Inspired by Thomas Keller’s restaurant The French Laundry in California, Shaun Arantz often uses the ‘sous-vide technique’ at his own restaurant, Racine.Drink match Small Acres Norfolk Still 2010 (Medium Dry), Orange, NSW
Shaun’s philosophy is to use as many ingredients as possible that are local to his Orange restaurant, so it makes sense to approach the drink match in the same way. Luckily, there’s a pretty amazing wine region on his doorstep, but I’m going to be a bit controversial here and choose another of the region’s burgeoning drinks categories – cider. Small Acres Cyder is a fantastic artisanal producer of highest quality, traditional ciders made from local apples. The brine and accompaniments to the dish are quite richly spiced, so I’ve chosen the full flavoured and immensely tasty Norfolk Still Medium Dry Cider. Being without bubbles and fairly complex, it almost behaves like a wine and has fantastic balance. The apple flavour perfectly complements the pork as well.
-Dan Coward