Pei Modern's Mid-Winter Feast with Young Henrys

Rebecca Varidel
2nd Jul 2016

We reckon that this is one of the most exciting special menus that we've seen in Sydney for some time. Sydney loves new and natural and sharing good food. And here it is. Now, for the first time we're getting to see past the fabulous Pei Modern Sydney day-to-day night-to-night offerings and we're getting a whole new look at Chef Joachim Borenius. Formerly Sous Chef and Head Chef at Marque Restaurant for more than five years, and more recently Head Chef at Coogee Pavilion, Joachim was appointed Head Chef at Mark Best's Pei Modern in the Four Seasons Sydney last December.

So what's all this fuss we're making? It's about the must do event for this July. Mark Best’s Pei Modern Sydney has partnered with local brewer Young Henrys to deliver a hearty mid-winter feast for its next Paddock to Plate event on Thursday July 28th.

Making full use of Pei Modern’s roaring wood fire oven and grill, the communal-style mid-winter dinner will feature four courses infused with and matched to Young Henrys brews: including beer, cloudy cider and their new gin.

Mark Best and Head Chef Joachim Borenius will host the evening with Young Henrys brewer Oscar McMahon and Mandagery Creek venison farmer Tim Hansen, who will share stories behind their produce with guests.

"Traditionally in Scandinavia the coldest, darkest time of the year held one of the biggest feasts, the Midwinter Blot. The feast was a gathering intended to please the gods and bring great crops for the year to come.

Honouring my Scandinavian heritage and the desire to cook seasonally with local produce, the mid-winter feast theme felt like an excellent way to highlight our natural focus at this time of the year," Head Chef Joachim Borenius writes in Behind the Mid-Winter Feast in the Pei Journal, the Pei Modern blog.

Not only has Joachim created this Nordic winter feast for Sydney but get this, he actually also did the beverage matches. Apparently, he has also trained as a sommelier and loves his beer. Talented lad isn't he...

"We're excited to work with Young Henrys on this dinner. They have a wide portfolio of beverages that are not only delicious, but also have a lot of personality with very significant characters that we can really work with when it comes to pairing.

Young Henrys brews are pretty outspoken, with personalities that speak for themselves. Young Henrys doesn't brew any wallflower beers, you know.

Having so many different Young Henrys beers with so many different qualities to choose from, it has been nice and easy to find something which complements each of the mid-winter feast dishes.

They have some great ales with distinct herby aromatics from the hops and the malts they're using, which gives them a complexity and freshness.

For the rye and caraway bread in course two, we've chosen Young Henrys Dark Hop Ale. It has toasty dark brown chocolately characters, but it's been hopped so it has a spicy tang to it as well, which complements the black malt and caraway in the bread.

With the venison, we've chosen Young Henrys Pumpkin Ale. The sweetness and nuttiness of the roast pumpkin aroma in the ale is a great complement to the dark and gamey roast venison. It creates a flavour bridge between what you're drinking and what you're eating," Joachim shared exclusively here with us.

Bookings are essential

The event is the fourth in Pei Modern’s Paddock to Plate series. Seats priced at $95 per person, including matching beer and cider, are strictly limited. Dinner starts at 6.30pm.

Want a peek at what you'll be eating and drinking?

Photo credit Tanja Bruckner.