ExtraVirgin Food & Travel

Whether you celebrate on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day; go full turkey with all the trimmings, or choose something less traditional, in this episode of ExtraVirgin, we are talking festive feasting.

The ‘food course’ of our 3-part holiday special, this epsiode is sure to make you hungry. 

Guests include global food writer Joanna Savill, new Masterchef Australia presenter Melissa Leong, owner of  food business 'incubator’ Wandering Cooks, Angela Hirst and renowned Australian chef Philip Johnson of E’cco Bistro.

We talk about their holiday eating - who’s coming to lunch/dinner, who’s cooking and what they’re dishing up. And there are more than a few surprises in the mix!

We all love to holiday, but for people with a disability, there can be extra challenges.

Our guest on this episode of ExtraVirgin is Julie Jones, of website "Have Wheelchair Will Travel," editor of travel magazine Travel Without Limits  (Australia's first disablity-specific magazine), and mother to intrepid adventurer, Braeden, 24, who was born with cerebral palsy.

Worldwide, the disability travel market is booming. In the UK, the market has expanded 3 times faster than 'regular' travel while in Australia, the inbound market is worth $10.8 billion - more than the Chinese market, yet many operators are still not up to speed when it comes to inclusive travel. 

We talk to Julie about destinations who are getting it right, navigating flights and hotel rooms and her tips on how to travel without limits, whatever your ability.

If you’re a food lover who wants the lowdown on the most exciting places to eat around the world, you’ll love our guest Janne Apelgren. Janne is a renowned food writer and travel editor who also co-authored the must-read book Around the World in 80 Dinners. Our conversation with Janne covers her favourite foodie travel destinations, including insider food and drink tips for her home-base of Melbourne.

Who says luxury and sustainablity can't go hand in hand? In this episode of ExtraVirgin, Natascha visits the private eco-reserve of Grootbos in South Africa.

Almost at the southern tip of Africa tucked between mountains and forest, Grootbos is the most diverse and smallest of the world's six floral kingdoms. Among the 700-plus species found on the reserve, over 400 are on the red data list as threatened, 6 were completely new to science and 4 of these are only known to be found here.

In this episode of ExtraVirgin, Natascha talks to Grootbos operations manager Clayton Niemand about how the lodge goes about protecting this unique region and putting their serious committment to sustainabiltiy into practice on a day to day basis, while still giving international guests an unforgettable 5-star experience. 

If South Africa is on your travel radar, then have a listen - we're  sure to want to add Grootbos as a must - visit destination afterwards. 

Imagine living in one of the most remote parts of Australia and being tasked to procure and create world-class food for visitors to the area. That’s the challenge for head chef Luke Sutherland who works at a resort in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. With the cheffing world already recognised as a stressful one, Luke discusses the extra pressures which can come into play when the restaurant is in such an isolated wilderness area.

Food influencers offer publicity on social media in return for free meals. But can we really trust the opinions of people who are essentially paid to write positive ‘reviews' on social media like Instagram and Twitter as well as restaurant review sites? 

Many restaurateurs and cafe owners are fed up with being hit up by influencers wanting free meals, but can they in fact be a force for good in an industry that’s often struggling to pay the bills?

In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel Podcast, we talk to a professional food critic from The Australian newspaper, John Lethlean, a restaurateur, Simon Gloftis of Hellenika and a social media influencer, Kerry Heaney of Eat, Drink and Be Kerry to answer these questions and more.  

Vietnamese-born Jimmy Pham grew up in Australia but, on his first visit to his birthplace, he was shocked by the poverty and the plight of street kids he met. He started out feeding a handful of these young people but eventually decided to start a social enterprise that would help them gain skills and change their lives. Twenty years later, the venture has trained more than 1000 disadvantaged young people in the hospitality industry and changed the lives of many more. We chat with Jimmy about the philosophy behind KOTO - the organisation he started with a sandwich shop in Ho Chi Minh City - and hear incredible stories about its global impact.

Louis Costa from Aurum Mead is intent on putting the world's oldest drink back on restaurants' wine lists.

Born in the heart of the famous winemaking region of Bordeaux, Louis was lured to Australia for the lifestyle, and by love.

In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel podcast, we talk to winemaker Louis about why he's chosen to make mead instead of wine, and how, utilising both his wine and beer making knowledge, he's dragging a drink best known for its connotations of medieval or viking celebrations into the 21st century.

John Lethlean is Australia's best known (and some would say, most feared) food critic. He's been writing about food for more than 20 years and currently his reviews appear in The Weekend Australian Magazine.

In this episode of ExtraVirgin, among other topics, we discuss how John chooses who to review and how he avoids being recognized, the ethics and responsibilities of a restaurant critic, John's restaurant 'take downs' and how restaurants react to a less than favourable review. We also talk about John's restaurant bugbears, how he thinks Australian restaurants can solve their service issues and find out what his considers to be his least and most memorable meals. 

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Simon Gloftis has been behind some of the Gold Coast’s most successful restaurants. We asked Simon about the changes he’s seen in hospitality over 20 years in the industry and what it takes to be successful in such a competitive business.

Simon started out washing dishes and delivering pizza and even thought he might be a real estate agent; he realised food was his calling when he kept finding himself reading cookbooks instead of his real estate course material!

First, he had a cafe with his brother then nine years ago he opened Hellenika, a Greek restaurant at Nobby Beach. He created and sold the award-winning Fish House at Burleigh Heads and last year he opened a second Hellenika, bringing his vision for top-notch but authentic Greek food to the luxurious new Calile Hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. The restaurant sits poolside and has become a popular destination for drinks and people-watching but Simon says he keeps his eye on the main game - the food.

A recent month-long trip to Greece, where meals ranged from expensive degustations to simple soup in tiny villages, consolidated his belief that he is on the right track with a combination of top quality food served in the simple style of traditional Greek food.