[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 […]
Recent posts
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 […]
Tomato season means it’s time to make passata
There’s a rumour that Melbourne hospitals lay on extra staff in the Emergency Department at this time of year. Yes, it’s tomato season and given our vast migrant population, there will invariably be a few home-bottling and canning disasters. Every Italian family will be firing up boiling vats of tomatoes in the backyard, and making a day of it. Think of Looking for Alibrandi. Young and old they’ll all be there; along with food, wine, music and arguing, making the perfect […]
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 […]
What makes an award winning food blog?
A While back Stewart White from the The Food Media Club, which is renaming itself Australian Association of Food Professionals, called me to talk about launching an award for food blogs as an addition to the Food Media Club Awards. And finally he’s made it happen with the sponsorship of Australian Pork, and I attended the last a few weeks back to a packed house of mostly Sydney bloggers. Initially, I was skeptical. For as long as anyone can remember […]
Demystifying Beef
Do you know the difference between grain- and grass-fed beef? Is organic beef better? And what about how the animal is killed? Read on to find out what it all means. The range of meat supermarkets today is bewildering. At an upmarket Coles in Melbourne it is difficult to know what steak to buy let alone mince, with six different types costing from $9.50/kg for three star up to $12/kg for five star and premium veal mince and $15/kg for […]
How to make yoghurt the simple way
Making yoghurt at home is really simple and doesn’t take much science. Here we make two different styles of yoghurt using both cows’ and goats’ milk.