Writer, Eater
One of my greatest fears when someone asks me to cook with them is the prospect of blunt knives in their kitchen. I hate being asked to finely slice an onion or trim a piece of meat with a large dull-edged kitchen knife. Ugh. I believe I've once successfully nagged a friend into getting some decently sharp knives.
Ten months after I last donned my patissier gear and squeezed out a few hundred macarons, I returned to the piping bags for a brief baking blitz. My back hurt for two weeks. So then I made a cake instead.
The most impressive book on macarons is now in English! Pierre Hermé's 2008 French book "Macaron" is out this month in English.
The vanilla slice is one of those standard, humble Australian bakery items that qualifies as "good old" for its longevity and as "humble" because of its modest level of finesse. But there are mysteries in all this (and questions for readers at the end)… What was your childhood vanilla slice like? Did it have a different name? And how long has it been around?
I'm curious about how political/social beliefs or traditions shape where people will shop or dine. A timely example is that of Max Brenner, the Israeli chocolate company, which is broadly popular in Australia, but an unacceptable place to visit for some consumers. I wonder what other examples exist here or elsewhere?
Yet another unreality food show has hit our Australian telly screens. My Kitchen Rules, where teams representing five states vie for the title of most-self-confident but not-quite-expert home entertaining maestros. People showing off to each other isn't exactly my...
Read more Tue 02 Feb, 2010
An inconspicuous old redbrick building in the Berkshire village of Bray bears a sign of a webbed foot, a feather and a duck's bill, all with cutlery handles. This is The Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal's...
Read more Sun 11 Nov, 2007
With frozen éclair shells still quite fresh in the freezer, what better to do than give them a little warmth and crisping for Father's Day? And to break the monotony, I tried my hand at a tarte tatin for the first time, with delicious results (and some...
Read more Sun 07 Sep, 2008What do you do when you find dinner too enjoyable? How is an irritable, jinxed diner like me to cope with a meal which delivers no disappointments and offers barely a scrap to quibble about? I felt embarrassed at how effusive I was. I sat through the meal thinking of all the people I needed to tell. I was dining at one of Melbourne's most avant garde restaurants, Interlude.
Read more Sun 14 Oct, 2007
Sweet readers, it's time for me to announce the launch of a new website. Book reviews. For you and me. By you and me (and you and you and you). All about food, wine and tummies. I got tired of superficial, uninformative reviews in...
Read more Fri 19 Dec, 2008
In The Chefs of Belgium you will get to know the most influential Belgian chefs of the moment. Over 30 chefs talk about their culinary ideas and their vision for today's Belgian kitchen. Each chef presents 3 signature dishes, all ones that illustrate the characteristics of their kitchen and which made them famous. 
Overflowing with tips for cooking smarter, this book shows you how to plan your weekly meals and menus, turn one recipe into three completely different meals, and pack your dishes with flavor using only a handful of ingredients. 
Star cook Stefan Marquard, meat expert Stephan Otto, and German grillmaster Steffen Eichhorn present 39 extraordinary steak recipes. This soulful cookbook is ideal for all meat lovers. 
In Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food, well-loved chef Greg Malouf has kicked off his travelling shoes and returned to his home kitchen to offer fans a breathtakingly beautiful, glossy and very, very generous tome of recipes that are rooted in the traditions of his beloved Middle East, but presented in a fresh, modern way. The food is seductive and truly inspired, but despite being a stunning piece of design, the book is not without its flaws.