Entre Tapas y Vinos - Manolete Chorizo Tasting

2/12 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: 9534 4355
Entre Tapas y Vinos

Chorizo launch? Are we launching a chorizo into space? That would be interesting. As it turns out, it was a launch for the first ever Spanish made chorizo in Melbourne. What does that mean? I always thought all the chorizos I ate was from Spain. Like the fettas are from Greece, the salamis are from Hungary and the prosciutto are from Italy. Nope, chorizos have always been made locally in Australia. I. WAS. SHOCKED. So whenever you see Spanish chorizo, it just refers to a style rather than being made from Spain. So it was exciting to try the first ever Spanish made chorizo.

The launch was held at Entre Tapas y Vinos, probably the most authentic Spanish restaurant according to a few Spanish people I've talked to. I had never been before (to Spain or Entre Tapas) so was really excited. When I arrived, I was immediately served a sangria. Love it. It was really good and I kept drinking it all night.

Throughout the night, we were going to be served chorizo in many dishes. We started with Chorizo with Apple Cider. We got to taste the flavour of the chorizo, and again I was shocked. Instead of being really salty and quite hard, this chorizo was soft, like a sausage but a bit harder. The flavours were really apparent and although I was a bit hesitant about the taste from the first bite, I quickly loved it and prefer it to Australian chorizo. The Tortilla with Chorizo was so creamy and tasted like the best toasted sandwich you've ever made with cheese oozing everywhere. The Chorizo Sandwich too was good, and I liked the flavour combination.



My favourite dish of the night was the Honey Baked Chorizo. It was just chorizo, baked with honey as the name describes. It was so good, full of so much flavour. We all tucked into the dish with gusto and lashed it up the bread. The Penne with Chorizo was also a highlight. It was so simple, yet so perfect. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, with a coating of cheesy goodness, and the chorizo scattered throughout just finishing the dish. The Beef Tenderloin Rolls with Chorizo was the only dish I didn't like. The beef was quite dry and lacked some flavour for me, with the chorizo flavour not apparent at all. When it was eaten with the spicy tomato sauce, it was better but still not great.



The Rioja Style Potatoes finished the night in a comforting mood, and the two Spanish ladies from the Spanish Trading Board of Australia said this was the most classic of all the dishes.


I had a great night, full of fun with my fellow bloggers and ate some fantastic food. My palette had been exposed to some authentic Spanish chorizo and I loved it. I don't think I would go back to eating the Australian made chorizo anymore, as these were a far superior product. It is more complex in flavour and not just salty and hot.

To find out where you can buy this chorizo, check out the link below.
Suppliers of Manolete Chorizo

To read another review of this night, check out
The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua

Thanks to Media Moguls for the invite. I dined courtesy of Manolete Chorizo and Entre Tapas y Vinos.