Casa mia casa tua – A taste of Italian hospitality

Christine Middap, editor of The Weekend Australian magazine, made a recent trip to our little pocket of the world, which included lunch and a tasting at Chrismont. Here’s an excerpt of Christine’s time with us …

“Earlier we’d been to Chrismont winery and restaurant at nearby Cheshunt, where, even on this winter Thursday, a good number of diners were succumbing to the charms of Arnie Pizzini and his wife Jo. They have designed a menu that reflects their roots in northern Italy (Arnie) and Sicily (Jo). “This is the food we grew up on,’’ Arnie tells us with pride. Peasant food, mostly; simple and delicious. Canederli in brodo, or bread dumplings in broth, is huge and delicious and easily shared among the three of us. Slow-cooked osso buco with soft polenta; pappardelle tossed with pork salsiccia and mushroom ragu; chocolate souffle and millefoglie (the Italian version of the French pastry mille-feuille), all matched with wines from the estate that sprawls beyond the balcony of this stylish restaurant and cellar door, awarded the national building design of the year in 2016. I can’t remember the last meal I enjoyed so much.”

The Weekend Australian Magazine
Christine Middap, Editor
August 25, 2018