A month of food and drink excitement unveiled for Newcastle

Newcastle is the gateway to the Hunter Valley; a hip and happening spot with some glorious beaches. 

Now, following a successful inaugural year, Newcastle Food Month 2022 has been officially launched, with a program of events spanning the month of April and highlighting the culinary and creative talent of Newcastle’s food scene.

There’s an event for just about everyone with a palate in this year’s plentiful program - an opera with dinner in a brewery; dining in a gin distillery and any number of degustations: Spanish, Italian, Thai, seafood or even matched with cocktails.

There is even a sustainable progressive lunch taking over a floor of hotel suites.

The big names on Newcastle’s dining scene including Roundhouse at Crystalbrook Kingsley, The Flotilla, Restaurant Mason, Nagisa, Harrisons and Rustica, have designed their own unique events. 

Cakeboi Reece Hignell (sorry, never heard of him but he might be big locally), teams up with Foghorn brewery and is also hosting a series of high teas.

Plate Date returns, with over 40 dining establishments offering a brunch, lunch or dinner, including a beverage, for only $25. 

Event organiser Louise Maher says: “There really is something for everyone who likes eating out, and on any budget.

“While obviously the program heroes are food and Newcastle, we can’t forget that our immediate aim is to re-activate our hospitality businesses who we all know have had a tough couple of years. 

"We encourage both Novocastrians and visitors to our great city to jump into this program and show them our support.

“Long term our aim is simple, to make Newcastle Food Month the leading regional food event in the country. Think Orange, Noosa and Margaret River - we all know we can do it!”

The signature event - Le Diner en Blanc - also returns to Newcastle for its second year. 

A crowd of 1,250 guests is expected do visit a secret location in the city on Saturday, April 2.

“It was an incredible and emotional response from so many guests last year, and the feeling that yes, Newcastle is indeed good enough to host a high quality, international event such as Le Diner en Blanc has shown in this years ticket pre-release already,” says Maher. 

Complete details of Food Month events can be found at www.newcastlefoodmonth.com.au

Skywhales to soar over Melbourne

A special treat for Melbourne art lovers and balloon enthusiasts beckons in the dawn hours of March 19. 

MPavilion will play host to Skywhales: Every Heart Sings, the inaugural Melbourne flight of Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhale hot-air balloon family.

To celebrate the first hometown journey of the amazing creatures, art lovers and sky gazers are invited to set their alarm clocks and join the Melbourne-based artist at Yarra Bend’s Corben Oval to witness the creatures Skywhale and Skywhalepapa, prepare for lift-off. 

From there, they will soar into Melbourne’s skies and over the heart of the city promising a singularly spectacular display visible from the CBD to the outer metropolitan reaches.

“Every Heart Sings is a project that talks about nature, family, evolution, care and wonder," said Piccinini, "They float into our lives to make us smile and think.” 

Piccinini sees her hot-air balloon Skywhales not just as sculptures but as an opportunity for connection through a shared moment.

Following their debut flight in Canberra in 2020, the sculptures come to Melbourne as part of the National Gallery Touring Event, thanks to the principal patronage of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

 

Prior to the event, Melbourne residents can soak up all things Skywhales with a series of activities happening at MPavilion cultural complex on Thursday, March 10. 

Piccinini will read from her new children’s book Every Heart Sings, and after the reading will be in conversation with wildlife scientist and marine mammal expert Dr Vanessa Pirotta.

For further information, including the Skywhale: Every Heart Sings public programming event at MPavilion visit mpavilion.org.

How to avoid being caught out by travel scams

Fraudsters and scammers are taking advantage of the huge post-pandemic eagerness to travel.

British consumer organisation Which? says it has discovered several new scams aimed at defrauding the unwary.

Tricksters are setting up bogus companies to sell imaginary flights and offering fake refunds to capture bank details and steal money, Which? warns.

It says the pandemic has provided multiple new opportunities for fraudsters to exploit victims.

Scammers are cold-calling travellers and impersonating airlines, travel agents and banks, claiming they need their bank details and personal information to process a refund.

But they are using the information they glean to steal money.

Which? says fraudsters have been taking detailed steps to appear to be the business they are imitating, including spoofing legitimate phone numbers and finding out booking details and exactly how much someone is owed.

Rogue travel companies are selling fake flights and others are promoting some of the most popular stays with scam adverts on social media, offering apparent late or peak-season availability for holidays that appear to be sold out elsewhere, Which? research found.

Customers are asked to click through to a website where they book and pay for a non-existent holiday.

Some unfortunate customers have not realised they have been defrauded until they turn up at the airport or or their accommodation.

The National Health Service in the UK has also been used by cybercriminals.

An email, containing a link to a website that looks like an official NHS platform, invites people to apply for a digital vaccine passport.

Which? says the email is in fact a phishing scam to steal personal information.

As fraudsters move swiftly to exploit new opportunities, Which? has called on online platforms, banks and telecoms companies to do more to ensure their systems aren’t being exploited to target victims.

Added essential travel paperwork which emerged from Covid and Brexit has also been used by unscrupulous companies to con people out of their money.

Which? has seen firms charging travellers as much as $150 (£75) for passenger locator forms, which can be obtained from the government for free.

When Which? carried out searches in November 2021, 19 non-governmental results were returned on the first two pages of Google alone - all charging a fee. Some appeared as an ad or ranked higher than the gov.uk site.

Similarly, some companies are charging fees for the GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card), which is free and was introduced to replace the EHIC after Brexit.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “Criminals are exploiting the pandemic and the demand for holidays in a wide range of ways, laying new traps to trick unsuspecting travellers out of their money.

“Our advice for consumers is be wary of unsolicited calls and messages, and be cautious about holiday deals from unfamiliar firms.”

Which? recommended that online users should never click on links from unsolicited emails, and should check the ‘from’ address, contact information and copyright dates for signs of inconsistencies. Which applies equally in Australia and other jurisdictions. 

New chef for Hunter Valley icon

For at least two decades Bimbadgen Estate’s flagship restaurant Esca has been one of the most reliable vineyard dining destinations in the Hunter Valley. 

Great setting; impressive wines, reliably good food. 

New executive chef Mark Marshall - who has most recently been based on the NSW South Coast - aims to both continue a tradition and add innovation. 

“While it has been tough for everyone in Hunter hospitality through recent down-times, we’ve used the time positively and productively to reinvigorate our offerings," says Bimbadgen Estate general manager Belinda Stapleton. 

“Bimbadgen is back better than ever and as our flagship restaurant, Esca is leading the way. We are thrilled with the fresh ideas and energy that Mark has brought to Esca, and we’d love to share them with returning and new guests, looking to taste the best the Hunter Valley has to offer.”

Marshall describes his food as “simple, uncompromised and flavour driven”. 

There will, of course, be an emphasis on local, sustainable ingredients and the producers behind them.

Marshall's VC includes stints at Hayman Island, Silky Oaks Lodge and Longitude 131. 

Originally from Melbourne, he started his career at The Hilton on the Park before moving to London, where he had stints at The Ledbury and Gordon Ramsay's Savoy Grill. 

“I have a passion for using great fresh produce to create innovative menus that excite the palate; all beautifully balanced with fine Bimbadgen wine," he said. "There is no better place to enjoy the best Australian food and wine together than in the heart of the Hunter Valley, which has a worldwide reputation for both. 

“It’s time to break out and enjoy life again and we will do our very best to make it a great experience.”

Esca’s signature five-course menu includes  gin-cured salmon with native lime, cucumber and horseradish with 2020 Bimbadgen Palmers Lane Semillon; and Riverina Angus sirloin with blackened corn and miso butter matched with 2019 Bimbadgen McDonalds Road Shiraz. 

In addition to Esca, Marshall is responsible for all Bimbadgen food and beverage outlets, including the wedding and event venue on Palmers Lane, the Woodfired Pizzeria and cellar door, and Emma’s Cottage.

Truffles make a gourmet mark in Australia

While it is hard to match the fresh, pungent - and hugely expensive - truffles found in France and Italy, an increasing number of Australian producers are enjoying success with domestic truffle products and spin-offs. 

Truffle Hill at Manjimup in Western Australia is one of the longest-established truffle producers in Australia with a popular tourism offering as well as a range of gourmet products. 

It was Australia's first successful commercial truffle farm, not surprising as the climate in Manjimup is similar to Perigord, with wet winters and warm summers, which produce the most flavoursome truffles.

     

Truffle Hill (formerly known Truffle and Wine Co.) and was also the first Australian truffle company to export fresh black Périgord truffles to the global culinary stage, opening up the Australian truffle season into Europe, Asia and the Americas. 

The Manjimup region is the heart of Australia’s fresh truffle industry and provides chefs with Australian products at times of the year European offerings are not available. 

The range now extends beyond fresh truffles to gourmet truffle products, which were created so that the joy and rich aromas and flavours of truffles can be savoured and shared all year round, not only during truffle season.

Over the past couple of weeks I have tried the Truffle Hill truffle risotto, an intense and authentically Italian-tasting rice dish that my wife paired brilliantly with crayfish and lamb kidneys (above); and the Truffle Hill hot sauce, which gave a new dimension and lift to the humble sausage rolls from my local bakery. 

For details on both the Truffle Mushroom Risotto and Truffle Hot Sauce can be found by clicking on the links.

Truffle Hill dates back 25 years and was Australia’s first true commercial truffière.

Surrounded by vineyards, orchards and rolling hills, the produces not only truffles, but also wines. 

If you are visiting the region then you might want to book for a truffle hunting experience to discover how truffles grow and find mature truffles that are ready for harvesting.

Fresh truffles are for sale from June to August each year, while condiments, oils, gift packs and more are available all year round. 

Two lucky Gourmet on the Road readers won samples of the goodies. They are V. Jaynes of Queensland and D.Reardon of Tasmania. 

Serious polish: How to keep your wine glasses in top shape

Wine writer and sparkling wine expert Tyson Stelzer could not find the perfect polishing cloth to keep his wine glasses in top condition. So he created one. 

"A decent glass is the most important thing you need to make the most of every bottle, and a great polishing cloth is the best way to keep your glass in top form," Stelzer said. 

"I own more than 1000 wine glasses and I wash and polish them by hand. 

"I’ve been searching for the ideal polishing cloth for years and I’ve never found it. Everything I tried was too large or too small, not sufficiently absorbent, or left smears or lint.

"Over the past two years, I've had some 50 prototypes manufactured and I put them all to the test on hundreds of glasses (lockdown entertainment!). There was one winner and I’ve used nothing else since.

"It’s a super-fine microfibre cloth with awesome absorbency. Dimensions 70cmx50cm – not so large that you can’t get it inside the glass, and not so small that you can’t cradle the glass with it as you polish the inside. 

Pre-orders are now open, for shipping in late March.

I haven't tried the cloth yet - and it isn't cheap ($29.95). That's about the cost of a good bottle of wine, which would seem to make it a worthwhile investment. 

https://www.tysonstelzer.com/online-store/other/tyson-stelzers-glass-polishing-cloth/