Outdoor dining has its perils but picnicking can be a great social leveller, writes Ed Charles.
VICTORIANS love to gamble. And when the horses are out to pasture and cricket at the MCG is a distant memory, there’s nothing better than a side bet on a picnic.
On the face of it, picnics are a one-sided bet vulnerable to Victoria’s erratic weather – not to mention attacks from ants, flies and European wasps. Plus some goof like me will splash an indelible shiraz on anybody dressed in white.
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Electric barbecues do break, tables wobble and inevitably there is blood from attempting to open a beer bottle with a knife. You wouldn’t want to put money on it being the perfect day. Yet we can’t resist eating in the great outdoors.
“One of the attractions of the picnic is that it is a great social leveller,” says Bernadette Alibrando of Walk to Art tours, a company that organises excursions to galleries, artist studios and artist-run initiatives.
Each year she brings together various creative and art types to sit on the grass, eat and drink.
The rich and poor (artists) can mix happily, with Humvee-sized barbecues remaining at home together with the $80 Riedel glasses and carpeted lavatories.
“It’s a neutral ground for everyone,” Alibrando says. “It doesn’t matter what you have or who you are. It’s a bit like an open house.” Plus you don’t have to vacuum afterwards, she notes.
Alibrando, who has a background in hospitality, says the great thing about picnics is that they are informal, and putting a bit of effort into making something is better than an exercise in who can buy the most expensive foods and wines.
The key to this is the democracy of the picnic rug, where ownership is transferred to the group. “There is an anonymous feel as everything gets put on to the table or rug,” she says.
1. Watch out for celebrity chefs
If you are picnicking by the lake in Daylesford, watch out for Luke Mangan picnicking with family and friends.
He suggests keeping picnic snacks simple but with a twist. Some of his favourites include chicken and avocado stacks; buffalo mozzarella, bacon and mushroom toasts; asparagus and crushed peas on toast with goats cheese and mint; and new-wave (which quite possibly is code to buy his new cookbook) avocado dip with grilled flatbread.
Mangan says assemble crisp dishes on site because they are likely to go soggy on the journey there.
2. Ants in your pants
Inevitably an army of ants is going to sniff out anything sweet. And some will bite.
Lindt master chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler is well practised in ant aversion and has three top tips:
? If using a table, fill four ice-cream containers or dog bowls with water and place one under each table leg to stop the ants climbing up. Apparently ants don’t swim.
? Wipe the top of the table with vinegar before putting the food down – ants hate vinegar.
? If using a picnic rug, sprinkle baby powder or talcum powder around the edge of the blanket to create an ant barrier.
Aeroguard or one of the mosquito repellent iPhone apps is also recommended. Regrettably, the only known ways to repel both town and bush flies is the Australian wave or a cork hat.
3. Wine spots
The earth isn’t flat and grass, should you be able to find any, makes it even more difficult to keep glasses and bottles upright. While there is a wine glut, it doesn’t mean you want to spill it. Some picnic glasses do come with removable stems that you can stab into the dirt. Substitute casks for bottles. Not only do they stand upright but the bladders can be inflated as pillows for a drunken snooze later.
4. ‘Romantic’ trysts
Until this article was published, one of the best spots for some private, crafty picnic-rug action was on the Yarra, opposite the Studley Park Boathouse under the shade of trees on the banks of the river (according to a neighbour).
Among the small dunes on the West Beach in St Kilda in the evenings is a perfect private spot to watch the sunset while being molested by dogs and kite surfers. Of course, there are some who just hang around in the bushes near Fraser Street and forgo the picnicking.
5. Avoid boats
Boats are a trap from which you cannot escape, as St Ali Outpost chef Paul Jewson discovered on a hot day on Western Port Bay. The destination was Phillip Island but the family were stranded on a wide mudflat in the blazing midday sun. Eight hours later, the tide finally took the group back to shore, egos bruised and skin blistered from sunburn.
6. Bring enough to share
In addition to the usual hat and sunblock, Michael Bannerman, the chef from Number 8 at Crown, also says it is essential to take enough food to share.
“My dogs don’t like to feel left out,” Bannerman says. His favourite picnic meal is a warm chicken salad made from whole roasted organic chicken, (and for the humans) baby carrots, asparagus, slow-braised radicchio lettuce and watercress, dressed with basil and chervil vinaigrette and finished with some Pastorello cheese.
7. Play games
Once you’ve eaten enough scones with jam and clotted cream, ribbon sandwiches with cucumber and smoked salmon, fresh strawberries and chocolate eclairs, it’s time to either snooze or play a game. The Langham Melbourne’s managing director, Ben Sington, always takes his bocce (that’s boules or petanque in French) set along. It’s a fun group sport without the potential of physical injury of a chocolate smeared Frisbee.
8. Timing is everything
Walk to Art’s Alibrando says that 2pm is the perfect starting time. People can drop in as they please and they can leave early evening – around 6.30 or 7pm. “You don’t want to hang around like derros all afternoon,” she says.
9. Animal magic
It may look like the perfect pasture, but cows are curious and will want to see what’s happening, and a freshly dropped cow pat nearby is about as welcome as a landmine or an angry farmer. You have been warned.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/survival-guide-to-eating-alfresco-20100216-o7jj.html#ixzz1OYPdqVr0