Orgasmic Chef

for food better than sex

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Candy
    • Casseroles
    • Cheese
    • Chicken
    • Cookies
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Ethnic
    • fish/seafood
    • holidays
    • Ice Cream
    • lamb
    • Main Courses
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Preserves
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Snacks
    • Soup
    • Thermomix
    • Vegetables
  • Bucket List
  • Post Gallery
  • Great Blogs
  • EasyIndex
  • About Me
  • Contact

Thank You Mr. Bill

August 5, 2012 by Maureen 61 Comments

Months ago when I went to the Noosa Food and Wine Festival, I met Bill Dowling, his lovely wife Caroline and tasted Bill’s Beetroot Marmalade.  Caroline put a bit of goat cheese on a cracker and sprinkled a few pieces of this chutney on top and I was in heaven.  I kept telling people around me to try it.  We went to Noosa with friends Jan and David and I found them on the other side of the room and brought them back to have a try.  We all bought a jar.

Bill's Beetroot MarmaladeThen I went home with all my goodies from the festival and the jar of beetroot marmalade made it to the back of my pantry shelf.  I’ll admit it, I have a horrible pantry.  I just hate it.  I designed my previous pantry  myself with a counter bench with power points, slide out shelves, well lit — perfect.  The one I have now is in a corner, almost pitch black in there and no matter how I try to light it, it’s still dark.

“Do we have any English mustard?” John says.

“In the pantry,” says I.

“Can you find it for me?  I’ve looked for 5 minutes.”

So I’m not surprised that I lost the marmalade.

This weekend was clean the pantry and toss out anything past its use-by date and that’s when I found the marmalade.  I couldn’t open the jar fast enough.  I had one tiny piece of goat cheese left and a new wheel of South Cape herb and chive soft cheese and I was ready.

I ate the goat cheese with beetroot on top without a thought to sharing it with you.  Sorry.  It was fantastic.  I went outside and took a photo of the opened jar and didn’t think to wash off the label.  Sticky fingers.

Then I remembered you and made up a few crackers and took a picture and then ran upstairs to John’s office and said, “Look what I found?”  He doesn’t get as excited about food as I do but he eagerly ate a cracker or two and said, “This is really good.”  He’s a man of  understatement.  Orgasmic meals get, “that was all right, wasn’t it?”

Most of the stockists of Tasmanian Gourmet Kitchen products are in Tasmania but thankfully, no matter where in the world you live, you can order some of this chutney.  You have to hunt for the “view cart” link once you select a product to buy but I promise you, it’s there.

Bill’s Beetroot Marmalade is on the sweet side, which of course is why I love it, but everyone I’ve served it to raved about it.  There’s also garlic and ginger and other spices.  It reminds me a lot of the roasted garlic and onion jam from Maine’s Stonewall Kitchen.  A little bit goes a long way but I’ll never be without either one!

This isn’t a sponsored post, I’ll tell you if anyone ever asks me to do one.  🙂  I met these friendly people, tasted their products and I was smitten!

Do you have a favorite chutney recipe?  Care to share it with us?

 

Filed Under: Preserves Tagged With: beetroot, beets

« Winter Roast Vegetable Salad – Guest Post by Liz from strayedtable.com
Eumundi Food Fest August 12th »

Comments

  1. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    August 5, 2012 at 11:56 am

    What a great appetizer! I love Stonewall Kitchen products (in fact, it’s dangerous to let me anywhere near them – I buy way too much for my pantry to hold!).

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 5, 2012 at 12:04 pm

      I’m originally from Maine and when I order I get a case at a time sent to me in Australia. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Louise says

    August 5, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    Bill’s products are new to me and I’m so excited to discover them. Thank you Maureen! A tasty appetizer indeed. Just perfect for Goat Cheese Month too!!!

    Thanks for sharing…

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:13 am

      This chutney was brilliant over goat cheese!

      Reply
  3. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says

    August 5, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    I love this beetroot marmalade! It’s the best that I’ve tried. He told us that he makes it in small batches on a stove!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:13 am

      He does and he chops all the beetroot himself! I wonder if he does all the cleanup by himself? 🙂

      Reply
  4. the wicked noodle says

    August 5, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    Well you’ve definitely sold me on this! If I ever spy some I’ll be sure to pick some up. And my pantry is awful, too. Well, it’s unorganized and messy right now although I do have a fairly decent one. I organize it and it slowly gets out of place all over again. hmmm…I may just have to make that today’s project! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

    Reply
  5. Norma Chang says

    August 5, 2012 at 10:44 pm

    I tried to have an organized pantry, may stay organized for a week or 2.
    Goat cheese and beet root go so very well together.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:10 am

      This makes me laugh. My ex-husband (a designer of power stations) would periodically put my pantry items in alphabetical order. I’m not kidding. It lasted like that until the first time I put something away. 🙂

      Reply
  6. eileen says

    August 5, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    I had to laugh at your reaction to eat first, and to share with us second – lol! Sometimes that’s just the way it is too! Sounds like you found a great tasting chutney – thanks for sharing! I have a lazy susan in my kitchen cabinet that holds pantry items and my actual pantry is full of all the electronic kitchen gadgets we own. Rice cooker, icecream maker, food processor, etc…. Both are a nightmare 99% of the time!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:09 am

      I wonder how many tiers on a lazy susan I could get for my pantry items 🙂

      Reply
  7. Parsley Sage says

    August 5, 2012 at 11:56 pm

    Oooooooh! That sounds fan-freaking-tastic! I can see why you didn’t waste anytime taking flash pictures for the blog. That right there tells me how good it is 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:08 am

      It is really good. Bill knows his beets 🙂

      Reply
  8. foodwanderings says

    August 6, 2012 at 12:59 am

    So nuce to be back and catch up on your site, Maureen. Love this marmalade and wish I had a jar for breakfast with toast today.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:07 am

      I don’t know if I’d use this with toast 🙂 It’s a much more savory taste than “real” marmalade. Great to see you!

      Reply
  9. unikorna says

    August 6, 2012 at 1:13 am

    Oh beetroot wow astonishing we have a special recipe that includes horseradish (they go so well together), vinegar, sugar, olive oil and a pinch of salt. It has astonishing effects on your immune system.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:06 am

      I love the idea of horseradish in the chutney! Lovely to see you again!

      Reply
  10. Charles says

    August 6, 2012 at 2:22 am

    Oh wow, Beetroot Marmalade – that sounds amazing. The colour is wonderful… something I’ll have to try and remember next time I have my hands on some raw beets, would love to give it a try.

    I made some courgette and nectarine chutney last year – put the recipe on my blog… that was really good. My friend made some rhubarb and strawberry chutney too which was some of the best stuff I’ve ever had in my life!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 9:06 am

      I love strawberry rhubarb anything! I’m making some tarts today 🙂

      Reply
  11. yummychunklet says

    August 6, 2012 at 6:09 am

    Great and tasty photo!

    Reply
  12. Katherines Corner says

    August 6, 2012 at 9:28 am

    Maureen…shhhh don;t tell…I have never tried chutney, giggle. Thsi looks and sounds divine xo

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:28 pm

      No ??? OMG.. you must. start with Stonewall Kitchens. You can buy online. Then start making your own. 🙂

      Reply
      • Katherines Corner says

        August 7, 2012 at 1:58 am

        will do! xo

        Reply
  13. Laura @ Family Spice says

    August 6, 2012 at 9:54 am

    Oh, my! I’m so glad you cleaned out the pantry to share this with us! And I need a pantry makeover, too! LOL!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:27 pm

      When you get your pantry organized, Laura, let me know. Maybe it will inspired me to have a second try at making this one I have more usable.

      Reply
  14. kitchenriffs says

    August 6, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Sounds terrific. I don’t believe I’ve ever had beetroot marmalade. My life is way too sheltered. Jalapeno jelly and goat cheese (or even cream cheese) is another terrific combo. My current pantry is one of my best ever – open shelving in the basement! I can store tons of stuff, and it’s easy to see. And running up & down the stairs is good exercise. 😉 I also have a closet in the kitchen that was just able to hold one of the restaurant wire rack units on wheels – I just wheel the entire contents of the closet out into the kitchen! Or that’s the theory – in practice I just reach in and grab.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:26 pm

      I don’t have a basement but that’s what my mother did when I was a kid. Everything was stored in huge cabinets down there. I can still hear, “Maureen, get me two cans of Italian tomatoes from downstairs please?”

      Reply
  15. ChopinandMysaucepan says

    August 6, 2012 at 10:42 am

    Dear Maureen,

    I have never even heard of beetroot marmalade but I can imagine how great this must taste. Beetroot has such great health benefits too!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:24 pm

      Dash down to Tassie and get some 🙂 or look for Bill at any of the big food shows, because he must go to them all. Or you can come to the Sunshine Coast and I’ll serve some to you.

      Reply
  16. Celia says

    August 6, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Sounds divine! I love beets! 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:23 pm

      If you love beets and you have the teensiest of sweet teeth.. this is for you 🙂

      Reply
  17. Iron Chef Shellie says

    August 6, 2012 at 10:58 am

    Oh no, sounds like you have a Narina style pantry 😛

    This sounds amazing, especially with cheese, now I’m craving cheese and chutney!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:23 pm

      I was too and you know what? I ate it all! need.more.cheese

      Reply
  18. Marina@Picnic at Marina says

    August 6, 2012 at 12:16 pm

    I haven’t tried such preserve, but I am sure would love it as I am a big fan of everything beets. 🙂 Heading over to check Mr. Bill’s products. Thanks Maureen! 🙂

    Reply
  19. Hotly Spiced says

    August 6, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    I subscribe to your blog Maureen but it does seem to take a very long time for me to get the email notification. Never mind – I’m here now! I keep hearing great things about the Noosa Food and Wine Festival. I think goat’s cheese would go so well with something sweet like beetroot marmalade. My husband is a bit like your husband. I’ll cook something spectacular and we’ll sit down to eat and he’ll almost be finished, have not had said a word, and finally I can’t stand it any longer and I’ll say, ‘So do you like it?’ and he’ll look all shocked and say, ‘Oh sorry, yeah, it’s great. I was just enjoying it so much I forgot to say something’. Praise is hard to come by xx

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 6, 2012 at 1:22 pm

      I know what you mean. John would never be unkind, it’s not his nature but “it’s okay” means it’s pretty good. I’ve talked with my techo expert in the other office and told him mailchimp needs to be checked. He said, “yes, dear.”

      Reply
    • Roberta says

      August 6, 2012 at 11:57 pm

      I get the notice on time……I assume. My problem is I am so busy I don’t always have time to open, read, and drool as soon as I would like.

      Reply
  20. Minnie(@thelady8home) says

    August 6, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    I still haven’t gotten around to click everything I love to munch. That recipe looks so amazing. I have quite a few chutney recipes. Let me work on one.

    Reply
  21. Choc Chip Uru says

    August 6, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    Mr Bill sounds like the perfect produce brand 😀
    All the preserves sound delicious!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 7, 2012 at 10:17 pm

      LOL, Uru, I called him Mister Bill. I think he probably just uses plain old Bill. 🙂

      Reply
  22. Hester @ Alchemy in the Kitchen says

    August 6, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    “I couldn’t open the jar fast enough” – that says it all, Maureen! I love your enthusiasm for the product and that you wolfed down the bit of goats cheese without sharing. It reminds me of the poem by William Carlos Williams – “This is just to say”

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 7, 2012 at 10:18 pm

      I had to go look up William Carlos Williams! I love food that gets me all excited. 🙂

      Reply
  23. Roberta says

    August 7, 2012 at 12:00 am

    Crackers with goat cheese and beet marmalade look divine. I love simple finger foods like this. I can make an entire meal with nothing but finger foods. Goat cheese makes almost anything taste divine. NOTE TO SELF: Must try this.

    Reply
  24. Judy@Savoring Today says

    August 7, 2012 at 12:07 am

    That sounds perfect with goat cheese. I know what you mean about the thought of taking a photo being a second thought because I am too engrossed in the moment of enjoying deliciousness. But that’s the point of great food, to make you forget everything else. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Christina @ The Hungry Australian says

    August 7, 2012 at 1:31 am

    Yes, yes, yes! I can just imagine how good this would taste.
    I did a clean out of my pantry six months ago and was amazed how many duplicates I had of everyday staples – I must buy the same things over and over again without bothering to check the pantry first lol

    Reply
  26. Ilan (IronWhisk Blog) says

    August 7, 2012 at 2:45 am

    Oh yum! Beet chutney sounds delicious. It’s good that your pantry is clean now.. you can store more chutney!

    Reply
  27. Glamorous Glutton says

    August 7, 2012 at 6:28 am

    I haven’t seen beetroot marmalade here , but I bet it’s delicious, all that earthy sweetness in ajar, Mmm. I’ll have to see if I can find some here or maybe get it shipped! GG

    Reply
  28. Kitchen Belleicious says

    August 7, 2012 at 7:17 am

    beetroot marmalade? WHAT! That sounds amazing!

    Reply
  29. The Café Sucré Farine says

    August 7, 2012 at 9:58 am

    What a delicious sounding marmalade, love this and your photo looks fantastic. I’m ready for some right NOW! thanks for sharing, I’m thinking of re-creating this chutney…………

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 7, 2012 at 10:16 pm

      Share your recipe when you’re done? like in a guest post maybe?? 🙂

      Reply
  30. anna says

    August 7, 2012 at 1:49 pm

    i love the sweetness of beets! i bet they make a fabulous jam. i am no expert in making jams or chutneys, so maybe i will just steal some of your commenters’ suggestions 🙂

    Reply
  31. Asmita says

    August 7, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Beetroot marmalade sounds delicious! Your photographs are beautiful!

    Reply
  32. Sawsan (Chef in disguise) says

    August 8, 2012 at 7:32 am

    When I was a kid I used to hate beets but now I can’t get enough of them!
    I have never tried them in a marmalad before and think I need to change that soon

    Reply
  33. A Canadian Foodie says

    August 8, 2012 at 10:03 am

    YUM! What a great idea. I love finding preserves and food I love and then trying to make it myself – but maybe this is just one of those specialties that you have to buy – as you do – by the case! You certainly have my curiosity more than peaked!
    🙂
    Valerie

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 9, 2012 at 9:37 am

      Valerie, I think it’s possible to make this. I’m definitely going to try 🙂

      Reply
  34. Corrie says

    August 14, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    I have had Bill’ beetroot marmalade and I think we finished it off in under a week. I also like Mr’s Balls Blatjang which is a South African chutney. Its great over bobotie pie. 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 18, 2013 at 10:01 pm

      I know! I have a jar that I haven’t opened because I want to share it with my sister but I couldn’t help myself with the onions. I want more.

      Reply
  35. Virginia says

    April 27, 2013 at 11:14 pm

    We moved to Tassie a few years ago and we go through Bills Beetroot Marmalade like water in our house! Honestly, two jars a week. In salads, on fish, on meat.. straight out of the jar! It’s a little on the expensive side, but it’s our weekly indulgence. Now we give it to family and friends as Christmas presents, and each year they ask for more. This Christmas season just gone, all of the local providores in the entire Hobart region SOLD OUT of it for weeks! We were shattered!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      April 28, 2013 at 8:50 am

      Virginia!! I found Bill’s Beetroot Marmalade at the IGA in Maleny in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. I bought 2 jars. I wish I could make that stuff. I know I could live on it. Thanks so much for coming by! ***added Holy Cow, “V” I didn’t know you were famous. 🙂 I just looked you up – you are so gorgeous and those video clips are really good (except don’t watch that music one with the sound turned way up or everyone will rush in to see what’s going on).

      Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 18, 2013 at 10:00 pm

      We’ve finally got a shop up here on the Sunshine Coast that sells the beetroot marmalade. No caramelised onions on their website yet. These are as good as the beetroot. Heavenly!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Sweet Potato and Caramelize Onion Quiche and the Food Police from The Orgasmic Chef says:
    June 18, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    […] Caramelised Onions at the Noosa Food and Wine Festival.  Caroline is wife to Bill of Bill’s Beetroot Marmalade fame.  They own the Tasmanian Gourmet […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

Subscribe by email
Got It!
Please check your email to confirm.
Email:

Oops! That doesn't look like a valid email
First Name:

Please tell us your first name
Go!
Please wait
 Twitter Google Plus Facebook Pinterest Email  RSS Instagram

Previous Posts

 More ...

I’m on…

The Noblys 121 ultimate food blogs for 2018

Good Food Links

Blogs I love

Most Popular Posts

  • Flakey, buttery, biscuits Best Fluffy, Flakey, Buttery Biscuits Ever 451 comments
  • Best Banana Muffins The BEST Banana Muffins EVER 221 comments
  • how to make licorice ice cream Licorice Ice Cream 163 comments
  • Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles Best Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles 152 comments
  • Eggless Sugar Cookies Eggless Sugar Cookies 143 comments

Our Other Projects

EasyIndex Plugin
EasyRecipe Plugin
Fooderific.com
Australia's Best Food Blogs
America's Best Food Blogs

Archives

Privacy

Orgasmic Chef Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress