Men in kilts

The room was heady with the smell of peat.

There were men in kilts! All that was missing was the bagpipes.

The tables were set with 200 glasses of whisky – and that was just the first round of Glenmorangie – five whiskys tasted in that round, then to be followed by three of Ardbeg’s finest!

Love your whisky?

Join other whisky lovers at Tognini’s Trattoria at 7pm on July 29 and let David Cross from Moet Hennessy walk you through a tasting of eight superb examples, all matched with a tapas tasting menu.

Sound like your idea of heaven? Here’s a little more to peak your interest – you’ll first taste the whisky neat and then with a little water.  The smokiness and strength of the whiskey will be matched with full flavoured food and there’s even talk of cigars on the deck after.

Here’s the whisky/food line up -

And then there were three!

The newest addition to the Tognini’s Group, Tognini’s Espresso at 20 Hynes Street, Fortitude Valley has just opened.

Positioned in the Fortitude Valley alleyway precinct, Tognini’s Espresso is staffed by Tognini’s ex State Library of Queensland head chef Claire Van Heerden and headed by Suzanne Walker moving over from Tognini’s Milton.

Tognini’s Espresso offers a fresh new dine in or take away flavour-filled menuTognini’s style menu with a blackboard lunch menu featuring daily specials of burgers, pizzas and tapas. The cabinet is the usual array overflowing with of salads and rolls filled with premium deli produce and special treats from the cabinet for sweet tooths.

The breakfast menu includes everything from Tognini’s famous muffins and organic sourdough fruit bread toast with lemon cream cheese, to more a substantial BLT, breakfast bruschetta or savoury mince with poached eggs. The coffee is, of course, Lavazza.

You’ll love the fun wall, a kaleidoscope of retro Lavazza Mio coffee machines that are all for sale. The new pared-back décor makes the most of the a large bank of folding windows in this green oasis with plenty of space for comfortable breakfast meetings.

Tognini’s Espresso seats 35 and will open from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. P 3852 6230 valley@togninis.com

Take your valentine to Tognini's

Got someone special you want to treat on Valentine's Day?

Take them to Tognini's Spring Hill then sit back and enjoy!

There will be bubbles and marinated olives on arrival followed by a mezza platter to share. You'll love the
 prosciutto wrapped grissini sticks, Italian ricotta meatballs, Kataifi prawns w orange + paprika aioli and freshly shucked oysters.

There's a choice of main dish  -

• Tarragon chicken with braised cannellini beans and summer vegetables or pan fried white fish with heirloom tomato, asparagus and sugo bianco
• Whiskey risotto with grilled quail 
• Stracci di pasta with spicy aubergines, tomatoes, basil and parmesan

For dessert sink your lips into a luscious strawberry pannacotta or a chocolate tart.


All for $60.00 per person.


Don't forget to book! Ph 3369 6915

Tour French Champagne houses with the Togninis

Love champagne and food?

Sometimes life provides you with an opportunity – and this is one of them.

Join Mark and Narelle Tognini with David Cross from Moët Hennessy on a five night Champagne + Food Tour from  September 11-16.

You’ll experience the Champagne region in a unique way staying in boutique hotels.

•             Paris one night

•             Epernay two nights

•             Reims two nights

There will be visits to four champagne houses - including Moët + Chandon -  and a meal at a Michelin star restaurant in Reims. Best of all, you’ll travel in a small group.

Here's what you'll see

Nastassia, Maddie + Mark outside Moet + Chandon

Cellar storage of champagne – Pol Roger

The infamous Limestone caves of Moet Chandon

Magnum bottles of Pol Roger under cellaring

Some chickens that didn’t quite lose their heads !

Classic dish of snails, Epernay

Vintage Dom Perignon, house of Moet + Chandon

CHAMPAGNE AND FOOD TOUR 

Land content is $2,850 which includes transfers, accommodation, entries to champagne houses and most meals. Numbers are limited so you’ll need to secure your place with a $1,000 deposit by 28 February 2011.

For tour enquiries please contact Mark or Narelle: 07 3831 5300, eat@togninis.com

GETTING THERE: FLIGHTS

Exclusive airfare rates are available from our travel partner Dean Tuckwell  from The Adventure Traveller.

ECONOMY: Brisbane / Paris Return

•             Air France $1,700* + taxes (approx. $750)

•             Singapore Airlines $1,820*+ taxes (approx. $600)

BUSINESS: Brisbane / Paris Return

•             Air France $6,300* + taxes (approx. $750)

•             Singapore Airlines $7,700*+ taxes (approx. $600)

THE ADVENTURE TRAVELLER

197 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington Q 4064. 07 3369 0799 dean@theadventuretraveller.com

* All prices approximate and subject to change and available until January 2011.

Milan October 12- 15 2010

Overcast - cool -12-15 deg

Milan  - mostly we only pass through this city on our way further north to Mark's family town of Sondrio, but, we have a reason to spend a few days here this visit - we are catching up with our daughter who is attending the Bocconi University. We were of the understanding that she is studying here, but given her knowledge of local bars, restaurants and  shops we are unsure of how much study is happening! However it is good to have first hand knowledge of all the 'cool' places to go.

We eat at a local trattoria, Cantina della Vetra www.cantinadellavetra.it and  we feast on a selection of parma ham and breasola served with a pillow of fried pasta which resembles a roll. Opting for a simple risotto with a twist - my porcini risotto is cooked to perfection then pan fried resulting with a crunchy outside and perfectly creamy inside. The flavour rich with the porcini mushroom and parmesan cheese is intense. The menu in this homestyle tratorria is simple honest fare typical of the Italian cuisine - fresh seasonal porcini mushrooms.

Wandering around the city, you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the beauty of the architecture.  Having seen the Duomo several times before, I am still in awe of the structure and amazed at the beauty of this incredible landmark every time.  We are delighted to discover a Sicilian market tucked behind the main street and enjoy a freshly filled ricotta, plus a stop for another espresso - must be time for lunch?

Milan has a great tram system. Not quite sure how or where to purchase a ticket we just jumped on and off at our leisure - molto grazia Milano - we find our way to the Castello dating back to 1500. After a wander around the castle, our personal guide takes us for a gelato at possibly the best gelati store in Milan - Chocolat. As the name suggests there must be at least one or two varieties of chocolate gelato in this store -there were actually four chocolate varieties - chili chocolate, milk chocolate, dark 70% guarna and rum chocolate. So good is this gelati we visit again after dinner!

Milan is a beautiful city - filled with amazing history - helpful when you have first hand knowledge from a 'local', we wonder whether Nastassia will in fact come home - she loves this city.

Epernay, France - October 19/20

Champagne region approx 160 km from Paris
Cool 8-12 deg - sunny

This is our very first time  to the Champagne region in France, so forgive me for getting just a tinsy bit EXCITED!

I cannot believe how beautiful this little town in the middle of the champagne region is. Epernay is every thing and more than I imagined - tree lined streets - cobbled paths - fountains - little churches - just gorgeous and the best thing of all a street named "rue de Champagne", the avenue that is home to all of the best known champagne houses and runs the entire length of the town.

We stay in a delightful 12 room hotel, Hotel Jean Moet - www.hoteljeanmoet.com, ideally located around 200 metres from the train station and around 20 metres from the Ave de Champagne. Perfect for our visits to the Moet Chandon and Pol Roger Champagne houses.

Thanks to our wine merchants in Brisbane we  have two private tours and tastings arranged, one to the each of these champagne houses. Both tours were quite different - Moet + Chandon is the largest  producer of champagne in the region with approximately 29 kilometres of underground chalk lined caves for the maturation of the champagne. Pol Roger is a slightly more boutique production, but both visits were absolutely unique.
Thanks to Matthieu Blanc from Pol Roger for such a wonderful informative tour. There are approximately 100 km of caves running underneath the region at a steady temperature of 10 degrees all of the year.The production line is quite complex and all champagnes are cellared for a minimum of three years before bottling. We are all in heaven and having an experience of a lifetime. The importance and significance of this region and the production of champagne is obvious  and understandable why the French are so protective of their unique product "Champagne".

We eat at a few local restaurants. We enjoyed a typical French meal at La Grillade Gourmande, with chef Christophe Bernard greeting all customers personally , www.lagrilladegourmande.com  I had a wonderful dish of quail and Foie gras - beautifully cooked. 

At any bar or restaurant you can choose up to 20 local champagnes by the glass and enjoy the experience at any time of the day - as we did!

Two days in Epernay - a wonderful experience but barely enough time. We didn't make it to Reims, the larger town , so we are planning our next visit now!