Tough Bickies: The Original Anzac

Tough Bickies: The Original Anzac What was the original Anzac made of? The biscuit, that is, not the soldier.If you go to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and hunt around in the research centre you’ll find it described as an army biscuit or Anzac wafer or...

John Olsen’s Edible Art

John Olsen’s Edible Art Vale John Olsen.  I wrote this story about John’s love affair with paella a few years ago when I visited John and his late wife Katharine at their home in the Southern Highlands. John Olsen is seated on a stool in front of his gleaming...

Ramadan Nights Sydney

Ramadan Nights Sydney The sun was just slipping beneath the horizon when I arrived at the IQRO mosque in Wiley Park, western Sydney.  Despite a few grey clouds hovering in the distance it promised to be a fine evening with just a hint of autumn chill in the air....

Stoned on Fruit

Stoned on Fruit When stone fruits are in season, it’s not just the bees who are drunken with hilarity. Their fragrance alone is enough to make you swoon. And if that doesn’t do the job, the taste surely will. “For the taste of the fruit is the tongue’s dream”,...
Why Don’t We Have A Minister for Food?

Why Don’t We Have A Minister for Food?

Why Don’t We Have A Minister for Food? That’s the question which reverberated with me for days after hearing Professor Alana Mann’s interview with journalist Benjamin Law about her latest book Food In A Changing Climate (Emerald Publishing 2021).I’d been invited...

Gaziantep: The Soul of Turkish Food

Gaziantep: The Soul of Turkish Food I was very lucky to be invited to Gaziantep in south-east Turkiye in 2016 after UNESCO had recognised it as the 2015 Creative City of Gastronomy. The people I met there were so warm, generous and hospitable.  My heart goes out to...