“Judging Australian wine shows is the closest I’ve ever come to hand-to-hand combat.” So says wine writer Tim Atkin the Uk’s The Observer: “No one actually exchanges punches, but the verbal fisticuffs can be brutal. If you’re brought up to be polite and to consider someone else’s point of view, the bare-knuckle opinions can come as a shock. ‘I thought that wine was fucked, mate,’ a fellow judge told me after I’d advanced the claims of one particular Shiraz/Viognier blend.”
Recent posts
Vegout open day
There’s food, booze – the lot – at Veg Out in St Kilda this Sunday (29 October from 11am) which is holding it’s annual open day. I’ll be doing my best Gordon Ramsay impression on the BBQ between 2.00 and 3.00. And if you want anything too fancy you can fuck off. Actually, I’d really like to seize control of the wood-fired pizza oven but that’s another story. You’ll be able to stroll around the gardens and the borders admiring […]
The Australian: New industry takes root
Money might not grow on trees, but it certainly can appear under them, reports Ed Charles October 27, 2006 FIRST we started exporting wine to France. Now Australia could be doing the same with that most exotic of ingredients, the truffle. Prized by top chefs, the truffle is the aromatic fruit of an underground fungus — the most popular being the Tuber melanosporum, or black Perigord truffle. It sells for $1500 to $3000 a kilo, depending on quality, and is […]
Gordon Ramsay lands in Melbourne
CAPTION COMPETITION: Kylie (left) and Monique from the Tomato posse want your caption suggestions. Monsieur Truffe truffles for the winners. I’ve a bloody awful headache but it went something like this: Tomato: “My friend Neil wants to know why you didn’t just kick Marco Pierre White in the bollocks.” Gordon Ramsay: “We scrapped a couple of times times…” Tomato: “I read Marco’s book and it’s a bit crap. just settling scores and telling everybody how good he is.” Gordon Ramsay: […]
The Gordon Ramsay nightmare
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlhJF7qVcNA]
Questions for the ladies man?
I was becoming jealous of all the Gordon Ramsay tales from Sydney and thought I was missing out. It appears he is a bit of a ladies man wooing Cucina Rebecca, kissing Julia and offered a bit of Mr Darcy for Augustus Gloop. Now I’ve been unexpectedly invited to a Gordon Ramsay supper at Lamaro’s in South Melbourne by the nab private bank (no I’m not a client). This is the terrible thing, I dumped going out with Kylie on […]
INTHEBLACK: In the trenches with animal trainers
‘Come into my office.’ Now there’s an expression to make everyone’s pulse quicken. Even if your boss is a good sort, you are likely to become all defensive. ‘What have I done wrong?’ you ask yourself. In fact the adrenaline in your system has kicked in because you have become conditioned to act that way. It all started in your school days when your principal called you in for that first telling off. The feeling is the ‘fight or flight […]
Voluptous parsley: my favourite herb
Ingredients About 1kg mussels 1 onion Curly leafed parsley Slat and pepper White wine Olive oil Makes enough for two It’s great looking, vibrant green, perhaps the most voluptuous of herbs. As one of my favourite herbs, old-fashioned curly parsley is my choice for the first anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn’s Kitchen. She’s running a tally of the food bloggerati’s favourite herbs as part of her celebrations. It’s not fashionable but curly parsley is better than flat Italian […]
Lau’s Family Kitchen: hot off the press
STOP PRESS: Lau’s does now take bookings due to popular demand and a few walk in seats are kept vacant. It is worth bookiung earlier than later. Saturdays, in particular, fill up fast. A new restaurant needs to be put in context. For Lau’s Family Kitchen (4 Acland St, St Kilda 3182 +61 8598 9880) it is that dad, Gilbert that is, ran what the New York Times regards as the world’s finest Chinese restaurant. He’s sold out of Melbourne’s […]