Pleasure is what makes life valuable. It is what provides the motive among sentient creatures to engage in life-sustaining activities. —Herbert Spencer in The Big Fat Duck Cookbook (Bloomsburry, 2008)

To make this dish, we consulted the chocolate tree from the Food Pairing website (http://www.foodpairing.be) and chose a few matches that seemed appropriate to make a familiar yet sumptuous and memorable closure to the Open Sauces dinner. Ginger, coffee, olive oil and matcha tea were the chosen candidates. We served a spoonful of the mousse with small rolls of Persian fairy floss on a stick. The dish used the euphoric properties of chocolate to excite everyone’s endorphins, returning us to our childhood memories of times at the circus, or a summer sideshow. It also gave everyone a bit of a sugar rush so they could get up and make it home safely. The result was a success – after twelve courses, some diners were asking for seconds and even sneaked into the kitchen to lick the pots clean!

• 170 g good quality sweet dark chocolate, chopped (we used Côte d’Or)
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 160 ml confectioners’ sugar
• 60 ml strong espresso coffee
• 15 ml tablespoons ginger
• 185 ml extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt to taste
• Matcha tea (finely ground green tea powder)
• Vanilla and chocolate-flavoured Persian fairy floss

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl au bain-marie. Let cool to lukewarm. Sift the sugar. Beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the coffee and ginger to combine. Stir in the melted chocolate. Add the olive oil and mix well. Thoroughly wash the beaters so that they are free of grease. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites until almost stiff. Gently fold one third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and whisk until patches of white disappear. Repeat, whisking the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture, one third at a time, until patches of white disappear. Do not overmix. Transfer the mousse into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve cold with fairy floss, sprinkled with salt and matcha tea powder.

Based on a recipe by Teresa Barrenechea

Chocolate, salt and sugar came from the supermarket. Eggs, ginger and olive oil from an organic shop. We used Feral Trade (http://www.feraltrade.org) coffee delivered by Kate Rich. Matcha tea powder came from Mmmmh (http://www.mmmmh.be). Persian fairy floss came from Lucia’s at the Adelaide Central Market (http://www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au).

(a sidebar recipe)