IT’S too busy,” complains Mark Dundon the co-owner of Seven Seeds, a Melbourne-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe, which opened earlier this year. Customers are queuing and sitting around waiting for specialty espressos, and lattes and other newfangled brews. He’s not the only specialty coffee operator facing a boom in trade and a shortage of good baristas. People are replacing eating out in restaurants with coffee, and starting to look at the origins and treatments of coffee beans. That’s what […]
Recent posts
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
What really made you sick last night
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZQOEZO1n10] Restaurants are defensive of their hygene in the same way that newspapers are defensive of the accuracy of their reporting. Phone up and complain and the last thing either will do is admit liability. And nowadays when people are treated shabbily they turn to the internet. Or me. What surprises me is the number of emails and comments that come my way from diners who’ve returned home from some of Australia’s top restaurants only to fall ill. I have […]
My recipe for perfect porridge (and tight buttocks)
Warning: unsubstantiated claims follow Creamy porridge 1 measure of cheap rolled oats 1 measure milk 1 measure and a bit more water A substantial pinch of salt Cook slowly, for an hour or so. Serve with drizzled honey and milk There is one secret I want to share with you. It’s the reason I’m not the size of Falstaff – or if you are into serial TV rather than theatre in the round – Hurley from Lost. It’s the reason, […]
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 […]