Dear valued customer,

On 1 September 2009 Cognito celebrated its fifth birthday. With so many accomplishments, big and small, over the past couple of years, we chose a few of our favourites to share with you. Our television debut on Pasella in 2006 will surely be one of our most memorable experiences, as was our dream of being published in the EatOut Magazine. Our loyal patrons voted for us and we won two EatOut People's Choice Awards in 2008 - one for Top 10 Local Favourite Restaurants and the other for one of the Top 15 All Time Favourite Restaurants in the country!  Our most recent achievement is the launch of our catering company, Cognito Catering. This gives us the platform to create wonderful food for customers even outside the restaurant walls.

Cognito has been offering catering as part of its restaurant service for the past five years. We decided that it is only a natural progression to evolve this service into a full-time catering company available to the public, corporate companies and wine estates.

We design tailor-made menus to suit each individual occasion and ensure that our clients and their guests have the unforgettable experience that we've become so well known for. We are passionate about food and wine pairings and can create exclusive Cultivar Canapé Menus to add flair to any party. All our menus are designed to be unique and tantalising and - above all - to always deliver on taste. Cognito Catering generates fantastic treats to uncompromisable standards. In addition to supplying wonderful food for any occasion, we also bake fabulous cakes and sweets. A special event is never complete without a spectacular, custom-made cake to add a final WOW factor to any celebration. Anien loves to create wedding and specialty cakes (maybe because she is such a romantic at heart!) and every cake is decorated with attention to the finest detail - truly a work of art and passion.

Congratulations to Heather and David Henning who won our "Chef's Question" competition. They win six different bottles of Leopard's Leap wines, individually paired with six amazing Lindt chocolates.

Question:
We bought a bottle of Tahini and used about a teaspoon in a now long lost recipe. The bottle is now sitting in our fridge and not being used. Could you please give me some ideas on how to use the rest of this strange ingredient before it goes off?

Answer:
Tahini is actually a very versatile ingredient that originates from Persia. It is made from roasted sesame seeds and because of the high oil content, can keep in the fridge for a long time. The sesame oil will go rancid when the paste is off and you will be able to taste it immediately.

Tahini is usually used in Middle Eastern sauces (garlic, tahini, cumin, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil) and is traditionally an ingredient of hummus (chickpea dip). Tahini can also serve as an alternative to peanut butter, although the taste and texture is quite different. Adding tahini to mushroom and chicken or cauliflower soup will give it another dimension. You can use it in stir fry, paired with sesame or peanut oil. Make a wonderful salad dressing with tahini and lemon juice and serve with sesame-coated chicken strips and crunchy lettuce.