As I’ve mentioned before Pialligo Estate  might be Canberra’s very best dining venue.

The Garden Pavillions are perfect for a winter’s day casual meal.

It was the perfect spot for the Canberra Food Bloggers to catch up over cookbooks on a cold Canbera Saturday. As the sleet and hail rolled in we were toasty warm enjoying Pialligo Estate’s fine wine, sampling the lunch menu and sharing our lives, joys and passions through cookbooks.

The idea is simple, yet brilliant. Bring along some cookbooks/foodbooks that you love and any that you have loved but are ready to share to a new home.

I’m always amazed at the many ways food can connect us with people and cultures, but I’d not yet come across a cookbook chat and swap.

As I looked through the cookbooks I’d collected over many years, to bring along, I wondered why some had survived many ruthless cullings.

I realised that it’s not that they are particularly good, but rather that they represent a part of my life. I’ve moved from handwritten family recipes that started me off as a child, through a spartan low fat eating era, to discovering the world of creating events around food. I will always be thankful for that commercial cookery training that dietitians once did. And I could see that now I collect cookbooks to remind me of places where I’ve travelled.

But it was fasciating to hear everyone else tell of their lives and loves through their favourite cookbooks. We only scratched the surface…there are more conversations planned!

Together with this wonderful cookbook inspired sharing, we enjoyed a Pialligo Estate Smokehouse Platter with Peppered rump, chicken roulade & cos lettuce, jamon, washed rind cheese from the Adelaide Hills and house made dukkah, served with Pepe Saya butter and crusty bread.

Followed by Southern Spiced Pork and Pickled Melon….

and Ham Bell & Garden Salad with red wine mignonette…

..and finished with a dessert of…

..and Spanish Herbed Sheep’s Cheese with rosemary (very delicious), pears & baguette

..Persimmon Crumble with lime mascarpone (wonderful flavours)

and Chocolate Delice & coffee biscuit..

All beautifully accompanied by Pialligo Estate Riesling and Shiraz.

Pialligo Estate generously subsidised our costs by the Platters are usually $42 per person (minimum tow guests) or the set menu is $48 pp for two courses or $60 for three.

Wine by the glass is around $12.

And we left with bags of Blood Oranges courtesy of RedBelly Citrus….to start new culinary adventures!