A weekend of meat and wine

IF COVID restrictions permit, celebrated chef Peter Ford is planning to host two unique masterclasses this Saturday, 20 February.

The first on the bill is a meat masterclass held in the chapel of the Sacred Heart Convent where Ford plans to prepare and pay homage to locally grown pork, poultry and lamb.

From 11am to 1pm, Ford said the masterclass is a great way for participants to learn about a variety of cuts of meat and the importance of buying ethically farmed animals from quality farms.

“My co-host is Richard Cornish is going to be absolutely fantastic because there’s not much about food and provenance that he doesn’t know,” he said.

“We’re going to break down chicken and duck first, and compare ethically raised free range birds to supermarket birds, then a sheep and talk about what the different cuts are, then at the end we will have a taste along with a glass of Summerfield red.

“The meats are all coming from growers we know, and it’s all about slowing down and paying a bit more for meat for ethically raised animals.”

On Saturday afternoon in the chapel, Ford and Cornish will also be joined by food and wine writer Max Allen in sharing stories of the coastal oyster reefs that once existed and fed miners during the Victorian Gold Rush.

During the one-hour presentation, Ford said he will be opening dozens of fresh oysters to be shared with Pyrenees sparkling wine.

“Although we’ve sold out of the meat class, I think there’s still a couple of tickets left for the oyster session, but we’re hoping to run some in the future again,” he said.

“It’s about sharing knowledge, a legacy almost, because we need to eat better.

“To be back out in front of people will be great, we’d love to have hundreds of people but we had to reduce the numbers to make sure it’s COVID-safe as well as still feeling intimate.”

For more information or tickets on the events, visit visitballarat.com.au.