local

Real life on the ground. Anywhere.

Vanilla slices – glorious, perhaps mundane, quite mysterious

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?

Eating your politics (or prejudices)

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?

Can the honest reputation of foodblogs survive the PR-foodblogger relationship?

It seems foodblogging has matured far enough to be entwined in a pretty tiresome game of cat and mouse with restaurateurs and public relations (PR) companies, egos, money and more. It's worth contemplating what the fallout will be.

This article has been brewing for a few months, as I tried to reconcile my opinions about freedoms, community, advertising and blogging with some of the changes that have been happening in Melbourne's foodblogosphere.

The flexible macaron Top 20 and why I'm off it

Many people have asked me why I'm not participating in the Melbourne Macaron competition, I've decided I need to write an explanation of my perspective. It's about rules and fees and up-front transparency.

Short and sweet: it seems Adriano Zumbo will be a Melbourne fixture

The Age newspaper this morning mentioned in it's local gossip column that Sydney pâtissier and Masterchef regular Adriano Zumbo is on his way to having a presence in Melbourne. I wonder if that explains his increasingly frequent visits!

 

Could this mean tastier times to come in Melbourne?

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TASTY PRESERVES

  • The Larousse Gastronomique, plus a pile of Christmas book gift ideas
  • Wild rice, apricot, lemon and almond salad
  • Burn your hot cross! It's time for something Swedish
  • Duncan's Degustations – KFC's The Double thingamajig
  • Kitchen scales redux