Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

Jason Chang owns Melbourne's Calia in the city and Chadstone shopping centre, as well as Yu Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant which the pandemic has permanently shuttered. He shares his experiences of racism, both overt and systemic - why are tortellini prized and dumplings pedestrian? Chang is a smart operator with big plans and strong vision - oh and he's getting a robot!

Lino Scidone is the straight-talking, passionate owner of La Camera, a Southgate institution that's built up loyalty over two decades among staff and regular diners. As Lino says in our chat, hospo folk are resilient but the recent rule changes - on top of three months of pain - almost broke him.

We start the podcast by talking to hugely respected and influential regional restaurateur Alla Wolf-Tasker from the Lake House in Daylesford..It's a deep chat that covers the recent headspin but also dives into the art of hospitality and why you'd do it anyway, when compliance is so challenging and profits are slim.

Dirty Linen covers the issues the hospitality industry finds hard to share in public - industrial relations, business models, mental health, dirty words like profit - it’s all up for grabs and everything is on the table.

We're launching with 'when the rules change', bouncing off the announcement by Victorian Premier Dan Andrews on Saturday June 20 that restaurants in his state were not going to be able to increase numbers from 20 to 50 diners per enclosed space. There were just too many new coronavirus cases to risk it.

Restaurants were devastated. Staff had been rostered, produce purchased, bookings taken, prep commenced. Is this the curveball that sends some restaurants to the wall? And is Victoria's curveball likely to be thrown about in other states, as restrictions ease and case numbers rise?

Your host is food journalist Dani Valent. Dirty Linen sticks to one topic for a week, exploring via interviews with key players who have different perspectives. We also invite those with compelling additions to put themselves forward for supplementary episodes. It’s a unique structure for a unique industry. Dirty Linen is a Deep in the Weeds Production.

Dirty Linen explores the behind the scenes of the food industry, covering the issues the hospitality industry finds hard to share in public.