Tuesday 29 December 2015

The Kitchen, Entally House and a Yacht Race.

Back home is Tasmania again - well that's where I live :) We ventured out a few days before Christmas for dinner in the evening with friends, to the 'The Kitchen'.

It's a new Restaurant at Entally Lodge at Hadspen.  The Bistro (no doubt will have a new name) is not yet finished which is just across from The Kitchen.



 This is the Meeting Room


In the dinning room my Entree or Starters, depends on which country you come from.

My Entree was 'Tempura-Battered Prawns with Lima & Chilli.  Cost $15 AUD
These were beautiful, could 'eat them till the cows come home' (An Australian saying)


Main

Chicken Roulade.  Country Style Stuffing with Roasted Almonds, wrapped in Proscuitto, Seasonal Root Vegetables and finished with creamy Poblano & Spinach Sauce.  $30 AUD
Filling and tasty.


Sweets.
Tart.
Can't recall what is was called exactly but it was tasty.  The green on top was 'fairy floss'.  $12 AUD

The menu is not an extensive one but one can find something that one likes for dinner.
Lunch, wouldn't bother with it at The Kitchen as there is certainly not enough to choose from.
The above photos were taken with my phone.

This is a bit of History of note.....Opposite the Lodge on the other road is a vineyard and Entally House which was the family home of Thomas Reibey who was the Premier of Tasmania from 1876 to 1877.
The Entally Estate was established in 1819 by Thomas Haydock Reibey (senior) in Hadspen, Tasmania. Reiby worked in the East India company, and named the house after the suburb of Entally in Calcutta, India.

Thomas Haydock Reibey II was the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Reibey. Mary, who is pictured on Australia's $20 note, was a former convict who, at the age of 13 was convicted of horse stealing and sentenced to transportation. She later became one of Australia's wealthiest women and obtained the grant of 300 acres of land upon which Thomas was to settle and build the homestead and outbuildings.
 
Mary Reibey, Thomas’ mother and matriarch of the family, was transported to Australia in 1790 for the crime of horse stealing, then aged 13. She would later marry a junior officer of the East India Company who established the Entally name as a successful trading company that owned a number of vessels running coal up the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales.
Following her husband’s death in 1811, Mary became one of the richest and most successful businesswomen in Australia. Today, Mary is most recognisable as the face of the Australian 20 dollar note.
The Estate provided the training grounds for the 1884 Melbourne Cup winner Malua, and includes a cricket oval that’s believed to be one of the first in the country; hosting games before Melbourne was settled.
The Entally Historic Site consists of Entally House and various outbuildings, including Australia's oldest Conservatory. The Estate encompasses grand, parklike surroundings with magnificent gardens and a vineyard, Regency furnishings, fine silverware and horse-drawn coaches and agricultural implements.


These two photos of Entally were taken a few years back.  Many Weddings take place in the grounds.





  There is a big Yacht Race on now called the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

The above photo is of the American Yacht Comanche which has won Line Honours, and also has a damaged rudder.
The photo was borrowed and taken near the Iron Pot which is considered the mouth of the River Derwent, Hobart.

32 of many yachts have retired due to weather damage thus being one of the toughest races in years.
Yachts will continue to arrive in Hobart concluding on New Years Day.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km). The race is run in co-operation with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.  The race was initially planned to be a cruise by Peter Luke and some friends who had formed a club for those who enjoyed cruising as opposed to racing, however when a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, suggested it be made a race, the event was born. The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has grown over the decades, since the inaugural race in 1945, to become one of the top three offshore yacht races in the world, and it now attracts maxi yachts from all around the globe. The 2004 race marked the 60th running of the event.

Bass Strait, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean immediately to its east, are renowned for their high winds and difficult seas. Although the race mostly takes place in the Tasman Sea, the shallowness of Bass Strait and the proximity to the race course means that the fleet is very much under the influence of the Strait as they transit from the mainland to Flinders Island. Even though the race is held in the Australian summer, "southerly buster" storms often make the Sydney–Hobart race cold, bumpy, and very challenging for the crew. It is typical for a considerable number of yachts to retire, often at Eden on the New South Wales south coast, the last sheltered harbour before Flinders Island.

40 comments:

  1. What a wonderful historical walk in your Tasmania! I have never traveled to Australia or surrounding areas, so this is all very new to me. Interesting yacht race for sure. I would not be on one, by the way!

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    Replies
    1. Just a very small piece of Tasmania.
      Always excitement for the big yacht race each year and celebrating in Hobart, down south of our island.

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  2. Wow Margaret the meal looks fantastic great prepared... As I remember last year Polish took part in Hobart Yacht Race

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    1. Gosia
      Yes I believe there was a Polish yacht in last year's race.
      There are yachts from all around the world entered as some
      are competing in the RTW yacht race and are in Sydney prior
      on a rest leg of that race - so they enter the SYD/HBT - I guess
      the crews love ACTION!!!
      Sydney is a major stopover for the RTW race for "R&R" and repairs to
      be carried out.
      Colin

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    2. Yes, a Polish yacht did take part in the race. They chose a good year last year, this year was apparently dreadful.

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  3. You really did a wonderful job capturing the food. So good, in fact, I've got to go eat something! Well done.

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  4. They look appetizing , these dishes. The second appetizer dish in Spain is called " prawns breaded " or " prawns with gabardine "

    Kisses

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for that information, it's always good to know what other countries call food we eat down here..

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  5. Dinner does look good (though I can never manage three courses).
    Love those grounds, and am so glad that no lives were lost this year in the Sydney to Hobart.

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    1. I don't often each three myself, but I did manage that time. Often one course will do me.
      That's the main thing, no lives lost, heaps of dollars worth of damage to the boats though.

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  6. I'm thinking that's what we call fancy little food, where I come from :)

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  7. WOW !!!
    You have certainly done a comprehensive report.
    The "Kitchen" looks a really interesting eatery.
    The dishes are just the size I like - not overflowing,
    which means first class food in my books.
    The SYD/HBT classic - that is a great photo of "Comanche"
    rounding the entrance of Storm Bay - and then up the
    Derwent. I have just read the sports report on the internet
    news - by God the Southern Pacific Ocean had a field day with
    the amount of damage the yachts received and all those sea sick
    crews - I think the fish came out best in that battle - ha ha.
    32 yachts out of 108 starters retired - I think that says it all.
    Loved the migrating whale that eye-balled the other US Yacht, Rambler
    88 which finished second - just as well for that crew that the whale
    had other things on his/her mind!
    The land based supporters of Comanche from the US etc certainly looked
    great all dressed as Comanche warriors doing a victory war dance on
    Constitution Dock - that was really a nice tribute to the very proud
    US native Indian race.
    2 days 8 hours 58 minutes and 30 seconds for Comanche - I don't believe I would have survived that long of being sea sick - the 30 seconds would have been long enough - ha ha.
    Great report - HOW (???) did you know that the race would finish before midnight??
    Just wondering - ha ha.
    Cheers
    Colin

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    Replies
    1. Very interesting about Mary Reiley - transported at 13 for stealing a bloody horse - well she certainly showed them up in the end.
      One of my forebears - a boy of 14 was transported for stealing a bloody rabbit from the grounds of a Manor House - he didn't do too badly either in the long run.
      Interesting about Malua - that horse was inducted in 2003 into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame - a most versatile horse.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malua_(horse)
      Cheers
      Colin

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    2. I saw that video of the whale last evening.
      It was reported that the race would be finished about 9.30pm, however it was around 10pm.
      I have TV on my desktop computer, so watching that and reading plus watching the big TV at same time :) Went to my blog as soon as Comanche crossed the line, put the time in, uploaded to post at midnight.

      Didn't even occur to me about Mary Reibey being on our $20 note, so I did learn something too.
      Mary must have been an amazing women in her time.
      I really think the British at that time wanted to fill the Colony.

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  8. The food looks lovely makes me hungry, but that's not rare.
    The boat race was full of damage to the boats this year, glad no one was hurt to badly but lots of broken boats.
    Merle.........

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    1. Oh yes, many dollars to repair the yachts I expect.
      Main thing, no one lost their life in this race.

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  9. I of course know about the Sydney to Hobart, it is an amazing race, I of course get sea sick so no way I would ever do it. I am watching the race on Sunrise atm.

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    Replies
    1. Jo-Anne, not my cup of tea to sail either...just the Ferry will do me.

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  10. The meal looks excellent. While plenty of $20 notes pass through my hands, mostly in the wrong direction, I have never taken any notice of who is on the note and nor did I know anything about Mary Reibey, so thank you.

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    1. You are welcome Andrew. I was surprised myself to learn all about Mary, and I too didn't know she was on the $20 note! I went and got one and looked, and no doubt as surprised as you.

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  11. Ooh, some delicious looking dishes here. I like the setting too.

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  12. As always, beautiful and interesting photos. We would love the tempura prawns and we could eat til the cows come home too!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mildred.
      Going out to dinner Wednesday night, and yes, I'm having prawns - also having tonight too :)

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  13. Your dinner looks quite fancy-schmancy, I love eating out, (just don't do it much)no cooking, no cleaning up, it's great.
    Entally House is a fine looking place and I love the yacht photo, that cliff is amazing.

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    1. We eat out once in awhile, it's a rest from cooking.
      Those cliffs are rather large from down below looking up.

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  14. hi Margaret, your dinner looks very special and the grounds look lovely. the race is over for another year, well at least the first yacht has made it home and there were lots of casualties this year. the waters they travel across can be dangerous for some. i hope you enjoyed your christmas and have a very happy, healthy and safe new year. let's hope it's a good one for everyone xxx

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  15. Replies
    1. It does make you hungry looking at it, but that's what some food does to us.

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  16. Fascinating info. I know next to nothing about Tasmania.

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  17. Great post, and the food presentations are lovely!

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  18. My kind of food (but what isn't sadly?) It does look tasty and as we eat with our eyes as well as our mouths it's good that it also looks the part. I often read about the Sydney to Hobart race - very dangerous some years and some people have lost their lives I think.

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    Replies
    1. Know what you mean about food :)
      A rather dangerous race some years..makes it more appealing to beat the natural elements of the sea..

      Delete

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