Conversations

I was lucky enough to be invited to The Westin Melbourne's nod to Wicked, the Musical, a glorious High Tea with a very prominent green focus. High Tea at The Westin is an impressive affair. The team goes all out on theme, creativity and flavour and the Wicked High Tea was no exception. I was…

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Melbourne institution, Botanical Hotel has been around for a long time. In fact the recent MFWF line up featured a 20 years Apart event that saw ex Botanical Hotel Head Chef Paul Wilson team up with current Executive Chef Sam Hopkinson in a delicious then and now dinner. Botanical Hotel has been a Domain Road…

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I have a special place in my heart for Bar Carolina in South Yarra because I wrote about it for Concrete Playground when it opened in 2017 and I also had a Conversation with a chef with the chef at the time, Paolo Masciopinto. But I hadn't been out the back before and when new…

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When diners walk into Desi Dhaba, owner Amit Tuteja wants them to feel as though they have come home to India. The decor is bright and cheerful, and the food is rustic, filling and delicious. Named after the highway eateries, or Dhaba, in India where truckies and people on road trips call in to eat…

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I've always had a soft spot for Neptune in Windsor, so what better excuse to head back over there than a new head chef. Last year, after 12 years working in the UK across Michelin and boutique hotel restaurants as well as running his own private dining business, Jake Read felt drawn to Melbourne. He…

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Sebastian Pasinetti is no stranger to hospitality, being born into a hospo family and taking the plunge himself at 15. He is the co-founder of OKO Restaurant, OKO Rooftop & Cafe and OKO Catering and a proud queer Person of Colour. Sebastian is also the Co-Founder of Minds en Place, a hospitality hub for diversity,…

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Sushi Baby in Brighton has switched things up by renovating the space and taking their takeaway offer to new levels, becoming a lovely new brightly hued dine-in restaurant. Inspired by Japanese cuisine, Head Chef Chloe Kim is creating a mix of sushi, nori tacos, nigiri, inari, tataki, share plates and a Kaiseki experience with its…

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I was first aware of Rosemary Andrews in 2021 through her glorious creations on the dessert trolley at Attica's Summer Camp. That was an absolute thing of beauty as it was wheeled out almost groaning under the weight of such divine and delicious creations. Then later that year, these gravity defying layer cakes started appearing…

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I caught up with Murat Ovaz at i Carusi II in St. Kilda and I felt as though I was catching up with an old friend. I spoke to Murat when he opened Yagiz in South Yarra about six years ago and that was a fun conversation about the adventures that had got him into…

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Matthew Butcher is a larger-than-life character, who loves hugs as greetings and immediately made me feel at home and as though I was talking to an old friend when I went in to talk to him at Ronnie's. Matthew talked a lot about how lucky he has been in following his dads advice to surround…

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