Month: August 2009

journalism

Good ideas beat all comers, but keep flexibility

IN a rapidly changing market, success isn’t just about bringing the right product to market at the right time but charting the correct course through the shifting media environment. For Geoff Hunt, who spent four years working on the launch of online print-on-demand photo book service Momento, his advantage in 2004 was that he was among the first in Australia. As such he was able to capitalise on the novelty of the service in promoting it to the media. At […]

journalism

Preserving the Australian Way

Ever wondered where salami comes from? Ed Charles spends a day learning the ropes from a family of winemakers in the Yarra Valley. Fattened on acorns, the end of three pigs Brick, Stick and Straw was always inevitable. A family meeting of the De Bortoli winemaking clan at their Yarra Valley property brought about a salami making day for winemakers, neighbours and friends and a celebration of wine and pork. On the second day of salami making, the action begins […]

Cooking

Sod local food, it’s mango season

Fresh peppercorns Two things drag me out of the local groove; mangoes and mud crab. We did the mud crab on full moon. Now it’s the turn of mango. And the fresh green pepper corns discovered at Damian Pike’s stall on the recent bloggers’ tour of Prahran market. Fresh peppercorns are a real treat. In Cambodia and India I enjoyed them – thanks to French influences in Phnom Penh and Pondicherry – with peppered steaks. But few people have bothered […]

Eat streets

101 – sorry 127 – things not to eat and drink before you die

I recently had a non-brush with death while eating what turned out not to be my last meal. It made me think of all the meals I’d wasted. A bad meal is a wasted eating opportunity. Here, with a little help from my blogging and Twitter friends, are some tips on the food and drink best avoided. I’ll be updating as more come in. And please add to the list in comments. Or, why not publish your own list and […]