Food Stories – Page 4 – Dani Valent
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I’ve been writing about food for almost 20 years now and I haven’t been sick of it for five minutes. Food is such a rich topic: it’s history, culture, family, sustenance, health, business, community, environment and even philosophy.

Food stories can be epic tales of migration, cool insights into technology, inspiring stories of persistence and discovery or simple insights into daily life. Food is a way of knitting together family and friends and can be shared via narrative, recipes, photos, video, audio, on the street or around a table. I love communicating about food in all these different ways: it’s rich, deep and endlessly fascinating and I learn something new with every story I write.

11 delicious no-cook plates to bring to a party

It’s on. That party, the picnic, that “we have to catch up” get together. Yes, you’re looking forward to it – except for one thing. There’s that scary question you have to ask: “What can I bring?” There’s a danger that they won’t say, “Bring a few beers or some wine.” What if they say, “Oh, just a little plate of something”? You barely have time to get dressed let alone whip up a pavlova. But it doesn’t need to be a major stress. Bring-a-plate success is as easy as smart shopping and these summery no-cook solutions that will ensure you’re invited back.

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Dani Valent X Gelato Messina cooking class

I’ve had a long association with Gelato Messina, by which I mean that I have eaten a lot of their product. It’s research right? Last year, I was lucky enough to have my Chilli Cherry Ripe recipe used in a limited edition ice cream flavour at Messina stores. I really needed to do some serious ‘research’ when that launched and you’ll be happy to know that my extensive investigations revealed that they indeed did a great job of translating my chocolate slab into gelato.

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The 2016 Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle in Australia – An International Chef Swap Steeped in Mystery

Food identity and culinary starmaker Andrea Petrini (he’s Italian and molto persuasive) has organised The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle, an international chef swap among 40 of the world’s top restaurants. Each chef leaves their restaurant to head to one of the other 39 taking part. They don’t directly swap but are shuffled around the world. Diners buy tickets to a one-night-only dinner (last Thursday, November 10) but they don’t find out who’s cooking for them until they arrive. It’s strange and strangely wonderful. Each restaurant has an ambassador – I was ambassador for Attica, which basically means look after the chef and observe what happens. I must get back in touch with my careers counsellor and let him know.

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Broad Beans Blooper

I was standing there with cameras rolling. I grabbed a broad bean and started peeling. It took a few seconds to register that it was hot. Very hot. Possibly unbearably hot. But I pressed on. I remembered my mother talking about her ‘asbestos fingers’ when she picked up hot pots, pans and potatoes. Wasn’t I my mother’s daughter? Well, yes and no. Because after a bunch of broad beans I caved…

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Chicken Pot Pies Blooper

Guess what? I make lots of mistakes in the kitchen. My cakes flop. My pastry breaks. My rice is crunchy. Failures are part of cooking, especially when you’re recipe developing – it’s very rare that a dish is perfect first time.

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