Francky's fab food is un-F.A.W.C!-gettable

An exquisite apple crumble.

Top-class food and service is what you can expect when you visit St George's Restaurant for its F.A.W.C! by 5 meal.

Set in a semi-rural environment with soft lighting, the restaurant is quiet and intimate.

We were greeted as soon as we arrived and shown to our seats. Our waitress was assistant manager Kaitlyn Fraser. She and one other waitress worked the room perfectly. They were on hand when you needed them but quiet and unobtrusive.

Kaitlyn has an excellent knowledge of the food and wine. "You have to know what you are serving otherwise you look like a deer in headlights when diners ask about the food."

The F.A.W.C! by 5 menu has three courses but diners can choose to have one, two or all of them. The entree and desserts change daily "depending on what was fresh in the garden".

Our entree was prawns. I just love the way St George's Restaurant owner and chef Francky Godhino plates his food. It's a work of art. The prawns were served on a round wooden dish and they looked incredible. There were slivers of radish and carrots, slices of mandarin and shallots all sitting atop the most delicious tartare sauce I have tasted. We both scraped our dishes clean.

For the main there are two choices, Ovation Lamb Trio or Beetroot and Blue Cheese Risotto, with chocolate sauce, both served with a glass of Crossroads Talisman.

This wine was rich and strong ... a great match to both dishes.

I had the risotto while my dining partner had the lamb. Again both meals were presented beautifully, in fact we both sat and admired them, pointing out the different aspects of the dishes before we dug in. I was expecting smaller portions but both meals were generous.

The lamb dish had shoulder rack and roulade on parsnip puree, with vegetables and pumpkin and date mash. Pumpkin and date? I couldn't wait to try it ... outstanding. The lamb was pink and juicy and then there was silence until it was all gone and I got the thumbs-up from across the table.

In the meantime I was eating the best risotto I have tasted. It was just perfect. I was given a wee tray of extra blue cheese "because some people like a lot and others find it too strong". I used it all, stirring it into the pink risotto. There were baby carrots and beetroot, cauliflower and broccoli in it. The chocolate sauce added a touch of sweetness to this incredible dish.

For dessert we had apple crumble like no other.

Just take a look at the photo - it was exquisite. How Francky does this I don't know but the ice cream was inside this sugar ball atop an extraordinary apple crumble. It was amazing to crack the "ball" and eat the coolness of the ice cream with the crunchy outer and soft tasty crumble.

Francky told me that the idea for the F.A.W.C! menu was to collaborate the food with the high-calibre Crossroads Talisman wine. "Both dishes go well with the wine, one with Hawke's Bay lamb and the other a vegetarian dish."

Both had been popular with diners.

Francky relies heavily on his huge garden for inspiration for his dishes. "I design my menu around the garden. Being sustainable is very important to me. There is pollution everywhere so I grow on site. I know exactly what I have and what's gone into it. It's easy, it's on hand, it's fresh and its nutritional - from the garden to the plate."

Francky grows an incredible 80 per cent of his own fruit and vegetables in his vast garden roughly the size of a basketball court. He says if he is not in the kitchen, he's in the garden.

He also sources 80 per cent of his meat from Hawke's Bay.

"If I can buy it locally I will. I believe in supporting our local business and community."