chloé, everything was delish ;0)

On the last Monday of every month, 3 of my friends and I have started meeting at Oz Café. Oz hosts a chef in residence evening... every month a different chef. I look forward to this meal because I never know what I'm going to get... it's always a surprise - the Chef pre-determins a 4 course meal, enjoyed with friends and some bubbly. Always a good time.

Last night was no exception. Actually, last night was exceptional.

Chloé (from Delish) was the resident chef. She totally rocked it. Seriously, I wish my pictures could do this food justice, but I'm just not a good enough photographer.

The first course was a combo of spring rolls; a fresh and light veggie roll, filled with vermicelli noodles. This was offset by a crispy fried boar spring roll. Yes boar. It was divine. Both were accompanied by a soy lime dipping sauce. I will never look at a spring roll the same way again. It was that good.

Then came the main. I was so excited about this course. You see... last January Chloé made something similar for another dinner I attended. It was mouth watering delicious then, so I was so stoked to be able to get to eat it again. Sigh. It was even better this time round. A chicken mango curry; light, and fresh with a kick of hot pepper, some sweet peppers and sweet potato to round it off. Accompanied by a second curry (my favourite in the entire world); bison massaman curry... sigh. How can I describe the tenderness of the bison? Or the perfect balance of the curry with sweet potatoes? Every mouthful was perfect. Both curries had such bold, rich flavours that played so well off of each other that it was hard to decide which one you preferred.

The third course was a play on slaw's; light, crispy, fresh, flavourful. A combo of three: fennel orange slaw, daikon mint slaw and a napa apple slaw. Each salad stood out on its own merits: the crispiness of the fennel, the boldness of the mint and crunch of the daikon, and the apple - juicy and with a real bite. Seriously, I can't tell you which one I preferred because I would be satisfied with any one of them individually, but am thankful I got to enjoy all of them.

Finally the dessert. Chloé did not disappoint. A mariposa bar atop a piece of pineapple, accompanied by a spoonful of rhubarb and passionfruit fool. Seriously? Seriously. The mariposa bar is a cross between shortbread, pecan pie and heaven in a bite. It added crunch to the dessert. And the fool... to die for. It was light (fluffy actually), tart and sweet. A perfect way to end the meal.

The entire evening was... perfection. Seeing old friends, having dinner with new ones, enjoying two of my favourite chefs (Charlotte was Chloé's sous chef last night) working together in the kitchen and being completely spoiled. I mean... Chloé even sent me home with some curry, fool and a piece of the mariposa bar for my lunch today. How lucky am I?!

Now... one last thing... Chloé, can I get your recipe for the fool? I heart it as much as I heart you. :0)