I was super lucky at the 2010 Diggers & Dealers conference this year and was invited to the Focus Minerals dinner, which was on site in Coolgardie, right near their tailings pit and was a very impressive evening. They had fires set up, which given the weather I was huddling around, hell to the consequences, which were that my lovely jacket would get all smoked out.
The star of the evening was the ever lovely Maggie Beer. Star of the Cook and the Chef and also featuring regularly on this season’s episode of Masterchef


She was working hard the whole time all the guests were arriving

First up was some incredible damper, served with olives and olive oil – warm and sensational, and with a glass of Verdhelo wonderful!
Next were Kangaroo tail pies – delish!! And warmed us all up!
Couldn’t miss an opportunity to get a photo with the lady herself!
Here’s a summary of the menu, which was a little cook book really
Maggie gave us a run down of the courses we were to enjoy
And Paul Murray was on hand to entertain us with some stories
The entree was a delicious marron with lentil salad – I even tackled the claw

Even managed an autograph!
This is bernaise sauce – never been a fan in the past but with the beef for the mains it was delicious!
Here was the salad to go with the mains
The beef was unreal!!
And this is the site where the dinner was held…. a photo from the toilets outside… port-a-loos… way rustic
The wines were very impressive