gordon parkes
choclate
panforte

go straight to the recipe

Many of you will remember chef Gordon Parkes from his days at Jolly’s Boathouse and Universal Wine Bar. To say he was a naughty boy, is possibly an understatement.

Halloween, dressed in a pumpkin, even with green stockings offering diners at Mistress Augustine’s ‘trick or treat’ the trick was delicious looking chocolate dipped garlic. The diner who went for it threw up on the street and we never saw her again.

However, although I have many hilarious Gordo stories my favourite is the year, many, many years ago where he vastly improved the enjoyment of David Jones staff Adelaide on Christmas Eve, by giving them all a luscious piece of his ‘dope cookies’. I am sure they were all smiling, or asleep, but after a month of demanding Christmas shoppers I am sure it improved their last night of Christmas cheer. Ho! Ho!

We love you Gordo and I will never forget that you and Peter Reschke [D’Arry’s Verandah] sensing I knew nothing, insisted I closed Mistress Augustine’s for a night and took me to Peter Jarmer’s Riley’s Restaurant on King William Road, and showed me how to run a docket rail. Unbelievable that I survived those first years, but it was only because of friends like you, Reschke, Weiss and Papahzariakis and the boys from Possums next door. Love you Gordo!!!

AO 2 DECEMBER 2025

prepare to put in the love

prepare for a workout

340g honey
250g caster sugar
250g almonds toasted
250g hazelnuts toasted
125g glacé apricots, quartered
125g glacé peaches, quartered
100g candied mixed peel
185g flour
45g cocoa
10g freshly ground cinnamon
2g coarsely and freshly ground black pepper….optional
155g chocolate, melted
rice paper [1]

18 cm x 28 cm tin

blanched and peeled adelaide hills organic hazelnuts, then roasted in the airfryer 15 minutes @ 160°C

sounds easy!!!

Weigh the honey and sugar into a saucepan and heat stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved and it comes to the boil. Reduce the heat, and stirring constantly simmer until it reaches 105°C.

preheat oven to 180*deg;C
Weight the almonds, hazelnuts and fruit into a bowl, sift in the flour and cocoa and mix well. Line the tin with baking paper and then line the base with rice paper. Stir the melted chocolate into the honey, pour over the prepared fruit and work in. It’s a bit of a workout!

Press into the tin, and cover the top with rice paper, pressing it hard against the panforte. Bake for 20 minutes, using the baking paper, lift the panforte from the tin onto a wire rack to cool.

Cut and vac until you are ready to distribute….keeps well vacced and stored in a cool place.

whilst it is irresistible and most normal people could probably knock of a large chunk in seconds, cut it into pieces about 15 mm x 30 mm

Vary the recipe with pistachios and walnuts

[1] Rice paper can be hard to find, but always check out your local Chinese Grocer.

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