Kellie Manallack & Danny Neate

Passionate chefs Danny Neate and Kellie Manallack live and work in the picturesque Yarra Valley. Instead of facing traffic-choked highways on their way to work, they each have a pleasant short drive from home to their workplace - the historic Yarra Valley Dairy. Here you can relax over the luscious meals they have concocted from the sensational local produce and the dairy’s farmhouse cheeses, which have been handmade in traditional Italian and French styles from cows and goats milk. And while you are dining, you can gaze out of the window and catch sight of the dairy’s Friesian cows grazing on their lush pastures - sometimes at quite close range!

Danny and Kellie love cooking and delight in showcasing the freshest of produce, including asparagus. “I love the colour of asparagus - it’s so striking, particularly white asparagus,” says Danny, adding, “I like to mix white and green asparagus in one dish. White asparagus is so versatile. But I prefer not to char-grill it as I don’t want to taint the perfect white colour. You can slow roast white asparagus and it comes up really nicely with some preserved lemon, garlic, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil. Simply oven roast on a baking tray - uncovered to prevent it steaming rather than baking.”

“But I do like to char-grill green asparagus - it comes up really, really well. It also comes up well in purées. I also do a Champagne and asparagus sauce that I serve with fish, and even poached chicken. Simply’s the best way. I like to serve the oven-roasted white asparagus and the char-grilled green asparagus together.”     

Kellie took out the “Apprentice of the Year 2002” award at Swinburne Institute of TAFE’s Lilydale campus. Kellie’s love of cooking and experimenting with food shines through in her fabulous dishes. “I guess my style is contemporary style cooking. And when it comes to asparagus, I just love its freshness and its versatility. You can use it in so many different dishes. I like blanching it first, then pan frying or grilling it with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. I find it very complimentary. It’s a great vegetable - and I love eating it!” says Kellie.

There are many reasons to visit the Yarra Valley. A particularly delicious one would be to visit the Yarra Valley Dairy Café just to savour Danny Neate’s exceptional dish: Cream baked Yarra Valley Persian Fetta gnocchi served with caramelized baby fennel, slow roasted tomato and capsicum, asparagus and dressed with fennel oil. Yarra Valley Dairy Café is in McMeikans Rd, Yering. It is open daily from 10:30am to 4:00pm. Telephone (03) 9739 0023 or log onto www.yarravalleydairy.com.au.

Recipes

White Asparagus & Peking Duck Rice Paper Cannelloni
Truffled Coddled Free Range Egg with Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Soldiers
Asparagus & Mushroom Tart

From the Chefs

Meet the Chefs

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Copyright© Australian Asparagus Council. Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this website is correct and up to date, no representation is made or warranty given (either express or implied) as to the completeness, accuracy or currency of the information that it contains. Last updated August 2007