Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a judge on MKR or Masterchef Australia? Well if you head in for a Taste & Test experience at Sage Restaurant then you’ll come pretty close to wearing the pants (or cravat) of Matt Preston or judging whether or not there’s enough sauce like Manu Fieldel. If there’s not enough sauce or you think one of the dishes is missing something then you can score the dish down or leave a comment to suggest improvements. Sounds like fun doesn’t it?
This wasn’t the first time we’d dined at Sage Restaurant but it was the first time we have experienced Taste & Test. I was really, really excited to be able to give my honest feedback without feeling like I might offend someone. If there’s something I don’t like about a meal I’ll usually speak up but being able to write down the feedback allows you to really express what you do and don’t like.
Taste & Test is a unique, fun, interactive way of dining and it gives you the chance to help shape the Autumn menu at Sage. So how does it work? You get 5 secret courses for $75 and you score each dish out of 10 on the paper tablecloth. You can also provide both positive and negative comments and offer as much information as you want. The chef and the kitchen team then collect the tablecloths at the end of dinner and lunch service and they keep, remove or change the dishes according to what the people (YOU) want. If a dish gets an average score of below 7.5 then it’s likely to get the flick, anything from 7.5-8.5 needs a little tweaking and you’re likely to see anything that receives above an 8.5 on the Autumn menu.
When the menu is finalised you can then head back in to see what dishes made the cut and if one (or more) of the dishes you liked did then you have bragging rights! You can then tell your guests that you helped create the menu. Pretty cool huh?
We also went with matching wine with each course, which is something I highly recommend. Each wine went really well with the dishes and the service was exceptional.
The Taste & Test experience at Sage runs until March 17 and is available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for lunch and dinner. Make sure you book in advance because tables fill up quickly.
They will also be launching the best of Taste & Test from 21st to the 26th of March – Tuesday to Saturday.
Book online or call Sage Restaurant on (02) 6249 6050.
We enjoyed the Taste & Test experience courtesy of Sage Dining Rooms but all opinions are the authors own.
Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.