will also be a nod to Alice In Wonderland’s Mad Hatters Tea Party with an earl grey panna cotta shot, and the story of the Princess and the Pea will be told through an elaborate layer cake featuring strawberry mousse, lavender jelly and spun sugar.
“It’s a gorgeous menu,” Ms Porter said.
Local produce will star on the night, and Ms Porter said south-west businesses had been generous in their support.
The 64-head banquet is helping several members of the Victorian Young Chefs Club make the journey to Kuala Lumpur for the world congress event in July.
Ms Porter’s move into the professional cooking world is something of a fairy tale in itself.
“I’ve cooked all my life, but I was 41 when I actually got an apprenticeship at the Bendigo Base Hospital,” she said.
“Then I started to get into cooking competitions, which I didn’t know anything about.”
Ms Porter has since travelled the globe competing in cooking competitions and her walls are lined with medals.
“My career now is mentoring, public speaking and workshops,” she said.
“I had lots of help and learning curves along the way.”
There is no secret to success, though. “It’s practice and practice and practice”.
And when it comes to hosting big events, Ms Porter said anything could be achieved if you started with a list.
“My dad was a military man and he always said you could do anything with a list.”
The dinner will be held on Friday, March 2 from 6pm.
Visit www.eventbrite.com.au and search “Victorian Young Chefs Club Fundraiser” for tickets. Inquiries can also be made through barbporc@yahoo.com.au or on 0400 287 420.