Melbourne Cup
CUP EVE
Come down to the Saxon and enjoy the excitement of CUP DAY EVE with DJs playing funky soulful sounds upstairs from 8pm.
Melbourne CUP DAY Lunch
Open from 11am for Saxon brunch
Special Cup Day menu
Champagne ALL DAY
Every race LIVE from the track on 2 big screens
Back a winner, back the Saxon
Oaks Day
Make the most of the Melbourne Cup atmosphere and join us for the Official Royal Saxon Oaks Day after party .
DJs playing funky tunes downstairs from 8pm
Got a big group together?
Give us a call and we’ll see if we can help you 9429 5277
AFL Grand Final
No matter who you support come and get involved with Grand Final weekend.
Open from 11am for Saxon Brunch
2 big screens with all the action LIVE
House-made FOOTY PIES during the game
DJ playing from the final whistle
Get in early and get the best seat in the house.
Got a big group together? Give us a call and we’ll see if we can help you 9429 5277
Meat & Greet
Meat & Greet
Monday 24th September
The dedication of some Victoria’s producers has long been a source of inspiration for Melbourne’s leading chefs. In homage to this, Royal Saxon head chef Glenn Laurie has teamed up with Daniella Mollica from Isola Chianina cattle farm to create a special evening showcasing Victorian produce.
The irresistible beef from their farm will be teamed with the best seasonal Victorian produce in a menu inspired by Daniella’s Italian heritage and G
Daniella and Glenn will be taking the time to ‘meat’ and greet everyone that comes along!
About Isola Chianina
Chianina (pronounced key - a - knee - na) is a porcelain white breed of cattle. They take their name from the val di Chiana in the rolling hills of Tuscany, Italy. Regarded as the largest and one of the oldest breed of cattle in the world, they are deservedly famous for the Italian dish “Bistecca alla Fiorentina” that is traditionally produced from their meat.
In South Gippsland, Victoria, the Isola team raises cattle that are 100% free range, fully grass fed and chemical free. Their great tasting meat comes from traditionally and decently raised animals that are then killed and butchered with respect.
Richmond to River
River to Richmond
Royal Saxon Celebrates Springtime with Stefano de Pieri
In a collaboration of talent and passion, renowned Mildura Chef Stefano de Pieri will join Glenn Laurie in the kitchen at the Royal Saxon in Richmond to herald the arrival of Spring. As part of the Put Victoria On Your Table Spring Graze campaign, Stefano and Glenn will pool their talents to produce a four-course menu for one night only on Monday 10th September.
Both sharing a profound knowledge of Italian cuisine, the menu will be inspired by Stefano’s birth place Treviso, a city located near Venice in Northern Italy. Each course will be skillfully matched with beers from Stefano’s Mildura Brewery.
The two chefs are no strangers in the kitchen, having previously worked together when Glenn was starting his career as a chef and living in Mildura.
“It’s an honour to welcome Stefano to our kitchen and to cook side by side with such an illustrious chef who I consider as both a mentor and a friend”, says Laurie.
The menu will highlight nostalgic dishes from Stefano’s childhood and the impeccable produce sourced from Mildura, such as wild yabbies with marjoram, Murray River salt and Gianni Grigoletto’s new season olive oil, followed by risi e bisi, which is a classic Venetian dish and simply means ‘rice and peas’. As a main the duo will serve ‘Porchetta Trevigiana’ rolled and roasted rare breed pork with Redcliffs asparagus. For dessert there will be a selection of cheese sourced directly from Veneto, in Italy
Tickets for the River to Richmond Spring Dinner on September 10th are priced at $70 and include a four-course menu with matching Mildura Brewery beers.
For tickets contact:
Royal Saxon
P: (03) 9429 5277
http://www.mildurabrewery.com.au/
Aylesbury Duck Roast
The final and possibly most anticipated dinner of our Rare Breed Roast series is featuring Aylesbury duck on Monday 25th June.
The Aylesbury duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance. It is a large duck with pure white plumage, pink bill, orange legs and feet. The precise origins of the breed are unclear, but raising white ducks became popular in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England in the 18th century owing to the demand for white feathers as filler for quilts. Over the 19th century, selective breeding for size, shape and colour led to the Aylesbury duck.
Duck rearing became a major industry in Aylesbury in the 19th century. The ducks were bred on farms in the surrounding countryside. Fertilised eggs were brought into the town’ End”, where local residents would rear the ducklings in their homes. The opening of a railway to Aylesbury in 1839 enabled cheap and quick transport to the markets of London, and duck rearing became highly profitable. The introduction of the Pekin duck saw a major decline in the Aylesbury breed in the early 1900’
In Australia, the breed is on the critically endangered list as the blood line has been so diluted over the years.
The Royal Saxon believes that by supporting breeders of rare domesticated animals future diners will be able to enjoy these great meats. More and more our diets are becoming homogenised with mass produced flavourless food, our hope is to offer the consumer a genuinely unique product we will in turn be supporting rare breeds that otherwise could be lost in this country.
Aylesbury duck meat is very tender and has fewer sinews than other breeds due to its ‘deep keel’ (the shape of the beast bone). The meat is not overly gamey and is well suited to roasting and considered the top of the table and the best tasting of all meat ducks. This week Glenn plans to, twice and roast whole Aylesbury ducks stuffed with sausage and chestnut.
Bookings essential. Call 03 9429 5277 or functions@royalsaxon.com
More Reading…
Porco la via Italiana
Pork is one those ingredients that is a staple on any Italian menu. Its popularity and versatility is highly celebrated in every part of the country and features in everything from everyday family meals to the most auspicious occasions. The ceremony of butchering a pig is very much a family affair and every piece is used to its optimum; not one morsel is wasted. Some cuts lend themselves to curing and others are best used as delicacies such as Porchetta. Chef Glenn Laurie has worked with our pork supplier Gamekeepers Meats to source the best free-range Berkshire pigs from Iona in the Gippsland area. As is tradition we plan to use every last titbit.
Berkshire pigs are said to be “Britain’s oldest pig breed”, originally bred around the market-towns in Berkshire County. Berkshires are early-maturing pigs well covered with short black hair, often with white hair on their legs, faces, and tips of the tails. The meat prized for juiciness, flavour and tenderness, is pink-hued and heavily marbled. Its high fat content makes it suitable for long cooking and high-temperature cooking, great for dishes like Porchetta.
The first step is to remove the prime cuts such as the lonza (loin), carrè (rib or rack), coppa (shoulder blade) all these cuts will be used in daily specials. After breaking down all the prime cuts the remaining will be used in the following ways.
Pigs Head Terrine
This is a traditional no fuss terrine. Glenn plans to poach the whole head with fennel seeds, carrot, celery, onions and garlic. It is then left overnight to infuse and the meat is picked and placed in a terrine mould. Some of the poaching liquid is added to the terrine to add a natural setting agent. Once pressed overnight it will be served with traditional accompaniments.
Porchetta
Rolled and stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds this classic will be cooked with the skin on to give every slice a little tasty crackling.
Pancetta
Obtained from the “half-fat” part of the belly it is then seasoned and spiced which in a way cures the meat. We will use this in many dishes such as the Risi e Bisi risotto.
Prosciutto Cotto
Boned leg cooked with herbs and spices will be used on our pizzas and salumi plate.
House-made Sausages
Nonna’s secret recipe of a blend of herbs and spices
Pork Ragout
Meat from the shoulder is browned and cooked off with sofrito and prosciutto in chicken stock until the meat can be pulled. Then tomato, dried chilli and fennel are added to taste. This ragout is served with fusilli pasta.
More reading? Check these guys out Saulmi Australia
Peas & Beans and all things Green
For our kitchen this is the most exciting time of the year. The seasons are changing; the days are getting longer and milder. This marks the beginning of some of the best fresh produce available. Delicate leafy greens, asparagus, peas, beans and many more make their way on our menu.
We can’t get enough of the humble broad bean now being sourced locally. Once peeled from its comfortable pod it can be made into any number of dishes. Spring minestrone soup, salads or even crushed up with some Pecorino Toscana to make a delicious pasta sauce or tasty bruschetta…
Try this, you’ll need…
½ kg Broad beans podded
1 clove garlic
70g Pecorino Toscana
½ bunch of parsley
20 ml Olive Oil
½ lemon juice
Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Method
Paste garlic.
Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined.
Spread on toasted ciabatta or toss with your favorite pasta.
Meet the Meat
For just 2 months over we’ve been using Enviromeat as our beef. We’re so happy with it we thought you should know a bit about what Enviromeat is and what it means to us.
Based in Gippsland the Enviromeat guys are producing quality beef that is 100% Free range, grass-fed with no artificial hormones or antibiotics and is Environmentally certified.
“Our cattle are healthy, well-fed livestock raised on lush pastures of the high rainfall Gippsland region of Victoria, allowed to roam free and carefully managed to minimise stress.” www.enviromeat.com
Our butchers at Gamekeepers Meats then age our hand selected beasts for over a month before letting our chefs loose.
“Aging grass feed beef not only tenderises it but gives the meat a wonderful layer of complexity.” Head Chef Glenn Laurie
All Enviromeat beef is Meat Standards of Australia (MSA) approved which means that we know that we are getting the best meat at the best time. The MSA grading system guarantees tenderness with over 10 quality attributes.
We buy the whole side at a time giving us greater flexibility and control over what gets put on your plate. So among the menu changes today we welcome back a massive 500g Scotch fillet with pea and lentil s’otolio and fresh horseradish.
Come in a try Eviromeat for yourself.
