A taste of fabulous Taste

OK – a warning - if you get annoyed with Rita gushing, and waxing lyrical, about Hobart’s most excellent café food, tune out now.

I am about to launch into a huge rave about todays lunch at Taste – Karen Goodwin-Roberts new-ish café, inside the Bahai Centre, at the back of the ABC, in the city. I will also, at this point, put my hand up to being a firm Karen G-R fan. She is someone with whom I’ve had professional dealings, as well as socializing with her, so her work is not totally unknown to me.

I have always held Karen in extremely high regard. I consider her cooking skills to be of the highest level, and her expertise beyond reproach. All this comes into play when you a) look at her menu at Taste, and b) actually eat it!

She epitomizes, to me, everything any café (indeed, any hospitality outlet serving food) in Tasmania should be. Her menu is simple, straightforward, cheap and professionally presented. It also is THE most delicious tasting food I have had for ages.

All the above is totally as one would expect from a person who has been in charge of training chefs in the art of cookery as well as hospitality at Drysdale, but I have often found that in the real world of work, people who train in something actually aren’t all that good at it in reality. They are good at the theory of it, but come time to put it all into practice, and they go to water.

Not so with Karen.

Today I chose to have the Braised shoulder of Cressy lamb, South Arm pinkeyes, dutch carrots and green peas in an onion broth $12 (yes, can you believe it? $12 for a plate of perfection!!). As I ate it, in absolute ecstasy, I was formulating in my head how I would describe this manna from heaven on the blog. I decided that the best description would be to say it tasted exactly as it looks – fresh and tasty. Each of the separate items mentioned in the dish were local, and contained their own specific flavours, the sum total of which was the most magnificent Irish, peasant-type dish. As I said, simple, straightforward and tasty. Sir Grumpy would have loved it (given that he hates wanky food), and Whitey could also dine in style here for an extremely low cost.

I finished with one of Karen’s little cupcakes ($2.50 each), and because it was so beautiful, bought one to take home as well, but that got eaten in the car, as it was so irresistible.

I accompanied the meal with an ice cold bottle of Gillespie’s Ginger Beer, given that the temperature today is reputed to be 29.

I also had a lovely long chat with Karen and husband Michael, as well as a guided tour round the Centre. The total package is well worth making it your café of choice – but if you choose not to believe Rita, feel free, because the one disadvantage in letting people in on secrets like this, is that then they want to experience it for themselves, then I’ll have to queue up to get a table there!

I’m putting Karen’s café in the 5 star classification – unheard of on Rita’s Bite for a café.

Also please note that she caters for any function, both at the Centre, or at a venue of your choice. It’s a family affair, with Karen and Michael and their assorted offspring working there as well. I frequently use Karen’s catering for my work functions and NOTHING has ever been faulted – quite rare in todays world of obligatory perfection.