Eat It

Yeeeeaaaaah our first show back for 2015 and we had a quick chat about some of the culinary highlights of our summer.

Our first guest for the year was Dr Rosemary Stanton. Over summer there was a tragic death of a child who had recently consumed raw milk, and there have been subsequent changes to Victorian law regarding its production and sale. But why do people consume it in the first place? Rosemary outlined the fact that there are no tangible health benefits from its consumption, and a lot of the claims you'll hear about its wondrous health properties are entirely apocryphal. Rosemary (and us here at Eat It) does support the craft cheese industry being able to use it to create more interesting boutique cheeses so long as it is used with care and the product is clearly labeled. But there is no real reason to consume the milk itself, and this is especially true for children and the elderly.

Next up we had a lengthy chat to John at the Vic Market about our fairly cool summer.

To finish today's show, winemaker Duncan Buchanan joined us via phone to talk about the 2015 vintage. Despite the cooler weather an "on-average" yield is still predicted for most areas of Australia. In fact, South Australia is looking at one of its earliest vintages ever. We also chatted about the danger presented by powdery mildew with all these cloudy days, the fact that Duncan is about to pick some Riesling grapes off vines in Halls Gap as early as this week, and certain other wanky wine topics like "pruning regime" and "canopy management".

To finish a big year of food on Triple R we were joined in the studio by Joost Bakker. According to Joost, we should make 2015 the year of composting - in fact, over 100 restaurants in Melbourne are already sending their organic waste back to growers where it can make a positive difference rather than just ending up in landfill. And it's not just for restaurateurs; you can get a small version of the same compost systems they use from Closed Loop(and probably some other places too!)

Next up we had a final market report from John at the Queen Victoria Market.

And to round off the year, the redoubtable Sebastian Reaburn joined us to talk about that great party drink, punch. You don't need a punchbowl to make it (in fact, you can even use a washing machine, assuming you are slightly insane), and don't fret about whether your recipe is "wrong"... the great thing about punch is that there's no such thing! Does it taste good? Excellent! Punchtime!

We started today's show with a brief recap of last week's BBQ day experiment. Can you make your own sparkling wine at home with a Soda Stream? Well.. kinda... with the right wine it sort of works. With cask wine? Not so much!

Anyway onto more nobel pursuits, namely having a look back at the restaurant industry's 2014 with food writers Hilary McNevan and Michael Harden. We chatted about the lean profit margins experienced by most restaurateurs, how some of the trendy ingredients are becoming passe ("we've reached Peak Quinoa") and some of the best food experiences they've had this year.

To finish up wine guru Jane Faulkner joined us to talk about the increase in different grape varietals in the Australian wine industry, what's happening with wine prices in general, and some of the broader trends in the industry. Australian Gin? Tick. Tasmanian Whisky? Tick. Continuing rise of craft beer? BIG tick. Growing acceptance of Sake as a match for various cuisines? Tickerooney.

On a packed show we spoke with Melbourne dining legend Matteo Pignatelli, owner of two-hatted Matteo's, about the odd spectacle of restaurant reservations being "scalped" to high bidders due to such a high demand for Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant opening in Melbourne next year. How much would you pay for concert tickets, or an expensive seat at a sporting event? That style of dining is similar, and it's no huge surprise that people are clamoring to get a table.

The brilliant Philippa Sibley joined us in the studio to talk about her recent travels to New Zealand. We also spoke about the Prix Fixe menu themes for both this month and next month, including a dessert that was "accidentally vegan!"

Next up we had a market report from John.

To finish this week we spoke to the head chef at Melbourne dining hot spot Mamasita, Andrew Logan. We talked about how a traditionally trained skippy Aussie ends up cooking soulful Mexican food, his travels to Mexico, and the long history of Mexican cuisine. Andrew has also contributed some recipes to an amazing tome simply titled Mexico - The Cookbook. It clocks in at 700 pages and is THE word on Mexican food.

We started today's show with a cross to the Yarra Valley, where Oakridge Estate's head chef Jose Chavez was watching his board slowly fill with orders. We spoke about the effect of the recent weather on the local produce, and what he's currently sourcing for his kitchen.

Next up we focussed on technology, with Brad Giblin running us through the recent developments with 3D printing. It turns out that people are already using these devices with food, and whilst currently there are really only single ingredient printers being used, there is really no limit to what can be achieved in the future. Maybe it's molecular gastronomy 2.0? It's even backed by NASA!

To finish today, we spoke the the man behind Bacash restaurant, Michael Bacash. We chatted at length about the new proposals to ban commercial fishing in Port Phillip Bay, and what effect that will have on the restaurant supply chain. We also spoke more generally about how to treat your seafood with respect, and how it is entirely different to preparing and cooking other proteins.