Gourmet hotspots mark Bastille Day

TWO top Bendigo restaurants will be celebrating Bastille Day and marking the end of the Bendigo Art Gallery’s Paris: Impressions of Life 1880-1925 exhibition on the weekend of 13 and 14 July.

Mackenzie Quarters will host a five-course dinner matched with French wines on Saturday 13 July, while The Dispensary Bar & Diner will host a Sunday luncheon featuring six French dishes, also with matching wines.

Mackenzie Quarters operations manager Elliss Nuttall said the dinner, designed by head chef Cedric Bricnet with executive chef Travis Rodwell, will appeal to the Francophiles in Bendigo.

“It suits the cuisine that we produce, and I think French wine is the best wine in the world – that’s my passion,” he said.

“Travis is classically French trained, and Cedric is from north-eastern France.”

Mr Nuttall said contributing to the charm of the dinner will be the unique history of French food and wine.

“It’s one of those things that’s hundreds and hundreds of years old. Escoffier and Paul Bocuse, plus Michelin star training places such as the Cordon Bleu School, which was one of the first,” he said.

“People are really looking for that special night out, an event, and I think this represents what we do at the highest level.”

The Dispensary’s managing director Finn Vedelsby said the luncheon ties in well with the closing of the exhibition.

“Things like that, they inspire us,” he said. “This was the belle epoch. This is when all of the coolest people, the big thinkers, the philosophers, the artists, the literature people, they changed what life is like for us today.

“We’ll be leaning right into it. We’re giving people the opportunity to taste French wines that they’ve never even heard of before.

“The food is going to be hat level, and it’s going to be generous for the price as well. “The kitchen team is so excited… If you’re going to do something, you might as well do something special.”

Tickets for both events can be purchased on the restaurants’ websites.