3 Michelin Star Dishes for Sydneysiders

It’s not every day Sydneysiders have the opportunity to taste dishes created by a 3 Michelin star chef. Now at Caffe Sicilia, a charming Sicilian restaurant in Crown Street, Surry Hills, you can choose from four of Heinz Beck’s dishes, a legacy of his recent flying visit to Sydney. Beck runs the 3 Michelin star La Pergola restaurant at the Hotel Cavalieri, Rome, and draws his inspiration from everything around him: people, architecture, the seasons. “I can draw inspiration from everything at every moment, I never want to limit myself as it is so important to change and progress,” he says. Fresh ingredients, simple preparation, impeccable standards and meticulous attention to detail are key factors in his success. He also has restaurants in London (1 Michelin star Apsleys at The Lanesborough) and Pescara, Italy (Café Les Paillotes), and has published eight cookbooks. At a media lunch last week at Caffe Sicilia, Beck served nine courses, including his signature Carbonara Fagotelli and Iced sphere of red fruits on tea-flavoured chocolate cream. The Caffe Sicilia chefs have been trained by chef Beck to make four of the dishes, which include: Crispy bread cannolo with sea bass and a brunoise of melon and celery ( served with a NV Berlucchi ‘Cuvee Storica 61 Rose’ Franciacorta from Lombardy, Italy):  an interesting twist on cannolo, the Sicilian sweet pastry filled with creamy ricotta. The brunoise is one of the finest and most delicate I’ve seen and is sweetish in flavour, an unexpected combination with the fish; Sedanini pasta with red shrimps, smoked aubergine coulis and croutons, served with a 2011 Contini ‘Karmis’ Vernaccia di Oristano from Sardinia: the smoky flavour of the eggplant adds a surprising contrast to the salty sweet shrimps, crunchy croutons and De Decco’s ridged pasta; Veal in pistachio crust with mortadella and topinambur puree, served with a 2010 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo from Piedmont, Italy: the tender pink loin of veal was a little too tender for my taste but I loved the jerusalem artichoke (topinambur) puree;   Orange jelly with bergamot ice cream and edible flowers, served with a NV Rallo ‘Normanno’ Zibbibo from Sicily: delicate and refreshing, perfect on a hot summer day. The four courses will be available from Monday for three months and will be sold as a degustation for $65; or $85 with matching wines. The most spectacular dish, and my favourite – Beck’s Iced sphere of red fruits on tea-flavoured chocolate cream – is not on the list. Now that British MPs are debating a ban on the use of liquid nitrogen, following serious injury to an 18-year-old girl who drank a cocktail containing the ingredient, I wonder whether Beck will continue to make it? You might have to travel to Rome to find out. Please note: I was a guest at Caffe Sicilia, Surry Hills, Sydney.