What's seven years, apart from the time between itches? That was the last time we wrote about knives as works of art. So it's probably about time we looked again at the burgeoning world of knives as works of art - the custom made kitchen knife. In the beginning all…
Not to be confused with sushi, sashimi is the Japanese term for a dish that comprises raw fish cut into very thin slices, generally using a specialised sashimi knife (like this one) which is flat on one side. Sushi (also referred to as 'nigiri') on the other hand is the…
We answered this question back in 2014, talking mainly about the manual method - using a whetstone to sharpen a blade. But what wasn't covered in that article was another alternative – getting somebody to sharpen your knives for you. In one of our earliest articles (Ballarat butcher looks back),…
Here is the final part of our take on celebrity chefs though history (read the first part here). 8) Fanny Cradock If you love pizza – and are not of Italian descent – you may well have Fanny Cradock to thank. Fanny Cradock (only one ‘d’) was born in 1909…
Today the world is swimming in celebrity chefs. Take one look at the Wikipedia entry List of chefs, which divvies up famous chefs throughout history and, in sheer numbers, there are ten times as many modern chefs (ie those active in the 20th and 21st centuries) as those in all…
Are you still eating leftovers from the Christmas food binge? The current thinking of health professionals is that any leftovers should be eaten within 3-4 days, or the risk of 'foodborne illness' (aka food poisoning) goes up considerably. What's a little alarming about eating leftovers is that the conventional 'sniff…
Look up the phrase 'passion project' and you'll find something like what appears on the Cambridge Dictionary site… “A piece of work, especially a film, that someone gets involved in because they love or feel it is very good and important, not to make money.” Which brought back memories of…
Browsing a bookshop the other day we came across a new title called “Who ate the first oyster?” and no further explanation was required – no need to check the back cover to see what it was about. Do you ever find yourself wondering who was the first person to…
The very mention of the word ‘Halloween’ invokes very different reactions in people… Two dollar shop owner: Last time to make money until Christmas!Six year old: I like dressing up! (then gets scared at the party/parade)… I want to go home!Teenager: Great!Teenager that’s seen Halloween the movie: Er…Anyone over 40…
Once or twice a year David Stemmer gets to go to the beach for work. Unfortunately it doesn’t involve much swimming or lying around on the sand – he’s generally there because a whale carcass has washed up on the beach and his job as Collections Manager (Mammals) at the…