Valentine’s Day dining tips from the experts

With Valentine’s Day looming for another year, we picked the experts’ brains for the best ways to wine and dine your lover by preparing the ultimate romantic meal.

THEY say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but, let’s be honest, tell any woman she’s getting the night off kitchen duties to be cooked for and she’ll swoon as hard as if Ryan Gosling had walked into the room.

So with this Friday being Valentine’s Day, we asked the experts for their ultimate tips to wining and dining your loved one.

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From preparing aphrodisiac entrees to get your partner in the mood to making memorable desserts that promise to warm hearts, and even finding the perfect wine to ensure romance blossoms, a night of intimacy is destined to ensue with this culinary advice.

Heart-shaped brownies with berries

WHY COOK?

“I always think that the truest expression of love is to feed someone,” says dessert king Darren Purchese of Burch & Purchese.

“Sweets in particular are decadent, luxurious and a little bit naughty.”

Chef at SK Steak and Oyster in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Kelvin Andrews, agrees and says starting with champagne and ending in chocolate is his go-to move.

“Cooking for a loved one is a kind gesture,” he says. “It’s all about being together as a couple, being present and appreciating one another’s company.”

DON’T BE A HERO

Choosing what to cook is where many romantics often get overwhelmed, before deciding it’s all too hard and not to bother. But Andrews says you don’t need to be a master chef, pulling out techniques usually only used by the professionals and putting on a multi-course feast to impress.

“Keep it simple,” he says. “Buy the best produce you can get your hands on and don’t mess it up.”

He suggests starting with oysters as they’re “always a romantic winner”.

“Shucking oysters is a great skill to have, however if you’re not confident, ask your local fishmonger to open (them) for you,” he says.

“(It’s) best to pre-order and advise when you will collect to ensure they are the freshest possible.”

He likes to follow the oysters with “a nice piece of fish”, like coral trout, and says baking it in the oven is the easiest method for the homecook and almost foolproof.

Andrews says to take a 300g fillet of fish, place it in the centre of a large sheet of greaseproof paper, season with salt and pepper, add a good splash of olive oil and generous squeeze of lemon juice. Gather the edges of the paper to form a sealed bag and pop into an oven preheated to 180C for 13 minutes.

Spoil your valentine with flowers - and, of course, food and wine.

“It makes its own beautiful sauce in the bag when it steams,” says Andrews.

“Just remove (the fish) from the bag and pour the sauce over the top. Simple.”

Purchese also begs romantics to keep it simple and not overextend themselves.

“The more you have to do, the more (that) can go wrong, plus you want to spend precious time with your loved one, not slaving in the kitchen,” he says.

He recommends choosing something that can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the fridge, such as a simple chocolate mousse, layered in a glass with berries, crushed biscuit or meringue pieces.

Cheese and charcuterie boards that require no actual cooking are also suggested by Purchese and Andrews, with Andrews loving the Section 28 Mont Priscilla fromage from the Adelaide Hills.

“It’s a firm cheese with a creamy texture and it’s my favourite Australian cheese at the moment,” he says.

SEXY SUPPERS

If it’s a little time between the sheets you fancy this Valentine’s Day, cellar director at Cellar-masters, Christine Ricketts, recommends teaming one of the great aphrodisiacs, wine, with aphrodisiac foods, such as asparagus, oysters, chilli, rocket and chocolate.

“Asparagus, maybe with a risotto, pairs well with a dry riesling from Eden or Clare Valley. Oysters go well with champagne, and a spicy dish with chilli and the peppery flavours of rocket are balanced well by a dry rosé. For dessert, match chocolate with tawny port,” she says.

Valentine’s dessert decorated with cherries

Chocolate heart tarts

DON’T BE SELFISH

While you want to eliminate the stress in the kitchen as much as possible by making simple dishes, Purchese says it’s also crucial to keep your partner in mind when menu planning.

“Don’t cook what you love to eat, cook what they love to eat,” he says. “If they love a lemon tart, then make that. Even if you are not totally comfortable, it still says that you are thoughtful and considerate.”

And when choosing wines to match, Ricketts says you can even use a little science to make the right selection.

“Studies suggest scents of lavender, caramel, butter and vanilla entice men, so if you’re trying to woo him, you can find lavender flavours in grenache, vanilla notes in GSM (red blends) and vanilla and caramel aromas in tawny port.”

“Women are said to prefer musky, licoricey, earthy and cherry smells, so impress her with a Tassie pinot noir with its characteristically delicate, earthy aromas or a montepulciano with dark, ripe cherry fruit flavours,” she says.

SAY IT WITH CHAMPAGNE

Wine is great, but obviously the ultimate romantic drink has to be champagne, right?

“It is more expensive than sparkling wine, but this is a special occasion that calls for a celebratory wine like champagne,” Ricketts says.

“Champagne also pairs perfectly with oysters, a well-known aphrodisiac.

“As a bonus, some claim the scents of dry champagnes, particularly a blanc de blancs – that is a champagne made with only Chardonnay grapes – replicate the delicate aromas of female pheromones, so it can be an enticing scent.”

Her pick, though, is a rosé champagne, such as the Moet & Chandon Brut Rosé NV ($76 per bottle at Cellarmasters).

“It is slightly more expensive than a standard NV Champagne because it’s rarer and more difficult to produce,” she says.

However, if you’re on a budget, she instead suggests trying the Black Wattle Rosé Cuvée ($17.50 per bottle at Cellarmasters) – a pink sparkling wine with flavours of cherries and spice.

SWEET SUCCESS

When it comes to dessert, Valentine’s Day is not the time for trying that souffle you’ve always wanted to make, says Purchese.

“In reality, unless you’re a pro, you’ll be sweating whisking up those egg whites and stressing during cooking,” he says. “Nothing ruins a romantic moment like a failed dessert so don’t try to be a hero in the kitchen.”

Instead, he suggests keeping it easy with chocolate, revealing his biggest Valentine’s Day sellers at B&P are his “Love Bites” with ruby chocolate, brownie pieces and raspberry in a ball, and his salted caramel “Love” chocolates.

“Anything chocolate and you are already on to a winner,” he says.

“It can be tricky to work with though if you’re not used to cooking, so keep it simple.

“Try melting a mix of some luscious dark and milk chocolate together in the microwave and serving it as a dip with beautiful seasonal berries, peach pieces or even mango chunks.”

Making chocolate brownies, then slicing them with a heart-shaped cutter is another easy dessert option.

Darren Purchese says chocolate and raspberries are a winning combination...

... and here’s another example.

PULLING OFF PERFECTION

So you’ve got the menu sorted, you know what wine you’re picking up from the bottle shop, and your MasterChef ambitions have been tamed, so what else do you need to do to make sure cooking for your loved one is a hit?

“It’s the small touches that count: flowers on the table, polished glasses, a chocolate offered with after-dinner coffee, oh, and taking care of clean up in a discreet manner are all ways of making your partner feel like they are the centre of your universe,” says Purchese.

While Ricketts advises to make sure your wine is at the right temperature ahead of time.

“You should always chill your reds in Australia, especially in spring and summer,” she says.

“The ideal temperature to serve red wines is 15-18C, which is quite a bit cooler than the standard room temperature of 21C.”

She says full-bodied wines like shiraz and cabernet sauvignon can benefit from 10-15 minutes in the fridge, while light- to medium-bodied reds such as pinot noir and sangiovese can be chilled for about 20 minutes before serving.

“We tend to over-chill our white wines, which can flatten some of the flavours – so pay attention to the variety before popping it in the fridge,” she says.

“Most Chardonnays should only be chilled for half an hour – if served too cold, the oak flavours tend to get amplified while the fruit flavours get dulled.

Sauvignon blanc, semillon, pinot gris/grigio and verdelho should ideally spend an hour in the fridge, while riesling needs 1½ hours.”

As for champagne or sparkling wine, get that in the fridge at least two hours ahead of time.

“Opening a bottle of lukewarm bubbles can actually be dangerous because the pressure within a bottle is more likely to build when warm, so the cork can explode and even cause injury. And that’s not the type of fireworks you want on Valentine’s Day,” Ricketts says.

Finally, while it should go without saying, she reminds us to never serve a bottle of wine that’s been open for days or weeks.

“You don’t have to be a wine expert to taste the oxidation in the wine,” she says.

STUFF IT, WE’LL GO OUT

If your culinary skills are simply not up to scratch and you decide to enjoy this Friday at a restaurant, Andrews offers the following advice: “Go to a restaurant that you know or love, avoid set menus, order straight away and don’t over order – keep it light and decadent,” he says.

“(Also) don’t propose on Valentine’s Day – too cliche.”