Mother’s Day doesn’t have to mean burnt toast in bed and bad soap from school stalls. If you are a mum, you can steer the family towards these menu suggestions, and if you have a mum, please enjoy these suggestions for Mum-friendly dishes and tasty gifts that keep on giving.
Dainty bites, fresh flavours and dishes that don't mind being moved from kitchen to hamper to blanket, or being passed around on a tray at a stand-up gathering...That's what's on my mind with these picnic and party favourites. Rustle up some of these beauties at your Melbourne Cup Day party, spring luncheon or pool-deck gathering.
Australia's Christmas is in summer so stories of Santa's sleigh zooming through snowy forests are a faraway fantasy. Many Australians still pine for a white, wintry Christmas though, so the concept of 'Christmas in July' is quite popular. I've put together a warming and festive menu to suit. Make merry and enjoy!
Valentine's Day is just one day a year but any day is a good day for romance. I've gathered together some of my favourite seductive, saucy, huggable dishes for delicious wooing and canoodling
Everyone is doing it tough in hospo but temporary visa holders have a particularly hard road because they have no access to JobKeeper or JobSeeker, and many of them are restricted in the kind of work they can do. Basically, it sucks. However, some of them (like Nicole from Mangan Yuk) have started micro-businesses to get them through to COVID-normal. If you can, support them!
Father's Day doesn't have to mean power tools, sixpacks of beer and random golf gifts. I'm much more about the food, so hopefully any fathers in your life are too! Here are some ideas for treating Dad at any time of day: there's breakfast all the way through to a nightcap.
Let's make winter sweet! I've gathered together some of my favourite puddings, pies, desserts and cakes for you here. Make them for a special occasion, because you DEFINITELY deserve a treat or as a fun cooking project.
Have you got an hour? Ask a Middle Eastern person about their favourite hummus and be ready to listen long and hard! Hummus is an everyday traditional food all the way from Yemen to Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Turkey but there are as many variations as there are eaters! At its simplest, hummus combines chickpeas and tahini, then there's the potential addition of salt, pepper, spices, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and water. Plus, there's the question of texture. Should it be smooth or sturdy? We dig in...
In mid-March, not long before Australia went into lockdown, I visited Peter Gunn's IDES restaurant to talk to him about his signature Black Box dessert. This is an incredible dish - mystery giving way to intricate layers of taste, revealed through an act of sunny, sanctioned violence. For me, the Black Box is the thread which allows us to explore other themes. I love what the dessert says about the chef who created it and the restaurant he owns and runs. It's a tale of creativity, persistence, leadership, teamwork and the importance of fun.
