The Last Ever 'Pig on a Spit' at Restaurant Atelier (Sydney)

I start this post with a sigh, a huge sigh! Sadly, a few months ago, Chef Darren Templeman announced the impending closure of his restaurant. Restaurant Atelier has been operating for just over 10 years and it was time to shut the doors and move on to other adventures.

Upon hearing this, I immediately checked their website for upcoming special events to find an opportunity to dine one more time at Restaurant Atelier. I saw the 'Pig on a Spit' lunch event for the 29th of December. As the last day of business would be December 31, and I would still be on my end of year break, I immediately decided to book some seats at this event. And I am glad my friends CW and CHW decided to join me as well. They are fans of Restaurant Atelier's excellent food and of Chef Darren Templeman's culinary skills. I can still recall my very memorable 10 course degustation meal at this restaurant back in August of this year (10 course degustation at Restaurant Atelier).

I didn't realise at that time but this lunch turned out to be a small reunion of other bloggers whom  I happen to know. Miss Piggy was there with her husband Dave and half his family. MiCasa SuCasa was there with her husband Andy and their little gorgeous baby Button. And twitters Vanity Fare1 and Prick with a Fork were there too with their respective families (note that they are people whom I know of but do not know personally). But just imagine the tweets flowing through online social media that afternoon!

The lunch kicked off with some delicious pork rillette and cornichons. We had to control our number of portions as these were addictive and we wanted to save space for the upcoming feast!

There were 2 pigs on a spit all ready for our lunch. What a sight!

And when the spread was presented, there was Couscous salad, roasted peppers, roasted carrots, roasted zucchini and squash, roasted potatoes with a touch of paprika (I think), asparagus and corn, and the star was of course the many platters of the roasted pork. By the way, did I forget to mention all this spread was for only $50 and the food was presented buffet style?!

And the Chilean Pinot Noir we had was quite lovely. A perfect accompaniment to the pork. It was the Luli 2012 Pinot Noir. I am not much of a red wine drinker but even I, the amateur drinker, would say I really didn't mind this particular red at all.

The meal was tinged with melancholy, a feeling of us diners coming together to enjoy a good meal cooked by Darren and Ed and just a general feeling of camaraderie. We were all here for one thing, 2 things actually! Enjoying the Pig on a spit lunch and saying hello and goodbye to Darren and Bernadette Templeman.

I managed to have a few minutes to chat to Darren and Ed before the lunch started. There are obviously mixed feelings as this has been Darren's other baby for a very long time. I hope Darren finds some time to relax, and spend time with his family. It would be a very much needed break before the next food adventure starts.

Thank you to Darren, Bernadette and their team for their warm and friendly hospitality. It was an extremely pleasant afternoon and I left feeling very stuffed, like a stuffed teddy bear actually! :)

And goodbye to Restaurant Atelier! It was good knowing you! You will be missed! :(

I wish Darren and Bernadette all the very best for their future. I await news on their next food venture and I look forward to seeing what Ed gets up to via Twitter and may the rest of the team find success in their next undertaking! :)

Restaurant Atelier
22 Glebe Point Road
Glebe
NSW 2037
Website: restaurantatelier.com.au

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