news Archive
Ortiga: Brisbane’s Iberian star
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
I’m going to keep on the Spanish theme for a bit and share with you my dining experience at Ortiga in Brisbane’s Valley district. The growing list of accolades achieved by this restaurant played a big part in my insistence that my beautiful wife invite her biggest Sydney client up for dinner here. And the [...]
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La bodega
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
The wonderful thing about food is that it can trigger your fondest memories and transport you back in time. All of our senses engage with food. And for me, the sensation is heightened when I travel. Spain is one of those destinations that leaves me craving for more, filled with amazing food, drink and culture. [...]
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New light on old Masters
Monday, March 19th, 2012
You might think that food styling is new and people like me are “so hot right now” (like Zoolander). But the reality is that we have been styling food for centuries. Since the Renaissance, artists have been using food and still-life scenes to turn a profit and pass comment on the issues of the day. [...]
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It’s a big food country
Friday, February 24th, 2012
What a start to the year it has been! Late Feb and I haven’t spoken to you guys since New Year. Tutt Tutt. As many of you may have seen on Facebook and Twitter, work has been full-on and there’s been plenty of kilometres clocked in road trips. But the best thing about road trips [...]
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“Thank you” to the people who make magic happen
Monday, December 26th, 2011
I must say that it has been a wonderful year for me. I am privileged to live in a beautiful corner of an extraordinary country. I have the bounty that nature provides available to me. I am able to express my creativity in my work and in my home. And I have a beautiful family [...]
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Let’s talk turkey: gobble gobble
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Looks great doesn’t it? And it’s always a head turner when you come to the lavishly adorned table with a bird as big as a small car, on a plate you can barely hold, with jus dribbling down your front. You can see where I’m going with this? Yes, I know that TURKEY = TRADITION [...]
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Salumi: not a bunch of boloney
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
In an age when the ham you buy usually contains more water than cured pork, it’s refreshing to see the simple things done right by people who love what they do. One such company is Salumi Australia based in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. In a short period of time, this boutique smallgoods manufacturer [...]
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Pig out: Bangalow sweet pork
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Over the years, pork has had a bit of a rough trot… Revelations into the practices of modern, industrialised piggeries paint an horrific image of breeding sows forced into confinement. Unable to move, they undergo an incessant cycle of artificial insemination, gestation, delivery and weening, never setting foot outside the stall that holds them upright, [...]
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Songs of Sapa
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Recently, I had the pleasure of dining with my most important VIP at Red Lantern in Sydney. This popular restaurant is no overnight success. It was literally built on the back of the Nguyen family who migrated to Australia following the Vietnam War. The original Nguyen restaurant Pho Cay Du opened in Cabramatta in the [...]
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Preserving traditions
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
My grandparents, Jaime and Regina Merino pictured in the foreground, emigrated to Australia from Chile in 1977. They were great teachers. Lessons were learned through example and kindness. My parents worked hard, so I spent every afternoon from kindergarten to third grade with them in their small print workshop in Rushcutters Bay. I learned how [...]
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Little love goes a long way
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
As we draw to the end of the Queensland strawberry season, let’s take five to think what this little heart-shaped berry is capable of. The Australian strawberry industry consists of over 600 growers around the country producing around 50,000 tonnes of fruit each year, ranking it in the top 20 worldwide. About a third of [...]
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Rockpool bar & grill
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Let me start by saying that this is NOT a review, but merely sharing my experience. On a recent Sydney visit for a food trade show, I invited a Sydney VIP (my Mum) to dine at one of the city’s leading restaurants run by one of Australia’s leading chefs. Niel Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill [...]
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The milky way
Friday, August 26th, 2011
You know that you have succeeded as a father when your youngest son says “For my birthday this year, can I milk a cow?” So how could I refuse a request like that? Luckily for us we live near a working dairy farm…Maleny Dairies located high in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. For four [...]
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Slow motion pictures
Friday, July 8th, 2011
Recently I was lucky enough to enjoy two pleasures at once… dinner and a show. But this one came with a twist. Every year the local branch of Slow Food holds its Film with Food night as part of the Noosa Long Weekend. This year’s showcase was Julie and Julia… so here I am blogging [...]
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Going back to where we came from
Friday, June 24th, 2011
The recent airing of the “Go Back to Where You Came From” documentary on SBS was compelling TV and it got me thinking… all of us non-indigenous Australians are migrants of one sort or another. We all came from families who wanted a better future than what they could have had in their homelands. My [...]
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Fromart: Hand-crafted cheese
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
On the weekend I attended the Brisbane Cheese Awards. Although I was unable to catch up with world-wide connoisseur, Mr. Cheese Slice himself, Will Studd, I was, however, greatly impressed with the public turnout and the quality of some of the cheeses on offer. This reminded me of another cheesy experience I had not too [...]
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Six degrees of separation
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
Come with me on a trip that spans two continents, two centuries and two small rooms as I test the theory of six degrees of separation. The idea that any two people on the planet can be linked by an average of six known acquaintances sounds ludicrous but it has stood up to all manner [...]
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My compliments to the chefs
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
What a great weekend it was if you were lucky enough to be a foodie in Noosa. The weather was flawlessly beautiful and the town provided the perfect backdrop to an event that gets better and better each year. Yes, there were celebrity chefs by the baker’s dozen. Yes, my wine glass was always half-full. [...]
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Noosa food and wine festival 2011
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
It’s that time of year again; a time when some of Australia’s best chefs converge on this little seaside village and show us just how wonderful food, and sharing it, can really be. The Noosa Food and Wine Festival is one of the premier events on the Australian foodie calendar and it’s not hard to [...]
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Down the rabbit hole!
Monday, April 25th, 2011
Easter is a fun time at our house. Obviously the kids love being on holidays and eating chocolate. And I enjoy seeing a religious tradition get wrapped up in magic and fantasy. We chase an illusory rabbit that lays brightly coloured eggs in the garden. Seafood markets brimming with customers and food bearing crosses-the modern [...]
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