Now here is a little bit of news from Hallidays Point. Yes, some of it is Christmas related, but they do throw a great party down there, so it is worth a mention – it was sent to me by one of our readers.
Each year the Red Head village community partakes in a Christmas light competition, where the streets are beautifully lit up with a display of street lights, helping to keep Essential Energy afloat and giving the village a wonderful festive feel. At the annual Christmas party, the previous year’s winner has the honour of selecting the current year’s winner of the competition.
There was great excitement when Maddison Aiken announced that this year’s winners were Cathy and Grant Whitelaw. More than 100 residents attended the Christmas Party held in the Red Head Reserve, and the highlight was the arrival of the Santa Claus with his endless supply of lollies. He is a hit at every street party, that Santa Claus!
Still at Hallidays Point, the 2012 Head2Head Ocean Classic was held on Monday 2 January 2012 at Black Head Beach, with fantastic conditions, the sun shining and the seas calm after some pretty heavy swells the week before. Numbers were up on last year’s swim, with a successful day for the hardworking team at the surf club. 2012 was the third year for the ocean swims, with 88 finishers in the 700 m race and 161 in the 1500 m race.
Sixteen year old Kurtis Kavanagh from Burleigh Waters in QLD took the honours in both races. In the 1500 m race, last year’s winner, 15 year old Connor Shakespeare from Forster, came in 11 seconds later to claim 2nd place.
In the women’s section, 41 year old Dori Miller from Sydney NSW was the first female home in both races. Last year’s winner of the 1500 m race, 15 year old Maddison Carnegie from Bella Vista in NSW, came in 13 seconds behind Dori to take 2nd placed female.
This year also saw the running of the inaugural 10 km ocean ski race as part of the day’s events. 18 hardy paddlers took part in the race from Black Head Beach to Diamond Beach and return, with the winner being 37 year old Shane Cornish from Forster, while 46 year old Laura Thurtell from Forster was the first female home.
As I said, Bent on Food has been busy with many happenings, including the successful launch of our evening menu, cooking classes and the usual chaos.
At the cookery school, Michael and his daughter Gaby enjoyed conducting a Big Chef, Little Chef class, with participants learning the art of cutting a chicken and turning it into the most wonderful Fricassee; I was on the dishes, so I was given a taste … yum. Not to mention that the dessert was my favourite – vanilla pannacotta, all wobbly, and perfectly formed too!
A private class was also held, with the Cudlin ladies learning some pasta making skills and my next favourite dessert, tiramisu. The ladies had a great time, and they were a pleasure to spend the evening with. They were good sharers too, and their ravioli was restaurant quality.
Michael and I also taught some very well behaved children how to make cupcakes and 3 different types of icing. The children were delightful, and they were all very good students. I felt very special when they all donated a cupcake to me – like I need any more food!
Troy Bayliss was a hit when he visited Taree Motorcycle Club’s annual twilight meet held at Old Bar race track on Saturday 21 January. Troy was competing on the day in a number of classes and was clearly a crowd favourite, with the spectators enjoying seeing their hometown boy race locally. Troy is now retired and living on the Gold Coast with his family. Originally from Taree, he returned to his home track for the first time in 20 years.
I would love to hear from you if you have any social events, weddings, parties, anything!
Send pics and info to Donna Carrier
Cheers, Donna.

I always wonder how people find time to be bored. It flies so fast, this thing called time … we make our New Year’s resolutions, then before we know it December comes around – and we are on the rollercoaster to Christmas. Read more

I feel like I have been surrounded by celebrities this month – first Robbie Buck, otherwise known as the Buckster, broadcast live across NSW and the ACT from Bent on Food, and then a week later Kate McAloon hit town. Read more

Easter is over and mother’s day is just around the corner, and i feel quite positive as i think about future projects …

Daylight savings is over, and there is a slight chill in the air. I really enjoy autumn weather; it’s a little bit brisk, and it’s still light enough in the morning to get out and about. Easter is over and Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and I feel quite positive as I think about future projects and about the possibility of some travel later in the year.

I think that some of this positivity comes from attending Kochie’s Business Bootcamp this month. Marcia Bourke from Ashlea Road Boutique and I travelled to Sydney for a two day bootcamp that included discussions and presentations from some of the most inspirational people I have ever met. I have attended many seminars and conferences, but this one was the most amazing experience I could imagine possible as a business person.

Another positive experience was Dyana and Peter Brown’s 40th wedding anniversary, held at the beautiful Molines in the Hunter Valley. Grahame and I, along with Rebecca Irvine and Chris Poleszczuk joined some of their special friends and relatives for a wonderful celebration. The scenery was picture perfect, the weather was stunning, great food and wine and excellent company. It was a fabulous day, and we were honoured to be able to share their special day with them.

Jannette Mosely was guest speaker at the April get together of the Manning Valley Business Women’s group held at Rio’s in Taree. Jannette shared her expertise on financial planning, with a focus on women in business. Jannette highlighted that all too often women worry about everybody else and forget to plan ahead for ourselves. We all enjoyed an informal discussion over a glass of wine or two.

The opening on Saturday 16 April of the most diverse art exhibition ever to be held at The Great Lakes Art Society was a great success. Vicki Bullard, the Art Society President, introduced Great lakes Councillor Leigh Vaughn, who opened the exhibition with a reminder to all guests and artists that looking at art is a great mental exercise for old and young alike. This year’s Judge was Robyn Collier, a multi-award winning artist.

Artists from around Australia have entered the exhibition, and there is a wonderful array of works with great variation of subject, style and medium used. Everyone was thrilled to see a number of local artists, including several members of the Art Society receive awards and recognition by many guests of their work on the night.

Cara and Matthew Thrippleton were married at the Anglican church in Forster on 26 March 2011 in front of 100 family and friends. Reception was held at B52’s in the Forster main street. Although the weather wasn’t quite what was wished for, the showers of rain stopped when it had to, and a great day was had by all.

Andrew and Brooke Kidd’s wedding was held on 19 February. The girls enjoyed the morning getting ready in some amazing accommodation on the beachfront at Boomerang Beach. The ceremony was held on the lake shore out the front of the Pacific Palms Rec Club. The day was enjoyed by around 125 friends and family. Andrew grew up in the area and has plenty of family living in the region. The reception went perfectly, and a great night was had by all at the Pacific Palms Rec Club.

I look forward to hearing from you with any events you would like me to write about.

Send pics and info to donna.carrier@bigpond.com

Cheers, Donna.

INFLATING IT

Even before Cyclone Yasi hit the coast of Far North Queensland, banana prices had been hiked up to $7.00 a kilo amongst large supermarket chains.

Call it a pre-emptive strike, call it savvy economics based on the predictions of the Bureau of Meteorology, call it really bloody unsubtle, call it daylight robbery. It is what it is. And whether you like it or not, demand and supply is king.

Supermarkets have no problem with passing the buck (or lack thereof) onto the consumer. And, as demonstrated with Cyclone Yasi – even weeks before the effects of natural disasters are felt, they are able to protect their bottom lines with premeditated price rises.

Naturally this caused outrage within the community. As consumers, we exercised the power of choice and boycotted the gargantuan culprits, turning in favour towards our small, local independent grocers, who actually have a conscience and do not have the lion’s share of consumers (and suppliers) wrapped around their little fingers – therefore being able to use, and subsequently abuse, their power.

It’s just way the cookie crumbles. Big companies pull the strings and call the shots. Smaller, independent operators resist shonky tactics, but eventually the simple rules of demand and supply do prevail – and what there is a shortage of rises in price.

And there’s much more where that came from too, what with more than 75% of Queensland having been declared a disaster zone over this most tempestuous summer. It’s the ‘fruit bowl’ of Australia, not to mention amongst the largest producers in the world of that integral ingredient known as ‘sugar’.

Well, it’s all very well that supermarkets can pass the sting onto you. There’s the smallest comfort in being able to put a reason to it (i.e. category 5 cyclone). It’s right there in your face though, and although annoying – at least you can rationalise it.

Unfortunately however, the same opportunity to directly pass on price increases to the consumer does not exist in every industry.

Supply shortages (the kind that make supermarkets hike their prices) affect the food industry on every level. This particularly applies to your local restaurants. Wholesale prices rise in a similar fashion to retail prices. The prices of essential and basic ingredients can, and do, escalate sharply – sometimes without warning. Natural disasters, shipping issues, CPI increments and various other things all add up to steep and painful increases.

Food costs rise sharply as a result, leaving narrower profit margins. What is the solution, you may ask? Hike up prices in a supermarket fashion? It’s not that simple …

People may grumble about paying more for bananas, but at the end of the day they buy them. But many of us take enormous offence at escalated menu prices. And for that matter, the same offence to that other cost-cutting restaurant solution – smaller portion sizes. Or in the same family – perhaps using frozen instead of fresh, substituting an inferior cut of meat …

So much offence is taken, that a refusal to dine in such a restaurant is not an infrequent occurrence.

But at the end of the day, a business operator who wishes to stay afloat amidst ever increasing prices, yet still retain their quality, integrity and reputation – has no choice except to do the same as everyone else. That is, pass the cost on to the customer.

Perhaps it’s because a restaurant is one step further away on the food chain, that prepared food on a plate is a world away from the banana trays at Coles, which is the reason that many do not see the connection. Or, that many folks have a natural suspicion of prices on menus, and their connection with the value they perceive is already dubious.

On the other hand, smart operators can do a lot to keep food costs down – keeping to seasonal ingredients, using every part of a cut of meat for example. But unfortunately there’s some cost escalations which just can’t be worn and have to be passed on in order to deliver the same quality and just to keep the doors open. Sadly, this means you will keep paying more in the supermarket and more in your favourite restaurant.

On the bright side, however … we restaurateurs don’t have enough time on our hands to scour the Bureau of Meteorology’s website and reprint our menus when we see a tropical low heading our way!

WHAT WE VALUE

One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Or something like that. We humans are a diverse bunch – the way we perceive the world us varies wildly. And not just between different socio-economic, cultural or geographic levels, but between people on the same street, who grew up in the same town, went to the same school and earn more or less the same salary.

We were all born with unique personalities. And we all grew up with different interests and talents. Some we came to early on, others we learnt much later. As adults, we know what we like and what we don’t like. After years of experimentation and the resulting mistakes (often) and triumphs (occasionally), we have hopefully created a life for ourselves surrounded by the things we like.

There’s the hobbies that we pursue actively in our leisure time, the careers we gravitate towards, the friends we hang out with. The only thing we can’t really choose is our family. But that’s another story …

What I’m getting at though (and I’ll cut the pre-amble now), is that what we hold dear and what we choose to surround ourselves with are the things (and people!) that we value.

This naturally extends right from our spiritual, social and emotional lives into our economic life – i.e. right to the hip pocket. It dictates what we choose to spend our hard earned cash on. It is the voice inside our heads telling us what we’ll splurge on, what we’ll save on, what is a total rip off …

And this is where I come back to the trash and treasure turn of phrase. Where you see value, I may not. But you and I may be different.

I’m going to head back into the restaurant world to cite an example here. Two people dine together; let’s call them Bob and Sam. Bob is very keen for Sam to try his new, favourite restaurant. Sam is keen and can’t wait to catch up. They sit down, look at the menus. Bob enthuses about his favourite dishes, “You’ve got to try the prawns here!” Sam thinks, “Gee … for that price they better be bloody amazing.” The food comes, and Bob loves his meal. Sam thinks the sauce was a bit spicy and the portion not big enough for the price … Sam feels like going for a burger, as he is still hungry, but his wallet is empty after the exorbitantly priced meal.

He is, shall we say, quite disgruntled. Bob, although sorry that his friend didn’t enjoy the restaurant, still really enjoyed his meal and felt that although it wasn’t cheap, compared to other restaurants – it was worth every cent. He thinks to himself, “Better just meet Sam down the pub next time.”

Bob obviously found value here, and Sam didn’t. It didn’t matter to Sam that the fish was fresh and local. Each meal was handcrafted and freshly prepared with skill and flair. The service in the restaurant was flawless and friendly, the beer was from an artisan boutique brewery, the wine a beautiful Coonawarra cabernet. It was still a rip-off, and frankly, he would have been far happier down the pub with a schooner of Extra Dry. Sam can’t believe Bob is happy to pay such a fortune for a meal, when there are $7 steaks down the road.

This is one example of how different two people can be. In a restaurant, it’s often a simple case of one person being interested in food and wine, and one not. You may not think $50 for a bottle of wine represents good value, but I may not think $500 for a golf club is worth it either.

If you like something, have prior knowledge on a subject, appreciate something, or it is your hobby or career, then you will understand it. You are in a position to be able to assess relative value, compare it to other items. You will know if it is hard to come by, a good brand, or a good year. You are equipped with a trained eye that can appreciate good workmanship – whether it’s hand stitching, leather trimming or a crispy skin on a fillet of ocean trout.

I’m not saying that you have to understand everything to enjoy it – sometimes the best things in life are the spontaneous events that we just fall into. But when it comes to opening our wallets, our minds are often only open in as far as the direct capacity that we have to directly perceive the value of what we are paying for.

We are all different. And that’s what makes it fun …

Sometimes in life, as we all know, the times we look forward to the most are the times that wind up being fraught with mishap and downright disappointment.

Now, not wanting to be too much of a cynic (although a healthy dose in moderation, of course, is somewhat necessary to manage expectations in this crazy world of ours) … but I do feel inclined to wax lyrical upon the holiday season – the pressure it places on everyone, the larger than usual margin for error that it brings is equally as relevant as the joy, the reunion and relaxation components.

Pick a family … indeed, almost any family. Throw several to numerous members of the said family, their offspring and other-halves into the mix. Douse in copious amounts of alcohol, sprinkle liberally with way too much food. Add generous splashes of fatigue, heat and humidity. Stir in past grudges, personality clashes and childhood phobias. Serve immediately with chilli on top …

What is this called? Ah yes, it’s the typical Australian summer holiday experience.

Don’t get me wrong, once again I need to stress that when it’s good, it’s really good! But when it’s bad … it’s not really fun, or relaxing, or entirely what it’s cut out to be.

The problem is pressure … residual pressure from the mad scramble to organise everything before Christmas, then pressure to organise visitors / and or holiday accommodation, pressure to navigate to unfamiliar destinations, pressure to make decisions about what to do, where to go …The list goes on. This is where ‘trying to relax’ becomes a full-time, stress-laden occupation.

And the summer ‘holiday’ dreamt about while juggling mundane tasks in the office, or navigating supermarket aisles on a dreary winter’s afternoon, becomes a reality not as sweet as previously thought.

There’s something to be said for those perfunctory daily routines of our ordinary lives. Although they most certainly lack excitement and possibility, there is sheer comfort to be found in the fact that most of the time not too much can go wrong. And because our expectations aren’t particularly high, we can allow ourselves to be content with small things – basic pleasures.

The problem with holidays is that we put all of our eggs in the one basket – we expect to cram huge amounts of enjoyment into a week or two. We expect everything to run smoothly, although we’re way out of our comfort zone and existing on a haphazard tightrope of differing expectations, rapidly constructed itineraries and clashing personalities. We’re at the mercy of roads or aeroplanes at a time when everyone else in the world seems to be too.

We’re relying on the assurances of someone we spoke to on the phone that our accommodation will be up to scratch. Our coastal paradise is reliant on the daily repetition of sunshine … what on earth will we do if it rains? We imagine that every meal will be delicious, every check-in seamless.

And yes, we know in our hearts that life’s just not like that. It’s not perfect. But a well-earned break after a busy year should be pleasurable, not painful.

I’m not advocating staying at home. No way. Some of the best memories come from those summer holidays … the most fun times, the most hilarious moments. And that’s what it comes down to and the only advice I have for dealing with this time of year … laugh!

Because, there’s more often than not, a funny side. All you have to do it find it …

WHEN YOU NEED A HOLIDAY AFTER YOUR HOLIDAY

Sometimes in life, as we all know, the times we look forward to the most are the times that wind up being fraught with mishap and downright disappointment.

Now, not wanting to be too much of a cynic (although a healthy dose in moderation, of course, is somewhat necessary to manage expectations in this crazy world of ours) … but I do feel inclined to wax lyrical upon the holiday season – the pressure it places on everyone, the larger than usual margin for error that it brings is equally as relevant as the joy, the reunion and relaxation components.

Pick a family … indeed, almost any family. Throw several to numerous members of the said family, their offspring and other-halves into the mix. Douse in copious amounts of alcohol, sprinkle liberally with way too much food. Add generous splashes of fatigue, heat and humidity. Stir in past grudges, personality clashes and childhood phobias. Serve immediately with chilli on top …

What is this called? Ah yes, it’s the typical Australian summer holiday experience.

Don’t get me wrong, once again I need to stress that when it’s good, it’s really good! But when it’s bad … it’s not really fun, or relaxing, or entirely what it’s cut out to be.

The problem is pressure … residual pressure from the mad scramble to organise everything before Christmas, then pressure to organise visitors / and or holiday accommodation, pressure to navigate to unfamiliar destinations, pressure to make decisions about what to do, where to go …The list goes on. This is where ‘trying to relax’ becomes a full-time, stress-laden occupation.

And the summer ‘holiday’ dreamt about while juggling mundane tasks in the office, or navigating supermarket aisles on a dreary winter’s afternoon, becomes a reality not as sweet as previously thought.

There’s something to be said for those perfunctory daily routines of our ordinary lives. Although they most certainly lack excitement and possibility, there is sheer comfort to be found in the fact that most of the time not too much can go wrong. And because our expectations aren’t particularly high, we can allow ourselves to be content with small things – basic pleasures.

The problem with holidays is that we put all of our eggs in the one basket – we expect to cram huge amounts of enjoyment into a week or two. We expect everything to run smoothly, although we’re way out of our comfort zone and existing on a haphazard tightrope of differing expectations, rapidly constructed itineraries and clashing personalities. We’re at the mercy of roads or aeroplanes at a time when everyone else in the world seems to be too.

We’re relying on the assurances of someone we spoke to on the phone that our accommodation will be up to scratch. Our coastal paradise is reliant on the daily repetition of sunshine … what on earth will we do if it rains? We imagine that every meal will be delicious, every check-in seamless.

And yes, we know in our hearts that life’s just not like that. It’s not perfect. But a well-earned break after a busy year should be pleasurable, not painful.

I’m not advocating staying at home. No way. Some of the best memories come from those summer holidays … the most fun times, the most hilarious moments. And that’s what it comes down to and the only advice I have for dealing with this time of year … laugh!

Because, there’s more often than not, a funny side. All you have to do it find it …

THE TERRIBLE TOURIST

You find them the world over … drawn to the busiest street, squares and monuments and surrounded by others of their kind. They’re snap-happy, swaddled in fleece and Gore-Tex and usually standing aimlessly in the middle of pedestrian thoroughfares. Ginormous maps protrude from their hands, bum-bags pad their midsections, guidebooks add bulk, and backpacks bring up the rear. Their eyes never focus at what lies in their path, but can be found darting towards the spires of distant churches, the elaborate window displays in shops adjacent, or just generally everywhere else apart from their immediate spatial vicinity.

They are immediately identifiable, their uniform is universal, their objective clear as day to everyone around them. And what would that be, you may ask? To tick off ‘must-sees’ in their guidebooks, to rather compulsively take copious amounts of photos of absolutely anything they come across … paper bag blowing in the breeze? – “Quick get a shot of that, love! Take a few in case it doesn’t come out.” Thank heavens for the digital camera – especially so for that handy ‘delete’ button.

Their true aim, however, is to arrive somewhere exotic or historic, stay there for a short amount of time, an hour or two, or perhaps a day or two, see those ‘must sees’. And most importantly, to be able to say –”I’VE BEEN THERE!”

Locals have a kind of love / hate thing going on with tourists. The bottom line is that they’re spectacularly good for the economy. In fact, so good that there are many global destinations in which tourism is by far the largest source of revenue. That’s not to say, however, that tourists are treated with anything like the reverence they deserve, for their life-preserving cash injections.

Indeed, quite the opposite is usually true. Travel to any major tourist destination, especially in Europe, and you will often encounter disinterested, jaded and half-hearted service. That’s if you are lucky. If you’re unlucky, you will get rudeness, unpleasantness, and even blatant dishonesty. Hence the old ‘tourist rip-off’ in the ‘tourist trap’.

And then there’s the food. If you’re in Europe, stay away from the joints close to the major attractions. Unless you have a penchant for badly prepared, carelessly served slop which most of the time, puts the culture it’s supposed to be representing to utter shame.

It’s extremely sad, actually. Why don’t the locals care?

I have a few theories … First, the more beautiful and popular a place, the worse the attitude of its inhabitants. For example, if you’ve got a stunning, untouched walled medieval city, then who needs any other charms? People will come to see it even if you’re a sour faced, money-grubbing so-and-so. Similar to the all brawn and no brains theory – if you look pretty, it doesn’t matter if there’s not much inside.

Second, locals get kind of tired of crowds of randoms gawking, and zoom-lensing – blocking up the middle of the footpath when they’re trying to go about their daily chores. They get tired of everyone assuming they speak English. And they mostly get tired of their hometown being hijacked by interlopers, day in and day out, all year around.

Even though they know that tourism is really great for the economy and such, it still is a pain having loads of clueless strangers who don’t speak their language or understand their culture in their space every day, when really – they’re just trying to go about their business. This is fair enough – but it calls for compromise.

A show of patience from locals towards visitors, as well as an awareness and respect from tourists for the fact that the place they are visiting is a functioning entity in which people try to go about their daily lives in peace, and that such a destination does not exist solely for the pleasure of those who visit it.

Sure, tourists in their most clichéd, overblown sense can be figures to poke fun at. But on the other hand, they’re just people trying to see the world. And let’s face it – it can be pretty tough negotiating a path through a place you’ve never been to before.

Booking flights and accommodation is a minefield in itself. Then there’s language barriers, map deciphering, exchange rates and jetlag. All that effort to get somewhere so warrants a bit of gawking and snap-happiness, don’t you think?

The full-time inhabitants of these incredible spots could really show a little more pride in their live-in postcard vistas. As I’ve always said, a little pizzazz in the service department goes a long way. Even a smile is a great start!

And to genuinely help someone out, to make their day better – well it just makes you feel better too, doesn’t it?

That is, of course, until you’re racing across the square to get to the bank before it closes and a Gore-Texed one apprehends you with, “Which way to the leaning tower?”

POLITICAL SOUP

What I mean is that the many weeks of campaigning and spectacular indecision to follow, coupled with the starring role in the proceedings of one of our very own; we at The Mullet had an extremely dismal few weeks of trading. It was ABC 24 and spag bol for our fair Hastings customer base, rather than a nice night out with friends and family.

That’s why this month’s column is called ‘political Soup’. Or should it be ‘political dis-pleasures’? Hmmmmm …

No, I am not bitching and moaning. Sometimes (albeit, quite rarely, in fact) these things just happen and the events following that day at the polls were captivating, to say the least. Emotions were stirred up in dramatic fashion, speculation was rife, alliances were formed, previous beliefs were discarded at the drop of a hat. Many an innocent acquaintance was suddenly discovered to be vehemently passionate towards a particular political persuasion. Or against …

Now I am not trying to make anyone lose their appetite, but although I’ve tried to stop myself, I am compelled to put in my 10 cents worth.

As a small business owner in a regional area, I do not have a natural inclination towards Labor’s industrial relations policy. I’ll be the first to admit that I gravitated towards the Coalition and their more sympathetic treatment of business operators. I have been on the frontline fighting the inception of Labor’s so-called ‘Modern Award’ and its blatant disregard of the hours and days of operation necessary to run a restaurant in a tourist, regional area, made fact by its desire to impose huge penalty rates for workers at these times – effectively crippling profit during key seasonal parts of a year.

This is one part of the picture, and a big one for me and my livelihood – the difference between profit and loss, between success of my business and its failure.

But during this whole prolonged election process, I started thinking about other parts of the picture … the inherent differences between Labor and the Coalition. What it means to lean left or to lean right – and what difference is there between the two contenders at the end of the day? There are other issues that I lean more towards the left on; I won’t go into the those, but effectively I stand somewhere in the middle of it all, in a sort of political Switzerland. Neither here nor there, really.

Bear in mind, though, that I have only recently been acquainted with Australian politics, and therefore my perception of it and subsequent leanings may be somewhat more malleable than, let’s say, someone who was born and bred in regional Australia. In this way, I do not hold passionate alliances to one or the other. I am purely geared towards the persuasion that what is best for me, my family, my electorate and Australia as a nation moving forward, is the best solution. And that solution cannot be put down solely to one party, or the other.

So that in effect is why we, as an electorate, should support Rob Oakeshott in the very difficult decisions he has had to make throughout this time. The electorate voted him into the position of power because of his credibility to date, not because of his party alignment or lack thereof. The circumstances of his predicament were truly exceptional, and I believe that he considered all options with nothing but integrity.

Just think about it this way:

WE ALL TOO OFTEN JUDGE PEOPLE ON WHAT THEY HAVE DONE AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THEY WILL DO (think about why it’s the Emu and the Kangaroo).

Mr. Oakeshott has not gained the benefit of either.

In this case, many in the region believe Rob has not stood by his electorate’s wishes and is somehow betraying us by the decision he made. It is unfair, I believe, to dismiss someone who has made one decision, to align with a particular party (under extreme duress, mind you), in the midst of a frankly freakish political phenomenon. Especially when that person was previously much loved in our region; he in fact achieved a multitude of good things for us, and he will continue to do so.

Let’s give him a chance to keep on doing what he has always done – great things for Lyne. That concludes my stirring up of political soup.

Oh, and for those who may find this political soup a tad bland, perhaps consider this for some additional seasoning … You now live in a very high profile electorate, usually one that belongs to the Prime Minster or high net worth individuals. Consider yourself blessed and perhaps now over-seasoned by this rare opportunity. I believe it has been long overdue, and certainly well deserved…

MILLION DOLLAR MUSHROOMS

In Australia’s restaurant world today, you may come across a strange scene. A seemingly innocuous plate of pasta might be served to you, devoid of garnish – plain, simple and somewhat austere looking. The next thing you know, the restaurant manager (or someone relatively high up in the employee hierarchy) might arrive at your table in a rather ceremonious fashion, flanked by several burly, surly men in black – sporting thinly disguised gun holsters … the manager greets you with a respectful nod, a spark of excitement passes between you – you both savour the knowledge that something wonderful is about to occur.

Gingerly, the manager unveils the object of both of your desires. It is a small black lump, of a size somewhere between a squash ball and an emu egg. It actually looks remarkably like a ball of soil from an average backyard – but is it?

As the unidentified lump hits the surrounding air, an amazing aroma wafts into your nostrils, intoxicating you, your companions, and the person serving you. The more often you smell this aroma, the more exciting it is.

Just as a fine wine is almost more about the nose as well as the palate, this small black (or white) lump emits what is described as a ‘perfume’. It’s complex, evocative and powerful.

The manager produces a handsome metal grater and like a violinist poised to strike bow to string at the start of a delicate movement, they proceed to slowly, almost sensuously grate fine shavings onto your plate.

You watch, enraptured. The aroma envelops you and your table and almost fills the entire restaurant. This sumptuous performance takes barely a minute, but as the manager shaves the final delectable sliver, you are aware that your night has instantly become magical, memorable, transformed into the stratosphere of dining delight. What are these lumps you may ask?

They don’t sound like much, but from what you’ve just described they appear to have almost mystical powers?! These fantastical fungi are called TRUFFLES. And the theatrical reverence applied to their consumption described above is totally accurate (well, maybe apart from the armed security guards, perhaps).

Truffles aren’t chocolates; they’re mushrooms – fungi (Tuber Melanosporum in fact, if you want to get technical). Unlike other mushrooms, truffles grow entirely underground. There are two types – black and white, white truffles only being found in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy and a few in Croatia, while Black are found in several European countries, as well as, recently, small amounts in Australia.

Black truffles grow exclusively around oak trees. A complex interaction exists between the truffle and the root system of the host plant. Truffles are an ancient entity and are an essential part of the ecosystems they live in.

The pungent aroma of truffles attracted a multitude of animal species way before humans cottoned on to the deal. The truffles perpetuate their existence through appealing by scent to a truffle eating animal, who then digests the truffle and then releases spores (yes, out the other end). Possessing an irresistibly attractive scent, when you live underground and need to in effect be ‘pollinated’ by those who seek you out, is a necessity for survival. The aroma needs to be powerfully seductive and worth the effort for the animal in question. And boy are truffles worth the effort – we all agree.

In fact, truffles contain Androstenol – a sex hormone found in male pigs and also human sweat glands. So there you go. Maybe the connection between food and sex is closer than we think …

It all certainly goes part of the way in explaining the value of truffles – well part of the way. Truffles are, as you imagine by the fact that they grow underground, extremely difficult to harvest. Humans need to employ animals with far more sensitive noses than their own to identify their whereabouts.

Pigs and dogs are the animals of choice, with truffle producers of late leaning more towards dogs, as they are more likely to accept other foodstuffs as a reward – it would be of course, counter-productive if the treasured fruits of labour were consumed by the employee.

Especially when you look at the fact that black truffles in Australia go at over $2,000 a kilo, are only available for 3 months and in extremely limited supply over that time.

So there you have it. Are truffles the ‘food of the gods’, a transcendental culinary experience, something to try at least once in your life …or are they little black lumps of stuff that kind of smell interesting – but really, seriously – can what’s really just basically an incredibly pricey flavour enhancer actually be all that it’s cut out to be?

There’s no way I can answer this question for you. The only way is to try them yourself – so I would say, yes, do give them a go at least once in your life. Truffle season in Australia is between May and September, and yes we did have some at the Mullet.

Stay tuned for next year’s season …

BEWARE THE X

Some of us have the gift of the gab, and the rest of us do not (except maybe after a few alcoholic beverages). Everyone knows someone who can talk the leg off a chair. Maybe it’s in the form of an ability to match a story or anecdote to any situation in life; maybe it’s just an uncanny ability to sustain a conversation.

There are those who possess this ‘gift’ and sometimes, perhaps, we wish that they didn’t … when the clock is ticking and we’re running late for work, maybe. Or, if it’s the same old story we may possibly have heard several times before …

There are those of the ilk mentioned above, and then there are those in a whole different league … they are a far rarer breed, but you know them when you see them. There’s just something about them that you can’t put your finger on – something which in the realm of reality TV, you would refer to as an ‘X factor’.

In fact, for the purposes of this article, I am going to refer to them as ‘X’.

Captivating, beguiling, persuasive, seductive (and no I’m not referring here to someone who holds purely physical charms, they can be either sex, and their allure is equally commanding over both genders).

There’s something about these people that will make you do anything they want. They seem to have an uncanny ability to pierce through all the layers and arrive right at your soul, where they somehow appeal directly to your finest of human sensibilities …

These are powerful people. Somehow they have found a way to get what they want, to make the rest of humanity happily acquiesce to their will. Occasionally they are not aware of the power they possess, although usually they are.

Many are naturally, genetically blessed with such gifts – such charisma is a genuine manifestation of human warmth and can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t. It cannot be faked – it is an intrinsic understanding of other human beings, combined with a real interest in people.

Those around such people feel an instant connection with them and trust them implicitly. Hence the desire to do anything to please them …

Coming across such captivating examples of humanity in the course of our daily lives is usually a wonderful thing. They’re the sort of people we gush to our family, and friends about, “Oh, I met this great bloke/really nice lady/lovely young girl today; we had a fantastic chat etc etc”.

It can cheer us up infinitely to really connect with a random stranger in this way, giving us a sort of renewed faith in humanity.

People with this special gift for endearing others to them can be found in all walks of life. Usually they are very successful at whatever it is they do, as their positive outlook, warmth and subsequent natural persuasiveness invite all kinds of promotion and opportunity within their given vocation.

They are always an asset to their organisation, but there is one area of danger that exists for the unsuspecting customer in a SALES environment when they come across such a rare type …

They can sell oil to an Arab, bread to a baker, beer to a brewery …

An ‘X’ in a sales role will convince you to buy anything and everything they have on offer. Before you know it, your credit card will be swiped for an exorbitant amount and you will be the proud owner of … stuff.

Stuff you might have wanted, stuff you might not have wanted. Stuff you had never really imagined in your wildest dreams, stuff you swore blind you would never buy, stuff you would actually refuse if it was given to you for free.

Such is the danger of Type X in a restaurant, the ‘X’ waiter and the ‘X’ sommelier. An encounter with this ‘X’ will imbue you with such a warm, fuzzy glow that you won’t know which way is up and which way down.

You will see the world through such rose-colored glasses, and the carnivorous inner being may prevail (regardless of the fact that you are vegetarian) or suddenly you have acquired an interest in very exclusive Bordeaux wines because you have recently acquired appreciation for fine wine.

By all means have a lovely chat in the queue at Coles with an X, or at the bus stop, or crowded pub. But run for your life if you encounter one in their chosen field if it means handing over cash!

STUFF THAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE AND PANTRY…

The other day I was inspired to clean out the pantry at home. This task does not normally appear in the top 10 of pleasant chores for most of us, does it?

Once the obvious and useful items come out, the hidden depths of what is lurking behind reveals itself.

There are always the items past their best before, if not use-by date. Then there are the other horrors, the details of which I will not explore here, as this is supposed to be a mostly pleasant article …

Unless you are extraordinarily organised, or have heaps of time on your hands, it’s easy for things to get a bit out of hand in the dark and hidden corners or your fridge and pantry.

We all have the best of intentions when it comes to minimising wastage, but seriously – admit it! Occasionally vegies wilt in the crisper, bread goes mouldy, and there are weird curry pastes in the rear of the pantry with a best before of at least a good few months ago.

What to do about this?

I can’t answer that, but here are a few tips, borne out of the financial drain of wastage in a commercial kitchen …

Shop effectively! Have a stock of dried basic items that always can be turned into meals – rice, pasta, polenta. Keep a lot of canned stuff – ditto to the former; it lasts forever and can always be turned into meals – tins of tuna, beans, and tomatoes are great. These basics will always be used.

With fresh produce (especially fruit and veg), buy as needed only. If you have heaps of something fresh, maybe it’s in the garden – learn how to preserve it. Preserved lemons or maybe tomato sauce. If you don’t have time – give it away!

Other fresh foods can be frozen. If you don’t have a chest freezer, think about investing in one. Then you can buy things when they are cheap and in season, freeze them for later – meat, bread, seafood.

Make meals in bulk – especially in winter. Soup, curries and stews can be so warming and nourishing and be frozen for later.

In the restaurant we have the time when it’s quiet to preserve things. Limes in season can be bought in multiple box loads and then squeezed and frozen for a plethora of culinary uses. Sauces and preserves can be homemade and bottled for later use.

Then there’s the cryovac machine – an infinitely fantastic investment in food preparation! Weeks can be put on the shelf life of fresh produce – just by simply sucking out all the oxygen and sealing it. A more essential piece of equipment only exists in the form of a fridge or freezer …

Of course, it’s highly likely you don’t have one at home, but if you stick to the prior-to-cryovac suggestions and most importantly – DO NOT SHOP WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY – you will have a friendly looking fridge, freezer and pantry, where waste will be minimal, and there will more often than not be some wholesome, yummy foodstuffs that can easily be turned into a quick meal if you haven’t had time to get to the shops.

And if all else fails … you can always support your local restaurants by coming out to eat! It’s guaranteed that we have our fridges, freezers and pantries sorted even if you don’t! And you won’t need to wash up – unless you’ve forgotten your wallet!

SWEETS FOR THE SWEET OBSESSED

Are you one of those folks who go out for dinner and ask to see the dessert menu before you order your main course?

Does your dentist appear to procure an abnormally high percentage of his/her salary as a result of your patronage?

Have you seriously contemplated joining chocoholics anonymous?

If you answered ‘yes‘ to any of these questions, then in my professional opinion I declare you to be the owner of a sweet tooth.

In the restaurant world the sweet-toothed are everywhere. There’s usually one at every table, as a general rule. Sometimes it’s difficult to spot them at first – outwardly they appear moderately enthusiastic to hear today’s (savoury) specials, they seem to engage as rapidly as anyone else in conversation at their table.

First impressions are that they’re just a run-of-the-mill, average diner. But on closer inspection, a perceptive waitperson will realise the truth behind the façade … it could be a covert shiftiness in their eyes, a wistful sidelong glance at a dessert headed for a neighbouring table. They might make a seemingly jokey comment about the possibility of ordering a dessert course first (while in actuality, meaning it with every fibre of their being). Or perhaps you may recognise in them barely concealed dismayed frustration at the realisation that their table-mates are ordering (could it be true?) …STARTERS, as well as MAINS! The full-blown horror of the fact that it could take far longer to reach the safe harbour of achingly sweet sanctity is written all over their faces, and this previously looked forward to social occasion becomes an exercise in patience and tolerance.

In my opinion it’s not a coveted palate position to be in. Don’t get me wrong, my sweet obsession is gelato (I am Italian, after all), but the savoury courses are always the main event, not merely a mundane chore to endure before a sugary reward is proffered.

The sweet toothed are perpetually chasing the dragon, dutifully chewing and swallowing all manner of salty, spicy and pickly stuff, day in, day out – in order to get to the only food group that really matters to them – dessert! Even if they’re trying to watch their weight or their blood sugar and foregoing their only food obsession, they are constantly thinking about it. And even if they’re trying not to think about it, they’re dreaming about it … chocolate fountains, gingerbread houses, enormous vats of  icecream – you name it, the subconscious has no boundaries when those previously well fed sugar receptors are denied their fix!

The reality in the restaurant world is that for the most part, dessert ends up being somewhat of an afterthought compared to the thrill of the savoury courses. Most menus are planned around achieving balance between starters and main courses, creating amazing flavour nuances with fresh produce, dressings, seasonings and vegetables.

Most chefs out there have a savoury based palate themselves and are too busy trying to get that wow factor into the first two courses, and pretty much subsisting on the philosophy that it is on the savoury components of a meal at their restaurant of which their reputations will be based, rather than the sweet.

Unfortunately for the chronically sweet -toothed, this is somewhat true. Although critics often mention disappointing desserts as part of reviews, if they have several paragraphs earlier, raved about amazing savoury courses – chances are that the overall score the establishment receives, or the general positivity of the review will not be affected all that negatively by the dissing of dessert.

This does not bode well for the sweet-toothed, although after the torture of enduring two or more unhurried savoury courses while appearing outwardly to be enjoying them, anything pretty much goes by the time the dessert order is taken – sugar in any way, shape or form will suffice.

Life can be tough if you’re sweet-toothed. It can seem like everyone is standing in your way – your waistline, the dentist, uncaring chefs, family and friends who like savoury food better.

Thank goodness for those places created by and for those such as yourselves – Patisseries! Bakeries! Just be grateful you don’t live in France, or else it would be that much harder to shift those last few kilos …

A DOG’S DINNER

Our dog Frank enjoys his food. Put it this way, when I watch him devour his dinner, he does so with an enthusiasm associated with the seriously food deprived. Of which, of course, he is not.

All foods, (apart from certain fruits and vegetables which are simply no-go zones), are inhaled with gusto. One thing we’ve noticed is that he never saves the best for last, rather the meat scraps disappear before the regulation doggie dried food. But sooner rather than later, his bowl is licked to a level of cleanliness which cannot be surpassed by the dishwasher.

You may be thinking that to be a dog owned by a restauranteur is indeed in a coveted canine position … all those yummy leftover scraps.  Certainly at first, the team was briefed on which delectable tidbits were to be retained for his enjoyment later.

Naturally, our first consideration was the contribution we were making towards eco-sustainability by reducing landfill waste! However, this practise was abruptly discontinued when we realised that our poor puppy had developed a nasty urinary tract infection, most likely a result of his ‘exotic’ diet.

Now it’s back to basics, dried food, raw eggs, plain meat scraps and pureed vegetables. Still the occasional treat, but nothing that has been influenced by condiments, sauces or spices.

Frank still relishes his meals with similar delight, but mercifully he is now a 100% healthy dog.

With dogs, it’s really all about instant gratification – “I’m starving man, hurry up and feed me”. A bowl of food is placed in front of a hungry beast, and he gobbles it up. Sure some bits are more coveted than others, but it all gets devoured.

With us humans, food can certainly be about instant gratification. But it can also be about slowly savouring aromas, sensations, textures and nuances, coupled with ambience, atmosphere and social conviviality. It’s infinitely more complex than the simplicity of merely putting fuel in our bodies. Or it should be, if it isn’t.

Many cultures throughout history place some sort of ceremonial importance on every meal. Meals are rituals, involving long upheld traditions, a gathering together of family and friends, sharing nourishment as well as simple delight in the satisfaction of enjoying food in all its simplicity – as well as its complexity.

The slaughter of a lamb, the abundance of a brilliant harvest, a great catch harnessed from the sea – in local communities in simpler times, these events were celebrated. Entire communities would come together as a result, living in the moment, relishing and enjoying the bounty of nature.

In our supermarket society, the intensity of this community based food celebration is somewhat lost, although our recent concern over the fate of our planet has made inroads into bringing us back to basics.

Whilst we may not ritualise food in such a visceral fashion in our society today, we should most definitely slow down and make time to enjoy what we eat. Family dinners need to upheld, Sunday roasts, summer barbies, out to a cosy restaurant with our loved one instead of takeaway. A bit less convenience food, a bit more slow cooking. It’s vital for our souls, and vital for good digestion too.

Eating is one of the most intense pleasures that we humans can enjoy. We are sophisticated enough as beings to savour what is in front of us, to feel grateful for it, to feel wonder at the mastery of the hand that created it, to appreciate its origins, to experience that wonderful contentment that arises from being sated.

Many meals over the course of our lives are memorable. There are things we tried once that we hanker for again, craving years later. There are many social moments of which food is a huge part – great conversations, first impressions or on the other side of the spectrum, terrible fights, tantrums and tears.

A meal may be over in a flash for Frank, but he’s already thinking about the next one. We too need to plan our meals, make them a little bit special … whilst still attempting to resist the temptation to slip our pup anything too fancy.

IS THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT?

Often repeated, sometimes through gritted teeth, is the service industry mantra “the customer is always right”.

The underlying theory of this is that in order to master the art of customer service, we must be unfailingly accommodating to the general public, to the point of total subservience. That is, we must suppress our own opinions and instincts, even when, in our capacity as seasoned professionals with years of experience in our particular field, we do know better, and we are in fact … right!

Not being able to stand by our beliefs and the wisdom gained through acquired knowledge, can chip away at self esteem, can cause us to be cynical and wary, can eventually cause us to ‘burn out’, to abandon an industry that we’ve worked in for years.

Many a consummate professional, in many an industry involving customer service, has fled with their tail between their legs, tired of the relentless demands of an unforgiving public and the arrogance of those that ‘know better’ – only able to listen to the sound of their own voices.

An individual with a passion that was once held for their career of choice, a genuine enjoyment of dealing with the public (you know, the sort that is described as a ‘people person’), eventually becomes jaded and cynical. A job that was once considered a challenge and filled with gratifying moments, becomes a chore, a millstone, something that is resented and impacts negatively on the rest of life – on relationships, on health, on everything.

It’s a long way to fall. But it’s a bit mean for us to blame the poor old customer, isn’t it? After all, they know not what they do – but we do know!

At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter if the customer is right or if they’re not. Either outcome will occur on any given occasion …

What matters is how we as customer service professionals deal with problems, glitches and conflicts. Dealing with customer complaints effectively is a vitally fundamental part of running a successful business. It doesn’t matter how tightly your business is run, people will sometimes be unhappy. In this world, no-one can please everyone. Satisfaction with any given experience is entirely subjective – the best we can do is use the correct building blocks to minimise unsatisfactory occurrences. Namely – prudent systems and procedures, careful recruitment and rigorous staff training.

But even with the buffer zone of good business practise in place, the inevitable problems that will still occur need to be handled with skill and dexterity. The most important part of this process is acknowledgement. Merely giving an unhappy patron the time of day and letting them air their concerns can do wonders. A perceptive staff member will quickly alert a Manager on duty to a potentially difficult situation – often all it takes is a quick chat with the Manager – someone in charge giving their time makes people feel like they’re being heard, that someone cares.

Then there’s the token gesture – in my joint, a free drink or dessert can often totally salvage the situation with minimal outlay. And always, what’s lost in profit is made up for in goodwill.

The trick is to nip things that could get out of hand in the bud asap. Issues should always be dealt with on site, while fresh in the mind. Letting an unhappy person fester and stew on a perceived injustice is suicide for any business. That person, apart from never coming back, might do irreparable damage to your business by Chinese whispering to 100 of their nearest and dearest friends.

Dealing with angry and upset people is without a doubt the most challenging aspect of customer service, but it pays to master it. Employing patience, tact and empathy, while letting go of ego and instinct towards indignation, goes a long way not just in business, but in life. Staying calm and rational is key, letting the other person air their views, while explaining yours in a non aggressive manner is imperative.

Oh and saying ‘sorry’ even when you secretly aren’t … also goes a long way.

‘Breathe and be calm’ is the mantra that we in the customer service industry should employ, not ‘the customer is always right’.

THE PORTIONING OF THE PORTIONS (AKA DOING THE MATH)

The success of any business depends on a basic mathematical calculation – how much does a good or service cost to produce – and based on this, how much does it need (and can) be sold for in order to provide the seller with a viable profit margin.

This alone can give you a pretty good indication for the fundamental reason that over 70% of start-up restaurant businesses fail! These are cold, hard stats and pretty depressing if your dream has always been to open up a little café, pizza place, or Belgian beer hall.

The problem with the café and restaurant business is that not only do you have to worry about fixed costs such as rent, utilities, labour and costly equipment, but also you have to deal with fresh produce and turning that fresh produce into something that makes money. Dealing with raw foodstuffs is obviously volatile. You are swimming in a sea of uncertainty – massive fluctuations in supply, sudden price hikes of basic foodstuffs (eggs, milk, flour etc), questionable quality … Not to mention wastage (this encompasses a few dimensions) – parts of a cut of meat that you can’t use, but is still factored into the wholesale price. Or on the other hand – perfectly good bits thrown away, lazily under-utilised by the inattentive apprentice preparing them. And then there’s spoilage – over ordering (whether through oversight, or through unforseen quiet periods) means literally throwing money away. The list goes on ad infinitum – incorrect storage, refrigeration not at correct temperature, power outages.

Depressingly enough, that’s just before the food actually gets cooked. There’s another multitude of things that can go wrong here too! Dropping, burning, incorrectly cut … And that’s before the food goes out to the table, because once it gets there, it can always be sent back – asked for no sauce, food is drowning in sauce, asked for medium rare, it’s well done. Asked for steak, got salmon instead. It’s an absolute minefield!

This is why a successful restaurant needs to be run with military precision. There is no room for mistakes of any kind to eat into already precarious profit margins. Kitchens need to be managed with an iron fist (move over Gordon), with chefs possessing commercial skills as well as impressive knife skills. Food costs need to be calculated with absolute accuracy before any particular dish appears on a menu – and that means EVERY ingredient weighed, factored in and exactly portioned every time. 30 grams of butter, 5 grams of chopped continental parsley – it’s all part of it, and every little bit adds up.

So it’s no wonder that many start-up restaurants fail, and often they fail amazingly quickly, too. Amidst the cutthroat competitiveness inherent in major cities, it almost appears that restaurants barely open their doors (clothed in lavish opening parties and media fanfare) – momentarily basking in the sunshine, before the grim reality of day to day trade sets in and the shutters are pulled across one final time.

Extravagant fitouts replete with Italian furniture and custom-designed lighting, celebrity executive chefs romanced and brown-nosed to stamp their crowd-pleasing names on a venture, seemingly vanish overnight over a pile of unpaid invoices and livid suppliers.

To begin any type of restaurant venture requires a major leap of faith, but the grander the dream, the further the plunge to the bottom is – creating an impact of enormity in failure. Even operators with many years of experience under their belt and a string of successes on their resumé can fail spectacularly. The difference between these and the first-timers is that they are more likely to get back on their horse and try again.

With this kind of capacity for lack of success, it seems quite clear that anyone who boldly immerses themselves in this industry has got rocks in their head (and in other places too!) Well I’m the first to admit it – restaurant owners have more than a touch of nuttiness about them. After all, placing your resources in a basket gives you less than a 20% chance of success, while placing you in a position of intense public scrutiny … Hmm, maybe it’s worth hitting the pokies after all.

WHAT PLEASURES YOUR PALATE?

After all the Christmas, New Year and holiday madness, I thought it might be nice to get back to basics for this month’s column. After all, it is called ‘Palate Pleasures’…

Occasionally I suppose I have digressed from the title; in fact, I may have gone so far as to have converted ‘pleasures’ to ‘displeasures’. For this, I apologise to those purely pleasure seeking readers, but I will argue that one cannot exist without the other – in that in order to truly experience pleasure, you must understand pain…

This aside however, this month it’s time to explore what makes your mouth water, what sinful comfort food you crave after a bad day at the office, the meal you would choose if it was your last day on earth and the retro childhood treat that you would still clean your room for. All right then, I suppose we’ll also have to touch on those foodstuffs that we similarly abhor – the stuff that makes our stomachs turn, skin crawl, reminds us of forcing it down in order to be excused from the table, or the packed lunch that invoked taunts and ridicule …

Our passions for and repulsions against certain foods are as varied and individual as we are. They are as intrinsically linked to our genetic makeup as they are to our early childhood experiences with food, and then our subsequent journey into adulthood. Likes and dislikes are as much about our tastebud’s blueprints, as they are about what we were fed when we first got put onto solids.

This is where nature and nurture are intertwined. What we were fed by our parents when we were very young was defined firstly by their cultural heritage, and secondly by society’s set of core beliefs at a particular time in history. But regardless of this very strong combination of influences, you still will almost certainly detest a food substance that your brother or sister loves. Although, if you were born into an Italian household, chances are you will grow up liking Italian food quite a lot (and not just because it’s the best food in the world – no bias here, of course).

Food and emotions are also inextricably linked. The relationship between food and comfort goes without saying, but food and its corresponding connection with taste and smell is also hardwired to memory. Just as a certain smell reminds us so strongly of a particular time and place from our distant past, a certain dish, ingredient, childhood snack food or aroma of cooking can take us back in time to a place we either loved or hated.

These intense food memories follow us into adulthood, where, if we’re game, we may re-experiment with previously disliked foodstuffs later in life with surprising results. Certainly, our palates do mature with age, and some flavours are just too intense for a child’s tastebuds, but also changes in pre-conceived opinions can have an enormous amount to do with different methods of food preparation. Brussell sprouts anybody? This most detested of childhood vegetable memories can delight in the current day and age …

Boiled and shrivelled into a shell of its former self, wafting out that most distinctive caustic smell of brutally murdered vegetable … Not anymore – what about pan fried in butter with parmesan and walnuts – firm in texture, but cooked through, allowing the vegetable’s flavour to meld with its accompaniments without overwhelming. Nutrients of this ‘super’ food still intact, not leached away in an angry sea of boiling water for half an hour plus.

Amazing! And not to criticise 1970s cooking methods, there are many classics from this era – i.e. Margaret Fulton’s cookbooks still live on, but we have come a long way in incorporating flavour and texture into food. We know a lot more about preserving nutrients throughout the cooking process. We can be grateful for the proliferation of the stir-fry and the wok – thank you Thailand! Eating Thai food taught us how good vegies taste when they’re crisp, not soggy.’

So perhaps it’s about time to try things we thought we hated, again. Food actually tastes better now! And the beauty of the world we live in is that we can take our toddlers out for Sushi, Sri-Lankan, or Spanish and their palates will be all the richer for it.

Although I personally hail the return of the Monaco Bar …

Restaurants and cafés, function centres and back yards were bustling last month, with people celebrating the festive season. It is such a manic time of year and somewhat stressful, not to mention exhausting, but all is forgotten with a glass of wine in one hand, a canapé in the other and good people around you who understand your stress levels, because they are feeling the same way.

Christmas is the time for family but before you get to spend time with them, you must attend the ‘office’ party. And I managed to get to quite a few of them. First there was the Manning Valley Combined Chamber’s get together at the Bean Bar, where we enjoyed soft shell crab, a glass or two of wine and the wonderful view of the Manning River. We solved no business issues, but did manage to take a vote on our next holiday destination. The Manning Valley Business Women’s group also met at the Bean Bar, where our topic of conversation was slightly different but just as inspiring, and we enjoyed that soft shell crab just as much.

I then managed to get a gong to the Nash and Roohan Christmas party, which was held in the beautiful setting of Bowers Café – more lovely canapés and yet another bottle of sparkling wine was consumed amongst colleagues and friends. Of course, I am in the hospitality industry, so it is not all about my social life.

Bent on Food was the venue for a number of Christmas parties too, and I did my fair share of work to ensure that I deserved a night out or two. Wingham Fire Brigade was our last Christmas party for the year, and they celebrated with a three course dinner and a very moving video of the hard work that they do for our community. They are to be congratulated for their efforts during a difficult year in Wingham, and they made sure that their evening was an enjoyable one. Our own Bent on Food staff party was held in the ‘soon to be landscaped’ back yard, where we dined on local oysters, prawns and our yummy satay chicken sticks. While the Christmas celebrations overtook the month, there were other happenings too. Bent on Food also celebrated 6 years in business, with a party for our customers on Friday 17 December.

An important milestone was the 10 year celebration of the Manning’s premier vocal ensemble – Kantabile. The Manning Regional Art Gallery was the perfect venue for Kantabile’s final performance of the year at its tenth anniversary concert. The evening’s musical programme was a choice of favourites from the previous ten years, with new music having its first appearance. The evening was made exceptionally special by an enthusiastic and appreciative audience, which was also treated to a delicious supper organised by Dusty Walkom, supplied by FOGS and exquisite sweets provided by Kantabile members. Kantabile spend their time performing for the people of the region, so a well deserved 10th anniversary celebration dinner was held in the beautiful backdrop of the paddocks with the sun setting over Kolodong at Bowers Café. Fifty guests enjoyed delicious food and some exceptional choral items sung by Kantabile and accompanied on piano by Richard Crook. Cynthia and her fabulous team presented Kantabile with a delicious 10th anniversary chocolate cake of the most delicious kind and the evening finished in a most spirited manner, having celebrated a milestone in style!

Bowers Café was also the venue for Good Beginnings final fundraiser for the year, with 40 people enjoying a lovely Sunday lunch. Recently retired Good Beginnings Australia board chairman Ian Sinclair welcomed guests and acknowledged the excellent work of Taree staff members Dianne Mead and Grant Patterson. Ian and Rosemary noted the generous support of so many who participate in the fundraising events, organised by a small band of willing workers.

The beautiful wedding of Sheree Crittenden and Jason Solomon was held at Oxley Park, overlooking the Wallis Lake channel, at Tuncurry, on Saturday November 27.

Sheree is a daughter of Reginald and Patrecia Crittenden, of Tuncurry; Jason is a son of the late Ross Solomon, of Rainbow Flat, near Taree, and Fay Solomon, of Tuncurry.

Forster civil celebrant Joseph Court officiated, and the reception was held at Tuncurry Bowling Club.

Recently, Annie Rothbury from Pandora was on hand at Occasions Jewellers Taree to help launch the new Pandora collection. Celebrations were in full swing, as the team at Occasion Jewellers was also celebrating the new look store. Customers were delighted with their gift bags and lucky door prizes, and a good time was had by all.

Well, over 100 Redhead residents attended the 12th annual Redhead Christmas party on Wednesday December 15 in the Redhead Reserve. Santa put in his usual appearance later in the evening and the Redhead Christmas light display was judged, with Molly, Maddison and Schafer Aiken crowned the winners of the ‘best Christmas lights display in Redhead’. As this year’s winners, they will have the honour of judging next year’s competition.

I would like to wish readers a prosperous and happy 2011. Wow, it is a new decade! Let’s welcome it and make some positive changes to our lives. Go on, I dare you!

I look forward to hearing from you with any events you would like me to write about.

Send pics and info to donna.carrier@bigpond.com

Cheers, Donna.

Can you believe it is September already?

I love spring, when we can appreciate living in the country by the sight of new life. I love seeing the little foals springing up all over the hills, and the spring flowers like daffodils, tulips and daisies. Being a food lover, I am also keen to see asparagus on the menu, yum!

Going out is a lot more fun too; the warmer weather gets people out of the house, and our great climate allows us to entertain outdoors. And of course, it’s all about the great clothes; it’s just wonderful seeing all the summery gear hit the shops.

Time for donning the sandals and getting that pedicure booked, and it will be no time before we can get our feet wet at the beach and feel the sand between our toes.

We were fortunate to get a gong to the re-opening of the Bunker Restaurant at Tallwoods Verve Resort on 31 July.

Michael James is a talented chef and Leanne is a delightful host, and we welcome them back to the area with open arms. Guests included Phillip and Dusty Walkom, Amanda and Charlie Kennett and Bob and Rada Kinkade from The Farmers Patch in Forster.

A wonderful degustation dinner showcasing Michael’s new menu was savoured by all. I thoroughly enjoyed every course and can’t wait to get back there for a meal. Good luck Michael and Leanne, and thanks for the invite.

The Other Side Gallery Teahouse at Ghinni Ghinni was the venue for the opening of the fabulous CAFÉ ART EXHIBITION on Friday 6 August. Twenty artists painted to the theme, with café scenes, cups of coffee, teapots and a real variety of paintings on display.

Gallery owner Wendie Patch said she felt privileged to have children’s book writer illustrator, Stephen Michael King exhibit one of his sketches ‘coffee, tea, cake and a unicycle’, which is also for sale – a very rare opportunity to buy an original, as Stephen doesn’t often part with any of his work. It was a wonderful turnout, with an enjoyable time had by all guests.

‘That night in Rio’, held at the Wingham Town Hall on Saturday 7 August was another successful costume event. Unfortunately, I was in Melbourne for the weekend and felt extremely left out of the picture, as this is the one event that I never miss.

The Moulin Rouge, Diamond Lills Texas Saloon and A Night on the Orient Express have all previously featured, and these guys know how to put on a great party. But this year I sent the tables, my partner Grahame, and my chef Greg, who stood Grahame up as he was suffering a cold, while I shopped and ate my way around my favourite city, feeling just a little homesick.

Top Sydney band, Cassy and the Bossa Beats provided a great beat until late, and the colourful night was complete with fire eaters and dancing girls.

The 2010 Countrylink North Coast Tourism Awards was held at Opal Cove Resort in Coffs Harbour on Saturday 14 August. Twenty-seven winners were announced, with special guest, Channel Ten’s Tim Bailey as MC.

The Manning Valley walked away with four gold awards and three bronze. In the Great Lakes, Tea Gardens Hotel was awarded a gold medal in the Tourist Pubs category. A very honoured Club Forster was welcomed into the North Coast Tourism Awards Hall of Fame, as they have won their respective categories in the tourism awards for three consecutive years.

Manning Valley gold award winners include Honeycomb Valley Nabiac, Bent on Food / Bent on Life Wingham, Old Bar Beach Festival and Wingham Motel.

Bronze awards went to Artisans Retreat at Mondrook, Australis Resort Diamond Beach and Bent on Food Wingham.

Big congratulations to all, and good luck to those entering the state awards.

A group of girls who worked together a few years ago in the finance department at Taree Hospital had a reunion breakfast at Bent on Food on Sunday 31 July.

The finance department is no more and some of these girls hadn’t seen each other for a while, so there was plenty of catching up to do, with lots of laughs.

I look forward to hearing from you with any events you would like me to write about.

Send pics and info to

donna.carrier@bigpond.com

Cheers, Donna.

It really has been a fabulous month for those who like getting out and about, and OK for soccer lovers too. The Manning Valley Winter Festival kept us away from our televisions and helped us experience some great cultural events.

I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to get to see any programs on my great big brand new television. The FIFA World Cup brought many people together in front of their sets, with sales of televisions going through the roof – but not before we had our fair share of festivals and events.

To prove that our region is a leader in the festivals and events arena, a recent study conducted by the University of Wollongong and supported by the Australian Research Council found that Greater Taree area hosted some 55 festivals, the fourth highest behind the Alpine region in Victoria with 60 festivals, Snowy River in NSW with 62 festivals and Ballarat in Victoria topping the events capital list with 73 festivals. That makes us a region of party goers, I would say.

Wingham Beef Week was the first festival off the rank, and of course the highlight of that week is always the Beef Barons Ball, where locals and visitors get dressed up to the nines to compete for the title of Beef Baron and Baroness. The Pride of Erin and the progressive barn dance are both popular, with many old hands showing us how it’s done. Of course, anyone can do it after a few drinks – some not particularly well – but many couples glide across the floor like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, leaving us slightly younger ones for dead.

Another week, another festival and we barely had time to take the beef off the menu when the Scots came to town. It was up with the tartan and on with the kilts for the Bonnie Wingham Scottish Festival, with whiskey drinking, haggis eating, shortbread making and bagpipes, followed by – yes, you guessed it – another ball, and more bagpipes. The rain bucketed down and the parade was almost a washout, except for the fact that the clans were here and they were determined that it would not rain on their parade. The brave women, men, children and horses came out to show us what they were made of, and although the parade was a bit smaller than last year, it was still wonderfully entertaining. The ball was a lot of fun, with a sellout crowd witnessing poetry, song and dance way into the wee hours.

One of the highlights of the Manning Valley Winter Festival was the Nikki Bennett show held at the Waterfront Room in Taree on Friday 11 June. I must confess that I did not know a lot about Nikki before that night, which is a shame, since she grew up in Taree and was just a few years younger than me. It may have been that I wasn’t so talented in the music stakes and didn’t attend many eisteddfods, which is where Nikki was performing from the age of seven.

Her voice is amazing, and when she sung ‘Memories’, it sent goose bumps up my spine. Thanks so much Nikki for coming to sing for us and to tell us more about your life growing up in Taree. Nikki was accompanied by Bob Berrigan, a local musican we all know and love, and the show really was brilliant.

On Saturday 12 June, the Wingham Hotel, more affectionately known as the bottom pub, was the venue for the closing event of the festival. ‘A Hot Winter’s Night’ was a Burlesque show made up of lots of sizzling vignettes of dance and song, along with fire eating and lots more spicy entertainment.

The festival ran from 4 June to 13 June with around 32 events, including Envirofair, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Poetry for the People and Sensational Sinfonia. Congratulations to the organisers of the Manning Valley Winter Festival and also to the organisers of Beef Week and the Bonnie Wingham Scottish Festival. These festivals bring people together and create a space for locals and tourists to enjoy great entertainment.

On Tuesday 15 June a busload of Asian business men and women from Hokubee Australia visited Mondrook Garden Café for lunch. The group was led by Peter Badgen, who was taking them on to Wingham Meatworks followed by a visit to Cassegrain wines, with a stopover in Port Macquarie.

A great day was had by all and they really enjoyed their lovely lunch, commenting on the beautiful garden and the lovely settings.

On Friday 21 May the UNE officially opened their new Access Centre in Taree. Around 60 guests attended the opening and included dignitaries Vice Chancellor of the University of New England, Professor James Barber, Robert Oakeshott MP, Peter Besseling MP and Mayor Paul Hogan.

Guests also included high school principals and careers advisors, members of local community groups and representatives from local health organisations. Guests enjoyed canapés provided by Bent on Food.

The 22 of May was the date for the opening of Cudgerie Little House in Elands. The guests enjoyed a wonderful meal cooked by proprietors Carol and Terence Golding, which included the beautiful Cudgerie Limousin beef. It was a cool day and the guest house was very cosy, with a beautiful fire to warm us while looking over the valley.

Dignitaries included Mayor Paul Hogan, Local Member Andrew Stoner and Wingham Chamber of Commerce President Janeece Irving. I was honoured to be invited to officially open the cottage.

The Biggest Morning Tea week opened all over Australia on 24 May, with Wingham Wellbeing’s Biggest Morning Tea held at Bent on Food on the Tuesday. Dr Jenny Draper was on hand to talk to clients, who enjoyed scones, coffee and cake with a proportion of the takings being donated to the Cancer Council. There was also a brief session on ‘How to perform your own Cheeky Check Up’ by Dr Jenny’s fabulous new practice nurse, Rachel.

The Peggy Van Zalm trio played at Bent on Food on Friday 18 June to a crowd of 41 people. Guests enjoyed great comfort food fitting for winter, including lamb shanks followed by a rhubarb quince crumble made from local fruit. A group of 13 girls from Stacks the Law Firm had an exceptional time and promised to attend the next music night; I am holding you to it, girls.

James Johnston will be our next guest musician in July.

I look forward to hearing from you with any events you would like me to write about.

Send pics and info to

donna.carrier@bigpond.com

Cheers, Donna.

May has been a huge month, and I am officially exhausted. I have grown in all the wrong places, drank far too much Chardonnay, exercised very little and worked too hard this month. And the word on the street is that it will continue to be busy here in our neck of the woods. Coming up is the Manning Winter Festival along with a trip to Coffs Harbour for the Restaurant and Catering Awards in June.

A major highlight of my month was a trip to Broken Hill. I have not been there before, and I did not realise that it was such a happening place. Can you believe it has 35 art galleries, with a population of 24,000? Now, that’s impressive. I was fortunate to attend the Community Economic Development Conference as the Manning Valley Community delegate with Manning Valley Tourism’s Kim MacDonald. I was inspired by some amazing people doing great things for their communities, but it is not my job to talk about the content of the conference. I am here to talk about the social scene.

The social highlight was definitely the Priscilla Ball, although just quietly I am still waiting for the band to play ‘I Will Survive’, as Crocodile Rock just didn’t cut it on a night when platform shoes and feather boas dominated the dress ‘sense’. Kim and I stayed in the salubrious Mario’s Palace Hotel in the famous ‘Priscilla Suite’, which was where the actors from ‘Priscilla Queen of the Dessert’ filmed some of their famous scenes. All I can say about this place is, WOW!. There are murals on most walls, except for the ones that have spiral carpet designs halfway up them.

On the Priscilla night, the pre dinner drinks were at our hotel, and we invited everyone to our suite for some great pics. The ball was at the Trades Hall, a place that stands out not just in architectural terms but because history was made within its walls and on the streets outside. The Trades Hall has been the home of the union movement in Broken Hill since it was built in 1905. We had a great time and met some great people.

The next big highlight was the weekend of the 15 and 16 May with My Kitchen Rules finalists Mossy and Gabe, who were kind enough to give up a weekend to visit the Manning Valley to cook up a storm and also to help us raise much needed funds for Snugglepot Day Care Centre’s nutritional program, which helps disadvantaged families in the Manning Valley.

On Saturday we cooked at the LJ Hooker Manning Valley Home and Leisure Expo, with Mossy and Gabe showcasing  their ‘Turmeric Crusted Barramundi’, which  was well received by the hoards of people who turned up to see these popular TV identities cook. The line up did not decline for the Bent on Food steak sandwiches either, which were cooked to perfection by Mossy and Bent on Food apprentice Bec House and assembled lovingly by myself and Gabe.

To top it off, Gabe gave out some of her wonderful brownies. If you ever saw the show you would know that Gabe is a wiz with sweets, and her lime cheesecake from the first episode gets huge hits on the MKR website.

We took them to Ems Thai in Harrington on Saturday night with the crew from the expo, where we had some of Ems fine cooking and great hospitality as usual.

On Sunday we visited Marrook Farm, where they were impressed by David and Heidi Marks’ passion for their craft. Mossy and Gabe agreed that their biodynamic yoghurt was brilliant. They also visited Wingham Brush, Ellenborough Falls and Artisans Retreat, and the night was topped off by some of Bev’s great hospitality at Tellers Restaurant in Wingham.

On Monday morning they cooked a barbecue breakfast outside Bent on Food – another great success and good fun. Finally, Bec shared her secrets to making a good scone, and they left the Manning Valley with good things to say about our region.

May is, of course, the month of Mother’s Day, where we spoil our mums for all the hard work they do during the year. I get to look after lots of mums on mother’s day, including my own ‘mums’. Bent on Food saw a steady flow of breakfast goers and a full house for lunch, with one of our favourite musicians Keith Bedggood, who played with John Boak on cornet, making the mums swoon with sounds from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s by such composers as George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harry Warren, Irving Berlin, Les Brown, Louis Armstrong, Harold Arlen, to name a few.

The Inaugural Manning Produce Dinner was held at Bowers Café and Gallery on Saturday 15 May, with a sellout crowd enjoying food produced by Bowers own Cynthia Burke and Chad Simpson of the 3 Nippers Bistro, Australis Resort. The five course menu was designed to showcase Manning Valley produce, including Murray Grey Bowarra Biodynamic Beef accompanied by Wallambah Vale Chambourcin jus and hollandaise produced from Manning Valley Free Range Eggs. The next dinner will be held on June 26.

The penthouse suite at Rydges Port Macquarie was the perfect venue for Forever Young Management to hold the launch of new a financial year swimsuit calendar for men and women. Guests included the 12 models featured in the calendar, photographer Mason Rose, Gayle Price, Leo Gillespie, Candice Rose from Focus and a select group of guests who made the trip from the Manning Great Lakes. Canapés were accompanied by the flow of champagne and thank you speeches to celebrate this beautiful calendar. It was a great night, enjoyed by all.

Thirty members of Coomba Wine and Dine travelled by bus to Wingham to enjoy a 3 course meal at Bent on Food on April 27. The group like to enjoy a meal in various venues around the Great Lakes / Manning Valley and bring a selection of wonderful wines to accompany the menu items they select. They had a wonderful time and were a joy to work with. It was a cool night, and my Morrocan Lamb Shanks were perfect with their big red wine. Guests included Jan and Alf Irvine, Max and Hannie Clarke, and Rhonda and Martin Mahon along with President Bill Cooke and Val Cooke.

A few months ago a 30 year Chatham High School reunion was held at Wingham Memorial Services Club. This was my year, but unfortunately I was in Tasmania for the Tourism Awards and couldn’t make it to the event. According to some good sources, the night was a huge success and a wonderful get together for everyone; some haven’t seen each other since school and some still catch up, but all vowed to get together again soon, and I will be there this time!! Thanks for the pics, guys. Attendees included Donna Ballard, Michelle Brown, Graeme Emerton and Chris Bevitt, along with many more.

I look forward to hearing from you with any events you would like me to write about.

Send pics and info to donna.carrier@bigpond.com

Cheers, Donna.