Writer – Page 6 – Dani Valent

I’m a journalist, restaurant critic, cookbook author, travel writer and screenwriter. I love telling stories!

My professional writing career started with travel publisher Lonely Planet. I was what they called a ‘parachutist’, which meant I’d go anywhere. That’s how I ended up writing about Bulgaria, Bonaire, Corsica, New York and Hong Kong.

One day my Lonely Planet boss said, “We need someone to go to Turkey to eat.” “That sounds like me,” I said. World Food Turkey was the result, a social, cultural and culinary investigation of Turkey which really turned me on to the rich possibilities of telling stories through food. Food is culture, history, family, life!

I’ve continued to thread food and travel through a writing career that’s included interviews with actors, politicians and even an astronaut. These days, I’m focusing on chefs, restaurants and cooking. My passion is connecting home cooks and eaters with great dishes and cuisines: if it’s tasty, I want to know about it, and I want you to know too.

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.

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.

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…

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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© Dani Valent 2024