For the pasta
700g/1½lb bakers flour, plus extra for dusting
4 eggs
Olive Oil & Salt

For the Marron 2 raw marron Salt, pepper & dill Egg whites Drizzle of cream

Preparation method
Whisk the eggs.
Pour the flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Pour the whisked eggs into the well and gradually mix with either a blunt knife or your hands. When the dough has become a thick paste use your hands to incorporate more of the flour.
You can sieve any remaining flour and use the sifted flour while you knead the dough to stop it sticking to the surface and to your hands, but be careful not to make the dough too dry. Knead until well blended and the dough is soft and flexible. Don’t worry if you haven’t used up all the flour.
Leave the pasta to rest for about an hour with a bowl inverted over it or leave it covered in cling film. You can sieve any leftover flour again and save this flour for rolling out the pasta.

Meanwhile, for the filling,

Place marron into a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 1 ½ minutes, then using tongs transfer marron to a large bowl of iced water. Once chilled, remove the claws and head. Carefully crack the marron tail open and remove the meat. Using a nut cracker, carefully crack the claw shells and remove the meat.
Mince the flesh from the Marron.
Add a pinch of salt, pepper and a sprinkling of dill.
For binding add a couple of egg whites and a drizzle of cream for the binding
Blend this altogether.

Roll out the pasta into a long, wide strip about 2 mm in thickness, either by hand or using a machine. When you can see your hand through it, it is ready for stuffing.
Now take a small wine glass or round cutter measuring about 7cm/3in across and cut out 4 circles of pasta around each mound of filling.
Place teaspoons of the filling in a line down the centre of one of the strips
Fold the pasta as instructed in the video
To cook, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and gently lower in the tortellini. Cook for about four minutes or until the pasta is soft but not floppy.
When the pasta is done, drain it & serve immediately.

See below why they have selected Cape Lodge.

This charming boutique hotel is set in its own vineyard in Western Australia’s Margaret River wine region. It has 22 bedrooms and suites decorated in a contemporary style and showcasing original works by top Australian artists, as well as a two-bedroom cottage and five-bedroom villa in the grounds. There are tennis courts and a pool. Wine and gourmet tours, cookery classes, horse-riding, fishing and eco-tours into the bush are all available.

X-factor The gorgeous Cape Lodge Margaret River Restaurant, where chef Tony Howell cooks contemporary Australian cuisine with a Mediterranean twist, has a 14,000-bottle cellar. ‘There may be hipper places to eat among the vineyards,’ says Gold List contributor Mike Dolan. ‘But nowhere else showcases Australian cuisine with such finesse and flavour.

Read the Full Article: Conde Nast Traveller Gold List 2012 – Best for Food

Click to enlarge the snapshot below.

Tony & Jay

Jay was pegged by the other contestants as the one to beat winning the challenge at Clairault Winery and was judged only 1 point behind Tony in the cook off at the end of Busselton Jetty. Judge for yourself as Jay, Jake and Tony present a superb 6 course menu matched with a selection of Margaret River wines.

Friday 23 September, 2011
Six Course Menu matched with Clairault Wines: $165.00pp
Book a Table of 10: $150.00pp
Please note that a Restaurant will be set as tables of 10

Cape Lodge Chef Tony Howell is heading to Bali to present two very special Guest Chef Dinners.

Bali Asli Restaurant with Penelope Williams

The first dinner will be at the newly opened Bali Asli Restaurant and Cooking School in East Bali with Chef and owner Penelope Williams.

Penelope is previously from Dank Street Cafe and Bathers Pavillion in Sydney has been working in Bali for 4 years at Alila Manggis Resort and Cooking School and has now opened her own very special venue.

Penelope has been a Guest Chef at Cape Lodge and  has now invited Tony to join her for Bali Asli’s opening debut event.

The evening will commence at 5pm with the ribbon cutting ceremony for Bali Asli followed by cocktails as the sun sets behind Mount Agung. Dinner will then be served using locally grown produce and cooked entirely on a traditional Balinese wood fired stove and open fires.
This premier event is strictly limited to 40 guests only.

Rp.500,000 per person, including tax and service.
Approximately $60.00pp

To make a reservation and pre-payment please contact Penelope: penelope@baliasli.com.au

Book early to avoid disappointment

Bali Asli Restaurant is situated in East Bali in the village of Gelumpang, Amlapura, Karangasem, Bali, 30 minutes drive from Candidasa and 2 hours drive from the airport

Alila Villa Soori Dinner with Ashton Hall

Western Australia meets West Bali as Howell n’ Hall Hurl to the Heights at Alila Villas Soori’s Cotta Restaurant

Alila Villas Soori will be hosting Chef Tony Howell as Guest Chef for a superb dinner at their magnificent beachside restaurant Cotta. Tony will be collaborating with Alila Villas Soori’s home chef Ashton Hall in creating superb delicacies which will be matched with the great Margaret River wines from Howard Park.

Chef Howell’s freshest fare will meet Chef Hall’s ingredient-driven cuisine, where both will compose an exceptional concerto of flavours for guests to savour in this rare West Bali dining occasion.

SPECIAL CAPE LODGE PRIVILEGE RATES AT ALILA VILLAS SOORI
One Bedroom Beach View Villa: USD 400 nett
One Bedroom Ocean view Villa: USD 500 nett
Includes daily breakfast in the Villa or Cotta Restaurant, Private return airport transfer.

Bookings must be made directly with Alila Villas Soori Quote “The Cape Lodge Privilege.” Valid until 21 December 2011

For further information and reservations, please contact:

Devina Hindom
Marketing Communications Manager
Alila Villas Soori
Tel: +6281 3387 18051
Email: dhindom@alilahotels.com
Website: www.alilahotels.com

Why not reserve a table at the Cape Lodge Restaurant and discover the distinct flavors of this amazing dish.

Call us now and mention *Luxury* at 08 97556311 and make a booking for a very special rate of $299 per night including Breakfast.

This offer is only available for bookings in July. (Terms & Conditions apply)

Spend a couple of hours in the Cape Lodge Cooking School while I show you how to produce a meal or two that you can easily replicate in your kitchen at home.

I’ll give you a demonstration and then you’ll have the chance to get busy and produce the meal yourself – all while sharing a glass of wine and cheese plate.

For me this is a time to answer your questions about food and techniques, and it’s a time for having a laugh and doing what we love.

Join me for our next class on 8th & 15th of June.  Read more about our offers on cooking classes and accommodation here.

How to find the dish that’s got the right level of challenge; showcases the region’s local produce; works with the specific filming locale; and demonstrates techniques essential for kitchen mastery?

Bouillabaisse, affectionately known around the Jetty as Busselton Stew, brought all those factors together beautifully.

This substantial seafood soup had humble beginnings at the hands of Mediterranean fishermen.  Yet after all these years Bouillabaisse is still a dish favoured around the globe as fresh and flavoursome, though deceptively simple in presentation.

A meal like this takes a love of seafood and lucky for my challenger, Jay – he is a keen fisherman and a keen seafood cook.

Success with this dish rests on preparing and cooking the seafood, but also on getting the stock just right.

Competence in filleting the fish, shucking the oysters and skinning the scallops is a foundation.  Then cooking all that rich seafood in a stock that has been prepared with just the right temperature and timing brings it together.

Caramelising the scallops, and plating the dish with the seafood just undercooked ready to finish the cooking at the table, is all part of the challenge.

Why don’t you give it a go for yourself! If you would like the recipe just send us an email at stay@capelodge.com.au

The day of filming and cooking on the Busselton Jetty was the culmination of a full week of hospitality for the Master Chef team here at Cape Lodge.

We enjoyed the company of judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston plus the challenger team at dinner each night leading up to the filming. You could say that my kitchen crew were there with me giving a Master Chef performance every night that week.

During their week at Cape Lodge, the challengers spent their time in the cook off at Margaret River’s Clairault Wines, nearby the South West’s oldest stand of old growth Jarrah in a typically stunning local landscape.

I’m passionate about our corner of Western Australia, along with it’s premium produce. Like a lot of the expatriate population here ‘down south’ I arrived for a summer of surfing about 15 years back and haven’t gone home yet.

Now Master Chef has given you a snapshot view of just some of the what the Margaret River region offers, why not take some time to spend some time in our backyard.

Take a look at what’s on offer at Cape Lodge, Clairault and Busselton Jetty here.

Busselton Mail Interview with Tony Howell