Vanilla Mascarpone Cheesecake with Poached Rhubarb and Kapiti Ice Cream

Glen Sando

Glen Sando is the Head Chef at Manuels Taupo's award winning restaurants - the fine dining Edgewater and casual dining Beach Brassiere.  The Millennium Hotel and Manuels Taupo dates back to 1968 when owner Ron Lyne bought the Edgewater Fishing Lodge that was built in the 1930s. The property's two restaurants are Taupo's only extreme waterfront dining establishments where you can walk out the door and right onto the lake's edge.

Starting out his career with an apprenticeship at Manuels, Glen has also started up his own restaurants in Taupo and Tauranga. He worked in England for two years where he cooked with Peter Thornley at The Washington Hotel in London's Mayfair and also cheffed for a wine bar on Dorset Street.

Finally returning to the place that first taught him how to cook, Glen has been Head Chef at Manuels for the past 10 years.

His Vanilla Mascarpone Cheesecake dish is lighter than a traditional cheesecake, perfect for summer, and is one of the most popular desserts on the Edgewater menu. Another favourite is the oyster tasting platter which comprises half a dozen oysters cooked in six different ways. The Edgewater will also cook customers own fresh catch - straight from the lake to the plate.

Fonterra Foodservices products are used extensively in both restaurants because of their consistency and guaranteed quality. "You open a pack and always know what you're going to get, which is really important in this line of work," says Glen. His favourites are the Kapiti ice creams, which the Beach Brassiere incorporates into a tasting platter, and the Pastryhouse range of danishes and croissants.

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Kapiti Mascarpone Vanilla Cheesecake

Ingredients:

150g crystallized ginger, roughly chopped

300g vanilla biscuit crumbs

100g Mainland Unsalted Butter, melted

560g Kapiti Mascarpone

¾c caster sugar

4 gelatine sheets

330ml Anchor Cream, whipped

2 egg whites, whisked to soft peaks

2 vanilla pods

200ml port

50ml red wine

250g caster sugar

6 rhubarb sticks, cut into 8cm batons

Method:

Line a 24cm X 30cm high baking tin with cling film. Mix the ginger and biscuit crumbs together with the Mainland Unsalted Butater until well combined, place evenly into a baking tray and refrigerate until set.

Gently work the sugar and Kapiti Mascarpone together by hand, scrape the seeds of the vanilla pod into the Kapiti Mascarpone and mix well, set aside.

Soften the gelatine in water, once soft, drain off excess water and dissolve the gelatine in the microwave, once cooled to room temperature fold the gelatine into the Kapiti Mascarpone mix.

Next gently fold the cream and then the egg whites into the Kapiti Mascarpone and pour onto the prepared base and refrigerate until set before serving.

Place the sugar, port and red wine into a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce to a syrup consistency. Place cut rhubarb into the syrup and bring back to the boil, remove from heat and allow to cool.

To serve cheese cake cut into desired shape and serve with the port poached rhubarb and Kapiti Lemon Sorbet.

Produces:  10-12 servings.