The answer to whether one should love or hate the Dualit toaster is a debate about toast. Are you the kind of person that wants light brown and, in my view, limp toast? Or do you want dark browned, crisp toast – the kind of toast your maiden aunt told you put curls on your head? Are you a food pornographer from the 1990s? Or a locavore and a minimalist? I guess I’m all of the above. To me there’s […]
Paraphernalia
A griddle to die for
When I arrived in my flat nearly a year ago, I brought only half a kitchen with me and had many essentials missing. I’ve been limping along with a cheffy frying pan that needs replacing and no griddle. But the early arrival of zucchinis at my plot in the Mater St Community Garden meant that I had an urgent need for a griddle before I was overwhelmed by monster vegetables. The thing is I’m in early negotiations with a sponsor […]
The cult of the wineglass
Consult a financial adviser before drinking from a Riedel. Dishwasher tablets erode your glasses and crockery. Use liquid instead. Decant heavier reds at least 8 hours before drinking. If you want to drink champagne (usually a blend of chardonnay pinot pinot meunier and pinot noir) rather than sip it, use a pinot noir glass. I’ve spent my whole life avoiding scrapes with cults. There was the incident in London on the Tottenham Court Road where, bunking off school aged 14, […]
Cibi: a cafe and a gallery by any other name
Cibi: try the green tea muffins Cibi is a cafe that thinks it’s a gallery. Actually, it is a gallery and regularly holds openings to launch the various (mainly kitchen) products it imports (mainly) from Japan. Housed in a modern warehouse building on Keele St, the Cibi space features a large open kitchen and grunge cafe mixing found objects and mismatched tables and chairs with a minimalist feel – if that makes sense. It’s the brainchild of former architecture nut […]
Crappy Miele cooktops with knobs on
See where the knobs broke. Or should that be knobs off? On the surface Miele is the brand to buy. It’s solid, doesn’t discount and sponsors most of the important food events. It is the backbone of the mobile kitchens at Prahran Market. Then why am I left so angry by my stove top? Because it is really badly designed, has plastic knobs which broke off within a few months and because it costs about twice as much as, for […]
Stuff white people like: the very special food and beverage edition
Admit it, these apply to you too. The other week Christian Lander the author of the blog and now best selling bookStuff White People Like was in town. Basically Stuff White People Like is a bit like Top Trumps for White People. I’ll trump you some Murray River Salt and an Ortiz anchovy over your iodised salt and a pilchard. The same goes for my imported Arneis ($75) over yours from the King Valley ($20). Bearing in mind the readership […]
Tell me your most useful and useless kitchen gadgets
Spot the crap stuff (and pic) in my status symbol kitchen.What kind of swamp do I inhabit? No, I don’t live in Elwood which is now merely stinking canals and is vulnerable to subsidence.I’m talking about the stinking, sticky slimy loathsome depths of depravity that my mind has sunk to meaning that I can’t even take a simple email on face value.My curt reply to his enquiries on the local food blogging scene no doubt left Michael Ruhlman, an opinionated […]
The olives that bit back
DJs: “Pitted olives is that?” Tomato:“Oh, yes that’s a wonderful idea. Pitted olives. Oh, but could you hold on the dental work?” DJs:“Excuse me sir?” Tomato: “I’d like that without $5,000 of dental work, please.” DJs: “I don’t understand.” Tomato: “It’s quite simple really. Each batch of pitted olives I buy from you features fully fledged olives complete with stones. I bit into what I assume to be a pitted olive and cracked a tooth. Kerching! The dentist wins. To […]
Update: The great Laguiole swindle.
Last week at my wine group lunch at Oyster (35 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 300 Vic +61 3 9650 0988) I couldn’t help but notice the steak knives. They have the classic shape and even the trademark bee. But sorry, these are not Laguiole but a blatant copy by Maxwell & Williams. I am very surprised that they have got away with it, or do they have a licensing deal with Laguiole? This is what the Laguiole website says: “Laguiole […]