The most copied chef in the world isn’t necessarily one you’ve heard of. But when a chef talks about using fresh, locally foraged ingredients you can be pretty sure the influence is Michel Bras of the eponymous restaurant now run by his son Sebastien. Based in Laguiole, the restaurant is a three-hour journey from the nearest city and relies on seasonal produce from the Bras garden and ingredients indigenous to the mountains and plateau of the Massif Central in the […]
Author: Ed
First truffle of the season
It was an urgent call to action the other Friday from Prahran Market’s Twitter stream: “Stop press! Black WA truffles in an hour ago! These were in the ground this time yesterday! Damian puke (sic) mushrooms” Pretty soon I was on the tram from South Melbourne to pick up the car in St Kilda. The tram terminating at Mart 130, I marched across the Albert Park and was drenched for the first time that day to pay $60 for 15 […]
This is why I blog with knobs off
This is why I blog. To tell people stuff that they won’t find in the newspapers or glossy magazines, like the time I told you that expensive Miele cooktops are crap simply because they are badly designed. Now thanks to a house sitting stint, I can reveal that Smeg cooktops are just as bad. The problem is that the knobs sit higher than the trivets. And that means in the panic of pans rattling across the cooktop, the knobs snap. […]
The food and wine conversation on the web
The food and drink conversation on the web View more presentations from Edward Charles.
Breaking the coffee (and road) rules
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVfvo16hXvQ] So there we are, driving along minding our own business in Sal’s Fiat 500. Well, we’d reversed out of Flinders Lane illegally right next to the Police Station and then driven through the bollards into Little Collins Street. A traffic warden has the gall to bollock us. Yes, I’m afraid my sound still isn’t up to scratch but here is my second stab of talking coffee with St Ali’s Salavatore Malatesta(who funds these videos) and we have a bit […]
The Quest for Authentic Mexican
Authentic Mexican food can be difficult to find in Australia and is often mistaken for TexMex, a Texan interpretation of the cuisine. According to the food crowd, Mexican in the new emerging flavour in Australia but so far there are few restaurants getting anywhere near the freshness of authentic Mexico cuisine and escaping the clichéd tortilla smothered in stodgy, cheesy sauce. The winner of the UK version of Masterchef in 2005, Thomasina “Tommi” Miers, opened Wahaca restaurant in response to […]
In Conversation with Chez Pim
Pim Techamuanvivit, one of the most famous food blogger in the world, was in Melbourne for the Food and Wine Festival last month and she had one thing on her mind: an Aussie pie. Not just any old bakery pie but the best. And I helped her find it at the Middle Park Hotel; it was a belted Galloway, slow cooked in white rabbit ale and with a ring of bone stuffed with marrow poking out the centre. It was […]
Unsung Hero: Tripe
Tripe is controversial. Let’s face it, there’s no hiding the fact that it’s one of the four stomachs found in a cow. And stinks. Its strange looks, pale color and texture aren’t for everyone. Basically, it’s ugly to say the least. And many of us will have been scarred by poorly prepared tripe from our distant youth. The Abomasum or Reed tripe is rarely eaten as it contains a lot of glandular material. But the smooth and flat Rumen tripe, […]
Thai-riffic
As his latest ode to Thai food walks off the shelves, David Thompson talks to SBS Food about the evolution of Thai cooking in Australia. If you want to eat Thai food in Australia the place to do it has traditionally been Sydney. For a sit down meal you’ll find the food even better than Thailand where the best food is really served on the streets and in people’s home’s rather than restaurants. But now there is evidence of excellent […]