Sally, and her husband Gordon, operate the Australian Regional Food Guide Web site. This comprehensive directory has been recently rebuilt and is now a great resource for everything that is happening in the regional food scene in Australia. Make sure you visit and bookmark this site. Let Sally know if you would like to receive the ARFG Newsletter too
AUSTRALIA DAY 2010
Australia Day has come around quicker than usual it seems. Last year was a particularly short year in my memory, as well as in those of most people I know. Great things happened, though, in 2009. And terrible things too.
So now, here we are again at this day which traditionally seems to divide the end of summer holidays and the beginning of the next work year.
Some people do not accept Australia Day. They believe it is not appropriate to celebrate the beginning of white settlement in this country, a land which had already, for many thousands of years, its own people. But this can be argued forever, without an answer.
Let’s today, simply celebrate this huge country – a beautiful country – and all its peoples who have come from every continent on earth to make their homes here, seeking to create a better life for themselves and a better community for us all.
Here are just a few things that make Australia special to me:
Aussie attitude – laidback, with a dry sense of humour, but friendly and welcoming.
Uluru – the massive rock that is the centre of the red centre of this country.
Sydney – it’s where I live and a city I love, with as many faces as there are people living here.
Traditions – cold beer, thong-throwing, barbies, the Grand Final, picnics at the beach, the Anzac Day march and two-up afterwards, fireworks on NYE, the Melbourne Cup. And hot Christmas pudding, even if it is 40C.
Restaurants and cafes – from home-style country ones deep in the bush to glamorous ones on the waterfront or in the city, the range of cuisines and ingredients is enormous.
Animals – in a land with such harsh conditions, Australia’s shy and often nocturnal animals are worth discovering.
Lifestyle – plenty of sun, sand, fresh air, sport, great food and wine. Who could complain?
Immigrants – the culture of this country (especially its dining) has been enriched by people from the many nations who now call Australia home.
Agriculture – the wealth of produce this country has is mind-blowing, from the cold ocean fish to rare tropical fruits.
Australia Day – the day on which Australia remembers – and looks forward!
(Click on the images below to share some of my reflections of Australia last year.)
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HOT FOOD & TRAVEL TIPS FOR 2010
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HOT TRAVEL TIPS FOR 2010
It’s the sort of question travel writers get asked a lot – ‘what’s your favourite place in the world?’ ‘What’s your favourite country?’
Even more difficult for food writers is ‘what’s your favourite food?’ or ‘which cuisine do you like best?’
These are impossible questions.
With food, it depends on my mood and how hungry I am, or (if they ask that other question: what is your favourite restaurant?) the answer will be affected by where I am and what I’m prepared to spend.
With countries or cities it’s even more complex. How do you decide between Paris and Kashgar? Should I vote for Venice or Antarctica? Tahiti or Turkey?
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The GFC hit both dining and travel hard, but the economy seems to be rebounding. It’s set to be a big year around the world. In sport alone, there’s the FIFA World Cup in South Africa; the 21st Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
So, with all this in mind – here are some of the places that I have enjoyed enormously in the last couple of years. These are my hot tips for 2010.
Biggest surprise: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Once a grimy industrial city in north-east England (www.visitnortheastengland.com), Newcastle has become a beautiful bustling metropolis with galleries and museums and a series of magnificent arched bridges over its winding river. Nearby is Hadrian’s Wall (http://www.hadrians-wall.org) built by the Romans, forever views across the greenest pastures (possibly not this month, but they were in June last year!) castles, cliff tops and more history than you could imagine. Part of my own personal history is here, and I discovered links from 160 years ago, when my great-great-grandfather and his large family emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria.
Not far south, towards the area where Captain Cook grew up, is Hartlepool. ‘Where’s that?’ I said, as many other people would. Little-known it may be, but it’s the host port for the 2010 Tall Ships Races in August and its Maritime Experience Museum and a tour over the beautifully preserved HMS Trincomalee is an absolute must. (www.destinationhartlepool.com)
Best Event: Dance Festival in Tallinn, capital of Estonia. Try to imagine 8000 dancers vividly dressed in national costumes that somehow survived many years of turmoil and Soviet occupation. We watched them celebrating music, the joy of life – and freedom, with lumps in our throats. This intensely moving spectacle, glorious in itself, is especially poignant when we consider how these people fought to keep their culture alive in hugely difficult circumstances. It was the stand-out occasion of my year. Magnificent medieval Tallinn, and Turku in Finland, will be joint 2011 European Capitals of Culture next year. (www.laulupidu.ee)
Most inspiring: Marysville, Victoria. Just last week we made a small detour on the way home from Melbourne, to see how Marysville, the community so badly burned in the Black Saturday fires in Victoria last year, is faring. To get there we passed through many kilometres of bush where the trees are sprouting a strange stress-induced regrowth. Who knows if they will ultimately survive. In the town, while there are still many tragically bare concrete slabs where houses once stood, the air is full of the sound of hammers and building equipment, as others are being constructed.
Seated under trees and umbrellas outside Fraga’s, a surviving main street café which reopened last September, we enjoyed a lovely meal and some great coffee. Many events are planned in the next few months for the region as visitors are desperately needed. While only time will heal the forests and the people, the seeds of this area’s future are definitely germinating. (www.watchusgrow.com.au)
Best City Accommodation: Ca’Sagredo Hotel, Venice, and The Langham, London. It’s that conundrum, again – how can you choose between two such places? I can’t so I’m nominating both.
Ca’Sagredo Hotel (www.casagredohotel.com) a former palazzo – now a very comfortable top-end hotel – has its foundations in the Grand Canal, perhaps the world’s most unusual and colourful main street. I could have sat at the window of our room all day and watched the water traffic and the people in gondolas and other craft pass by.
By contrast The Langham hotel (http://london.langhamhotels.co.uk/en/) is a stalwart of London’s hotel scene. It has been welcoming visitors (many of them celebs and royalty) for 140 years. Now, after an £80 million spruce-up we found it in excellent shape yet again. From our suite high up in the building we could glimpse Big Ben and the London Eye across a sea of grey slate and greyer tiled roofs and chimney-pots.
Best Country Accommodation: Summer Lodge, Evershot, Dorset. They call this land of gently rolling countryside and thatched-roof villages, ‘Hardy country’ after Thomas Hardy who loved the region. There are always places I would go back to in a moment, and this is one of them. Breakfast in the conservatory, croquet on the lawn, long walks along country lanes, an afternoon curled up by an open fire with a book – country-style luxury at its best. (www.summerlodgehotel.co.uk)
Best Train Trip: Royal Scotsman. One of the stand-out experiences of my life (not just the past couple of years) was a four-day ultra-luxury trip on this Orient-Express train through the highlands of Scotland. Day trips to castles and palaces – and distilleries, of course – then glam gourmet dining on board in the evenings. Nothing is spared, and the train is well-named. We were treated like royalty.(www.orient-express.com)
Best Nature Experience: Meeting the birds on the windswept Inner Farne Islands in north-east of England. I can’t say I enjoyed the swooping arctic terns pecking at my scalp (someone forgot to mention a protective hat) but seeing dozens of puffins and thousands more of other species nesting in this bird sanctuary, more than made up for it. I now have the utmost respect for mother seabirds. How they can feed and raise a family on a slippery cliff-edge is beyond my comprehension. (www.farneislandsboattrips.co.uk)
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If we are talking favourites – and even though you haven’t asked about my favourite airline – I have to say I am currently hooked on Emirates (http://www.emirates.com) – especially after being upgraded last year on a flight back from London to Sydney. I have to say that I could happily always travel in Emirates’ Business Class – for the first time ever sleeping in a comfy bed – in my own little cubicle with tiny mini bar and more than enough little cavities and pockets to store everything I needed for the flight. Bliss!
Well now, are armed with all this helpful stuff (it just happened to be ten tips) I hope this coming year turns out to be the perfect ’10 for us all!
Next time I’ll share my hottest food and dining finds.
HAPPY NEW YOU!
Are you thinking of making New Year's resolutions for 2010 – again? Ones which, let’s face it, we will almost certainly break, by – oh, around the end of the first week, if not sooner!
This year let's do something different.
Why not make some New YOU resolutions? Call them ‘New You Revolutions’ if you like. Better still call it an attitude realignment. You can’t break one of those!
Attitudes come out of deeply-held beliefs. Many of them are too complex to express, but here are a few that many of us share:
Belief #1. What can I do, I'm only one person . . ?
Lucky that Churchill, Florence Nightingale, Fred Hollows and Gandhi didn't say that. Where would millions have been if Mother Theresa had sat back in her home village, in what was then Yugoslavia, and said "Well, it's quite obvious that I can do nothing. I am only a woman."? And would we be as comfortable today in Australia if individual young men and women had not battled sixty-plus years ago in mud and jungle to win us safety? Bryce Courtenay in his brilliant novel The Power of One has six year old Peekay say, "Small can beat big if you have a plan." One can beat a multitude too.
Belief #2. I'm getting older. Life is passing me by.
Over four hundred years ago Cervantes said: "As a man thinks, so does he become. Every man is the son of his own works." Think old - you'll be and act old. Think useful, and you will be. Mid-life often brings us more than wrinkles. It can affect our teeth, our eyesight and bring on many aches and pains that we never knew we had – or it can build on the wisdom and experience of the life we’ve already lived, enabling us at last to really contribute to our world. The choice is ours. Reactive people use 'I can't. He made me do it. That gets me angry. That's just the way I am!' Proactive behaviour makes no excuses – just gets in and does something about the problem.
Come to the edge, he said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came.
He pushed them, and they flew.....
Guillaume Apollinaire (19th-century French poet)
Belief #3. I'm not much good.
Cellulite? So what! 'Laugh-lines'? Who's laughing? Certainly not the person who's finding them. But try to forget those external things. Carl Jung a prominent twentieth century psychiatrist and psychologist once said:
"Who looks outside dreams; who looks insides wakes." Sometimes looking at the outside is more like a nightmare – but I need to value myself for what I am inside.
Belief #4. The world is full of greedy, angry, selfish people, out for themselves alone.
True? Yes – and no. It is also full of sad, hurting, nervous, gentle, loving, needy people too. It all depends on how we look at them. If I lend you my glasses, you might see the world quite differently, because my lenses are ground to suit the special needs of my own eyes. Your glasses would not suit me. Does that make what we see any different? Of course not – but it sure alters the way we react sometimes.
Belief #5. As the saying goes, 'Life's a bitch, and then you die’.
Goethe, that great German poet, did not believe that. "This life is the childhood of our eternity," he said. Being a child can be difficult – learning, changing, being disciplined unfairly sometimes – but it makes us the sort of grown-ups we will become. The great thinker, Hazrat Inayat Khan, said: "Life is what it is, you cannot change it, but you can change yourself."
A New You? What better way to start a New Year.
MAKE IT HAPPEN: A CHANGE A DAY
Find some paper and note down some changes you want to make. If they are large changes (lose weight, get a job) break them up into smaller changes and then tiny steps. Find the prettiest, brightest, happiest calendar you can – one with big boxes for each day and write one small change into each square. Tick each one, boldly – triumphantly – at the end of the day.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
Quite truthfully, I am never happier than when I have a book in my hands. As a child it was my most favourite gift. Still is.
Right now, I have so many wonderful ones to share before we spend our Christmas money, but I’ll be brief so you can head out and buy them!
In most cases these lovely brand-new books have been sent to me by publishers (thank you, all) but I could never recommend a book unless I wanted others to enjoy it as much as I have.
The real test of my opinion of them is this: I am not giving any of the following books away. Each will find a place on my overcrowded bookshelves and I can be sure they will be reread or referred to often.
Mexicali Rose,
Hands up if you wouldn’t care if you never ate Mexican food again.
It seems many Australians are distinctly underwhelmed by this cuisine. Some of the problem is to do with the fact that many of us have never been to Mexico. It is not on our border. We have not had exposure to it. Our ‘Mexico’ – our exotic, spicy, colourful near-neighbours –are, after all, Vietnam and Thailand, and we are joyously familiar with these foods.
Problem #2 is that the ‘Mexican’ food we find in many fast food establishments is not really authentic.
We know this for a fact because another group of people who do not eat Mexican food in Australia are those that have been to Mexico. They know that the fiery, over-chillied, salty, greasy food which passes for ‘mexican’ (small-m Mexican if you like) is not at all mainstream in Mexico.
Due to harsh reality, much real Mexican food has a default setting of ‘budget’. In many recipes, rice, corn and beans plump out modest amounts of meat to deliver substantial meals to large families. A discreet sprinkle of chilli and spices – a little cheese – adds flavour. Herbs, tomatoes and vegetables give colour and texture.
Lori Horton, the author of Mexicali Rose, grew up in Australia but in a Mexican atmosphere. Here family owned a string of Mexican restaurants in Melbourne, and it was there she learned the tricks and recipes she now shares in this book, named for their restaurant. It’s rich menu, vibrant with full-page pictures, tips and extra notes.
Now it is possible to find out how to make everything from frozen margaritas to Mexican meatballs, chocolate-rich chicken mole (pronounced moh-lay) to crumbed cheese jalapeno balls for your next party. And so much more.
There’s even the recipe for a Christmas drink – a sort of south-of-the-border rum-enhanced eggnog, called rompope. Who cares how that is pronounced!
by Lori Horton, published by New Holland Publishers, 2009, www.newholland.com.au, hardcover, rrp A$29.95.
Luke Mangan – at home and in the mood,
I am lucky enough to have eaten hundreds of restaurant meals, prepared by scores of chefs. But it is only occasionally that a someone’s food will make my eyes pop open; only once in a while that I am hit with the realisation that ‘this person is really thinking about what he or she is doing. They are experimenting. They are not afraid. They really knows what they want to achieve with their food!’
Sadly, I could count the number I have said that about and I could name them all. Of course Luke Mangan is one. I ate his food first at Hotel CBD in Sydney many years ago, and even then his rare talent stood out in lights.
Now he is the owner-chef of Glass Brasserie at Sydney's Hilton Hotel. He owns and runs South Food + Wine in San Francisco, Salt in Tokyo and has just opened The Palace in Melbourne.
It doesn’t hurt that he is media-savvy and has a ton of marketing ideas, and that he has kept learning and honing his skills as this book shows. Yet the key to Luke’s ultimate success is his innovative ‘take’ on dishes, and his sure-footed technique and understanding of what will and won’t (as well as what can’t and shouldn’t) work in a dish.
Michel Roux (yes, the Chef Roux) from The Waterside Inn in the UK, says in the Preface to this book: ‘After more than forty years of working in kitchens and training many hundreds of young chefs, very few have left an indelible imprint of their natural gifts, discipline and exemplary attitude. Luke Mangan is one such talent.’
So in this knockout book, released, oh-so smartly just in time for Christmas, Mangan lets us in to the food he loves to cook at home when he is surrounded by friends and family, away from the salamanders and staff of his workplace.
So what does he eat? It’s hugely comforting to know that Luke Mangan likes a simple toasted sanga – albeit buffalo mozzarella, bacon and mushrooms at Chez Mangan. Even better to have him demystify dozens of other seemingly complex dishes in straightforward non-cheffy language.
Dean Cambray’s sumptuous photography is the perfect adjunct. His pictures are so tight and clear that you can count the sesame seeds sprinkled on a wok-fried calamari or sense the wobble of a chai pannacotta. Best of all, though, between them, especially with Mangan at hand, you get the feeling you really can serve up something pretty closely approximating what’s on the page. Including the raspberry soufflé.
Especially as Luke Mangan himself calls it ‘never fail’.
by Luke Mangan, published by New Holland Publishers, 2009, www.newholland.com.au, hardcover, rrp A$59.85.
On a Shoestring,
Samela Harris, Wakefield Press, 2009 (www.wakefieldpress.com.au) 2009, paperback rrp. A$24.95
This book’s subtitle ‘recipes from the House of the Raising Sons’ gives a hint of its practical, light-hearted approach.
Author and mum, Samela Harris says, “If real men don’t eat quiche, real mums don’t stuff quail”.
Now at the Adelaide Advertiser, Samela Harris worked as a journalist in London and Edinburgh and spent five years as an organic market gardener in Surrey, England. Back in Australia, her bountiful shoestring budget meals became the core of a secure environment for her sons, and the increasing numbers of their friends who kept ‘hanging around for meals’.
It’s a fun book lightened by funny cartoons and witty writing, but with seriously good recipes.
Everything but the Squeal, a year of pigging out in northern Spain,
John Barlow, paperback, Wakefield Press, 2009 (www.wakefieldpress.com.au), rrp A$24.95
This is one of the best books I have read this year. John Barlow, may be a self-confessed glutton, but he is also a gifted food writer.
Some might call his mission – a vow to eat everything but the squeal of a pig – a meat-lover’s dream. His vegetarian wife certainly thought otherwise! As Barlow roams misty Galicia in northern Spain he documents his quest, which is not entirely difficult in this pork-loving corner of the country. During the year he unearths traditional recipes, baulks at the idea of some, and generally enlarges the reader’s understanding of just how rich and versatile an animal the pig is!
Apart from this it is a quirky intimate introduction to a little-known part of Spain.
Sicilian Food, recipes from Italy’s abundant isle,
by Mary Taylor Simeti, paperback, Wakefield Press, 2009 (www.wakefieldpress.com.au) rrp A$29.95.
I have just finished reading Bitter Almonds, another of Mary Taylor Simetis’s books about food in Sicily, her adopted home. What was intended to be a one- or two-year interlude turned out to be a lifetime. In 1964 she married Antonio Simeti, an agricultural economist and together they run an organic farm near Palermo.
Perhaps no one is better equipped than Simeti to lead a written food tour of Sicily. It’s all here – the history, vivid explanations, and of course the over 100 authentic recipes that blend flavours from the many cultures that have overtaken then passed on from this magical island.
Her depth of research ensures that this classic book will become my ‘go-to’ whenever I need a definitive answer on Sicilian food.
And the Love is Free, mum - a life with recipes,
Jules Clancy, Boolarong Press, 2009, rrp. A$29.95. Available from: www.thestonesoup.com
It’s not often I need tissues when reading a cookbook, but I did with this one. Jules Clancy’s mother, June, died suddenly in August 2007. This book is a tribute to a mum who gave so much to her family, died too soon, and yet left a legacy of memories, many of them to do with food.
Jules, herself a photographer and food stylist, has brought together the family’s favourite dishes, traditional Australian ones such as super slow roast leg of lamb, pavlova or Christmas cake, with reflections on each, paired with mouth-watering pictures, and some touching notes about her mother’s life.
In Jules’ own words she has self-published the book ‘to celebrate the beautiful life of my Mum and share our family’s collection of simple, no-fuss Australian recipes.’
Manna From Heaven, cooking for the people you love,
Rachel Grisewood, Allen & Unwin, 2009, hardcover, rrp. A$59.95.
I’m pinching myself! I have been a fan of UK-born Rachel Grisewood’s chocolate crunch – the genesis of her business – for as long as I have been going to farmers’ markets where Manna From Heaven (www.mannafromheaven.com.au) has a stand. I’m sure I am one of many who pretend each time they don’t know how good it is and take a generous offer of a ‘sample’.
This is just one of dozens of recipes in a book that is beautiful enough for the coffee table – but my guess is it will remain permanently in the kitchen.
Grisewood is founder and master baker of the aptly-named bakery and fine food purveyor, Manna From Heaven. This special book reflects Rachel’s vivid, colour-laden life and persona.
It’s bright, beautiful, unconventional, (think, chocolate tarts with lavender caramel) but best of all, just like those samples, amazingly generous, She not only invites us plunder her recipe notebooks but gives us tips on how to make each morsel. Manna from heaven, indeed.
Congratulations to Rachel Grisewood! Manna From Heaven has been announced as the Australian winner of the 'Best Innovative Food Book' category in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The winners in each country now compete in their category for 'The Best in the World', to be announced on 11 February 2010 at theatre Le 104, at the Paris Cookbook Fair.
Buon Ricordo,
Armando Percuoco & David Dale, Allen & Unwin, hardcover, 2009, rrp. A$65.
Neapolitan Armando Percuoco’s CV says it all. Born of a family of cooks, he began training at 14. After arriving in Australia in 1972, he opened his first restaurant in 1979. Thirty years later Buon Ricordo (appropriately the name translates as ‘fond memory’) is a benchmark Italian restaurant in Sydney.
Now this eponymous book collects some of Percuoco’s best recipes, stunningly photographed, wide-ranging and exciting, yet expressed simply so that the home cook can experience those magical words at a dinner party ‘did you really make that?’.
“I may be doing myself out of a job,” says Armando in his foreword, “but I want to remove the mystique from restaurant food.”
In this book, I believe he both manages to do that with aplomb, but also ensures that even more people will plan to enjoy his food at Buon Ricordo, the restaurant.
Congratulations to Armando Percuoco and David Dale! Buon Ricordo has been announced as the Australian winner of the 'Best Italian Cuisine Book' category in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The winners in each country now compete in their category for 'The Best in the World', to be announced on 11 February 2010 at theatre Le 104, at the Paris Cookbook Fair.
OCTOBER BOOKSHELF
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FORBIDDEN – DO NOT OPEN
That could be the title of this disturbingly addictive book. Think of it as a coffee table book without the pretty pictures. Forbidden Places – An unusual
exploration of a forgotten heritage, is the result of 10 years of work
during which Sylvain Margaine travelled the world in search of abandoned and forgotten places. It is an exceptional photographic report.
As I turned the pages, mesmerized by the ‘warts and all’ honesty of the pictures, I found the filming location of 12 Monkeys, Michael Jackson’s
hometown turned ghost town, Berlin’s 1936 Olympic Village, deconsecrated
churches, forgotten castles, deserted train stations, prisons and mental
asylums, a cemetery of rusted locomotives, abandoned steel factories,
phantom underground stations, and more.The publishers have already made a name for themselves with a collection of 'Secret guides' to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, the French Riviera, London, Paris (and another on bars and restaurants in Paris), Provence, Rome and Tuscany, with more to come.
They have also put together books on unusual hotels of the world, as well as UK and Ireland, another on unusual nights in Paris as well as unusual shopping in Paris.
Forbidden Places is the first of a series of off-beat larger book. Stay tuned!
Forbidden Places, Jonglez Publishing, 2009, rrp £29.99 (www.jonglezpublishing.com)
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WILD AND WONDERFUL
Those who know me realise that although I love cooking in general, it is baking that really grabs my imagination. And if I refine it even more then I am absolutely enamoured by bread-making. And if we zone in even further, let’s admit that of all breads, the ones that fascinate me most are sourdoughs.
Sourdough baking is like playing music without an instrument; painting without a canvas. One of the most important elements of bread making is missing, or at least invisible, as sourdough relies on the flour and air to summon up the wild yeast spores which will ultimately raise your loaf of bread.
It’s pure magic – the spooky end of baking, if you like.
So fascinating is it to me that as soon as I received this book I couldn’t stop until I had read every page. It was soon obvious that Yoke Mardewi, the author, not only knows how to m ake the best (and most varied) sourdoughs I have ever seen, but she teaches classes in her hometown of Perth, WA and her instructions and explanations are extensive and in-depth.
My problem is where to begin. Do I make a potato, olive and sage sourdough first, or maybe a loaf of bitter chocolate, cranberry and pistachio? Dark rye spelt, or fetta and chilli? Or wa-a-ay out – sourdough pizza or a sourdough chocolate cake?
Wild Sourdough – the natural way to bake, Yoke Mardewi, New Holland Publishers, 2009, rrp $29.95.
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COOK LIKE A WORLD-FAMOUS CHEF
A couple of weeks ago I attended a book launch at Tetsuya’s eponymous restaurant in Sydney. This was not just any old book launch, though. Tetsuya himself was being celebrated too, as well he should be, because the book, Great, Grand & Famous Chefs and Their Signature Dishes includes him and his famous confit of ocean trout.
This large book traces the story of the 20th century’s most famous chefs, beginning with the incomparable Antonin Caréme and the roots of French cuisine. In doing so it provides the reader with an understanding of how modern cooking came about by describing the forces that drove them to push the boundaries of cooking in ways their predecessors would never have imagined.
Great, Grand & Famous Chefs and Their Signature Dishes is not a recipe book as such, although there are twenty great, grand and famous chefs’ signature recipes in it. The dishes are used to focus on the personality of each chef, and in a brief biographical essay the reader is led to an understanding of why it was Paul Bocuse who succeeded Point as the most famous chef in the world, or how a near-fatal plane crash was the seed of Alain Ducasse’s vast culinary empire. There are many surprising stories – for example, that Raymond Blanc began his cooking career after being hospitalised by a chef wielding a copper frying pan.
OK, let’s face it, there’s no guarantee that reading this book, or even attempting the recipes, will make me or any other reader great, grand or even famous, but it should certainly help us to respect the industry, talent and – yes – genius, that has seen these twenty great chefs attain their status.
Great, Grand and Famous Chefs and Their Signature Dishes, Fritz Gubler, 2009, rrp $49.95, www.greatgrandfamous.com
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COFFEE TIME!
When did Australia turn into a coffee-loving nation? When did you? When did I?
I was raised on tea, but somewhere – somehow – that rich, fragrant, dark and golden brew took me over, and now although I only have one cup of coffee a day, it is a really good coffee and I take pride in making it well with my little home espresso machine.
However there are clouds on my coffee horizon. My very basic machine is spitting a bit and croaking occasionally and I know before too long I will have to look around for a replacement. This was worrying me until the other day I met up with my old friend Sean Edwards who gave me a copy of his latest book, a glossy magazine-style guide to just what to look for in a home coffee machine, and how to use it to its best advantage.
I like the word ‘home’ in the title. This is not a industry guide for baristas and café owners. This is for me, and Sean is well-equipped to write this. He is a consultant to cafes throughout the state, has a trade journal, Café Culture Magazine, and makes a mean coffee himself. Of course.
I’m not quite ready to buy a new machine, but the book is not all about that anyway. There’s all the basics – dosing, tamping, extraction – which I will review to make sure I am on course with my coffee-making. And then there’s the ‘next step’, which I’d love to attain – latte art, those snazzy little patterns the real baristas finish my coffee with as a matter of course.
Drop round sometime, by then I might be able to do you a flat white with a real double rosetta.
The Home Coffee Machine Review, Sean Edwards, 2009, rrp $24, www.cafebiz.net
WALK ON AUSTRALIA’S WILD SIDE
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Each spring I become terribly homesick. It’s many years since I enjoyed this season in my home state of Western Australia but something about the lift of the air after winter makes me yearn for the wildflowers of the west.
You can see why they call these flowers 'wild'. Step off the road, almost anywhere in the state and within a few metres you can encounter spider orchids, kangaroo paws, donkey orchids and cowslips. Not to mention slug orchids, bug orchids, pink bunny orchids and cat's paws. There's a whole zoo out here, it seems.
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In spring – the best time is from mid-September through October – Western Australia's bush comes alive, and you don't have to go far to see it. Kings Park overlooking the Swan River and Perth, the capital, and covering over 400 hectares, still has some virgin bush and walking tracks as well as a ten hectare botanical garden. The Kings Park and Botanic Garden Wildflower Festival (www.kingsparkfestival.com.au) runs until Monday September 28, 2009. This annual event showcases WA’s spectacular wildflowers with display gardens, demonstrations, workshops, live entertainment, art and craft and fun for the whole family.
For those with little time to tour further afield, a specifically designed Perth wildflower trail will take visitors to several national parks, including Yanchep National Park and John Forrest National Park, around the Perth Hills and to Rottnest Island.
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Head for the bush, if you can, and just a few kilometres from the centre of the city you will find yourself surrounded by a natural garden. There might be orange and yellow egg-and-bacon bushes, bushy red bottlebrushes, enamel orchids glossed improbably blue and purple, gaudy red and green kangaroo paws looking as if they are cut with pinking shears from felt, and leschenaultia, covered with brilliant blue flowers like bits of crashed sky.
Magically, it seems, everywhere the winter-drab bush has been transformed into a ready-made public park.
Further north, towards Geraldton, or inland around Moora, as the land flattens, never-ending hectares of everlasting daisies, rustling their pink and white and yellow paper skirts, shimmer off to a pastel horizon under a squawking rainbow of budgerigars and brilliant parrots. It seems as if the whole of nature has gone mad with colour.
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Albany and the Stirling Ranges, about 400 kilometres south of Perth, have walking and hiking trails, gobsmacking views, orchids and boronia and many unusual flowers, some of which originated in South Africa. If you’re keen to take a tour around the Ranges, the Stirling Range Retreat runs Hidden Treasure Orchid and Wildflower Tours, from September 1 to October 31. (www.stirlingrange.com.au)
Around the western goldfields (Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie) there are 60-70 different kinds of flowering eucalypts. Fitzgerald River National Park, near Hopetoun, contains almost half the orchids in WA, 70 of which only occur in this area. The Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show (www.wildflowersravensthorpe.org.au) is held each September, as is the Kojonup Wildflower Festival (www.kojonupvisitors.com/en/Wildflowers).
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Most people only associate Margaret River with its famous wines but, interestingly, this region forms part of one of only 34 internationally recognised biodiversity hot-spots in the world, with more than 150 orchid species and 2500 or so wildflower species alone. To help visitors identify some of them, the Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association has employed specialist guides and this year will run daily tours from September 15 to October 29. (www.margaretriver.com)
Close your eyes anywhere in the West and spring is still with you. There is a bouncy feel to the air, and your nose tingles from the fluffy yellow scent of wattle, the honey-buzz of gum blossom, and the unique perfume of bundles of brown and yellow boronia from the south coast, which used to be sold on street corners in Perth. Even the earth smells moss-moist and wholesome.
WA has around 12,000 species of wildflowers – more than any other state in Australia – and each year hundreds of thousands of visitors go bush to see what the fuss is all about. They are never disappointed.
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Even if you're not a nature lover to start with, a walk on the wild side will soon convert you. If, that is, 'wild' means flowers, and the 'side' of the continent is the West.
The 2009 wildflower season, which extends from the far north and then sweeps south, has been a bumper so far one thanks to heavy rains around the State.
For more information, visit wildflowerswa.com. This website is the one-stop shop for all information on WA’s wildflowers and includes an updated ‘wildflower watch’, information on self-drive, and walking trails, and wildflower events.
PICKING OF WILDFLOWERS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
SCALLOPS AND URCHINS, ALIVE, ALIVE-O
A tiny North Island New Zealand town triples its population every year when it hosts a festival in celebration of a tiny bivalve.
This spiny mass in a bucket seems to have the locals excited. I move closer and stifle a shudder. The sign says whole kina but someone is hacking off the tops of these sea urchins and serving out their creamy innards with a spoon into plastic pots. It’s a Kiwi thing, obviously. Fact is only Maori people can collect this semi-rare delicacy.
And while the queue grows, the funny thing is, this isn’t what the festival is all about. I am at the annual Whitianga (pronounced FIT-ianga, WH should be said as if it is an F in New Zealand) Scallop Festival. Or should that be Whestival? I attended last year, but this annual fixture is on again in a couple of weeks time, from 26th - 30th August 2009.
Whitianga on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island is on the delightfully scenic Coromandel Peninsula in the Bay of Plenty area, visited by James Cook as he passed through in 1769. He said he was tracking the transit of Mercury. My guess is he was mesmerised by the beauty of 
the place. And the seafood. Well, would you blame him for forgetting the planets and kicking back with a platter of scallops and a cold drink, admiring the view?
We learn how to open them – mind those fingers! – and later taste them too. They are magnificent!
And for those that like a few carbs with their seafood, the paella tent is a focal point too.
There are certainly plenty of people here, the organisers expect around 10,000 each year and it often sells out ahead of time. And – you guessed it – there are plenty of scallops to go round. A hundred thousand of them is the conservative estimate. But how do you stop at just ten?
It’s also an excellent chance to sample the local wines. Hmmmm! How about a wine tour tomorrow?
Not only scallops of course, the various restaurants and producers set up their mobile kitchens and stands and serve tastes and meals of everything from fish and chips, mussels and oysters – to well, more scallops!
http://www.scallopfestival.co.nz
www.whitianga.co.nz
SAVANNAH – SOUTHERN BELLE
By night, River Street, Savannah, Georgia, is pumping. We eat there one evening and it’s busy with people strolling or pausing to read menus posted at the open doors of restaurants so they can make a decision. For there is plenty of that needed. This street has a slew of eateries – an oyster bar, a ‘shrimp factory’, Cajun places and others doing seafood, grills, a tavern, even a Ben & Jerry’s. One place, Bernie’s, boasts it does ‘the best bloody Mary in town’.
Maybe. We choose Huey’s Restaurant instead and gorge on a Cajun platter that has it all: jambalaya, gumbo, cornbread, and etouffee (spicy crawfish) spooned over red rice and beans. We nearly burst, but hell, honey, we’re in the South!
Afterwards, still soaking up the lively atmosphere, passing galleries and boutiques accommodated in buildings which were once warehouses and stores we wander several blocks back to our hotel, the high-sounding and decidedly elegant President’s Quarters, a little further east. The US is like that, they tell you ‘go south, then take the second turn west…’ which works well here as Savannah was the first city in North America to be planned around a system of squares.
The nine blocks of this cobbled street, River Street, lives up to its name, matching the course of the Savannah river. In days gone by it was busy too. Cotton has always played a part in the success of this city founded in 1733. The port was essential for its shipment, but not everyone knows that very early on, in 1735, it was also the first place in the USA from which silk was exported. Savannah also hosted Georgia’s first horse race (1740) but balanced this decadence by having America’s first Sunday School and the first English hymnal. Someone hands us a page of Savannah ‘firsts’ to read, so it is no surprise to see that the first steamship to cross an ocean was – the SS Savannah.
Two centuries ago the cries of crews on the trade-boats plying the river by day and their drunken singing at night would have kept this city active. Little is changed, it seems. We are told ‘the first thing people ask you in Atlanta is where did you go to school? In Macon (a city roughly halfway between Atlanta and Savannah) what church do you go to? But in Savannah, it’s what do you want to drink?’”
River Street the next morning is a different story. We catch it just waking after the busy night, shutters going up, front stoops being swept. That’s what they call them hereabouts in the South. Stoops not steps. They have porches too, with swings on them, just like the movies.
“She’s a pioneer woman,” we are told, but later I learn she had a name, Florence Margaret Martus, well-known at the start of last century for waving to the trade ships. Legend has it that she did this for forty years, unhinged by longing to see her lost love, perhaps. Who was said to be a sailor, vanished all those years before.
Others say she simply loved to wave to the ships and it is estimated 50,000 vessels were welcomed to the city by her fluttering handkerchief. We photograph her statue with the three-kilometre cable-stayed Talmadge Bridge (or Great Savannah Bridge) in the background, just as a refurbished paddle steamer passes. Florence would have loved all this too, I reckon.
Beautifully refurbished and decorated riverboats still ply the water today so you can (and should) hop on one for a dining or sightseeing tour that lets you see Savannah as people did for many years.
Later, exploring the city, we pass elegant antebellum mansions (that’s pre-Civil War homes dating from around 1854) standing like extras for Gone With the Wind. We half expect to bump into Rhett Butler or Scarlett O’Hara or move over on the road to allow a horse-drawn carriage rather than a Winnebago to pass. Instead there are billboards exhorting us to ‘keep Georgia peachy clean’.
There are signs for boiled peanuts too, and we stop to sample them at a roadside stall on the outskirts of Savannah, unable to imagine quite what they are like. It appears they’ve been boiled in their shells in salty water, so they are soft and savoury, rendering the nuts like big boiled beans, which indeed peanuts are. The stall-holder scoops them out of a vat, drains them and fills a bag for us. He squints at us unsurely when we say we have never eaten them before.
“Nev-er?” he says with disbelief, wagging his head. “Wah-ll, y’ahll take care now!” Seems everyone in the South says that, as if it’s a little unsafe hereabouts.
Once it was, of course. We still pass Confederate flags with their circlet of thirteen stars flapping from houses and flagpoles. Some bloody battles were fought in this area, beginning with the Revolutionary War’s Siege of Savannah in 1779, and continuing with several bloody Civil War battles in late-1864.
Savannah, Georgia's seaport, fours hours’ drive east of the capital, Atlanta, stands at the mouth of the Savannah River which separates this state from South Carolina to the north. You could easily forget what you were here for in this gracious city full of museums, historic forts, parks and mansions. Most of the old part of the city is designed around a series of 'squares', cool oases of trees and flowers, spiked occasionally with a memorial or a cannon to remind you that this city was blockaded in the Civil War before finally surrendering to General Sherman in 1864.
The most impressive open space is Forsyth Park, with its stunning central fountain. Its size (one mile around) makes it an ideal joggers’ course. There are many others though: seven of them just blocks from each other – as well as the Colonial Park Cemetery where many tourists drop in to see the graves of the many Revolutionary war heroes who are buried there. Perhaps it is no accident that Savannah is said to be the US’s most haunted city. There is even a nightly ‘Hauntings Tour’ you can join.
Forest Gump’s famous concrete bench once stood in Chippewa Square but you can see it now, as well as one of Johnny Mercer’s Oscars, in the Savannah History Museum.
The city's joggers and dog-walkers know the real worth of these cool havens, though, and the huge trees dripping pale green Spanish moss add an ambience impossible to create with bricks and mortar. This greenish-grey moss gives a faintly gothic appearance to parks and forests in the south. Unbelievably it belongs to the same family as pineapples, yet unlike mistletoe it does not destroy its host tree. Technically it’s an ‘air-plant’, deriving nutrients from the atmosphere alone.
Savannah's original builders and this century's restorers have worked hard to rival nature, though. A wealth of old houses, smocked with iron lace, some primly painted, others bright with colour are a testimony to community action. Half a century ago seven women, concerned that many old homes were being felled by developers, formed the Historic Savannah Foundation and listed around 2000 homes that should be saved. Together they set about arranging for their rehabilitation.
Little wonder that this gracious city with its respect for history has been called ‘the most beautiful city in North America’ by France’s Le Monde newspaper.
Best way to see it all is to take a trolley tour past the splendid mansions and row houses, the squares and Savannah’s restored city market. You’ll see the clapboard Pirates House, now a restaurant, whose timbers must have shivered when it was an inn for seafarers (and worse) in the 18th century. You will trundle past Factors Walk where merchants once stored bales of cotton, now a trendy shopping precinct, and the Cotton Exchange which determined world cotton prices for a hundred years in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Other tours take visitors past some of the many remaining defenses – Fort Jackson, Fort Macallister, Fort Screven and Fort Pulaski – or to nearby marshland islands and lighthouses.
A half hour or so from the city, past Thunderbolt, a picturesque shrimping village, the Low Country inlet of Sail Harbour lies lushly fringed by pale marsh grasses. It is peaceful today but had its moment in the sun over a decade ago when the 1996 Olympic yachting events were centred here. While events for the larger yachts were held offshore, all around Wassaw Sound the fishing and private boats in the Sail Harbour marina had to squeeze up plenty for the spectators of the smaller boat events. In town, an Olympic Games monument has been erected on the waterfront as a tribute to Savannah’s involvement as the yachting venue for the XXVI Olympiad.
A decade-plus on, Georgia has settled back to normality after the Games. It has moved on too from being known as the setting for John Berendt’s 1994 best-seller, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Locals now call it, simply, ‘The Book’.
'Georgia, Georgia.' You can't travel around this state without that bluesy song popping up from time to time. I find myself humming it as we drive through forests submerged in kudzu, an introduced plant-pest that is literally swallowing the south. And fast – it can grow 30 centimetres a day. I sing it too as we watch the sun set over the Savannah river; it popped out as we sampled those hot boiled peanuts.
I can't help myself. That is what Georgia does. It gets on your mind.
And while we don’t fall in love with those peanuts – I guess they are just an acquired taste – we still finish them before we leave the state.
Savannah, though, that’s different. Love at first sight, it was, Mr Butler, sir.
INSTANT SEA-CHANGE
A place in the country – aaah, your friends go, picturing crisp frosty mornings and open fires at night. What’s the address, they ask next, and you know what they’re thinking. They’ll be down for a visit. Soon.
But a sea-change (or tree-change, or whatever other change you call it) is not for everyone. Many of us have city jobs and commitments.
What’s more while that place in the country – or at the beach, or in the mountains – may sound romantic and restful, the chances are if it’s a weekender, you are likely to spend those weekends away fixing things, cleaning up, and working harder than you would at home. Suddenly you have two houses to maintain.
If that’s the case it’s time for a ‘mini-change’.
Why work hard when all you really want is a place to stay and play? Why not choose your hideaway spot, then book into somewhere glamorous and gracious where the hosts will spoil you rotten?
Here are a few places in New South Wales which I can highly recommend, having stayed there recently:
I could hardly believe it when my hosts told us their property was just five minutes from the sprawling tablelands town of Armidale with its schools and churches. It was. But then sitting on a cane chair on the wide verandah and looking at the expanse of lawns it still seemed impossible.
Inside, a side table in the lofty great hall stood ready with port and chocolates. What luxury. I felt truly ‘to the manor born’.
'Palmerston' was built in 1911 and painstakingly restored. Our room, one of seven, turned out to be immense, with snowy covers on the bed, and a five-star ensuite. But if we thought that was good, the healthy home-cooked breakfast the next morning in the sunny drawing room was even better.
Only thing left to do was to wander to the winery and taste the Peterson’s wines.
Peterson’s Armidale Winery & Guesthouse, 345 Dangarsleigh Road, Armidale, NSW. petersons_armidale@bigpond.com www.petersonsguesthouse.com.au Phone 02 6772 0422.
The views from these aptly named stone cottages really do seem to go on forever. Owner and builder Kyle Wallace has poured his talent and creativity into crafting these exquisite places – several cottages along the ridge, with another to come, as well as a pool
Nothing has been missed in making these truly exceptional places – ours had an inviting spa bath, a deep and comfortable lounge, and a kitchen as well-equipped as any city apartment, and laundry. I could have moved right in and felt totally at home
The Canowindra region is often called Australia’s ‘hot air ballooning capital’ and you can see why floating over the patchwork of paddocks, vines and hillsides would be such an uplifting experience. Although, given the comfort of these cottages, I reckon you could be forgiven for simply kicking back on the deck with a chilled drink and watching them drift over.
Everview Retreat, 72 Cultowa Lane, ‘The Vines’, Canowindra, NSW. Phone 02 6344 3116, www.everview.com.au
Let’s clear up one thing. The name has nothing to do with eggs. My rudimentary high-school German made me translate this as ‘beautiful egg’, which seemed a little strange. But feasible, I thought, as the logo is a goose (or is it a duck?) wearing a bow-tie.
However when we arrived, owner-chef Richard Everson put me right. Richard with his wife Evelyn have spent much of their working lives in Europe, and worked together in Switzerland. Schonegg simply means, in Swiss, ‘pretty corner’
If the visitor’s book is anything to go by, the Eversons who established Schonegg six years ago, have the perfect formula. People repeatedly remark on the tranquillity, the comfort of the rooms, the hospitality …. and oh yes, of course, the food!
Using the best local produce and created and delivered with great style, the dinners and breakfasts are something always talked about – and undoubtedly what many people return for again and again. I know I would, too.
Country Guesthouse Schonegg, 381 Hillview Drive, Murrumbateman, NSW, Phone 02 6227 0344, info@schonegg.com.au www.schonegg.com.au.
As a child, growing up in the country, I spent quite a lot of time around shearing sheds. I found them interesting – but smelly and dirty. I never in a million years considered spending the night in one!
That was until I was invited to this place near Orange in the Central West of the state.
Here, the hundred-year-old corrugated iron shearing shed has had a makeover that has uncovered its best features and retained them, while gently smoothing out the damage of years of use. So you have pieces of shearing equipment still in place and lanolin-soaked original floorboards in the central part of the shed forming a sort of great hall and dining area, alongside the latest in creature comforts.
The five guest suites are country-comfortable with enough rustic charm – think, more galvanised iron in the bathroom – to make them interesting.
Despite the stunning views and this unique accommodation, I remember most my host, Helen Napier’s stunning breakfast: a homestead breakfast you won’t believe, with dishes I wish I could find in a suburban café near me.
Black Sheep Inn, 91 Heifer Station Lane (off Forbes Road), Borenore, NSW, 02 6369 0662. http://blacksheepinn.com.au
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CHOCOLAT
It’s Mother’s Day and because mothers and chocolate are synonymous (well, have you bought a box of chocolates for your Mum this year? I thought so!) here is a little chocolate indulgence from my recent book Pardon My French!
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The car is pointed south. In a few days we will be in Provence.
I am on a mission this morning, though. I want to visit Valrhona, the famous chocolate manufacturer. I’m also relieved that never again will I have to agonise over the spelling. Is it ‘h’ before ‘r’, or the other way, round? Now I know its location at Tain-l’Hermitage an hour or so south of here on the eastern side of the Rhône river, I’ll never forget.
Actually I am also continuing a sub-theme – a personal self-indulgent thread, seeking out the finest chocolate makers in France. Since Paris we have been meting out the chocolates we acquired from Rochoux, but these have dwindled. Reinforcements are needed, urgently.
Which reminds me of yesterday afternoon in Lyon, persevering with our map, fighting against what seemed like an endless tide of peak hour traffic, to locate Bernachon, a third-generation fixture on true chocoholics’ radars, on the far bank of the Rhône. This superior chocolatier, much revered in this city, has acquired quite a following, particularly in the well-heeled precinct where he set up business over half a century ago.
This is especially apparent as we slip into Bernachon Passion to sample their famous hot chocolat. Towards the back of the tea salon a dozen or so elderly ladies on a kilojoule-rich little outing are seated at a long table, and the room holds plenty of couples as well. It’s Lyon’s answer to Paris’s Ladurée.
Gordon orders the house-special – the hot chocolate with chantilly cream, as rich as its price, and suddenly overcome by the idea of it all, I opt instead for a freshly-squeezed pampelmousse (grapefruit), which is almost as pricey but refreshingly wholesome. The décor is feminine – apricot granite table tops complementing a paler shade on the walls – yet the hefty gold-edged glass doors add a heady sense of refinement.
Next door in the original confiserie-patisserie, Bernachon House, several equally spaced attendants in smart uniforms stand ready to serve. The long glass-fronted display cabinet holds whole iced and chocolate-ruffled cakes alongside dainty confections of chocolate and pastry and other sweetmeats displayed like jewellery. Still with Ladurée in my head, I choose a macaron and two bite-sized unnamed chocolate-topped tarts.
I point at them, wordlessly.
“Ici?” asks the attendant. Here?
“Oui,” is all I can manage, tongue-tied in the presence of such bounty.
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No excuse then, I tell myself after lunch the next day, to be lining up again for more food, but I figure I’ll most likely only ever be at Valrhona once and I should make the most of it.
An iron suspension pedestrian bridge as well as a road bridge over the river connects sister-city Tournon with Tain-l’Hermitage. Valrhona’s shop and factory, on avenue du President Roosevelt, is quite unassuming considering the wealth behind those etched glass doors. A simple sign on the wall outside shows a cocoa pod breaking open to reveal its seeds and the slogan ‘Aux Sources du Grand Chocolat’. Ah, yes!
In 1924 Chef Guironnet a patissier from Tournon, began a chocolate factory, however it was not until 1984 that the famous Guanaja, made with 70 percent cocoa solids, was presented to the eager world. At Valrhona I learn that the cocoa tree blossoms all over itself, lavishing buds on its branches and trunk, but despite this excess, only one flower in every three hundred will produce the all-important cocoa pod.
Like wines, Valrhona has defined several cocoa ‘grand crus’ around the world. When applied to vineyards this term means literally ‘great growth’, more generally meaning exceptional potential. The cocoa versions have been identified in different plantations in diverse geographic locations, such as Guanaja, Manjari, and Caraïbe.
And while all this is immensely impressive, shallow creature that I am, the generous bowls of sample chocolates (whole ones too, not shaved fragments) placed strategically around the showroom attract my interest more. Around the showroom famous blocks and bars and individual chocolates are for sale, and busloads of customers keep arriving and filling plastic shopping baskets with their purchases. I notice that those bowls of freebies are being constantly refilled, too.
Not wishing to appear ungrateful for this largesse, I also sample a fair number of them. I taste chocolate from Trinidad, Madagascar, Venezuela and so many other exotic places, that my mind begins to swim. Or am I simply OD-ing on chocolate?
I buy some too – as gifts. Well, that’s my alibi anyway. I then wonder how they’ll survive several more weeks of summer heat and car travel. Maybe I might have to eat them myself after all.
The variety is enough to have Willy Wonka agog in admiration: toasted slivers of almonds are collected in chocolate-y little heaps, and there are cherry liqueur-centred bonbons, and others concealing fruit, nut, praline or unidentified centres. Discs, balls, triangles and squares, some polished mirror-smooth, others embossed with gold transfers, gently rolled in cocoa powder, or encased in a coloured shell of fondant, they are all here.
A good number of the bars remain elegantly bare of additives, relying simply on the magical name of their exotic origin or the richness of their percentage of cocoa. The sparkling shelves hold light, dark, and every shade in-between of chocolate, while glass-fronted counters are moodily-lit to showcase the tinier individual morsels set out on trays. So innocent. So addictive. There seems no end to the ways this decadent dark substance can be moulded and folded, draped, dipped and displayed.
Just when it could hardly improve, I learn that Valrhona has a chocolate school on the street behind the shop and factory. We hurry around to see it, but class is in, and the language barrier becomes a problem, so the receptionist mutely hands us a booklet. Inside there is a picture of the six smiling, be-toqued members of the teaching team.
What’s more, I learn, if I ever find myself back here with time on my hands, it might be possible to take a class, as several two- and three-day courses, as well as some much shorter ones are regularly available. In two hours I could learn how to make a chocolate gateau or charlotte, or I just might book in for an afternoon or full day of chocolate-play.
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Happy Mother’s Day!
CIAO BELLA CUCINA!
I am passing the deli counter which is laden with prosciutto and pancetta, imported Italian cheeses and various delicacies made from them, and I catch a phrase which I recognise, and decode rustily.
“Sì – facciamo!” says the Italian man behind the counter. Proudly. Ah, yes! That means ‘Yes, we make’. This should really be the catch-cry of every fine deli, but so few do. And only those who have a kitchen the size and industrial strength of Cucina Viscontini could carry it off at this level.
This has to be one of my most exciting finds in a long time. Recently I was to meet a friend who lives on the other side of Sydney from me. We usually compromise and meet at a bakery at Homebush halfway. Tired of this, last time we planned lunch, I searched for other options and came up with Cucina Viscontini at Homebush Bay.
It must be over 20 years since I last ventured into this area. To say it has changed is an enormous understatement. I had expected a corner cafe, half-empty. When I arrived, the staff asked if I had a booking. Mid-week lunch? A booking?
But looking around at the enormous almost packed corner cafe, I realised we were lucky there was a spare table for two.
Let’s explain.
Homebush Bay since my last encounter with it when it was a marshy industrial blot, has morphed into a waterside suburb of apartments with attitude. Besides the tennis courts, smart cars and marked parking on the divided La Piazza, there are all the stylish accoutrements such residents need. Four years ago the owners of this large cafe and provedore recognised the need and set up something that ticks every resident’s box.
So good was my first luncheon experience (then, a simple and simply wonderful panini with salad and cheese and pancetta) that the other night I took my husband and an out-of-town friend to show off my discovery.
This time I had booked, and just as well. The verandah seating was as packed as at it had been that lunchtime. The dinner menu had specials ($22 or so) and we each had a simple meal of fluffy homemade gnocchi with pork ragù (me) risotto (Gordon) and meltingly tender lamb shanks (my friend). I don’t know if Cucina Viscontini has requisitioned a band of Italian nonnas to cook backstage here, but the food tasted like it. Sublime, honest, Italian comfort food. Ideal for a chilly work night evening. With glasses of house red and followed by a dish of lemon gelato from the gelato bar, it was as good (probably better) as anything we could have found in Surry Hills. And the parking was free!
What’s more, you can do your shopping here too. There is a very fine range of local and imported deli items. Tabletop grapes from Mildura, Abruzzo pasta in one aisle, biscotti and chilli sauces in another. There is ready-to-go pasta dishes in a tall fridge, a liquor store at one end, Italian breads and pizza al taglio (by the slice), and of course the deli fridge.
Beyond the brightly illuminated seductive abundance of cheeses and cured meat (and, of course, the gelati) there is one last counter to sidetrack your determination and snare a final sale. As you pay your bill, look, just look – well, maybe a little more – at the panettone and cakes and other pasticceria delights in front of you.
This place is an amazing little bit of Italy – in an unexpected place, certainly – but close enough to the Showgrounds, and the stadium and the freeway, that it’s definitely (DEFINITELY!) worth a detour.
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Cucina Viscontini, Shop 4a &b, The Waterfront, 21 Bennelong Rd, Homebush Bay, NSW, 02 9739 8888, www.cucinaviscontini.com.au
HOW TO AGE 57 YEARS IN 30 MINUTES
Well of course I knew I could fly to Nepal from Sydney Airport, but I didn’t realise I could find myself immersed in Nepalese culture on the edge of the airport without even using my passport.
Nor did I imagine I could age 57 years while doing it. This is how it happened.
Last night we attended an event in which the Nepalese community celebrated Navavarsha (Nepalese New Year). Held at the Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport hotel, it was also the launch of a twelve-day Nepalese Food Festival in the hotel restaurant, The Grove.
I must say I stopped listening after ‘Nepalese food’ when I was issued the invitation. I had to try this! Was it like Tibetan food which I had tried on the other side of the Himalayas? Was it more Indian? Or was it completely different?
On arrival at the hotel, though, we realised that this was not just a dining experience. It seemed that every Nepalese in Sydney including the Ambassador of Nepal, Mr Yogendra Dhakal, and many other important people from that community were in attendance.
Sometime during the wealth of speeches someone mentioned ‘Happy 2066’ a phrase which took my attention from the food and festivities. Wow! That went fast!! How had I missed a few decades? Was I now well over 100 without noticing it?
No, the Nepalese use another calendar, well ahead of ours, and the time warp was soon forgotten when the simple lamp-lighting ceremony was performed, a moving and ancient rite of passage from one year into the next.
But, the food……..
In the restaurant we met the Stamford’s Nepalese chef, Sher, who has been in Australia for three years. He explained the menu to us and passed around packets of Nepalese herbs from his kitchen for us to sniff and sample. I tasted one dark aromatic one and it made my tongue numb. Uh-oh!
‘That’s OK,’ he told me quickly, ‘when we had stings as children, our mother would rub this spice on the spot and it would numb it.’ In his cooking it appears in slow-simmered dishes which allow its tongue-numbing properties to be turned to other uses.
The awesome line-up of dishes on the hot buffet included male goat meat curry (why male, we asked? Because the females are more important, he told us simply), steamed momos (which I remembered from Tibet) 
with a spicy curry sauce, a stir-fry of pork belly, which, for authenticity, he would have used wild boar if he could have found any, and a half dozen other dishes with unpronounceable names and truly delicious flavours.
Dessert was an especial winner with comfort foods of lightly spiced rice pudding and a creamy vermicelli dish with sultanas. But the real hit at our table was Gajar Halwa – carrot halva, rich, thick, cardamom scented and addictive.
Nepal is planning a special tourism year in 2011. Maybe then I’ll go even further than the Stamford Plaza, and check-in at the airport to see for myself what this fascinating high-altitude country is all about. I just need to remember that by then it will really be 2068.
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Nepalese Food Festival April 14-April 26 from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, Sunday-Thursday, adults $55, children $20; Friday and Saturday, adults $65, children $20.
The Grove Restaurant at Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport, corner O’Riordan & Robey Streets, Mascot, 02 9317 2200, www.stamford.com.au
L’AQUILA’S DEVASTATION
Travel changes you. By visiting other countries and cultures, we seem to return with a fragment of that place within us. It’s carried in our memories and our senses. Deep within ourselves.
So when a tragedy hits a place we have visited however briefly it becomes even more alive and more poignant.
Our time in L’Aquila in Italy’s Abbruzzo region, was only an hour or two, yet my memories are vivid. I am flooded with pictures of a vibrant marketplace, people working hard, noise, colour, and one of the best and most simple meals we had on our month-long trip self-driving around the south of Italy.
In my book, Just a Little Italian, written about that magical month in Italy’s mezzogiorno,here is what I said about L’Aquila, which it now seems lies almost entirely in ruins due to Sunday’s terrible earthquake.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those struggling to compehend this event, and also with those who must deal with the aftermath.
From Just a Little Italian:
“It’s a different matter when we reach L’Aquila. Here we discover a market in progress selling everything from fruit and vegetables in crates under striped canvas umbrellas, and vans dispensing cheeses and porchetta calda (hot pork sandwiches), fresh flowers, overcoats and knocked-off designer handbags.
This is Abruzzo’s principal town, with a population of 70,000 and, at 720 metres, Italy’s coldest regional capital. Further north than we will travel today, stand the highest parts of Italy’s Apennine chain, with two peaks over 2500 metres.
The market is almost over, and I sense that the vendors are eager to be off. It’s siesta time after all, and already a few are beginning to pack their wares away. I sort through some things on a table selling kitchenware, momentarily taken with the idea of a buying crostoli roller. I find a zucchini-corer there too, but I already have one which has never been used.
We have some discussion about where we should eat. This is after all our last lunch in Italy, as we can’t count on whatever we will pick up at the airport this time tomorrow. The market square is bordered by cafes and restaurants, so we ultimately we cross our fingers and choose Brancaleone, because it appears bright and well-patronised.
The waitress directs us to an unoccupied side room, the saletta, and seats us at a table laid with a sunny yellow cloth. This turns out to be a mistake (the room, not the table) as the customers in the main room are more visible, and after our drinks order, we are forgotten. It is only when I return to the other room, much later, that we are able to order.
To stay in the zone of this area, Gordon orders a saffron dish, risotto allo zafferano, and it arrives, at long last, slumped out on the plate like buttery scrambled eggs. It tastes as delicious as it looks.
I order chitarra al tartufo fresco from the menu del giorno, the menu of the day. I know that chitarra refers to the pasta which will have been cut on a press of fine wires (like a guitar) that allows the edges to be rough enough to collect whatever sauce it is served with. After our experience in Castelmezzano, I am keen to try truffles again, too. Until now I have never quite ‘got’ truffles, yet I think this may be about to change.
It does, with this plate of pasta served so simply with a generous amount of finely diced crunch-fresh black truffles and extra virgin olive oil tossed through it. The merest scattering of chopped parsley and pepper is all that is needed to make this last lunch dish a memory I will cherish forever.”
Singapore’s A – Z guide for fun, frivolity and festivities during 2009
(courtesy of Anne Wild & Associates Pty Ltd and Singapore Tourism Board)
The New Year started off with a bang in the Lion City and the action is set to continue right throughout 2009. Whether you are planning to stay for seven hours or seven days, use the following A-Z guide to help you discover the very best Singapore has to offer.
Ann Siang Road – A shopper’s paradise housing a variety of niche and cutting edge stores in historic shophouses including Asylum (22 Ann Siang Rd), an art space and store 
rolled into one and Front Row (5 Ann Siang Rd), where you can mix shopping with a deli and a cup of tea.
Bars – Whether you are after a classic beer, or the latest cocktail doing the rounds, Singapore has a venue for you. Archipelago CraftBeer (Clarke Quay) houses Asian flavoured beer with ingredients like tamarind and palm sugar; enjoy a tipple at Tasting Notes (Robertson Quay) for the latest in wine with 200 plus choices; or to end the night, visit the Butter Factory (Robertson Quay) which offers arty types the latest in art exhibitions and hip cocktails while enjoying the groovy beats.
Coffee and Tea Singapore style – Singaporeans refer to tea as ‘teh’ and coffee as ‘kopi’. Served in no frills cups, the local method of brewing tea and coffee features the use of a muslin bag through which tea leaves and coffee powder are strained. Drop by a local hawker centre for a sample.
Deepavali – Singapore’s Hindu celebration takes place during November. The streets of Little India are lit up with thousands of fairy lights and market stalls line the streets as Singapore’s Indian community celebrate the Festival of Lights and good over evil.
Eng Seng Restaurant – don’t let the queue faze you…their succulent signature Black Chilli Crabs are definitely worth the wait. (241 Joo Chiat Place).
Fish Reflexology - for something a little different enjoy a fish reflexology treatment. Relax as you enjoy a unique pedicure session undertaken by live spa fish followed by a relaxing foot massage by a qualified reflexoloigst.
Geylang Clapot Rice – Locals swear this is the best place to enjoy this simple Cantonese dish, a definite ‘must try’ meal in Singapore. (639 Lorong, 33 Geylang)
Hawker Centres –Singapore’s popular hawker centres are dotted around the island and offer a diverse range of food –including Malaysian, IndonesianChinese, Indian, Indonesian and Korean – all 
at incredibly low prices. Make sure you visit favourite centres such as Lau Pa Sat (Boon Tat St) and Newton Circus (Bukit Timah Rd) and don’t forget to grab your napkins from a local street store or MRT station…they will come in handy not only to clean up after your meal but to reserve your seat by placing them on your table before ordering.
Island Getaway – Sentosa is often referred to as Singapore’s island escape and can be reached by either cable car or bridge. A great place for young and old alike, popular attractions include Underwater World, The Luge, Butterfly and Insect Kingdom and a flying trapeze for learners to name a few.
Jungle Breakfast at the Zoo – Singapore’s famous Jungle Breakfast lets you get in touch with your wild side. Dine with the orang utans and the reticulated python before munching into a delicious breakfast. Make sure you also visit the newly opened Rainforest@KidsWorld where the kids can enjoy the rides and water fun! (80 Mandai Lake Rd)
Katong – home to Singapore’s Peranakan culture with its picturesque old homes and quaint stores. Ruma Bebe’s beautiful shophouse is where you can learn the art of beading and at Kim Choo Kueh’s dumpling house, you can discover the secret ingredients of this delicious traditional treat.
Laska Wars – there is already a contentious battle between Chilli Crab and Laska to be named Singapore’s official dish - but Laska has its own war going. The territorial tussle which is known as the Katong Laska Wars is between four stalls (47, 49, 57 and 328) along the same stretch of East Coast Road and has been brewing for more than two decades. Make sure you select your favourite when next in the Lion City.
Merlion – as Singapore’s national tourism icon, this half-fish, half-lion statue symbolises Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village and its name Singapura (Lion City), given by Prince Sang Nila Utama. Now located at the head of the river at Merlion Park, it is visited by over 1 million people each year as the obligatory tourist photo shot.
National Museum – Reopening after extensive renovations in 2006, the Museum houses four living galleries representing Singapore’s history in terms of food, fashion, film and photography. (93 Stamford Rd)
One Rochester – A beautifully restored black and white bungalow, this is the perfect place to relax and let the day turn into night as you sip back with your favourite drink (1 Rochester Park).
Pink Parlour – a trip to Singapore would not be complete without a visit to a spectacular spa. Pink Parlour is a swanky 4 storey boutique spa where you can enjoy an oxygen facial before your Ginseng PediSpa, or your yoga session on the rooftop sky lounge (63 Kim Yam Road).
Quarters – Singapore’s ethnic quarters offer visitors insights into a variety of cultures. Be mesmerised by the gold stores and sari shops as you wander through Little India, take a step back in time in Chinatown when exploring the Chinatown Heritage Centre (48 Pagoda St), or discover the delights of Kampong Glam, Singapore’s Malay quarter.
Robertson Quay – this bustling waterfront area rounds off Singapore’s trio of quays, also including Clarke and Boat Quays. Previously the site of merchants’ offices, warehouses and jetties, Robertson Quay offers a more laid-back atmosphere for dining and entertainment by the Singapore River.
Singapore Sling – no trip to Singapore would be complete without a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel (1 Beach Rd). Alternatively you can also sit back in the hotel’s courtyard and enjoy a decadent evening under the stars.
Tanglin Village – now home to many new ‘in’ restaurants and bars including hidden oasis Oosh (Blk 22), the intimate Hacienda (Blk 13A), and PS Café (Blk 28B), a chic Australian inspired bistro serving mouth-watering cuisine.
Upper Thomson Road – Food is always on the mind in Singapore and this location is no different. With plenty of choices along this 400 metre strip, the area is fast gaining a reputation as a food stretch for all. With cafes, hawker centres, restaurants and delis to suit any budget or taste, just don’t wait too late to go - you won’t be able to get in!
Velvet Dragon – Following a revamp this club is gearing up for a bright new year. Adorned in red plush velvet sofas and chandeliers, you can party the night away in luxury (6 Eu Tong Sen Street).
Wala Wala – the perfect place when you want to just relax. The mood is laid back and chilled out with music and live bands every night (31 Lorong Mambong, Holland Village)
Xi Yan – (38A Craig Road) putting the X in eXclusive, this unassuming restaurant with no street sign has a two month waiting list. Heralded for its delicious food and stunning presentation, the house speciality is a fixed price 13 course Yin Yang degustation menu.
Yeo Swee Huat –15 Upper Circular Rd., Chinatown. This simple workshop specialises in handcrafted paper effigies. Visitors will be fascinated by the colourful models, cars and houses meant to be burnt as offerings to one’s ancestors for their enjoyment in the afterlife. The shop also crafts traditional Chinese lanterns for auspicious purposes.
Zouk – constantly voted one of the world’s best dance venues, it continues to attract clubbers from across the globe as well as top international DJs. Party until the wee hours of the morning at Phuture, Velvet Underground, or unwind at the Wine Bar (17 Jiak Kim St)
For more information about Singapore, log onto www.visitsingapore.com or in Sydney contact the Singapore Tourism Board on (02) 9290 2888.
IRISH JOKES
"Go past the pob," he told us firmly, "Then keep straight till the end of the road. Turn left, go for a mile, then right at the bottom of the hill." "See, who said the Irish weren't smart!” I said to my husband as soon as we were out of earshot. He didn’t answer me – too busy manoeuvring our huge red and white camper van back onto the narrow road, I guess. “Those were the clearest directions we've had anywhere so far," I continued, tempting fate. Later wished I hadn’t said that.
An hour later in the dark, irretrievably lost and still looking for the camping ground, we both conceded I'd spoken too soon. Yet it seemed hard to blame the man with the twinkling blue eyes who had directed us. He’d been so sure of his facts – perhaps we had misunderstood him.
Welcome to Ireland – the land of ten thousand welcomes and just as many false turns. Visitors only have to spend a few days in this green and misty country to begin pinching themselves and asking: ‘Is it me – or is it them?’ (read whole story)
BUILD ME ANOTHER BOOKCASE
ONE MAGIC SQUARE
I read gardening books with the same avid attention I reserve for watching gymnastics, magic and ballroom dancing on TV. The reason being that with all of these activities I have absolutely NO idea how they happen.
I have at least tried one of them – gardening – but I would have as much success with magic tricks, I reckon. Instead of green thumbs, mine are a sort of blackish-purple when it comes to growing anything.
So, of course this appropriately square book, One Magic Square, caught my attention. ‘Grow your own food in one square metre’ its author, Lolo Houbein, has subtitled it.
Her aim is to demystify the gardening process for klutzes like me and show us all how easy it is to grow berries, salad and other vegetables, fruits and herbs in a tiny space almost any of us (even apartment dwellers) can find.
“Be kind to yourself. Enjoy your garden,” is the author’s advice. “You will experience abundant satisfaction.”
With a lifetime of experience (in fact it is in her genes as her great-great-grandfather was a market gardener in Holland) and as a gifted writer, this is a book full of advice, gardening and cookery hints, and her own abundant satisfaction in the growing process. It is the book to give to anyone, gardeners or hopeless wannabes like me, and best of all it is written in Australia, for Australian conditions.
One Magic Square may not cure my ineptitude in the garden but with no gifted gardeners in my immediate family or circle of friends, this will certainly be a book that I will refer to, at least to see if I can save the odd plant or two.
One Magic Square, Lolo Houbein, Wakefield Press, 2008, $45, paperback, 356 pages.
AMERICA OVER EASY
I must disclose at the outset that Mark Sheehan, the author of America Over Easy, is a friend of mine. It is always a privilege, though, to share the successes of people I know, and this little book hardly needs my praise. It is already going gangbusters.
That should be a word Mark would appreciate as he is American-born and ideally suited to write this ‘know-before-you-go guide to making the most of an American vacation’ as he subtitles it on the cover. Trust me, Mark Sheehan is a fun guy, and it comes through in his writing.
It’s all here – the mighty US of A decoded, demystified and delivered in a way Aussies can understand because, you see, the other reason Sheehan is ideally suited to put this book together is that he has for many years lived in Sydney.
America Over Easy takes readers through all the essentials – from what to pack and what to leave behind (definitely take the Aussie twang, he says. Americans love it!) to what to do, where to stay, and what to eat. There are lists of the ‘bests’ of the country too – beaches, free places, unusual names, and of course shopping malls.
The book is packaged in a useful plastic folder that includes a large map of USA, but it’s small enough to drop into a pocket of your carry-on baggage so you can study it on the flight across. You’ll be glad you did.
America Over Easy, Mark Sheehan, New Holland Publishers, 2009, $19.95, Paperback with map, 208 pages
SECRET PARIS & SECRET BARS AND RESTAURANTS IN PARIS
I love Paris and have been lucky enough to visit this magical city a number of times. I liked to think I was getting to know it quite well, but these two little books have put me right (or is that droite?)
Secret Paris is a chunky little volume packed with a multitude of things you would never expect, dealt with efficiently by arrondissement with plenty of colour photographs. It is certain to make you rethink your supposed knowledge of this great city.
For instance, did you know that there is a museum of dermatological casts in the Xth arrondissement? Perhaps you’d rather not know this either, but the Picpus Cemetery in the XIIth is the remains of 1306 poor people who died by guillotine in 1794 are buried.
On a much happier note, the extensive index directs readers to many of Paris’s walks and picturesque passageways, hanging gardens in the XIVth, how to visit the ancient aqueducts of this city, and much, much more.
Secret Bars and Restaurants in Paris is the ideal evening companion to the first book. After a day exploring esoterica, visitors can settle back in secret gardens and open-air terraces or try truly unique eateries such as the table in the home of a local man who invites perfect strangers to dine with him – Chez Mickael in the Vth. Then there’s Footsie, a unique bar in that it varies the price of its drinks according to demand.
Unusual venues include the Foyer de Madeleine in a cellar off the Place Madeleine and staffed by volunteers, La Cipale at the velodrome, and Table d’Hotes de l’Espace Pro-car – you guessed it, in a vintage car-dealer’s garage in a quiet back street.
Sections also outline where to find Free Food or go Underground for alternative places to dine.
Take these two books with you next time you go to Paris and you will have dozens of stories to tell your friends when you return. That’s if you can tear yourself away.
Secret Paris, Jacques Garance and Maud Ratton, published by Jonglez, 2007, paperback 384 pages; Secret Bars and Restaurants in Paris, Jacques Garance, published by Jonglez, 2006, www.editionsjonglez.com Paperback, 190 pages. Available on Amazon.com
BEAT HEAT EAT
“If you want great food, go to a restaurant – that’s what they’re there for,” says author Dean Lahn. “But if you need to make something at home to get by, this is for you.”
Lahn would willingly admit he is not a chef, and this book is about as far removed from a traditional cookbook as a car manual is from a glossy auto magazine. Yet it gets the message across in an unthreatening way for non-cooks like him with easy – mega-easy – steps, copious diagrams and down to earth ingredients and concepts.
So beginners (aka blokes) can now bake a fruit cake using three ingredients, one bowl and a cake tin – all helpfully drawn so there is no confusion about terminology. If they want to dazzle the kids there is a microwave fudge – three ingredients again – or, to impress a woman, there are ‘Girl Burgers’. Elsewhere there are ‘boy’ burgers too, of course, because this really is guy-territory.
There’s much more in Beat Heat Eat – including an eclectic mix of recipes such as pizza, coke chicken, and an improbably easy ‘half time ‘ meat pie. No prizes for guessing when you eat that!
Basic, basic, basic it is – ‘if you don’t eat, you will die’ we are told at the outset. I’ll bet this is the only cookbook (well, OK they call it a cooking ‘manual’) where there is a page (with diagrams) devoted to what to do when something you are cooking catches fire!
Beat Heat Eat, Dean Lahn, Wakefield Press, 2009, $19.95, paperback, 86 pages, www.beatheateat.com
52 WEEKENDS – unique accommodation in country Victoria
Peter Robinson must never spend a weekend at home. Or at least, that isthe way it looks. For the rest of us this is a very good thing. This guide that is not-a-guidebook is really a selection of 52 cards, one for every weekend of the year – 40 accommodation options, and 12 regional cards – sensibly held in a neat and durable slip cover. Each card has a picture of a B&B, guesthouse, spa resort, country hotel or part of Victoria.
On the reverse is all the important information – cost, contact details, GPS coordinates – as well as descriptive information about the sort of room you might be staying in and other pieces of useful know-how about the area.
It’s one of those why-didn’t-anyone-think-of-it-before sort of ventures that makes you wonder why this format hasn’t entirely overtaken the standard guidebook. After all, if you are heading off for a country weekend, you don’t need details of hundreds of other places. How much easier to simply tuck one card into your pocket or handbag?
Richardson is a seasoned accommodation guru, having reported on beds and pillows and country breakfasts in newspapers and magazines for many years. Check the website for more details and keep your eyes peeled for 52 weekends in other states soon.
52 Weekends – unique accommodation in country Victoria, Peter Robinson, 52 boxed cards, rrp $19.95. Available in bookshops and through the website: www.52weekends.net
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Relais & ChAteaux Trophies 2010: Rewarding Excellence
Relais & Châteaux has just revealed the list of the winners of the Relais & Châteaux trophies which are awarded every year in recognition of expertise and excellence in the art of hospitality and fine dining.
When researching our book Just a Little Italian we dined at the magnificent restaurant Don Alfonso 1890, at S. Agata Sui Due Golfi in Campania just south of Naples. It was so amazing that I devoted a whole chapter of the book to it.
Now, the Iaccarino family who are passionate about their food, the restaurant, the standard of service both in the dining room and the hotel, have appropriately been awarded the 2010 Relais & Châteaux Passion Trophy with Hennessy. Launched in 2004, the Passion Trophy is awarded to Relais & Châteaux owners who know how to make a stay truly unique: harmonious setting, perfect service, remarkable style.
Relais & Châteaux is an exclusive collection of 475 of the finest charming hotels and gourmet restaurants in 57 countries. Established in France in 1954, the Association’s mission is to spread its unique art de vivre across the globe by selecting outstanding properties with a truly unique character.
CONGRATULATIONS to Don Alfonso 1890, and all concerned!!
Sally is a contributor to:
Travel and Living
Global Travel Writers
View more of Gordon Hammond's photography at www.gordonhammond.com.au