"TRADERNE" @ HARE & GRACE

Chef Raymond Capaldi told me he came across the words 'heir and grace' in a GQ magazine and immediately thought he could tweak them, hence Hare & Grace for his restaurant. A friend of Donovan's he spent a few years in Hong Kong as Executive Chef at the Intercontinental when The Plume (remember that) was at her peak. His menu, labelled "TRADERNE" ie combining Traditional & Modern, or simply the modern approach to traditional food, is innovative and extensive. He is not by any means into Molecular Gastronomy which Donovan wittily summarizes as 'Foam on Foam'. A prolific Food Blogger from St Kilda who only identifies himself as Neil expresses it even better ' .... mucking around with food to produce tastes and textures outside of our everyday notions of what food really is .... ' Need I say more?

I am sure it has something to do with Donovan making the booking, our Traderne menu was 18 coures! Some readers might still remember the 24-course challenge at the Derby with Donovan when it took 6 hours from 7pm to 1am. Chef Raymond's 18 were presented very matter-of-factly, but with star qualities on the menu, some even carry only a single word like Borage, Yabbie, Asparagus, Parsley etc but they were all creative, thoughtful, full of surprises and without any doubt they must all took hours to prepare.

Other than the Eaton Mess his Pork Belly, as shown, was another winner. Sandwiched by 2-layers of heavenly Black Pudding, the perfectly constructed tower was garnished with Acid Apple, Fake Cinnamon on a Crusty Coffee Sauce. Volia ... "Traderne" at its best!

HARE & GRACE Eatery and Minibar : 525 Collin Street Melbourne (61) 3 9629 6755