Alex Atala is quite literally a rock star chef. A former DJ and punk musician, the tattooed Alex Atala is a Brazilian media sensation and runs what is claimed to be one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. What makes him different to many other carbon copy celebrity chefs is that he shuns high-end ingredients. He’s turning French restaurant traditions on their head and has recently taken the gourmet delights of foie gras and truffles off the menu […]
Chefs
Interviews with famous chefs and stories about them.
Thai master David Thompson in conversation
One of the most exciting chefs to be in town for the Sydney International Food Festival was the witty and erudite David Thompson. If you aren’t familiar with Thompson, the caffeine-fuelled chef is the father of Thai food in Australia and one of the main reasons that Sydneysiders have a taste for good spicy Thai food rather than creamy bland green curries. He is consultant to the one Michelin star Namh in london and is about to move to Thailand […]
Sydney food festival better than Melbourne?
Yu Bo’s Sichuan banquet at Sydney International food festival Is it possible to talk about Sydney and Melbourne without making a comparison of which is best? I think not. And so is the debate between which was the best food festival this year: the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival or Sydney. I went to both on freebies, although sponsored by NSW Tourism this trip was $$$$$$$$$$. I think Sydney wins for its focus and theming on Asia and perhaps reflecting […]
Finger-licking good: My short history of sex in cooking television shows
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEbQ5S-LHc8] Only the other night gazing out at the opera house from Quay restaurant in Sydney I had the good fortune to sit at dinner with the new improved much, much larger than life Matt Preston. Not only was I subject to his advice on all things Myf Warhurst, his pony skin R.M. Williams boots and dressing-up box chic but his stagey sexy looks. The look that stuck in my mind is when his sultry eyes gaze towards what should […]
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations visit to Melbourne
You don’t have to know much about Anthony Bourdain to know he loves Melbourne. He was back earlier this year guided around town – and down to the Royal Mail Hotel – by Matt Preston, Tony Tan and Paul Wilson. Here are the Youtube clips from what was show recently in the US. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa6gTkgIbgc] Part one: Paul Wilson while he was at the Half Moon in Brighton. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo6ic9iIUzE] Part two: Playing Trugo with Matt Preston and kebabs on Sydney Rd […]
Thomas Keller talks Tomato
Neil Perry (left), Thomas Keller and Heston Blumenthal (bald). Courtesy of the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival. On the SBS Food site you can see my story on meeting Thomas Keller at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival earlier this year. Like most chefs of his calibre, he is charming and practiced and I got a lot out of him in some 20 minutes, more than there was space for in my profile on him. I’ve included some raw quotes […]
Carry on Gordon Ramsay
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVySZsSNKmk] On the bombshell that the Herald Sun is dropping the Gordon Ramsay cookery column on Tuesdays, the craggy-faced man arrives in town and we are invited to see him pre Tracey Grimshaw. I reckon he’s wearing heel lifts in his trainers and looking a bit taller than when he was last in town, has a better hairdresser and highlights and has had a bollock-load of botox. He forehead is more wrinkled than my scrotum and frozen solid. I didn’t […]
10 minutes on local produce with Sat Bains
Outside at the Langham I finally managed to catch Sat Bains, an English chef with Indian heritage who has one Michelin star for his Nottingham restaurant and hotel. He’s big,black bald and ballsy. Plus he also swears a lot. He was one of the highlights of the many Michelin starred chefs attending the 09 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. You can read my story for SBS Food here. Sat Bains talks at full throttle: “Marco (Pierre White) made a big […]
40 exclusive minutes with Heston Blumenthal
With thanks to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. It’s 3.50 on a Friday afternoon. I’ve just finished a great meal cooked by Scott Pickett at The Point in Albert Park and his mentor the brilliant Phil Howard from Two Michelin star The Square in London as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. I can’t get a taxi to take me to The Langham where I’m interviewing possibly the most important chef in the world Heston Blumenthal who […]