chocolate panforte

Christmas in Oz. A time for summer holidays. A time for long balmy evenings sitting outdoors in the dusk sipping on champagne. A time for frantic 24hr trading at the Sydney fish markets. A time for family and feasting. A time for gift giving and receiving. Read the rest of this entry »

As  much as I love my magnificent harbour city, there are times when the Sydney weather can be very perplexing if not downright inexplicable. Take last week for example, Thursday was a gorgeous 30C balmy and summery as one would expect for December. But come Friday, the clouds had drawn in and you could be forgiven for thinking that you had somehow been transported to misty Ireland. Which is about as far from a summer vibe as you can get. Read the rest of this entry »

zucchini blossoms 

Now don’t get me wrong. I loove my little apartment with its balcony that’s just big enough to hold my BBQ and my petite herb garden, its beautiful parquetry floors, and of course its view of the magnificent Sydney harbour bridge. But sometimes when I’m playing in my cramped little dishwasher-less kitchen with its 1960s oven, I do long for a more spacious modern version. So whenever the opportunity arises to make a guest chef appearance at a friend’s house, I tend to jump at the opportunity. Read the rest of this entry »

As someone who spends a ridiculous amount of time thinking about food, photographing food, writing about food and most importantly eating it, I’m ashamed to say that it’s not very often that my thoughts turn to those in the world who don’t have enough to eat. Read the rest of this entry »

vanilla creme brulee

In my experience, when it comes to dessert there are two types of people. In one group there are those who prefer to leave their perusal of the dessert menu until after they have devoured their savoury course(s). On the other hand are the people who turn to the dessert section first and shape their menu choices all around the much anticipated final course. These are the people lucky enough to be blessed with that most useful of things: a separate dessert stomach. Read the rest of this entry »