Chef Clayton Donovan at the 2014 Madura Tea Estate Canstar Blue Taste Award presentation ceremony
How do you celebrate when you’ve just won a major tea award for the third year in a row? With a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake, of course writes Candida Baker…
It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for Madura Tea Estates (maduratea) to celebrate the fact that they had just walked away with the Canstar Blue Taste Awards in the Tea Bags category for the third year in a row, beating competition such as Dilmah, Tetley, Twinings, Nerada and Lipton. The sun was shining, and the rows upon rows of tea bushes positively gleaming when we turned up for the ceremony, held in a shady area near the peaceful creek that runs through the property.
A treat for the morning was the presentation by Indigenous chef Clayton Donovan, who ran the highly successful Jaaning Tree Restaurant in Nambucca Heads. Donovan, who grew up on the mid north coast of New South Wales has had a stellar career – from washing dishes in his home town as a teenager, to working in restaurants around the world. During its five years of operation The Jaaning Tree won an Australian Good Food Guide Chef hat four years in a row. ) These days he has evolved the business to include media work, long lunches, pop ups and education, (jaaningtree) as well as of course, introducing a wide audience to Australia’s native food through the Wild Kitchen television series.
Clayton Donovan’s take on Rocky Road – Gravel Road – loaded with wattle seed.
It was certainly an education to watch him prepare his Australian version of Rocky Road, most aptly named Gravel Road. This incredibly rich dish involved copious amounts of dark chocolate, marshmallow, coconut and lots of wattle seed – a stable in many Donovan dishes. (Jaaning is the Gumbaynggir word for Acacia – so it’s a long-term favourite for Donovan.) He entertained us with anecdotes from home: “I use dark chcoloate for this because I’m the only in the house that likes it,” he said cheerfully. Once he’d prepared it, and put it in the fridge to set, he told us: “I’ve been waiting 20 years to say this – now, here’s one I prepared earlier!” He pulled the Gravel Road out with a flourish, cut it up and it disappeared in the blink of a kangaroo’s eye.
Catering for the heat, the Madura team, out in force, had made not just hot tea but two beautiful iced-teas, including a lemon and ginger tea which just happened to go with the most amazing cakes prepared by Rose, one of the Estate staff, whose caramel cheesecake I have to say very closely rivalled Gravel Road in taste, texture and deliciousness.
Lemon and ginger iced tea
My vote for the best teabag from Madura’s best teabags – their amazing Pure Assam with its rich flavour, and dark red colour – a perfect post lunch pick-me-up. Or even on this occasion, post cake…
