The Devonshire Surry Hills Cloudy Bay Pinot Duck

For the month of July there are a series of restaurants dedicated to the pairing of Pinot Noir and duck for the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir Duck Trail. The duck trail consists of seven restaurants around Sydney with every restaurant offering a different duck course, all of which are, of course, paired with a Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir. Last night I attended one of the restaurants on the trail, The Devonshire (owners Chef Jeremy Bentley and Chef Matt Kemp) to taste their dishes.

Arriving at The Devonshire, our group was seated and started with a glass of the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, a New Zealand wine, which can be paired with a variety of dishes, and in particular duck, as it has overtones of mushrooms and strawberries that can brought out with the right dish. To get the evening started, we were surprised with an Amuse Bouche of Salt fish brandade with parsley and preserved lemon, this was delicious and the flavours of the brandade were fantastic with the lemon and parsley mayonnaise, the texture differences also added another level to the dish also.

Next to arrive at the table was lovely warm, fresh bread accompanied by two butters, one a Lescure French butter, topped with salt, the other a delicious homemade butter that was made with added honey. This was absolutely amazing, with a light buttery flavour that had a sweet aftertaste of the honey shining through. I could have eaten much more of this, and would love to have been able to take some home to have with bread, or even better, on pancakes.

For the entree, there was a choice between Scallops with squid, celeriac, pomegranate and golden raisins or Macleay valley rabbit raviolo with king brown mushroom, tarragon and spinach – it was a tough choice but I decided on the rabbit. The Rabbit raviolo was a mixture of the leg of the rabbit and a rabbit mousse, which was incredibly moist. This was topped with mushroom and tarragon that further brought out the flavours of the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir. This was served on a bed of spinach with a velvety liver and cream sauce, and finally topped off by confit of rabbit belly that provided a change of texture for this dish but also a burst of rabbit flavour which exploded in your mouth.

The other entree, the Scallops, were also divine. This dish consisted of Nova Scotian Scallops, each served with a squid ring and accompanied by a puree of celeriac which was infused with squid ink to provide a dark contrast to the light coloured scallop as well as adding to the taste of the dish.

Our main, the Breast and Sausage roll of duck with salsify, hazelnut and parsley was fantastic. The Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009 matched perfectly with the duck, from Windsor, served in two ways. The duck breast was simply seared perfectly, then rested, with slices placed on a bed of salsify. The sausage roll was made from the meat of the duck legs mixed with foie gras and lardo. The sausage roll, was magnificient, and could be named such in looks only. The meat mixture was so rich and moist, it could not be faulted. The plate also consisted of a hazelnut puree and parsley puree which both added dimension to the dish.

Finally, a Devonshire Tea dessert, an Earl Grey Creme Brulee with scone, ice-cream, scone crumbs, cherry jam and whipped cream, which when a mouthful was mixed together genuinely tasted like you were having a milky earl grey tea with scones (albeit without the heat). This was the perfect way to finish a meal and a definite crowd pleaser if the people at our table were anything to go by.

I left the Devonshire having satisfyied my duck craving for now but knowing full well that there another six duck dishes out there to be consumed around Sydney as part of the Cloudy Bay Pinot Duck Trail.

I wonder how I can fit them all in?

Restaurant Balzac
Duck ‘A L’Orange w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $52

The Devonshire
Roast breast and sausage roll of duck with salsify, hazelnuts and parsley w/ a glass of pinot noir, $46.

Gastro Park
Textures of duck with local wild mushroom tagliatelle – duck jelly, duck breast, duck ham, smoked duck tenderloin s& pickled swede w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $45

Golden Century
BBQ peking duck w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $35

Mosaic
Confit duck leg with bean cassoulet, root vegetables and parsley w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $55

Treehouse Hotel
Confit duck leg with mixed funghi, cavellero nero and candied cumquats w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $42

Manly Pavilion
Aged roast duck – balsamico di modena w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $55