We were lucky enough to be invited to attend one of the inaugural Moro Masterclasses recently at Epocha, Carlton. Hosting the day was Moro’s David Valmorbida, who expertly guided us through the different kinds of olive oil, including a taste test so we could really discover the difference.
We were also treated to a cooking demonstration by Epocha’s chef, Gerard Curto before sampling some of his delicious creations. Hailing from a small Catalonia Village, he brings his classic training and prestigious restaurant experience (El Bulli, Restaurante Hofmann, el Celler de Can Roca, Restaurante Villa Retiro) to Epocha, where he joined as Head Chef at the end of 2017. His meals transport you to the heart of Europe, with his Spanish roots never being far from his mind when he’s developing and creating his delicious dishes.
For entree, we got to sample grilled octopus. The octopus was lovely and tender and perfectly cooked with such a great flavour. The addition of the frutal olive oil gave it a subtle little kick, while the sprinkling of gremolata and smear of red mojo finished the dish off perfectly and made this a wonderfully presented starter.
For the mains we tried both the barramundi and the marinated lamb racks. Sat on a bed of yellow beans, broad beans and black olives and topped with a generous serve of sauce vierge, the barramundi plated up beautifully. Such a delicate looking dish, it was simply bursting with wonderful flavours and really made great use of the primero olive oil. The fish itself was so soft while the skin had the perfect crisp. A great dish!
Our favourite though had to be the marinated lamb racks. The meat was incredibly soft and tender, cooked to absolute perfection and simply fell off the bone. Tender and juicy and accompanied brilliantly by the eggplant and seeded mustard yoghurt, as well as the intenso olive oil, this dish tasted amazing. They even somehow managed to make lamb chops look pretty damn good as well.
Finally, for dessert we sampled an olive oil cake accompanied by white chocolate ganache, mango and passionfruit. The sponge of the cake was wonderfully moist with a great consistency, and the fruit gave some extra flavour and sweetness to the dish overall. With just a dash of the primero oil to balance out the flavours, this was definitely a tasty and interesting dessert.
We left with full tummies, tons of knowledge and some lovely gifts as a memento of our day! Both educational and enjoyable, we couldn’t recommend these days any more highly to food lovers out there. You can find out more about Moro’s masterclasses here, and even sign up for emails to be the first to hear when new classes are launched.
Alternatively find out more about Epocha here.