With an impressive lineup of chefs demonstrating their culinary prowess this year at the Narooma Oyster Festival, it's difficult to know who to single out for a quick chat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the humble crumpet, teamed with a sea urchin garnish is an eye-catcher. After all, shouldn't a crumpet be slathered in honey?
Mimi's head pastry chef Elodie Marion has other ideas.
Hailing from the Merivale stable of restaurants, Mimi's sits in the beautiful Coogee Pavilion - think white linen, fine dining, expansive bay windows overlooking Coogee Beach, Sydney.
Having trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Elodie has been with Mimi's since their inception four years ago.
Yet it is her mother and grandmother that she credits with her passion for cooking and her early instruction and influence.
"My parents are both Mauritian, so we've always had cooking as the main focus of our childhood I guess," Elodie said.
"My mother and my grandmother were amazing cooks, so it was always there with me and I was always interested in what they were doing. I was always watching them.
"I always knew I would do something creative, and the cooking side took over."
Mauritian food, Elodie says, is a melting pot of different cultures and influences such as French, Chinese and Indian, and that these have informed her craft today.
The crumpet however, is definitely a result of her pastry training and the European influence of the restaurants Elodie has worked in.
She says they are "super easy " to make.
"Just your base ingredients, floor, yeast, salt sugar, you just sort of mix them in a bowl with warm water and leave them aside.
"Once it's proved and all bubbly, you just fry it in a pan...and then when you see the bubbles form and pop, that's when you know they are cooked."
The pairing with the sea urchin seemed appropriate to the South Coast and the Oyster Festival, and Elodie said she was inspired by a snack that Mimi's served - a crumpet topped with fresh tomato and toro (tuna belly), that she said was very popular.
In this case, the sea urchin is left au naturale, served with a little bit of creme fraiche, butter or cream, on the warm crumpet.
She says that sea urchin is different in flavour from an oyster - "delicious", salty and difficult to pinpoint, but very, very tasty and somewhat addictive in its flavour.
"That warm buttery crumpet alongside that salty, umami sea urchin flavour works really well together." Elodie said.
Elodie Marion will be one of five chefs taking part in the Betta Home Living cooking demonstration at The Narooma Oyster Festival, Saturday, May 4.
For more information about the festival visit www.naroomaoysterfestival.com/program.
Betta Home Living Cooking Demonstration Program
Hosted by Courtney Roulston from Farm to Fork.
10.30am: Chef Belinda Dorsett - The Mossy Group, Eurobodalla
11.20am: Elodie Marion - Mimi's, Sydney
12.15pm: Serif Kaya - The Ottoman, Canberra
1.15pm: Hao Chen - Raku, Canberra
2.15pm: Courtney Roulston - Farm to Fork
