Newsletter # 70 – Jenolan Caves House – Chicken Kiev
Over the course of the last year, starting with the very first newsletter, I have mentioned two of the iconic properties in The Blue Mountains. The Carrington Hotel at Katoomba and the more recent mention of the Hydro Majestic at Medlow Bath are both wonderful examples of Victorian/Edwardian design. The third property of equal stature is a hotel, Jenolan Caves House situated above the oldest cave system in the world – the World Heritage listed Jenolan Caves.
,Nestled in McKeown’s Valley on the western edge of The Blue Mountains, ‘Caves House’ as it is known, can be dated back to 1879, although the current ‘Arts and Craft’s’ Design with which we are familiar, was completed in 1926. It is important to note that Caves House was built to service one of the earliest protected natural environmental heritage sites in the world, and that was declared in 1866 by the N.S.W. Government.
Whilst tourists visited the caves from the 1840’s, accommodation was Spartan and getting to the caves was very difficult. It wasn’t until Jeremiah Wilson was appointed ‘Keeper of the Caves’ in 1867 that permanent accommodation was built to look after the ever increasing visitor numbers. A new road and frequent expansion and upgrades over the next 40 years have gifted New South Wales with one of it’s most popular visitor attractions, whether you are just a day-tripper or want to stay a while.
My earliest recollection of the caves’ was possibly the late 1950’s and definitely the 1960’s when Dad would drive our family up from Sydney. You had to start early for it was a long and slow trip; particularly the road down from Hartley. Because the journey was long, by the time you arrived most of the tours for the smaller caves were booked out and we always ended up in the Lucas, Imperial or Chifley Caves. It wasn’t till many years later that I stayed in the hotel, which meant that I could have a greater choice of tours.
Some Hotel guests would choose to stay in the hotel for the sheer ambiance and the nature walks and not worry about the caves, but that generally meant that they had visited multiple times. The private lounges; the roaring open log fires in wintertime, the creaking floorboards and not to forget the Grand Dining Room was enough to keep the hotel operating at maximum capacity. If you wanted television, room service and health spa’s this was not the hotel for you.
Accommodation venues in The Blue Mountains have certainly had their ups and downs. Classic establishments such as the three mentioned today have all gone through periods of closure and neglect with perhaps the principle reason being the changing tastes of the public. This in turn has meant that the quality of foodservice has been variable. Fortunately both The Carrington and The Hydro are thriving now.
More recently Jenolan Caves House has had to temporarily shut its doors after the access road was heavily damaged during heavy rainfall. The Hotel and road are due to re-open in early 2027 after the Hotel has completed an extensive refurbishment.
Hopefully The Chisholm Restaurant will return to its former grandeur and have food to suit.
Chicken Kiev
Chicken Kiev (or Kyiv) is a dish that appeared on many menus in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s but almost disappeared from restaurants after the big food frozen companies started tampering with the recipe. The concept of a stuffed chicken breast naturally accommodates many tasty filling options but the ‘Kiev ‘style, with garlic butter was the earliest version and today we can learn how to achieve success in its preparation. Chisholm’s Restaurant at Jenolan Caves House featured Chicken Kiev on a dinner menu back in the eighties.
Chicken Kiev origins:
The origin of many famous dishes is often disputed or shrouded in mystery. If there was such a list of dishes, Chicken Kiev would definitely be on it. Russia as we know is a big country with its own unique cuisines, but from the 18thcentury Russian chefs were heavily influenced by French haute cuisine and this marriage of cuisines introduced a greater variety of ingredients and a reinterpretation of existing dishes.
If you recall Newsletter # 2, we prepared Pojarski, a Russian dish which blended fresh butter with finely minced meat. Chicken Kiev reintroduced the now flavoured butter as a single piece stuffed inside a chicken breast. This idea could be attributed to the French chef, Careme, during his tenure as chef in court of Alexander the 1st of Russia.
Ingredients
Method
- Assemble your ingredients
- Prepare breadcrumbs by removing the crusts
- Place in food processor with blade attachment
- Process till fine consistency
- Mix together the butter, garlic, parsley and a little seasoning
- Form the butter into two small ‘logs’ and chill them in the fridge until needed
- Place a chicken breast between two sheets of plastic film
- Using your kitchen hammer gently flatten the chicken breast
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and place a log of garlic butter in the centre
- Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper
- Fold the sides of the chicken in over the butter
- Finish folding the chicken around the butter
- Repeat the process on the second breast
- Chill the chicken in the freezer for 30 minutes
- Prepare an egg wash with the milk and egg
- With the now firmed up uncoated Chicken Kiev’s carefully pass them through the flour, egg and breadcrumb in the order
- Make sure the crumb is well adhered
- Place the crumbed chicken back in the freezer for another 30 minutes
- Pre-heat your oven to 175℃
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan
- Check the temperature with a little breadcrumb
- Quickly fry the Kiev in the oil for 2 minutes, gently turning to ensure an even colour
- Remove the chicken and place in an oven dish and bake for 20 -25 minutes
- Serve on mashed potato
