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 Clare's homemade pumpkin chutney continues to be a cheese platter favourite. Crafted with the freshest pumpkins and a perfect harmony of spices, every spoonful is a celebration of flavours; sweet, tangy, and spicy, all perfectly balanced to enhance any platter or dish.
Since the very first batch of pumpkin chutney was made in 2016, the recipe has evolved to become an essential feature on all of Pilgrim Magnetic Island's platters. While it pairs perfectly with cheese and crackers (and a glass of wine à la our Sunset Sip and Sail cruise), it is far more versatile than just a dollop on a cheese platter. Here are five ideas on different ways to serve Clare's Pumpkin Chutney so you can enjoy it to its full potential. The Classic - Served on your Cheese Platter It would be remiss not to include this one. We recommend having the pumpkin chutney with an aged cheddar or a creamy brie cheese on a Jatz or wafer cracker. The Lunch - Delicious Ploughman's Lunch All you need for this British classic is:
Clare's tip: I love to make my own bread when doing a ploughman's lunch. My favourite is a super easy, no-knead wholemeal bread. It doesn't keep for long though, so freeze any leftovers and use it for toast. See the recipe below! The Beer Snack As a nibble to have with your beer, try topping the pumpkin chutney onto mini poppadoms with some lime pickle or a cucumber raita (see the recipe below). It's perfectly crispy, tangy, and sweet! Clare's tip: The poppadoms are super easy to make in the microwave. I do three at a time on the highest setting for 40 seconds. Perfecto! Scrummy Curry This idea comes from Jen and Dan who run one of Clare and Paul's favourite restaurants on the island – Saltwater Magnetic Island. They suggest using the pumpkin chutney as a condiment for a spicy curry. Fold the pumpkin chutney through some natural yoghurt, add sliced dates or some nuts such as almonds, sprinkle in a pinch of cinnamon, and season it. To intensify the flavour add some hot or dried chilli. Morning Tea - Treat yourself to a Savoury Scone Enjoy a savoury scone with some butter, pumpkin chutney, and a dollop of sour cream. Make this morning tea treat even better with some homemade scones (see the recipe below). Clare's tip: Swap the sour cream for crème fraîche, which is more rich and makes the savoury scone just that much better. A big thank you to Jen & Dan from Saltwater for their recipe idea.  Clare's Guide to Making the Perfect Cheese Platter "Pilgrim Style" Our Sip and Sail Sunset Cruise are one of our most popular sailing experiences that we offer. On every trip we not only go sailing and watch a sunset but we serve unlimited sips (organic wines, local beers, and more) and a personal cheese platter for every group. Although I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert, I have made a lot of cheese platters over the past ten years, and have enjoyed refining it as I go along! So, how do I do it? Firstly, The Cheese I always select three kinds of cheese to go on my platter, unless I'm catering for a large group of people for which you may need to add a couple of extras. When picking cheese, I narrow my criteria down to texture and flavour. My platter includes:
How much cheese per person? As a rule of thumb, you're looking for 25-30g of cheese per person, assuming you have three kinds of cheese on the platter for an entree or dessert. Secondly, The Crackers I like to serve between two and three types of crackers. Here are my go-to's for choosing which types of crackers to serve:
Side note: The importance of the Jatz cracker was confirmed by one of our regular guests onboard Pilgrim. Just before I brought out the cheese platter, he proudly announced that one of the favourite things about our sunset cruises was that we always served Jatz on the cheese platter. You can imagine how hard it was to tell him that due to an oversight on my part, we had run out on that day. Note, I have not run out again since!!! x
JANET'S SESAME CRISPBREAD INGREDIENTS 1 cup sesame seeds 1/4 cup flax seed 1/4 LSA mix 3 desert spoons ground psyllium husk 2 oz finely grated Parmesan Large pinch Malden salt Water, (about 1/2 cup) 1 beaten egg METHOD
Add different toppings: herbs, rosemary, chilli, seaweed salt. For variation. Thirdly, The Condiment
This one is a no-brainer on Pilgrim: Clare's famous Pumpkin Chutney. This is now available for sale, or if you want to give it a go yourself, here's the recipe. However, when making your own platter at home you can try a store-bought chutney or a type of spreadable dip like hummus. Then, The Fruit Grapes are perfect platter fruit. I like to use red and white for their vibrant colour. But, out of season grapes are either terrible quality and can be very expensive! My advice is to look for something in season that is colourful and reasonably priced. Some of my favourites are passion fruit (picked straight off our vine at home), kiwi fruit, strawberries or figs. Now, The Olives You can't go wrong with olives – black, green, whole, pitted, or stuffed, there's something for everyone. My personal favourite are the almond stuffed olives from Stubborn Olives (a Sydney based company). Finally, The Sprinkle The last thing to go onto my platter is something that I can use to fill in any gaps and add a little more colour. I like to use nuts or blueberries to fill up my cheese platter to make sure it looks pretty and there are no gaps (until someone takes the first bite). To conclude on my take of the perfect cheese platter There is no single formula for making a delicious cheese platter. There are as many different ways of making them as there are ingredients to place on them. But, the formula I shared with you is one which has helped me over the years and helps take the thinking out of it every time. There are three overarching principles that I apply to every cheese platter, whether I'm at home or on Pilgrim:
I hope you enjoy serving your next cheese platter! Check out our favourite places to eat near Rose Bay. Pilgrim Sailing has just arrived back in Sydney for our ninth year of operation on Sydney Harbour! You can jump on board for a range of activities, specialising in Twilight Racing, Sunset Cruises and Private Charters. Generally, we pick up and drop off guests from Rose Bay and often get asked for recommendations of places to eat in the area either before or after a charter or while they are visiting the area. Here are our favourites: Our number one recommendation is the Empire Lounge at the Sydney Seaplanes Terminal. Why?
You can check out the food and beverage menu here. Because we love it so much, we have arranged a dinner package for our Sip&Sail Twilight Cruise guests after the twilight cruise. For an additional $56 per person, you'll be able to select one main dish, one side dish to share, a dessert and one glass of house wine or beer. OPENING HOURS: THURSDAY – SUNDAY OPEN FROM 12:00 PM TILL LATE | SERVING LUNCH AND DINNER
Photos sourced from Instagram : @empireloungesydney But don't look past some of our other favourites, which come HIGHLY RECOMMENDED too: An easy walking distance from Rose Bay Wharf: Jezve Coffee Great place for breakfast, lunch, coffee. Located in the middle of Lyne Park. One of our favourite spots for brekkie! Opening hours: Monday to Friday 6 am till 5 pm Sat to Sun 6 am till 6 pm Jewel on the Bay An excellent Indian restaurant, only a few minutes walk from the wharf. It has a great atmosphere and fantastic food. Bookings recommended. Opening hours: 7 Days | breakfast & lunch 7 am to 3 pm | Dinner from 5 pm to 10 pm Hachi Bei A Japanese tapas bistro - we enjoy coming here. There are some interesting items on the menu which you don't find in every Japanese restaurant. Opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 5 pm to 9 pm Mangia e Bevi - This is a nice Italian restaurant in Rose Bay. This one is a little walk away (approximately 10 minutes), but the pizzas and pasta are delicious, and they always have a good specials board. Good for bigger groups. For that extra special occasion, there are two restaurants within walking distance of the Rose Bay Wharf - the Good Food Guide's, one hatted, Catalina and Regatta Rose Bay. Both have great views of Sydney Harbour and serve fantastic food, although they come with the Sydney price tag!!! A little bit further afield by a short bus ride or taxi/uber ride is Double Bay (approximately 5-10 minutes in car/bus or 20 minute walk) Here are our absolute favourite restaurants in Double Bay: Spice Market - a fantastic Thai, very reasonable with long bench tables. Casual with excellent food. We have been visiting Anthony, the owner, at Spice Market for over ten years! If you visit, tell him we sent you!! [BYO] Chinta Ketchil - delicious Malaysian food in a cosy, quirky restaurant. [BYO]  Quirky and delicious! @chinta_ketchil Arte Bianca - authentic Italian food - you have to try the pizzas! 18 Footers League Club - GREAT for a sundowner with views overlooking Double Bay and Pilgrim on her mooring! A little bit further afield again, opposite Edgecliff station (but if you're in a taxi what does it matter), is our favourite Japanese in Sydney - Makizo. We LOVE IT, as do many locals in the area. Note to readers: All of these restaurants (except for Regatta and Catalina), we frequent regularly and can 100% vouch for the quality of food and service. On the other hand, we have not been to all the restaurants in the area, so there may be some others worth a mention, which we haven't tried. Feel free to comment below if there is somewhere, we should try and potentially add to the list!!
 Launching our first ever Sip & Sail with Tamburlaine Organic Wines A couple of wonderful evenings sailing around Sydney Harbour enjoying the sights while sipping a range of Tamburlaine's wines and enjoying Woombye Cheeses....
 How do you provision a boat for Cruising?
Provisioning (i.e. shopping) for several weeks cruising offshore is a very different from your weekly shop at the local supermarket, when you can pop back if you forget the butter. After over six months of living on board we learnt a little bit about the dos and don'ts of provisioning. Often the hard way. So when we were asked by our friends from Pilgrim's bestie "Wine-Dark Sea" to give a talk at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron to their cruising members about provisioning for cruising, we welcomed the opportunity to share what our tips. You can see all recommendations in the link to the presentation below. |
