Would you try this beef, pigeon and foie gras wellington from The Charles?

The Charles has been experimenting with their beef wellington for weeks and has perfected a new recipe.
This beef wellington also has layers of pigeon and foie gras for a very decadent offering.
The Charles is one of Sydney’s signature French restaurants in the heart of the CBD.

After months of experimentation, Billy Hannigan, Executive Chef at the CBD’s big and beautiful The Charles Brasserie & Bar, has nailed the beef wellington with a unique recipe that refines the notoriously hard-to-cook classic.

Just weeks ago, the chef posted a video on his Instagram of a beef wellington that was shaped to look a bit like a pumpkin. The glistening gold pastry was shaped into a spherical body with clear white ridges leading down to what looks like sharp-edged petals of a flower ready to bloom.

I spotted it on the chef’s Instagram and knew I just had to go in to try this head-turning creation. Especially after being told it wasn’t just beef inside. There’s the requisite mushroom dexelle, but this layer also has truffle in it. Then there’s a slab of foie gras and a layer of pigeon breast with the fillet of beef, all wrapped in spinach and then again with a crusty layer of sour cream pastry.

It’s an evolution of the beef wellington that has sat on The Charles’ menu for years, always pitched as one of its most popular dishes. Especially since The Charles is one of the only kitchens in Sydney that consistently offers beef wellington, which is a prestige dish in the culinary world, and one that’s just as perfect for winter as it is for summer.

thecharleswellington — *Inside the new Wellington at The Charles, sans pigeon meat (photo: Chris Singh).*

“It took us a bit of back and forth,” Billy told me when I asked how long he’s been sitting on this for.

“You have to get the type of pastry right, get it tighter, but then we found that we had to have the right weight of beef to match the pigeon. We couldn’t just go big on beef. You also don’t want the foie gras to be scrambled in there. It all has to be neatly layered to work with the texture of the pastry.”

It took Billy around “six or seven goes” to get this one right. On my visit, the kitchen was running low on pigeon so I made do with just the beef and foie gras.

Results? Delicious, as expected. Billy has really done god’s work with the mushroom sauce that comes with the dish. Pour it gently on the layers after you’ve sliced them open; it’s one of the most satisfying things I’ve tried over the past few months in Sydney.

Wisely, Billy sourced the beef from Jack’s Creek, which keeps the quality up but the prices approachable. The NSW farm took out World’s Best Steak across multiple years, so I’m not surprised at just how rich and packed full of flavour the beef is. Does pigeon, which is generally rich and gamey, play well with the beef? You’ll have to head in and try for yourself, but I can at least attest to the fact that every other layer has been perfectly dialled in.

The top layer of mushroom and truffle is moist and flavourful, playing well with the beef by giving it a very rich, earthy flavour. The foie gras is buttery and smooth, which adds an entirely new dimension to the flavour and tastes appropriately decadent.

The Charles’s Wellington is priced at $150 and serves two people. If you do go, factor in dessert as well. That nomadic cart of cakes and pastries is much too tempting to resist, especially when you’ve just peeled off a slice of the kitchen’s signature nine-layer Russian Honey Cake and spooned each silky soft bite onto a palate that’s already been spoiled.

Note: The Charles’s Wellington is made-to-order and takes around 30 minutes to prepare (15 to bake, 15 to rest). Do consider the time before you order one, and try and order ahead. This isn’t on the typical brasserie menu, so you’ll need to check with the kitchen to see if it’s available. Gotta love an off-menu secret, right?