Giving birth to salami. Even before all my dirty pork talk on Twitter I was typecast as the salami guy. During the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival I hosted a discussion on salami with the big sausages from Don. It got messy with a late night on the town with a few of us and a couple of wide-girth extra spicy salami. Then I’m invited to the salami making day at De Bortoli in the Yarra valley with guest, fellow […]
Recent posts
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 […]
Talking to Thomas Keller
Outside the US Thomas Keller isn’t as well known as Spain’s Ferran Adria and the UK’s Heston Blumenthal. But he is one of only two chefs in the world to hold three prestigious Michelin stars for two restaurants: The French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York. And his place in the culinary history of America is firmly cemented in place by one of the simplest most accessible dishes, a tiny savoury ice cream cone (or cornet), a […]
The Abyssinian: freedom fighter food in Kensington
There’s a lot to be said for ethnic restaurants. They usually offer big, cheap hearty meals often cooked from the heart. They also often offer the chance to reacquaint oneself with monosodium glutamate, fluorescent strip lighting, surly service and dodgy lino. Then there’s The Abyssinian (277 Racecourse Road Kensington, Victoria 3031, 03 9376 8754), run by two Eritreans, which has taken the genre to another level and avoided all the crap which is why it was packed out the night […]
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 […]
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 […]
11 ways to spot a food wanker
Typical. Just as the world peaked Paul Levi, the man who had no small part in bringing us the slightly dubious word “Foodie”, launches the Gastrosexual, a man with more dazzling kitchen tools than penile length. I’ve never had much truck for foodies (although a few of you are okay). I’ve met too many who know nothing whatsoever about food. If you would like to see this variety you only have to watch Masterchef which is packed full of wannabes […]
Rock Star Chef
He looks like a rock star and has a way with women. He smokes. And he says, he likes “fiesta, party. Party, fiesta.” That doesn’t make Iñaki Aizpitarte too different from most high profile chefs apart from the fact he doesn’t have much time for the ones on TV. But what does make the difference is his new approach to cooking and ingredients. This Basque-born self confessed natural cook takes what most people would chuck into the bin without thought […]
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 […]