My Family

Our daughter’s request for a degustation dinner to be the official celebration of her 30th birthday became the perfect culmination of a wonderful family week.  While her birthday was June 1, she wanted the dinner to be with all the family members, which meant holding it after Josh and Kate returned.  So, 7.30 pm, Saturday 25 June at Restaurant Atelier, 22 Glebe Point Road was chosen.

The evening began with red corvette cocktails prepared at Club 55.  Shortly after 7.00 pm we made our way to Atelier.

We had the private room, which was up the stairs above the kitchen.  We can attest that not all kitchens are full of angst, anger and swearing as portrayed on some reality TV shows.  All we heard was the clanking of pots and pans as the chef and three staff worked hard below.

Meanwhile Bernadette and Tom looked after us for our seven course meal with matching wines plus a cheese plate that we enjoyed from 7.30 pm till midnight.  We were surprised at how much time passed by so quickly.  The degustation meal became the perfect way to celebrate this 30th birthday and us being together as a family.

You can share our wonderful evening through these photos and comments.

Red corvette cocktails at Club 55 and arrival at Atelier:

Tom, our main waiter comes from Montpellier, France – the very city that our daughter travels to later this year to attend a conference!  Next, Bernadette is attempting to explain one of our courses.

Course 1 was kingfish ceviche with tomato sorbet and tomatoes with some of us having caviar, complemented by Cote de Rhone white wine.  Course 2 was marron fish tail from Western Australia with shellfish mousse, jelly cube and baby broad beans accompanied by an Alsace Riesling.

Enjoying our dinner.

Course 3 consisted of scallop on mushroom and Thai basil with duck consume poured over it and accompanied by a rosé.  Course 4 was poached John Dory with king mushroom and a tempura leaf accompanied by a cold red French Beaujolais (apologies for the partly eaten fourth course but I forgot to take a photo earlier).

Enjoying these courses.

Course 5 was duck breast and duck confit with mushrooms and carrot purée with some of us having truffles accompanied by a cabernet sauvignon merlot from Morning Peninsula (the only Australian wine of the evening, all the others being French).

Time for some short speeches before dessert.  We spoke about how wonderful it was to celebrate together.  I congratulated our daughter for the wonderful person she is and what she has accomplished and how special to me it was to have my family’s love and support in my time of need.  She spoke of her appreciation for our family and how she enjoyed our celebrations.  Our daughter-in-law thanked us for being such an inclusive family and welcoming the ‘in-laws’ as family members.  Yes, it was mushy and a few tears were shed but I think it is so good to let each other know how much we mean to each other. 

As a family, we have focussed on celebrating the good things along the way and probably done this even more in recent years.  Barbara and I believe these build good memories that help carry us all through tougher times.  People talk of vicious cycles.  I like to talk of virtuous cycles that build up, create hope and lead to wonderful outcomes.  I believe celebrating special times helps create and support virtuous cycles.  You’ll notice that I tend to talk of the positive things happening.  We, like all families, have difficult times but I think it is generally more constructive not to be too public about them.  The exception is my own situation, such as my cancer.  That concerns me and gives me a freedom to discuss in the way I want.

Desserts came in courses 6 and 7.  Course 6 was salty chocolate with goat yoghurt and chocolate jelly accompanied by a dessert red wine that was sweet like a port.  Course 7 was a soufflé of chocolate and mandarin with a mandarin sorbet and mandarin milkshake – half poured into the soufflé and the other half drunk through a chocolate straw that you then ate, accompanied by a sweet white wine from Balzac.

We finished our dinner with some of us enjoying a selection of four cheeses: French old goat, a French aged cheddar, a French and an Australian blue – superb cheeses, followed by coffees and chocolate.  At midnight we parted ways with most of us returning to Club 55.

So ended a wonderful night of family celebration!  Why the title of My Family?  I love my family and I love the British sitcom My Family.