Cronker

Oh, absolutely. I’m guilty of buying things from my store simply because they sit there too long without being snapped up.

I use engine degreaser spray to clean my oven. It’s fantastic as long as you clean it off completely, and far cheaper than purpose-bought oven cleaner.

The Lonaberger is worth about $10 on its own, but only to someone who actually knows what it is. Right person, right day...

I’m hating on jarred minced garlic. It’s in no way a good substitute for the real thing. It’s more like pickled garlic.

No problem. Keep in mind that the brand I have suggested is one of the larger producers- a great amount of Bush tucker is very artisanal and small scale. You might be better off having a purveyor if you’re after the really good and interesting things..

The bush tomato sauce and the lemon Myrtle chilli are both really good and give very interesting variations on flavours you are familiar with.

These products are pretty good. http://www.outbackpride.com.au/products/sauces-and-dressings

There are some very interesting relishes, jams and sauces made here in Australia from native ingredients (we call it bush tucker). lemon myrtle, finger lime, quandong and samphire spring to mind, and are quite prevalent in better restaurants, although often expensive

Why not a nice port? Still a wine gift, and might go nicely with the cheese toward the end of the occasion.

We get it quite easily in most of our supermarkets in Australia, but it’s probably because there is still a lot of convict and migrant stock amongst our population.

Nope. They look like the seed bells we hang in our budgerigar cages, though.

Yes, it’s for this reason. At least, here in Australia. At the end of shift, when you are settling the card machine, tips are shown as a seperate “pool” of transactions. It’s done this way firstly to ensure that tips are accounted for correctly (ie: not double taxed) and secondly as a deterrent for owners to pocket the tips themselves. There are still very dodgy practices by owners trying to get their hands on the tips, in some restaurants. It used to be common for owners/management to rule that breakages, walk-outs or comped meals come out of tips. This is illegal now. In Australia, we have a decent living wage, and tipping is an exception rather than a rule. Tipping is generally for excellent service or, sometimes, large groups. When waitstaff see an American tourist come through, they will knife each other in the back to get them to their table section.

and yet, you’re the one buying verjus in a can...

It’s just unfermented grape juice, really, and it’s like a vinegar style. I really get hot under the collar when ‘celebrity’ chefs just bang on about one particular ingredient, especially when they sell it. Balsamic does pretty much the same thing as verjus, and far cheaper. Maggie Beer comes across as the best grandma you could ever wish for in your kitchen, but truth is, she is a hard nosed **** to work for.

If you come to Australia, there is a local cook in SA called Maggie Beer who never stops shilling the damned stuff. According to her, every single recipe in existence needs verjus.