For Fork Sake

I haven’t had a decent foodie chat since giving birth to my third child in February. But, I have been writing a lot. I haven’t been out for a meal in so long, I can’t remember the last restaurant I went to. But I have cooked some epic dishes at home. In some ways, having three children under the age of three has disconnected me from the Sydney foodscape.

So, I am thankful for the Food bloggers I follow on Social Media and I have no choice but to live vicariously through their foodie adventures. I sat down for a chat with Jess Rizk, who runs the fantastic Food Blog, JR Eats.

Jess eats at some awesome establishments that range from your local hole in the wall type café or burger joint, to classy restaurants with Michelin star rated chefs. She provides her followers with first impressions and genuine reviews. We had a great chat about her family food culture and her experience with food blogging. But, the thing that got me in all the feels, was what Jess’s foodie ventures have done for her personally. Jess is so easy to talk to and I instantly felt I could relate to so much of what she had to say. Hearing her experiences makes me ever so grateful for the power food has in bringing people together.

­Every so often, I am lucky enough to make new connections. I feel like the last two years have been the time to bond more with likeminded people.

I can honestly say, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to dialogue so intimately and authentically with a range of people through social media who have kept me sane in times where I would otherwise have felt incredibly desolate. Friends that I don’t see often, some that I haven’t seen in years, distant family and then acquaintance’s. And what I have loved about this dialogue, is that it has quite often begun from a food related post I have shared and henceforth, kept me really active in the kitchen.

Thanks to a lovely mutual friend you might remember from a previous episode, Giulia Pantanto, I have had the pleasure of getting to know a bit about Davide Tonucci. Davide reigns from my Motherland  - a small town outside of Bologna along the East Coast of Italy. He has now lived in Sydney for over ten years. His journey with food is authentic, progressive and poetic.

Following Davide on The Coastal Italian has drawn me to his gorgeous and genuine connection with food, particularly pasta. It is such a joy learning more about Davide, his roots, his work in the hospitality industry and how he turned his experience into an amazing opportunity to do what he loves every single day.

It often shocks people to know that one of the first things I have requested after birthing my children is a fresh prosciutto crudo and provolone panino. There is something about a panino stuffed with deli meats that takes me back to after school hangouts with my paternal nonni and a spread of fresh panini, mortadella and formaggio from their day out in Haberfield. 

When I last travelled to the motherland, I had some standout panini. But there is one that oddly fills me with great joy. This panino was so simple and so divine, I fondly and regularly transport myself back to a blistering hot summer day on a pilgrimage in Rome with 11 of my High School students. We stopped at a paninotecca and I ordered a provolone dolce, zucchini flower and anchovy panino. Oh and an expresso to wash it down, of course. Wow. It was delicious in every sense of the word and I had never had a panino quite like this. Since that day in 2016, I have spoken about the serious need for more specialised paninotecchi in Sydney. Thank the Lord for Dom Ruggeri! 

He established Dom Panino one month after I gave birth to my second son. Right on time, Dom and perfectly located around the corner from my then Concord home. Thank you Dom, thank you. Whipping up fresh panini packed with all the faves, I was in heaven. Sleep deprived with an 18 month old and a newborn, deli meat deprived for 9 months, my dreams had finally become a reality. And now I’m being tortured once again in my third pregnancy, by daily Dom Panino posts. 

But Dom Panino does so much more for me. It transports me to childhood memories – fondly devouring fresh panini with the family on the weekend and being picked on but un-ashamed of my cotaletta and left over porchetta panini in primary school before becoming celebrated for my lunches in High School. My soul rejoices in the opportunity to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with a guy with whom I have so many nostalgic crossovers, let’s be honest he could be my cousin! Dom is an inspiring individual, someone who really understands traditional food and like me, obviously has an emotional connection to it. I could speak with him for hours on end – he has had one hell of an interesting journey! It is pure bliss to absorb the gorgeous energy and love for what Dom does. I couldn’t speak more highly of him. 

Dom Panino is located on Emily Street in Mortlake – they just celebrated their first birthday and Dom is pulling out specials that have me salivating! I am SO looking forward to my post-natal panino!

​​Food truck culture has been on the rise in Sydney for some time. I distinctly remember my first few Food Truck experiences. Mr Gee’s Burgers and Knefeh Bakery were the first to really have me sold on the food truck experience. But travelling through America and visiting the home of the food truck, Austin Texas, really made me appreciate the food truck movement. 

One food truck that has had a special place in my heart is American BBQ Kitchen. From the first time I experienced lush tender Smokey brisket from these guys at Sydney’s Meatstock festival a few years back, I was transported back to my mini Texan Roadtrip back in 2016. The man behind this delicious smokey goodness, is JR Boukarim. 

This entrepreneurial genius started his journey at Farmers Markets selling homestyle authentic Lebanese food using recipes learned from his mother and Teta. JR has wonderfully evolved within the Sydney Food Truck scene, offering up delicious Fried Chicken through Bird Man and looking to expand his foodie ventures in the not too distant future. Like myself, JR has high expectations when it comes to the hospitality industry. We demand quality and are easily frustrated when Sydney big guns miss the mark time and time again as we both desperately seek a stellar hospitality scene with our Melbourne experiences setting an extraordinary benchmark. 

We come across as somewhat provocative, however this fierce approach comes from our deep love for good quality and authentic food and how the very nature of our being seeks perfection even in our own kitchen. It was a pleasure to sit down with JR and be inspired by his commitment to a journey of constant learning, evolving and pushing boundaries in the Sydney Food Truck scene.

Do you ever come across a person and think, this is a fascinating human? 

Since the beginning of the Sydney Lockdown this year, I continuously came across one particular face on so many of the wonderful food establishments I follow on Social Media. As his face grew increasingly familiar, this lean eating machine, had me intrigued and impressed. James Webb is an absolute joy to follow. He puts away incredible portions of food in an array of food challenges while amazingly maintaining an impressive physique. I had to get to know more about him! After a few months of following him through lockdown, I was entertained and yet unable to contain my sheer jealousy in his consumption levels. 

But, I was also finding myself cheering for him from the comfort of my lounge while struggling through one THICC Cookie. So, I reached out to have a chat with this legend and he was awesome and obliging. James has a beautiful and somewhat ironically balanced relationship with food and fitness and my respect for him grew as our conversation progressed. He’s a great guy with an enviable appetite and you all need to go and watch his live feeds at JWEBBY CAN EAT after listening to our chat about his journey in food challenges. You are sure to gain the appreciation I have for his unique skill.

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by so many incredible foodies who share a similar ethos and passion when it comes to food. But, no one more so than Gabrielle Theo who I have really clicked with over the years and been inspired by on so many levels. Gab is a food lover, a thermomix pro, a fantastic blogger and a wonderful mother to two gorgeous boys. She operated an extremely successful Instagram page (thermo mumma) up until the birth of her second son and consistently reflected a positive space for cooking with wholefoods and the benefits of the thermomix. 

Gab is now back doing what she loves and what she does best, sharing her cooking adventures on _gabrielleskitchen and I am so thrilled to see such passion and flare in her kitchen once more.

Who doesn’t love a toastie? A toastie is hearty and perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack in between. So many great cheeses, bread options, condiments, pickles, meat cuts. 

My goodness, there is a toastie for whatever your vibe might be and I’d happily eat a toastie a day. But the bigger question is, who doesn’t love an epic pair of foodies making a sensational toastie for a community of loyal fanatics? My favourite mushroom toastie happens to be made by the wonderful team behind Mister Toast. 

Zac Wolf and Heidi Abraham are passionate and creative duo who have spent the last 6 years stationed at weekend markets throughout Sydney serving up the most epic Toasties. These two know quality ingredients, they know condiments and flavour. Wow, do they know flavour?! I sat down for a lockdown chat with these phenomenal creatives in anticipation of their return to the Kings Cross and Marrickville markets.

Throughout my life, I have worked a considerable amount in food related industries. One of the most profound experiences of my young working life, was the time I spent with the About Life Natural Marketplace company. In this time, I developed knowledge surrounding wholefoods and superfoods that inspired a life-long language for my everyday culinary experiences. 

During this time, I also had the pleasure of connecting with inspiring individuals who spoke the same language and with whom I built a deep rapport with. One of these individuals is the lovely Giulia Pantano, who I worked very closely with. Giulia has spent years in the food industry, and her time working with produce from a young age, to Wholefoods abroad and as a Visual Merchandiser at Aboutlife, are a display of her wealth of knowledge when it comes to food trends. 

Giulia is an exceptional cook and I have had the pleasure of experiencing her passion for food for family, food as medicine and food as an expression of creativity and love. Living a life with chronic pain, Giulia has adapted a lifestyle that includes foods for healing and soothing. Her knowledge is innate but the true gift that Giulia is, is just how she connects with herself and her family through food. 

I don’t really need an excuse to have a conversation with Giulia as she is a dear friend of mine, but I’m so glad you all get the pleasure of hearing her speak about her connection with food.

Food and Fitness. Two words that when placed together can cause some considerable anxiety for some. Yet others, seem to have found a way to enjoy both simultaneously without incredible amounts of stress. Hayden Laws is a Head Coach on a team of experienced and genuine people at Alpha Team Fitness in Sydney. He is insanely knowledgeable in tailoring individualised programs for his clients and wonderful enough to personally journey alongside them to reach their fitness goals. 

Hayden’s perspectives and experiences with nutrition are so well balanced that it’s hard not to be inspired by his approach. I talk him up a lot, and he deserves it! Hayden has coached me for the past couple years. As someone who has experienced a stringent, depletive and depriving approach to dieting for physique and results, Hayden has completely altered my perspectives on food for the better. He has helped me to better understand macronutrients, tracking what I eat and how this can actually be a powerful tool in learning how to be more intuitive and free to enjoy a variety of food to better suit my lifestyle. 

Though Hayden and I have found tracking to be a functional, positive and appropriate tool for our active lifestyles, we reinforce that this has been essential to our personal goals in fitness. We both encourage individuals to find a stress-free holistic approach to food tailored to their unique lifestyle.

Food on the mind, food in the heart, food through your device. Social media and blogging are avenues being used more frequently to share ones journey with food. Natalie Cittadino operates @thehungrygreek Instagram page – an awesome interactive love affair with all things food as she eats her way through the best of what Sydney’s food scene has to offer. I am bombarded with a sea of food nostalgia every morning as I embark on her latest “this or that” posts and check the stats to see if my food preferences are in the minority or majority when stacked up against the rest of Nat’s followers. Natalie is a force for inducing sentimental cravings as well as keeping her followers informed about what’s good to eat in Sydney. Since our High School years, both Natalie and I have journeyed through our adult lives prodding at food culture both locally and globally. I have reconnected with Natalie over the past couple of years over our love for food and enjoy or frequent chats about Mexican food and cooking adventures. It is a pleasure to have Natalie join me for a chat about her love affair with food.