Thank you to our Culinary Expert, Chloe, from our Redfern showroom for representing Winning Appliances on a recent AEG trip to Hobart to experience The Agrarian Kitchen and the beginning of the truffle season. Read about her experience below!
For the uninitiated, the Agrarian Kitchen is a beautiful 19th century school house settled in the hills of Lachlan, on a five acre property, 45 minutes out of Hobart. A cooking school and farm, it’s famous for its produce, including heirloom fruit and vegetables, pigs, rare breeds of chickens and smoked meats.
It’s owned and operated by Rodney Dunn, an ex-food-writer and chef who has worked under greats such as Tetsuya Wakuda and contributed to Gourmet Traveller for many years.
Rodney’s Agrarian adventure began in 2007, when he packed up his life and moved to Hobart where he now runs the kitchen with his wife Severine and daughter Chloe. The Agrarian Kitchen forms part of a thriving foodie scene in Hobart, which features restaurants like Franklin and Fico - not to mention The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery and Store, which is five minutes from the farm itself.
Our visit to the farm began with an introductory tour, picking and tasting the produce and learning about the natural processes that support the ecosystem of the farm, minimizing wastage and maximizing the quality of produce.
Inside the house, old traditions and new technology are beautifully paired. An open fire sits next to a long island bench in a French provincial style kitchen, which includes three AEG ovens along with two Induction Cooktops.
Rodney enjoys the precision of induction, while he also uses steam technology to enhance his cooking. “When we cook our sponge or our truffles, we will always add a little bit of steam in there, to give a little bit more lift.”
Everything on the farm works in harmony and everything eaten is sourced from the farm or neighboring properties.
That includes everything from the goat meat to the polenta which is made from corn that is crushed in his grain mill. Meanwhile, vegetable potage is made from veggies carefully tendered from his garden.
And then there are the delicious truffles!
According to Rodney, the best way to store and keep truffles is by adding it to dairy, with the lactic acids helping to retain flavour. Truffles usually have around a two-three week life length, and will lose their flavour and aroma over time. Rodney recommends making a truffle butter and freezing it as one of the best ways to enjoy truffles throughout the year.
Another great idea is to sit them amongst your eggs - the porous nature of the egg takes on the flavour beautifully. Beware of oils, however, since truffles won’t retain their flavours in these synthesized products.
Another definite highlight was the hand-made pasta which was prepared fresh on the day. Once cooked, it was tossed with truffle butter and a truffled egg yolk. For us, this was the outstanding dish of the day: simple and bold, with a deliciously intense truffle flavor.
AEG explained to us that “Great taste comes down to mastering the details in each step of the cooking process” and the Agrarian Kitchen certainly epitomizes the benefits of this approach!
Thanks to AEG & The Agrarian Kitchen for so graciously hosting this fascinating, inspiring (and delicious) visit! For more information on AEG appliances like those featured at the kitchen, please visit us in-store or online.
Photo Credits: Adam Gibson
