On Thursday 22 June, over 120 guests attended a six-course degustation at our student-training restaurant, VenU, for the biannual Victoria University (VU) Polytechnic Charity Dinner.
Over 40 students prepared each course alongside Executive Chef Alex McIntosh from Sou’West Brewery in Torquay. Over the past 15 years, Alex has worked at Melbourne's iconic Cecconi's, with Neil Perry at Rockpool Bar & Grill, Jamie Oliver at Fifteen Melbourne and at the Atlantic Group as Head Chef.
The dinner menu included fan favourite snacks from the Sou’West Brewery; a honey ricotta tart, yellow fin tuna tataki, barramundi and scallop alternated with a black beer braised beef cheek as well as a pumpkin ganache with macadamia maple ice cream for dessert.
Each course was accompanied by a wine pairing with one course offering a tasting of the Sou’West Black beer.
The dinner also featured a silent auction, with all proceeds going towards Reaching out in the Inner West. The charity have been operating since 2005, providing approximately 400 meals each week to people in need at their Monday service in Footscray Mall. Victoria University Polytechnic also supports the charity by providing hospitality storage space to stock a large number of donations.
VU Polytechnic’s Charity Dinner is part of VU's School for the Visitor Economy. This cross-university school provides hospitality and tourism industries with an increased volume of qualified professionals to support the sector.
A fantastic night was had by all but couldn’t have been made possible without the support of our sponsors and suppliers, Sou’West Brewery, PFD Food Services, Fresh generation, Parkhill Cellars, PFD Seafood, Humpty Doo Barramundi and Oakdale Meat Co.
