Tim White

Went to the launch of SAHA last night - the food is pretty damn good! This will be a landmark in Melbourne food publishing as the publishers announced that they will be focusing on becoming a leading wine & food publisher - which means forthcomings like: * The Botanical * Becasse * The Lake House * maybe something from Andrew McConnell in the new year all with stunning design using SAHA as a benchmark Shinboners - I'm glad you liked Zuni - the roast chook is one of our favs. Also worthwhile is the beef & polenta From French we've been cooking the chevre & herb tart & the Widow's Kiss meringues. The pastry in the tart is pretty special. One of our staff can also recommend Eve's chocolate cake On the charcuterie front - we just got our advance copy of the final book - the book will release the first week of December - it is fantastic - Mr Ruhlman has penned another classic. No pictures but lots of line drawings - metric measures included - and a very good price - $49.95 Highly recommended If the charcuterie/sausage event comes about - let us know!

Shinboners - Good luck with the commission! If you want to see the Ruhlman, the Pignolet or the Henry we have samples...23rd December is the due date for the Ruhlman Yes Alford & Duguid are doing a new book called Mangoes & Curry Leaves - it will be about $100; same size & format as earlier books - looks stunning Due November If India is your thing there will also be a very good autobiography/recipe book from Madhur Jaffrey due December Sorry you didn't like Olney - the best two are Lulu's Provencal Table and Provence the Beautiful - I think the earlier books now seem a bit dated although the recipes are good. Other oldies but goodies are: Elisabeth Luard; Anne Willan; Diana Kennedy (Mexican); If you liked Zuni I would expect you to enjoy Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertoli and books by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Keep hunting!

Opposite Casa Iberica, the spanish foodstore - which for anguso - should be his first & only stop in Melbourne as that is where his partner will find the best range of stuff to make authentic home cooked food - and hopefully he'll invite us along!

One has to ask if Shinboners is on commission with readings! To answer some recent questions... Simon Hopkinson is one of the great British writers (although his co-author Lindsay Bareham is pretty good too!). Roast Chicken long out of print is available again - just as Second Helpings goes out of print! Peter Gordon's salads is a fresh & wonderful book - you will want to cook from it - Shinboners should have a look at The Zuni Cafe by Judy Rodgers; Richard Olney titles; Sam & Sam Clark;s Moro titles and Diana Henry's Crazy Water Pickled Lemons Greg Malouf's new book is called SAHA it will be here in November; sumptious rich beautiful hardcover $69.95 Yes there are lots of dross - fast, easy, idiots cooking books published every month - and they keep coming. There are also many great books that because they are serious don't get the media coverage and marketing they deserve. Sorting the chaff from the wheat is the hard bit. Some new books worth the effort: October - Diana Henry Roast Figs Sugar Snow $49.95 October - Guy Grossi My Italian Heart $45 November - Damien Pignolet's French $69.95 December - Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polycn Charcuterie $49.95 December - Claudia Roden Arabesque $59.95 oh and you might want to check out Glenn McGrath (yes Oh Ah!') "Cooking with the Master" out in November - makes Moby look like a gourmand

Melbourne has very slim pickings. There is a small place on Johnston St - can't recall the name - average but it is better than the un-nameable chains Come Home!!! ps check out Movida - for an idea of what spanish/latin does well here

As a business model - I have to question it. Maybe it gets more bums on seats (doubtful) I would have thought the spend would be lower per head - and the focus is not on the restaurant but on the 'talent' who also turned up. - Agreed. I would find the show a lot more interesting if more attention was paid to their comments instead of the 'stunt' nature of the show. - Jamie's Kitchen was the better balanced show. The Ramsay show was fascinating but excruciating at the same time. I saw the first episode with an interesting collection of chefs - and all were agog/aghast at what they saw (this was the one with the young git calling himself a head chef who couldn't cook an omelette). Yep - me too. The food won me; and I think they've covered their front of house weakness. The catch is they (read he) seems to be serious about being in the restaurant business as an owner chef and is not in the business of entertainment...so I can't see him winning the public vote at the final hurdle

Not sure where you are going with this but my thoughts are for reality TV its got some legs. The new series has a much tighter and more interesting format. If there is an upside to reality tv - it has to be that it educates (usually by osmosis than intention) - and I think that the show can educate people a bit about food & the restaurant business. This can only be a good thing as an important key to a vibrant restaurant scene is informed and interested clientele As for the various teams - the ones that stand out at the moment as the last two standing are Adelaide & Brisbane (which is where the first round $ went) And as for the 'singles night' concept? Under which rock do these people dine?

Yes and No. The main difference between them is that Spice Notes is a reference with very few illustrations and very few recipes. Herbaceous & Spicery are recipe books with reference material & illustrations The selection of recipes is unusual and interesting. We've cooked a few things out of each and they all worked So - yes if you want some recipes, no if you want more reference material. If you want more reference info - I'd suggest Jill Norman's Herb & Spice published by DK - full colour, lots of useful info (culinary, scientific, gardening etc) together with spice rubs, blends, etc at the back Regards

I have managed to track down a copy, but the guy selling it wants $90 for it (not his fault - something about having to get it from overseas). I think I'll keep looking through the 2nd hand book shops. ← Good luck - we have along wait list and haven't seen one for months. The book was remaindered about 2 years ago and since then has become a chef's must have book. We've tried all sorts of avenues without success - the $90 bit seems a bit rich though - our price would be around $50-$60 if new

If you are travelling around, particularly outside the capital cities check out: Australian Farmers Markets Association Website Otherwise the guys are right - the best markets in Australia are: Pyrmont Fish Market (Sydney) Queen Victoria Market (Melbourne) Central Markets (Adelaide) In Melbourne you can do tours of the wholesale market if you want -www.melbournemarkets.com.au There are also good foodies guidebooks to Melbourne & Victoria & Sydney & NSW - both about $25 Happy travelling

Not many stand up to be counted - although we've sold a fair few copies of elBulli 98-02 and similar books. Ferran Adria visited Australia a few years ago and his demonstrations were well attended (some loved it - some didn't get it or didn't want to get it) The current 'champions' of this sort of experimentation are George Colombaris @ Reserve (Melbourne)(Review comments courtesy of Mietta) and Raymond Capaldi @ Fenix (Melbourne). Interestingly George was Raymond's sous chef for a while - rumour has it they might be doing a book together Its fair to say there are a number of degustation menus around and that the structural elements developed by Adria are being tried & on occasion adopted by a number of chefs - yes there are foams, spumas, dusts, etc but I'm not aware of any other active adapters

Last night we had dinner in the private dining room at Fenix for our staff Christmas Party. We had a great time. Raymond Capaldi Exec Chef put together a 10 course degustation dinner that was impressive and interesting. If there is a 'molecular gastronomy' movement here in Oz, Raymond is in the thick of it... For non-Melbourne people, Fenix is in Richmond, overlooking the Yarra river. The private dining room looks on to the main kitchen and was perfect for 4 but could seat 12. The menu was: Parfait of Green Tea, Limes, Vodka poached in liquid nitrogen a palate cleanser 'cooked' at the table at -165C. Quite unusual - almost a meringue that melted to nothing leaving a very pleasing clean mouth feel. The table service is pure theatre with the 'smoke' of the liquid nitrogen across the table. Chilled Imperial Almond Yeast Soup, Cauliflower caviar, black cherries the cauliflower florets or couscous were poached in squid ink and had a beautiful salty explosion as they crunched in the mouth. The dish was a beautiful combination of 'black & green' Pork Laksa 2005 probably the signature dish at the moment - a 'deconstructed' laksa served as a warm salad with a curry viniagrette. The pork was tiny goujons caramelized, the noodles, coconut set with agar and the viniagrette was to die for. All agreed this was perfection Southern Calamari, medjool dates & chorizo puree with a peach ecume Beautiful sweet, sour dish. The puree had a hint of spice & smoke. Salad Arzak with virtual smokey bacon Great balance of flavours, watermelon, basil, truffled quails egg etc and the wafer of 'virtual smokey bacon' - fascinating Roasted Wild Barramundi, silverbeet, candied rhubarb, young fennel & carrot jus Classic flavours - the candied rhubarb was superb Poached loin of Ascot lamb, risotto of vadelia onion, parmesan foam & espresso dust poached at 56C the lamb looked uncooked but was unctuous. Crumble of Rose Petals, Angeline black Plums & Nasturtium syrup Another potential signature dish - the rose petal crumble was superb & the syrup just the right balance of 'green' almost herb flavour smoked chocolate ice cream, pumpkin ice cream, cocoa cola sorbet with pumpkin milk powder Sounded weird - but it worked - the ices were served with raspberries & the sugar/acid balance was wonderfully cleansing beetroot turkish delight A petit four that 'cleansed' the palate - sweet but sharp and very 'moorish' We left the wines up to the somellier - and enjoyed all the matched wines. All in all a wonderful experience that was beautifully presented. The deliberate incorporation of palate cleansing dishes and a sweet & savoury balance throughout meant we left satisfied but not sated. Some might find the food 'worked' or 'confronting' but we found them to be thoughtful, interesting & challenging - and we'd queue for the laksa any time.

Butchery books are hard to find. Good ones are even harder - we despair of finding worthwhile ones - we'd love to hear of any good ones. The Larousse Gastronomique 4th Ed has good diagrams for French, US & UK cuts - look under beef, veal, lamb etc The Mettler book is a US publication (the author is ex US Army) - aimed at the basic home butcher/hunter - its ok for breaking down a carcass but doesn't have detailed diagrams etc The best butchery instructions we've seen recently are in Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's books - River Cottage Cookbook (amazing detail on what to do on slaughter day etc) and The River Cottage Meat Cookbook The Time Life Good Cook Vols: Beef & Veal; Lamb; Offal; Pork; Poultry all have good diagrams & basic trimming instructions with good photos. Doesn't the CIA do a butchery video (probably expensive)? There is an Australian Home Butchery book again fairly basic - aimed at the small farm butcher. Also our trade schools do videos (PAL - not dvds or NTSC) which teach basic british & european butchery

Now beer - that's a topic to get hot blooded parochial Aussies ranting! Actually you might be surprised. Australian boutique beers are worth the trouble to find. Yes we have a few dominant brands in each state that are brands rather than beers - rumour has it that CUB (the owner of Fosters only has one beer - it just puts them in different tins) About 20 years ago there was an attempt at microbreweries lead by Phil Sexton at Matilda Bay Brewing Co (the original redback brewery) - it was trendy hip etc and coincided with an upswing in the availability of imported beers - which was soundly brought to heel by the big boys buying most of them up - and Matilda Bay became a CUB/Fosters asset. Today however there appears to be a re-emerging group of microbrewers around town. In Melbourne, Holgate, Grand Ridge, Little Creatures to name just a couple of the top of my head have a good range of handcrafted ales, lagers etc. In fact I think Grand Ridge recently one a number of awards at a worhthile International Tasting. What is different this time round is that the beers are being made by passionate brewers not marketing gurus. And one should not forget Coopers - the Sparkling Ale from Adelaide has always been considered one of the World's great beers - Michael Jackson always rates it highly Other new developments - Stefano de Piero has just launched an artisanal beer from Mildura (what next!) and Slow Food Melbourne are about to release a Snail Ale handcrafted in inner Melbourne So are we better - who knows - who cares - but you might want to try a good handcrafted or even better handpulled beer next time you are down under - and they won't be like Fosters or Moosehead - you might have to search for it but they seem to be here to stay.

Reading Stefano de Piero's Modern Italian Food - I noted his comment that it is crazy in this salt riddled country for us to be importing salt for table use. Although I agree with the sentiment - I haven't found one I like yet. We use Maldon salt for finishing & serving dishes & French Grey bakers salt for cooking salt (eg salting pasta water etc) - and prefer the taste of Maldon because of its higher magnesium content We don't like using iodized salt or salt with anti-caking agents (ie Saxa) for the obvious reasons We haven't tried many of the local Salts from inland salinity areas such as Pyramid Hill or Murray Pink What are people's thoughts on other salts around

Dear Ozmouse on the question of good food providores - try the Foodies Guide to Melbourne $26.95 - a local bookstore should have one - but apart from Springvale -for fresh & Asian produce - I'd consider moving As for the question - I've never been to Vancouver - and it would seem difficult to compare a place with a trend. If we were comparing places with places - I'd suggest the answer is that both Vancouver and Melboure are both recognized food places - that are emerging as food cultural centres but with all things - its a work in progress and the quality goes up & down where ever you are. And as places proud of their food culture - they both have a long way to go. We both seem to be fighting against large scale farming, shopping & distribution, against lowest common denominator food & food produce etc - we probably both struggle with the tyranny of distance for quality international produce etc And I have to ask - is Vancouver the new Sydney? No longer content with an interstate rival do we have to have an international one?

le madre bread is available from one of the bread shops at the market - its the one on the corner (they also sell irrewarra)

Bread lovers of Melbourne are spoilt for choice - PCL I've been too busy eating them to reply.... The best way to get to know Melbourne's artisanal bread is to go to the Queen Vic Market. There are three specialist bread stalls, each with a wide and different range. They will get breads in for you if they don't have the exact one you want. We've been sampling Melbourne sourdough for over 20 years - you might want to try (apologies in advance for people who don't live in the inner nth): Franks - Southern Suburbs- great for east european style breads - widely available Pure - Eastern Suburbs- really good olive loaf, rosemary & olive oil loaf, white loaf (spoil yourself with the chocolate and fig loaf - usually a special order) Organic Gertrude - Fitzroy - Inner City - french rustic style - completely by hand and totally organic - great on the day but even better for toast or rustic european dishes using bread - only catch is unless you have a freezer full - they are closed until the first week of February - make a journey for the foccacia! LaMadre - Geelong - artisanal unusual breads - highly regarded Irrewarra - Colac - ditto - highly regarded by Stefano di Piero Natural Tucker - Carlton Nth - inner City - a bit San Francisco and a bit bitter for our taste but responsible for at least 10 of the micro bakeries around town - good for heavy baguettes Loafer - Fitzroy Nth - Inner Subs handmade with love and a bit of philosophy - have had some problems with their oven but still great Kingfisher - Northcote - Inner Nth artisinal bread - again San Fran style - some very nice breads Fruition - Healesville - Outer East wood fired oven - worth the trip Baker D Chirico - St Kilda Inner Sth Probably the best in Melbourne - certainly most restaurants stock their bread - special - but sometimes hard to get because of demand Il Fornaio - St Kilda Inner Sth Not far from Baker D. Good Italian style breads - not many sourdough but good food Filou's - Carlton Nth - Inner Nth Great sourdough baguettes - all natural, organic etc etc - close your eyes and smell and you could be in Montmarte (rather than opposite the Melbourne Cemetery) Great patisserie also Ceres - Brunswick - Inner Nth have a woodfired oven that is available most weekends if you want to do some of your own Melbourne CAE - City run a sourdough workshop on a regular basis. The teacher Mark Dymiotsis is Greek and teaches Eastern Med style sourdough breads. And if you want semi commerical - Shwob's Sourdough, Phillipa's Breads, The Village Baker - are all available at good food stores. Shwob's is probably the best commercial sandwich bread - but light compared to a lot of the above. The other two were artisinal bakeries who have expanded and have a good range of product. Some might find them light but they are usually pretty good For us - our everday breads are from Pure (from the bread shop on the lower concourse at the Deli Section of the Vic Market - just ask for Peter or Michelle) or Filou's If you want more info - check out the new Ed of the Foodies Guide 2005 to Melbourne & Regional Victoria - the editors love bread - or email The Age Epicure - the editor is a bread lover

We've been told one is under way but a release date has not been confirmed yet.

What ever you want to learn - you should also consider Kirsten Tibball's Savour Patisserie School in Brunswick - www.savourschool.com.au. Kirsten is a member of the Australian Pastry Olympics Team and recently won Gold at the World Championships

I believe the short answer is a little bit longer. The spirit (Ports are usually about 18% alc/vol - a combination of wine and spirit say brandy) helps to slow oxidation. Vintage ports often fade quicker only because their flavour expression is based on a single vintage and they are designed to age. Non vintage ports are blends and their manufacture in large barrels for years means they have developed differently and the flavour expression lasts longer - either way the sooner the better - some books and winemakers say up to a month is acceptable, (although it well not be the port you started with) if well corked or decanted & stoppered - which should be about 3-4 weeks more than you need!

Try Australian Gourmet Pages www.australiangourmetpages.com.au