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To celebrate @helen_goh_bakes' interview with @patnourse for @melbfoodandwine tonight at 9pm, my new recipe this week is Helen's Chocolate, Banana and Pecan Cookies. They are SO GOOD. Helen says it's best if you eat them all on the day they're baked. Happy to oblige, ma'am. Recipe on my site! #mfwfonline ...

On Friday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called a $60 billion accounting error a win for Australian taxpayers. The Jobkeeper wage subsidy, originally budgeted at $130 billion, is now projected to cost $70 billion, due to a mixture of applicant error and mistaken Treasury forecasting. What if the win was also for temporary visa holders, who are currently ineligible for the Jobkeeper wage subsidy and the Jobseeker social security payment? Read the rest of my @theageaustralia @sydneymorningherald Opinion piece via link in bio. ...

Koshari, I want to marry you. Coming today at danivalent.com, @tomsarafian's recipe for Egypt's national dish. Carb-loaded, comforting, economical, fun to make...Egypt's It dish is the bowl of love we need right now. Chickpeas, lentils, rice, macaroni, vermicelli, fried onion, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, oozy egg, butter, basically a big tumble of happiness. Photographed by @kristofferpaulsen at @barsaracen. Recipe includes Thermomix & traditional versions. I am excited! ...

I stole a podcast 🤫 ⚡⚡TAKEOVER ALERT⚡⚡ In the final episode of Season 1 of @deepintheweedspodcast I handed the microphone over to journo turned activist Dani Valent (@danivalent) to interview me - Anthony Huckstep.

I won’t lie, it’s hard for me to listen to it as I go deeper than I expected with some of the trauma that our family has experienced - but I hope it helps those experiencing adversity right now.
Season 2 will land Monday.
Food for thought

In a turning of the tables Dani Valent takes the wheel of Deep in the Weeds to interview host Anthony ‘Huck’ Huckstep (@huckstergram) about how the series came to light and what’s been involved in pulling it together. In a moving episode Huck talks of the future of hospitality, food media and delves deep into his own adversities to explain that clarity and purpose can come from even the most devastating trauma.

Listen and Subscribe 🎙

Special thanks to the extraordinary people who have appeared on the show and shared their stories. And also @stjohnsroadwines for coming onboard and supporting us.
Please check out these legends below.
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 @foodwinedine @huckstergram @altoolives @deepintheweedspodcast @fisheads @mrniland @chefneilperry @dashrum @attilatheyum @chefdanhunter @chefmattmoran @vickiwild_ @benliebmann @charlotte_dalton_wines @danivalent @theprovenance @bakerpaul82 @thewinebite @eatingwithjack @cfassnidge @jaredingersoll @kittensmithers @jacqui_challinor @mimosarockoysters @greatoceanducks @monty_koludrovic @olivequeenoz
Reposted from @huckstergram ...

In @goodfoodau I share 7 stories of hospitality workers on temporary visas. This is one. Read the whole piece via link in bio & consider helping employ a visa worker chef at @fareshare_australia. Link in bio too or see bit.ly/faresharechef

GEORGINA DENT
As Australia went into lockdown and the earning capacity of restaurants was slashed, the owners of Richmond's hatted @anchovy338 restaurant made an extraordinary decision.

They committed $10,000 to sponsor @georgiedent1994, a 26-year-old English chef who had been with them just a few weeks. "I came in as a stranger and they have backed me 100 per cent," says Dent.

But she is no random backpacker. Dent has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in London and New York and was named "best young chef" by the Observer Food Monthly when just 19. She studied butchery "for a break". She's in the industry for life. And when she arrived in Melbourne two years ago, she quickly decided she wanted to live here.

She has skills and stickability that Anchovy's owners Jia-Yen Lee and @thiteatee simply couldn't find in anyone else. "We've always wanted to hire Australian chefs but we haven't been able to find anyone who's stayed more than four weeks," says Lee. "I feel like we've taken years to find Georgina. Her CV is strong. She's interested in our food. She is genuinely the best person for this job." To qualify for sponsorship, Anchovy had to advertise for a local in what's called labour market testing. There were applicants but no one was the right fit. An ability to butcher was one area where Dent stood out. "At Anchovy, we get in whole animals. We need someone who knows their way around a lamb or a pig. "

If Anchovy hadn't sponsored her, Dent's working holiday visa would have expired on May 7. Now she's on a bridging visa with fingers crossed the sponsorship application is successful. "She has so much to give to Australia's dining scene," says Lee. "She has the potential and the knowledge to give back in the future." But what about the expense? "Sometimes I panic when I look at our bills," says Lee. "But I can always catch up on rent. I can't let go of someone I've taken five years to find." ...

This is @daniele_vischetti. He's held senior positions at Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy. He cooked at @nomacph. He had a job at @vuedemonde when the pandemic hit. He's on a working visa so he's not entitled to any government help. Even though Vue's @hughsallen has done an amazing job in looking after his overseas staff, he was glad to partner with @fareshare_australia and send Daniele there to cook meals for the needy. Daniele is one of seven visa workers I've interviewed for today's @goodfoodau cover story (5 in print, 7 online). These people make our industry. We need their skills to rebuild. We've launched an initiative today to help visa workers like Daniele by funding another position at FareShare. Head to bit.ly/faresharechef Thanks @ardynbernoth for backing this story - it's such an important issue, it's also hard times for freelance writers so this is doubly appreciated #buythepaper ...

Very happy to be part of @goodfishproject's Cook at Home series featuring sustainable, local seafood. Fish doesn't get more ethical (or fresh and delicious) than these sardines from Port Phillip Bay so it's a shame we're soon to lose access to this important Victorian resource. Learn more when the video and recipe are released on Friday (shot & edited on my phone - be kind 😅). Meantime, enjoy this pic of my grilled sardines with currants and walnuts by @gold.georgia.
REPOST

Port Phillip Bay sardines grilled with currant and vinegar dressing by @danivalent - Recipe is online this Friday. Fisher Phil McAdam’s low impact operation has 100 weeks left supplying these incredible sardines directly into Melbourne and beyond before blanket net fisheries closures come into effect. #cookathome #healthyoceansforever. Image by @gold.georgia
Reposted from @goodfishproject ...