Talking Tamworth: Claudia Byrnes from Sonny's Bakery

I love a good loaf of sourdough and a cracker almond croissant. And just last month I was lucky enough to catch up with Claudia Byrnes just before the opening of Sonny's Bakery . Claudia is a partner in Sonny's, and Tamworth Area Manager at Harvest Hospitality Group, who first entered the Tamworth dining scene with The Pig and Tinder Box.

You can read all about Sonny's Bakery Cafe in the upcoming Downtown Magazine, but I was so moved by Claudia's passion for what she is doing that I followed up with a Q&A.

Photo: Supplied

Claudia Monique

Harvest Hospitality – Tamworth Area Manager

Sonny’s Bakery – Owner

Where did you grow up?

I’m born and bred in Tamworth ☺

Looking back, did you love it? If so why?

I remember my friends and I always longing for adventure and the city life, so I don’t feel I appreciated the town as much as I should have through my schooling years. But this is where my family is, where the love is, and so it’s home.

Where else have you lived before moving to/coming back to Tamworth?

I resided in The Gold Coast for about four years. After completing my higher school education in Tamworth at Oxley High School, I headed north and studied a Bachelor of Communications at Griffith University.

What do you love about Tamworth?

The first time I was asked this question it caught me off guard and I struggled to answer, since then I’ve made a conscience effort to recognise a few of my favourite things about Tamworth.  My mum often reminds me how beautiful the main street of Tamworth is – Peel St, we chat of the Peel river that runs through the town and also the hills of Tamworth creating a stunning backdrop in the East. Venturing into a career here a few years ago, and still residing here currently, what I truly love is watching this town grow with some incredibly talented and creative people in many different fields making Tamworth more and more culturally appetising.

How long have you worked in hospitality?

I got a job working in the hospitality industry 2012 with the intention, like so many, of working to save and move overseas. I got my first job with family friends who own The Pub Group here in Tamworth. I started at the bottom picking up glasses, and continued learning a solid foundation of front of house in the hospitality industry for about two years. I did head overseas for a stint, and worked in a few different places when I ventured back to Tamworth. I picked up little things here and there, but at the time was really struggling to gain job satisfaction. I was enjoying the industry, but craved something more that really wasn’t on offer in Tamworth at the time; this was about three years ago. I had near given up and was about to move to Sydney when two gents rolled into town and were setting up a new restaurant bar, revamping the historic bank building at 429 Peel Street in the heart of the town, to be called ‘The Pig & Tinder Box’. I met with them casually on the dusty worksite, a couple of questions and few laughs exchanged. I left thinking wow, these guys are something else, they were young, vibrant, passionate and so motivated in what they do. I got the call back later that day to join a small management team in training for what we locals now affectionately call ‘The Pig’. And now I’m their Area Manager for their Tamworth venues including The Courthouse Hotel and The Albert Hotel.

What do you love about the industry?

The office life is not for me, so I love that we are continually on foot. Aside from a love of food, ‘hospitality’ is really just that, it’s about hosting and creating a space and atmosphere where people can come together and have a great time. Bringing people together is something I really love doing!

Tell me a little bit about Sonny’s Bakery?

Sonny’s is a bakery café. We’ve wanted to create a space and offering that’s a combination of nostalgic goodies with a city chic edge. You can grab a glass bottle of coke from the fridge, and pair it with a Sonny’s Sausage Roll or Beef & Burgundy Pie, both using local beef from our mates at Ford’s Butchery. We’ve got a bakery onsite, our bakers are busy working throughout the evening to produce fresh bread and pastries for us daily. We’re stoked to be using topnotch quality flour from Wholegrain Milling Co in Gunnedah. Our kitchen is cooking breakie 7 days a week from 6am. And coffee… we’ve got some mates who started a coffee company called Will&Co in Sydney, so we’ve brought that to Tamworth and it’s being really well received!

You’re a partner in the business, who else owns it?

Yes, myself, Rod McDonald, Christopher Cornforth and Fraser Haughton

When and how did the idea start?

We would often say how there was a gap in the market for a good bakery café in Tamworth. I know myself as soon as I head to a city; a bakery café is one of the first places I seek out, chasing a ham and cheese croissant and good coffee. Mid last year, the shop front became vacant right next door to The Pig & Tinder Box. Many moons ago being a butcher shop it already had a cool room down the back so it seemed a no brainer that we should jump on the space. From there it was a long process getting our ducks in a row, none of us had had anything to do with baking bread before haha but here we are!

What does it mean to you to be working with Harvest Group and to have a slice of your very own business?

The best thing about my time working with Harvest Hospitality has been the mentorship I’ve received from both Chris and Fraser. No matter what field you’re in, I believe finding someone to mentor you is so vital, also really tricky to come by. Now mentoring those under me, I realize how much time and energy it takes to believe in someone and pass on your wisdom. For their time, I will be forever grateful and for their trust and encouragement leading to the ultimate - going into business with together. It’s pretty incredible! I’m still pinching myself.

Sonny’s is offering Artisan Sourdough bread, sweet and savoury pastries, salads and sandwiches, a breakfast menu and amazing coffee from Will&Co. What have I missed there?

I think you’ve covered it all! Haha We’ve got a range of breads aside from Sourdough, there’s a simple white loaf, a wholemeal loaf, a rye loaf and a seeded loaf PLUS baguettes and bread rolls. Oh and we do a low Gluten loaf as well ☺

Tell me about the sweet treats that your head baker David Mansart whips up?

Here we go… chocolate croissants, almond croissants and we serve plain croissants with a local jam from Little Kickerbell. We’ve got delicious muffins – blueberry dark choc and oats, and raspberry white choc and coconut. It’s been a bit of a crazy start, so when the bakers have time, you’ll start to see an endless range of tarts! Strawberry tarts, Chocolate tarts, Lemon meringue tarts, Pear tarts, Apricot Tarts, and the list goes on…

What is your favorite Sonny’s product?

Too many! I’m loving the Pork & Fennel sausage roll, and Strawberry tarts!

Like all in the hospitality industry you’ve worked pretty hard to get Sonny’s up, and it’s not slowing down. What do you love to do in your down time?

Haha yes I tend to work a lot, but when I take a breather I enjoy zoning out at a quiet café having a coffee with friends or a sneaky glass of vino. I love spending time with my fiancé Jack Massey, if we can escape we enjoy hiking, but when at home we spend time with our chocolate Labrador – Hugo. Should probably get cracking on planning our wedding also!

Lemon poached pears with cinnamon crema di latte

Image: Kyle Manning. Styling: Jane Graystone

It's all about the apples right now. But why should they get all the fun? Don't forget about the pears, please! Poached pears is one of the first "fancy" desserts that became a regular fixture in my repertoire and it was really thanks to the original version of this recipe. 

It first appeared in the first delicious magazine I ever owned (this really is becoming a post about firsts) and I have since adapted it for the slow cooker. Such a great dinner party idea if you're someone who leaves dessert to the last minute and ends up scratching together a bowl of ice-cream and a fruit salad from the limp offerings in the bottom of the crisper. Set in the morning and forget until serving time. Perfect!

(Ok, so maybe the crema di latte gets in the way of the set and forget concept a little, but you can, and should, prepare it in advance OR skip it. The pears will be delicious alone with ice-cream).

I published this recipe in the winter issue of Downtown Magazine and the shoot was about this time two years ago. I remember it very well because I was pregnant with my youngest child and trying so hard to keep it under wraps. No mean feat when all you want to do is scoff the food and avoid the wine. It was my first ever (and, to this date, only) food shoot - nothing is ever as glamorous as you want it to be, is it.

Lemon poached pears with cinnamon crema di latte

2 lemons
3 egg yolks
325g caster sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
40g flour
300ml milk
300ml cream
6 beurre bosc pears, peeled
2/3 cup limoncello

Serves 6

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from half a lemon.

In a saucepan, lightly whisk 75g of the sugar into the egg yolks until combined. Whisk in flour then gradually add milk and cream. Add the cinnamon and lemon zest and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Cool then refrigerate until ready to serve. The crema di latte can be made a day in advance.

Finely zest the remaining lemons using a microplane or grater and juice.

Place the remaining sugar into the slow cooker with 500ml boiling water. Stir to dissolve then add the lemon zest and juice and the limoncello. Arrange the pears in the liquid and cover the mixture with greaseproof paper to prevent the pears from browning. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Just before serving, transfer some of the cooking liquid to a saucepan and reduce over a high heat until syrupy. Serve the pears drizzled with syrup and crema di latte.

Serves 6

Zucchini flowers

Zucchini flowers are hardly seasonal, but I started this post sometime ago and I can’t get it out of my head. Like a writer’s version of an ear worm.

It’s about vegetable gluts. You know, when friends or family have home grown produce coming out their ears and some of it makes its way to you? This can be great (like, summer tomatoes), or not-so-great (chokos anyone?).

Well a month or so ago, a good friend of mine went next-level. Her in-laws had excess cucumbers and zucchinis from their organic farm, odd bendy ones that don’t fit our sense of perfection. ‘Cause bent ones taste different, don’t you know?

Catch ups, coffee dates & gym visits all came with obligatory bags of produce, but for a select few (ok, I think just me), there was a little reward for assisting with the glut - a bag of zucchini flowers!

I can’t remember when I first ate zucchini flowers, but I certainly fell in love. The sweet baby zucchini, herby cheesy stuffed flower and light tempura batter. I think they really are next level.

I’ve only cooked them twice. The first time was a year or two ago, courtesy of the same friends (who is also my truffle-gifting friend, which you can read about here). This time round I cooked the below recipe, but to be honest I think I prefer a more delicate, sweeter flavour than the salty/basil whack in this one. I'd replace the basil with equl quantities of mint and use a mild goats cheese (or a ricotta if you're not a goat fan) - try this recipe for another mint version.

We fried ours in a wok on the bbq in vegetable oil.

And P.S. Does anyone else struggle to spell Zucchini? Zuchinni? Every.Single.Time?

Stuffed Tempura Zucchini Flowers

1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
1 egg, separated

8 zucchini flowers
90 g feta
8 basil leaves, finely chopped.

Oil for frying (any light odour oil is fine, we used vegetable )

Sift flour and salt into a bowl then whisk in water, oil and egg yolk. Allow the batter to rest for at least 40 minutes.

Gently open the zucchini flowers, trying not to tear the petal structure, and wash inside and out. This is easiest if you remove the stamen from the flower.

Season feta with pepper and then mash together with the basil together using a fork, or stir strongly with a spoon, until a lumpy paste is formed. Gently portion the paste into each zucchini flower.

Beat the egg white until soft peaks form and gently fold into the batter just before using. Heat a saucepan or wok containing 6 cm of oil over a medium-to-high heat. Dip the zucchini flowers, one-by-one, and place in the hot oil - cook in batches to avoid overcrowding in the pan.

Drain on kitchen paper, season with salt and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as an entree.

I wasn't sure about sharing the end-product but then I thought dammit. I'm not a photographer. I'm a part-time-wanna-be-chef-home-cook and a writer. And these babies are best eaten as fresh and hot as you can bear. That, my friends, is not necessarily "insta-compatible"!

Rosy Cheeks Muesli

This post was meant to be about breakfast. But Oh My Goodness have I been sidetracked!

I love my breakfast, and that love has grown even more since having kids. You can read about it here, here and here. There’s something special about getting up before everyone else so I can savour my bowl of muesli (in summer) or porridge (in winter) in the peaceful early light. That morning space before the kids rise has become so important to me that it’s seen my alarm creep further and further forward over the last 3 years.

With priorities like this you can understand how much I enjoyed meeting Katie Godden, creator of Tamworth’s Rosy Cheeks muesli, at a recent Savvy Birds event (if you live in or near Tamworth and haven’t been to a SB event you’re missing out!)

I told her about my blog and my pre-Tamworth life as a brand ambassador for delicious goods and she generously sent me home with two bags of her “delicious nutritious”, paleo-inspired, health promoting muesli, one of them being Primal Cheeky Choc.

What? Yup, that’s right. Chocolate granola. I didn’t think it would be my thing. But I was so wrong.

Boasting coconut flakes nuts, pepitas, raw cacao and more, I am seriously addicted. I don’t eat it for breakfast, instead I sprinkle it on yoghurt as an alternative to the sugar laden snacks that I’m STILL eating, despite being off the “breastfeeding diet” for nearly three months. I’m also partial to eating it like trail mix, returning to the pantry again and again for a nibble. To be fair, I think that’s how Katie intended for it to be eaten, as opposed to a standalone breakfast product. Her serving suggestions include:

•           Straight from the pack
•           Blended in a smoothie or milkshake
•           On top of your favourite smoothie bowl
•           Combined with other puffed cereal products at breakfast time

The other product she shared with me, Primal Granola, is a more traditional breakfast but no less delicious. Muesli and porridge is a weekend treat for me and I love a fruit-free, granola style muesli topped with yoghurt and berries.

Packed full of cashews and almonds, Rosy Cheeks’ Primal Granola has a great crunch and texture and delicious hints of coconut oil and maple syrup.

I’ve been blessed with relatively good health so far, so I’m all about flavour, but Rosy Cheeks was inspired by Katie’s own health journey, after battling poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes and asthma. You can read about this journey on the Rosy Cheeks website, but in a nutshell Katie cut out gluten, dairy, processed food and refined sugars. She also cut back on carbs. Essentially Katie adopted a paleo diet, raved about the health benefits and created her delicious Rosy Cheeks range to ensure she could eat delicious, wholesome food, even on busy days.

If you’re after health benefits, read more on Katie’s website and buy Rosie Cheeks. If you’re after flavour, take my word for it and buy Rosie Cheeks – visit the website for stockists or to buy direct.

Now excuse me, I need to get to bed early so I can enjoy my breakfast tomorrow.

Traybake meal ideas

I love a one pot, set & forget meal. Less washing up and less time spent prepping. I sound like Suzie Homemaker but it's true!

Now that the weather is warming up, hearty stews on the slow cooker are a little less appealing (although, only a little...) so I've been seriously hitting up traybakes in the oven. And you know what? I think they're even easier than the slow cooker. Much less chopping and no need to brown any meat.

Roast chicken pieces and baked sausages are high on rotation at our house right now. Below is an adaptation of a sausage and fennel recipe that my mother in-law snipped from Good Weekend magazine way back in 2008 (pictured above). Bonus points if you can find pork and fennel chipolatas.

I'm also loving Baked ratatouille with snags, another Fairfax recipe from way back in 2008. It's a Jill Dupleix dish that I clipped from Epicure  and then subsequently lost. Now whenever I want it I google "oven lovin' sausage". I really should write it down in case it's one day unavailable.

And then there's chicken. Any variation of chicken and chorizo is a winner in my book. Bonus points if you can get hold of chicken pieces with bone in and skin on (actually not always that easy here in Tamworth). I'm loving these recipes:

• Spanish chicken traybake with chorizo and peppers (pictured) from BBC Good Food. I allow an extra serve of chicken per person so we all have enough to eat without carbs.
• Chorizo chicken from BabyMac. You might like  to whip up a salad or steam some greens to complete this meal but no need to cook spuds, they're already included.
• Mediterranean oven-baked chicken drumsticks from Annabel Karmel. Ok, there's no chorizo in this one but it's super easy and the kids love it, as you'd expect from AK. I often cook thigh cutlets for the adults as well as drumsticks.

And in case you can't be bothered to follow the links above, here's the sausage and fennel recipe.

Baked sausages fennel and tomatoes

1 small fennel bulb

2 red onions, peeled and sliced into rounds
4 roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Half a bunch of thyme

5 sprigs of rosemary

3 tbsp olive oil

12 pork chipolatas

150 ml white wine

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Cut the fennel vertically into wedges, keeping a little bit of the base on each to hold it together. Arrange in a roasting pan with the onion and tomato. Scatter with thyme, rosemary and fennel seeds and drizzle over the olive oil Season well then tuck in the sausages, add the wine and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until sausages are browned, tossing the veges and turning the sausages after 20 minutes. 

Serves 4.

Recipe road test: Beetroot & Sweet Potato Soup | Downtown Magazine

In last month's post about mandarins I mentioned our generous neighbour, who went overseas and left us in charge of her citrus trees. Well, she also left us in charge of a vege patch consisting of a two metre long wall of snow peas and two square metres of beetroot. That's a LOT of beetroot.

I love beetroot but I find cooking it is rarely fuss-free... all the dirt and the stain-risking juice. Can I bang on any more about how I need fuss-free meals at the moment? Even simply roasting the crimson bulbs in a square of oiled foil involves a messy peeling process.

And yet, I feel the universe was telling me to quit whinging and start cooking. The neighbours had been gone for just a few days when I opened the latest Downtown Magazine and saw this recipe.

I had an endless supply of beetroot and it was soup weather. Universe speaking!

There is a bit of messy prep involved, particularly if you are lucky to be using beetroot fresh from the garden. I had to rinse the tap roots free of soil before peeling the skin (which I'd given a light scrub, too). My top tip for handling beetroot, raw or cooked, is disposable food prep gloves. Get a box next time you're at the supermarket. If you're like me they'll sit in your cling wrap drawer largely untouched but you'll be thrilled they're there when you need them.

Downtown's Editor in Chief, the talented and determined Anna Davis, has generously allowed me to reproduce the recipe below but honestly, I'd be tempted to throw it all in the pot together and hope for the best. Ok, that's not entirely true. DO brown the onion in the oil first, but maybe skip the step where you rub the root vegetables with oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Instead, add them to the pot after the onions are browned. Toss over medium heat until fragrant, add your liquid of choice (I used chicken stock), cook for 30 minutes, blend and voila!

The beetroot, coconut oil and cumin flavours are faaaaan-tastic. Who would've thought a soup could be so fresh and light yet hearty and warming at the same time.

The recipe is a bit "choose your own adventure" when it comes to garnish. I can recommend a serious dollop of full fat greek yoghurt, torn mint leaves and a bit of crunch. 

Crunch? Try dry frying pepita and sesame seeds until toasty. Let me know how you go with that as I didn't quite get there. Best intentions and all...

Beetroot & Sweet Potato Soup
Downtown Magazine, Winter 2017

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
3 beetroots, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 onion, finely chopped
500 ml bone broth, chicken or veggie stock
200 ml water
salt and pepper

Rub the chunks of sweet potato and beetroot in 1 tablespoon coconut oil, the cumin and a grind of salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat for 1 minutes, add the onion and saute with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Throw in the sweet potato and beetroot and saute for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so nothing burns, then add the broth or stock, and the water.

Bring the temperature to a simmer for 30 minutes, puree with a hand blend, and serve with your favourite garnish.

 Serves 4

Go shorty, it's your birthday...

Do you love a birthday? Or hate it? I'm definitely a lover, although it doesn't always come easily. Some years I'm all for baking myself a cake and having the girls around to share the calories, other years I get a bit insecure. Isn't it self obsessed to encourage everyone to come celebrate a festival of you? Never mind that birthdays are the one day when you can and should do exactly that.

This year there was no need for all the angsty over-thought, the day just evolved organically. We kicked off with presents in bed with the kids. Is there anything cuter than the pride on their faces as they carry in their gift?

Then it was time to escape the cherubs for a lovely two hour coffee date with girlfriends and more presents and flowers (well and truly spoilt this year). Now, does anyone else sometimes find it quite relaxing to be around other people's kids when yours aren't there? It's not quite as nice as everyone being kid free but it's a relief knowing that you don't have to worry whether that crying child is your own (or the fault of your own). And it's also nice to have the time to get to know your friend's kids just that little bit better. And to be an extra pair of spare hands to help out, particularly when it's usually my crazy bunch hogging any helping hands.

A quick spot of retail therapy (window shopping only), a token appearance at the office and then it was home to relieve the babysitter.

The gift-giving angels I'd left at home had turned into clingy tantrum-throwing maniacs so I have chosen to block the next three hours from my birthday memory. Sheesh, some days you pay more than just babysitter cash to get time away. I often wonder if it's worth it (of course it is).

Deserve it or not, it was then time for a special treat for the twins: a baby-free burger date with mummy, daddy and their aunt and uncle. We finally checked out Tamworth's not-so-new burger joint, Williamsburg. It's been open since November last year, or thereabouts, but we've been somewhat busy, what with three under two-and-a-half and all that. I think the twins enjoyed their special dinner out. Tommy ate his fill of (delicious) chips, Georgina picked away at her half a burger and table jenga was a winner. Generous kids sizes meant we took a whole burger home with us.

The adults had just as much fun, with a great selection of beef, chicken and lamb burgers available. We left with that almost but not quite over-full feeling. You know the one? Just what you hope for from a great sized burger.

A hop skip and jump home to put the kidlets to bed (more tantrums, grr) and soothe the sleeping baby, then it was back out to enjoy a couple of drinks with friends at Tamworth's new beer bar, The Welders Dog. It's one been open a few weeks so we don't feel quite as far behind the eight ball. I loved the joint and hope to bring you full and proper reporting soon!

And that's a wrap. Could I have packed any more in? The whole day was a wonderful balance of family and friends and I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful tribe here in Tamworth.

Homegrown mandarins

We are loving mandarin season here at the moment. In years past we've jumped for joy when imperials appear on our supermarket shelves and expressed disappointment when the honey murcotts take over. But this year is different.

This year we're all about the home grown! Not from our own garden, but from the gardens of our neighbour and our aunt, who have generously gone overseas during peak citrus season and encouraged us to enjoy the spoils of their labour.

Last year mandarins were still a little tart for our twins, who are now two-and-a-half, but this year any sharpness is overlooked for the excitement of peeling the things. "My do it" is the common phrase from the pair. This is fortunate, because anyone familiar with homegrown citrus knows that sharpness can vary. A lot.

I'm not sure how much is getting eaten. Sometimes it's more about the challenge of the peel and the joy of spitting the seeds out, a skill they've only just learnt. I'm just happy there's some enthusiasm for something healthy. Particularly from Tommy, who would otherwise survive on nothing but weetbix, eggs and custard.

I've always thought mandarins a little tricky to cook with. So much more fragile than other citrus fruit. How do you grate the rind or juice the interior without rendering the whole thing to mush?

I can't provide the answer to this (can you?) but I can provide links to three mandarin recipes that have caught my eye from my own cook book collection and online. Our newly purchased house backs onto bushland and there is a "wild" mandarin tree down the gully. Next year I might give it some love (ie water and fertiliser) and see what we get. I'm optimistically thinking we might need these recipes to get through a glut... 

Goats cheese platter with mandarin preserve from delicious magazine... if you're anti-goats cheese stop turning up your nose and simply substitute a good smelly washed rind. I love how minimal prep is required for this preserve. 

Mandarin salad with cherry tomatoes and nuts, because someone out there might be a little healthier than me. 

Dark gingerbread cake with mandarin compote from Gourmet Traveller because I can't resist cake and again with the easy-prep. Mandarin is surely the lazy gals' citrus?

NONE of these recipes have been tested by me. I have three kids under three, and two of them are devouring most of the bounty. If YOU cook one of the recipes, I'd love to hear what you think. Keeper or not?

How to cook truffle

A good friend called me the other day and said she had some truffle. I jumped to conclusions and thought I was about to get a dinner invitation. Yippee. 

But no, this mum of three including a young baby, was discharging truffle responsibility to me, another mum of three including a young baby. I can't say I blame her, I'm not leaping to host dinner parties either.

She'd been gifted the truffle, enjoyed some of it herself and thought that I was the most worthy recipient of the remainder. I should have felt honoured. And I did. But I also felt a bit of a fake. I wasn't even sure I liked truffle.

I'm in a lucky minority who has tried the black fungus before, but each time left me a little bewildered. 

The first, shaved onto raw egg yolk at Melbourne's Movida, was never going to end well given a) I'm not an egg fan and b) I became accidentally inebriated during the dinner. Rich, rich, rich food and a woozy head. 

The second was three years ago at said friend's house.She did a wonderful job, finely grating the truffle over risotto, but I was pregnant at the time, so the over-rich, woozy connotations gained more traction. Finally, I'm not even sure the third time counts. Truffle mayonnaise served with butterflied chicken? Rich food during a hot Tamworth summer.

Hence my challenge. I dared not waste this precious piece of black gold, regardless of prior experience. So I set out online to find a recipe. Risottos and pastas were common, but as a mum of three I have limited capacity to prepare a meal that must be eaten immediately.

Instead I found Roast Chicken with Warm Truffle and Cauliflower Salad, from French chef Guillaume Brahimi. Guillaume recommends slipping shaved truffle under the chicken skin. I didn't have enough so I reserved it for the warm salad. And can I say it was amazing? Or is that a bit egocentric given I cooked it myself? Best truffle experience by far!

Coincidentally Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food included an article on truffles the following week. My take-homes from the article were:

• Don't heat the truffle above 80 degrees.
• Store wrapped in paper towel in an airtight container in the fridge and change the paper towel daily. 
• Allow 3-8g of truffle per person per course.

Finally, don't over think it. You don't' need anything elaborate to carry the flavour. Simple dishes are best, such as pasta, risotto, roast chicken and scrambled eggs. We hold the truffle up to some lofty aspirations in the form of French Brasseries and silver service, but try to think more of the marvel's humble, earthy origins when looking for inspiration.