casa e cucina

Mark Best, one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs, will bring his culinary talents to

the remote shores of Lizard Island in October for a one-off gourmet weekend.

Best has received a string of accolades for his Sydney restaurant Marque, most

recently when Marque was named as Restaurant of the Year 2012 in the Australian

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Awards at the end of August.

Best and his French-inspired restaurant Marque, in Sydney’s Surry Hills, also gained

worldwide recognition last year when he won the Breakthrough Award at the

London-based S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy.

Marque has also been named Restaurant of the Year in the 2011 Sydney Morning

Herald Good Food Guide, and awarded Three Hats in the 2010 Sydney Morning

Herald Good Food Guide, where Best was also named Best Chef. Marque is one of

just three restaurants in Sydney to have received the acclaimed Three Hats

accolade.

Against the backdrop of the stunning natural beauty of Lizard Island on the Great

Barrier Reef, Best will work alongside Lizard Island Executive Chef Mark Jensen to

prepare two nights of exciting menus, inspired by Marque, over the weekend of the

21st and 22nd of October.

The menus, developed exclusively for Lizard Island, will be accompanied by

Champagnes from Louis Roederer on the Friday night (21st October) and Australian

wines from Leeuwin Estate on the Saturday night (22nd October). Leeuwin Estate is

one of the five founding wineries of the famed Margaret River district of Western

Australia.

The weekend will be hosted by Lizard Island General Manager Robyn Pontynen and

facilitated by Jean-Jacques Peyre, wine educator and general manager of Casama

Wines.

“We are honoured to be able to welcome Mark Best to Lizard Island,” said Pontynen.

“Our guests will be delighted that they can enjoy his creations in such a spectacular

setting.”

“In addition, to have his menus matched by wines from Leeuwin Estate and

Champagnes from Louis Roderer will make this a weekend not to be missed.”

Included within the price of a two-night stay on Lizard Island, the Mark Best

Weekend will be available for guests to enjoy as a complimentary highlight of their

stay. A two-night stay on Lizard Island starts from $3,400 per room and includes all

meals, a selection of premium alcoholic beverages and a range of activities

including motorised dinghies, snorkelling and gourmet picnic hampers.

Lizard Island recently underwent a soft refurbishment to bring out the best of its

beachside location on the Great Barrier Reef. At Lizard, guests can do as they wish,

when they wish. A maximum of just 80 guests are accommodated in 40 villas, only

minutes from the beach

All the excitement, colour and fascination of Macau will be on show on the October
15-16 weekend when the curtain is raised on the inaugural Macau Festival 2011 in
Sydney's Darling Harbour.
Organised by the Macau Government Tourist Office (Australia and New Zealand),
the event will feature on stage a free program of contemporary and traditional
Portuguese dance, Lion dancing, song and music throughout the two days. There
will also be a host of free activities for children as well as activities for adults, and
plenty of Portuguese and Chinese food to satisfy hearty appetites.
Coinciding with the festival will be a Macau Food Week at Four Seasons Hotel
Sydney from October 14-21. 
The hotel's restaurant Kable's will offer a special traditional Macanese menu for both
lunch and dinner throughout Food Week, the menu featuring a selection of
traditional dishes including the famous Macanese Egg Tarts and African chicken.
Macanese food is best described as a combination of Portuguese, Chinese, Indian
and African cuisine. 
Adding to the authenticity of the experience, we are pleased to welcome two guest
chefs from our sister property, Four Seasons Hotel Macau, Gary Wong and Alex Lim,
who will be preparing the Macanese dishes throughout the week.
FESTIVE FUN
2011 Macau Festival
Tumbalong Park
Darling Harbour
weekend of October 15-16
10am - 4pm,
Free Entry

World renowned sustainable seafood chef Tom Kime of Fish & Co in Sydney, is

hosting a five day seafood workshop from world heritage listed Lord Howe Island. 
At Pinetrees Lodge from 13 to 17 October, the event will feature some of Kime's
best seafood recipes from his award winning book "Fish Tales" (Winner of The World
Gourmand Awards 'Best Sustainable Book 2010) and highlight the importance of
sustainable fisheries worldwide.  
Lord Howe Island is surrounded by a protected marine park and is the perfect
location to bring Kime's message to fish lovers from all over Australia. 
Kime has worked in some of the most famous restaurants in London and Sydney and
is now heading Sydney's first sustainable seafood cafe launched in 2010.  He will
bring a wealth of expertise to cooking workshops for guests each day at Pinetrees,
and showcase local fish varieties line-caught from the surrounding waters.
"Having the opportunity to cook local fish and to teach and inspire guests in a
sub-tropical location such as Lord Howe will be an amazing experience. The beauty
and diversity of marine parks such as the one surrounding this iconic island needs to
be heralded and preserved. 
Marine conservation holds a great interest to me as a fisherman and chef
specialising in sustainable seafood.  The world's most southerly coral reef ecosystem
which surrounds Lord Howe Island boasts great fish biodiversity, which is an asset
that must be protected.
Each afternoon from Thursday, 13 October to Monday, 17 October, Kime will host a
cooking workshop, teaching a range of culinary skills and varied seafood
preparations to make delicious dishes using the locally caught fish.  Guests will be
treated to an exclusive dinner menu of Tom's seafood dishes and indulge in food
and wine tastings at the Pinetrees boatshed at sunset. 
I'll use Lord Howe Kingfish to create tasty dishes for guests to enjoy at the Pinetrees
boatshed each day. I am looking forward to catching a few fish (or at least wetting a
line) with the local fishermen and guests too!" said Kime.
A five night package for Tom Kime Food Event starts at $1,165 per person twin
share, excluding flights.  To book, call Pinetrees Travel on (02) 9262 6585 or visit
www.pinetrees.com.au.