Thursday, December 4, 2014

Brent Owens Dig In Book Launch at Mon Bijou

Penthouse, Level 10 and 11
187 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
VIC 3000

A few months ago I won a membership of the Cooked website, part of Hardie Grant publishing. I hadn't made much use of it until an email came through with an invite to Mon Bijou for the winner of Masterchef 2014, Brent Owens, book launch for Dig In! The following Monday evening we headed down the laneway besides the Adelphi Hotel on Flinders lane to be whisked up to the tenth floor.


We hadn't visited the venue before and the better half had been keen to check it out. It exceeded my expectations, luxuriously decorated and split over two levels.


The views across the city including St Paul's Cathedral and Eureka tower were great and the open air top floor was welcome on the warm evening. We chatted to a few of the team from Cooked and Hardie Grant while Brent signed books and the venue filled, with a mix of guests.


Next up were the speeches, while Sandy Grant the CEO the publisher was talking, Gary Mehigan arrived and after a video message from Laura Cassai the other MasterChef 2014 finalist Gary spoke.


Brent was up last and included plenty of thank yous, before the photo's began.


There were a few platters of food circulating around the venue, the first bite I got to try was a mushroom and parmesan arancini, with an added pipette. Eventually I worked out that a small squirt followed by going for the slightly smaller than standard arancini in one go was the only way of avoiding a mess... The crisp exterior held a soft and tasty interior which made the effort worthwhile!


I grabbed one of the oysters which came with a lime, palm sugar and coriander dressing which complimented the oyster sliding down my throat.


The mini beef burgers with caramelized onion were the most numerous of the snacks on offer, with tray after tray emerging. I got through quite a few...


...they were pretty rare inside but packed in plenty of flavour, and again the pipettes only need a small squeeze to avoid a collapsing burger!


So thanks again to Cooked, Hardie Grant, Mon Bijou and Owen for the invite, as the venue is open for functions and events only, I'm not sure if or when we'll be back, but it was certainly an enjoyable and tasty evening!

Mon Bijou on Urbanspoon


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