Eat It

On today's show we spoke to Adrian from TheHidden Souk about lilly pillies and cloves, we had a marketreport from John, and we chatted to BarryPorter from Kolophon Capers about his decade-oldbusiness.

We started today's show with a quick soapbox rant about the ongoing death of the Great Barrier Reef... why do we not seem to care more about this?

ANYWAY back to the food, or in this case the booze! The sixth annual Good Beer Week is coming up very soon, and Miro Bellini about the evolution of the festival, food matching with beer, and some of the awesome events to look out for.

Next we spoke to author, TV host, and top-shelf tweeter Adam Liaw about one of our favourite cookbooks, Adam's Big Pot. We talked about the different influences on Australian cuisine, the continuing simplification of Adam's cooking, and the importance of seasoning and texture.

To finish today's show, Kellybrook Winery's co-owner Phil Kelly spoke about the upcoming Cider Festival on the weekend of April 30. Kellybrook is a second-generation cider producer, and we discussed different varieties of cider, the different apples that go into it, and what exactly it means to "scrump".

Today we caught up with Bendigo's Sonia Anthony from the excellent Mason's of Bendigo to talk about her ongoing Paddock to Plate series held around the area. We spoke about some of her favourite local food sources, and the importance of diners understanding the provenance of the food on their plates.

Next we had a chat to John at the Queen Victoria Market.

To finish the show, fresh off a bus from Wonthaggi, chef Philippa Sibley joined us to talk about Autumn. We chatted about what ingredients to look for as the days get cooler, her love of the Pacojet appliance (and what she's doing with it), and the BIG news - we confirmed that she will join the kitchen at Syracuse in the coming weeks.

On today's show we spoke to Victorian food guru Alla Wolf-Tasker from Dayleford's Lakehouse. We chatted about the restaurant's "rhythm of the day", the importance of small-scale farming, and the upcoming 14th annual Regional Producers' Day.

The Victorian government has recently introduced a controversial ban on commercial fishing in Port Phillip Bay, and we spoke to food writer Richard Cornish about the new laws. We covered some alternate sources of seafood, whether the old regime was sustainable, and the "terroir" of individual fishing areas.

We finished the show with Melbourne dessert guru Pierre Roelofs who is about to launch another in his series of dessert pop-ups, this time at Milkwood Cafe. Just over the road from us!

Happy Easter Peeps! On today's show we spoke to the Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans, owner of Fat Pig Farm in Tasmania. He's just released a new book called Not Just Jam that covers all kind of preserves, and we discussed the origins of preserved goods and why they are still relevant despite modern food technologies.

We then were joined by Melbourne-based French Chef Florent Gerardin, who chatted about his time working in kitchens alongside Joel Robuchon, Alain Ducasse, Shannon Bennett, and Mark Best amongst others. He is opening a new restaurant in Flinders Lane called Oter, and we spoke about how the new space is coming together and what they'll be serving. It's opening around April 11, so swing past and have a look.

Happy birthday to the Queen Victoria Market! It opened this day in 1878.

There's been a lot about sugar in the news recently, so we decided to ring Dr Rosemary Stanton and see what was actually happening. Recently the UK have joined a few other countries by introducing a tax on sugary soft drinks, which in places like Mexico has achieved a reduction in overall consumption. Other than the (subjective) benefit of flavour, there really is nothing good at all in softies like Coke or Pepsi, and even their "diet" versions can still have adverse health impacts.

Next up we spoke to John at the aforementioned Queen Victoria Market.

We finished by jumping into the time machine and speaking to Jane Lawson about her upcoming book Milkbar Memories. The book documents the treat food we enjoyed back in the 70s, from mixed bags of lollies through to the ubiquitous Chiko Roll. The book is available from May, and even includes recipes so you can make your own lollies - what's not to like?

On a gloomy Melbourne Autumn day we started the show with the final piece of our extended chat with Attica'sBen Shewry, speaking about home cooking, staff meals, and his appearance on the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table.

Next up we heard from our favourite correspondent from the Vic Market, John at Tomato City.

We finished today's show with Alan and Lizette Snaithe from Warialda Beef. We spoke about their purebred Belted Galloway stock, how Pope Joan's Matt Wilkinson has been joining them to learn about farming practice, and their upcoming Asado BBQ on April 17.

On today's show we had an extended interview with Attica's Ben Shewry. After ten years, Attica is at the forefront of Australian cuisine (and the highest rated Australian restaurant if you believe the San Pelligrino judges). We spoke about the first decade, Ben's new kitchen, and how he keeps a fresh approach to cooking.

We also had a market report with John at the Queen Victoria Market.

We were joined today by Spade and Barrow's Katy Barfield, who spoke about her career in "food rescue" - getting food that would normally be wasted and ensuring it will be used. The most recent phase of this is the Yume app, allowing the public to purchase cheap produce. Download it onto your gizmo and have a look!

Joost Bakker braved the crosstown traffic to make it from Monbulk to East Brunswick. We talked about Melbourne's seasons, grinding oats and flour, raw milk, and nutrition vs politics.

We finished today's show with winemaker Duncan Buchanan, who like most winemakers is BUSY right now bringing grapes off vines. This vintage, everything is ready at the same time so chaos has ensued!

On today's show we had a south-side market report with Damian Pike at the Prahran Market, we spoke to the Staple Store's Catie Get, and finished with San Pellegrino's Asia-Pacific Young Chef of the Year, Peter Gunn.