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© John Farren


Meeting 406 -" Sugar Craft Demonstation"

Speaker: Frank de Mengel
Friday 11thth August 2017: Neville Hall, Waltham St Lawrence

 

        The Berkshire branch recently enjoyed an evening that was a departure from the usual format. At two earlier events Frank de Mengel, a member of the branch and a trained baker, chef and lecturer, had given demonstrations of breadmaking and the skills of the chocolatier; this time members were shown the techniques of sugar craft, the art of making flowers from sugar paste.
       Frank began by showing the audience some sugar paste and explaining that, depending on the colour of the paste, it would start to harden within minutes if left exposed to the atmosphere; white and yellow paste tends to harden more quickly than green or red. As two of the flowers that Frank demonstrated were a daffodil and a (yellow) rose, speed was of the essence, but also delicacy and dexterity, as the small petals were not averse to breaking, sometimes just as the very last one was being attached! Frank suggested that if one did not have a book of instructions and wanted to make a particular flower, it was important to look at a real flower carefully and decide how to construct it in sugar paste. To most members this sounded easier said than done and they watched in fascination and admiration as familiar flowers, also acorns and oak leaves, magically emerged with the help of a bewildering variety of tools and a stoical patience with the sometimes brittle paste.
        Although this presentation somewhat stretched the parameters of a Wine and Food Society - Frank said that the finished products might look good enough to eat, but he did not advise it! - members still had ample opportunity to enjoy the usual combination of wine and food. An excellent meal was prepared by Charlotte: a summer menu of classic Coronation chicken and a wonderful array of salads, including carrot and beetroot; squash and feta cheese; and grapefruit, hazelnut and radish in a light citrus dressing. A fresh berry pavlova provided a fitting end to the evening.
        To accompany the main course a Domaine de Tourelles from Lebanon was served, a blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with some Cinsault and a small amount of Carignan. Members had earlier enjoyed wines drawn from the cellar of our chairman, Colin Mair, including a Weissburgunder Sekt from Erbeldinger in the Pfalz as an aperitif. During the presentation they sipped a delicious Lugana Benedictus 2015 from Valerio Zenato, followed by a 2005 Brauneberger Juffer Auslese Herb Trocken from the winery of Wolfgang Kohl on the Moselle, which a group of members had visited on a tour of the Moselle and Ahr valleys in 2013.
        Another convivial evening was enjoyed which extended members' knowledge of food and wine thanks to Frank's expertise and Charlotte's superb cooking.
       (Ian Roe)




Some of Charlotte's Salads