Whilst attending a Southern Italian cooking class at Carrick, I was introduced to a mussel recipe of Southern Italian origin by Antonio Ruggerino, chef and owner of Verde Restaurant+Bar.

The recipe is so quick & effortless to prepare, and yet, tasted so nice that it almost beggars belief. Read more »

When it comes to chef’s knives, I tend to prefer the heavier, European knives, mostly because it’s what I’m use to. I have a similar mindset to knives as Boris the Blade does with hand guns (a character from the movie Snatch, if you’re wondering).

“Heavy is good. Heavy is reliable. If it doesn’t work, you can always hit him with it”.

Ok, maybe not that last part…

A number of food bloggers and other media types were invited to Carrick to not only test drive some European style knives from Wenger, but also to learn to cook some Southern Italian food from Antonio Ruggerino, owner & head chef of Verde Restaurant+Bar. Read more »

Schiacciatta con L’uva, a rustic grape studded flat bread of Tuscan origin, was recently featured on a MasterClass episode of Season 2 of Masterchef Australia.

During this MasterClass, Michael Klausen, CEO & Director of the popular artisan bakery Brasserie Bread, demonstrates the process of making this flat bread to a couple of the show’s contestants.

Watching how it’s made on television is one thing. Being shown how to make this delightful flat bread by skilled artisan bakers during a workshop at Brasserie Bread? Well, that’s another matter entirely. Read more »

Imagine spending an afternoon on the water, just past the heads of Sydney Harbour in a small charter vessel courtesy of Deep Sea Charters.

A beautiful, clear Summer’s day. The wide blue yonder stretches out before you as far as the eye can see. Moderate temperates with a cool sea breeze, carrying the fresh scent of the sea. The pleasant company of friends. Lines over the side of the boat waiting for a sizable catch to take back home for dinner. The gentle rocking of the boat. The more vigorous rocking of the boat. Fending off waves of nausea brought on by sea sickness. Succumbing to the nausea of sea sickness. The cramped toilet cubicle with a toilet so small that you have to make the difficult choice between going No.1 or No.2, as the seat was only big enough to accommodate the motion one or the other and not both.

Believe it or not, it was a great day in hindsight. Read more »

Some succulent looking roast pork, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve had roasted pork this good! However, this dish was but a small portion of the food that was available at a post-Christmas gathering of food bloggers that was organised by Richard from Here Comes The Food.

Though, don’t be fooled into thinking that this was just some casual gathering of a few people.

No, no, no…

With up to 21 attendees in total, which includes a few +1′s i.e. partners, this turned out to be something of a special occasion. An occasion where the food ranged from the good, the crazy, and the crazy good. Read more »