Taste Explorer – Food, Wine, Travel

Miguel Maestre doesn’t walk into a room but rather bounds forth, greeting strangers with a handshake and a slap on the back as he did at the Good Food and Wine Show cooking class that I attended at the Sydney Seafood School recently. The effervescent Spaniard has been gracing restaurant kitchens in Sydney for a [...]

If a Hunter Valley local invites you to a long lunch, it’s generally recommended that you not have any plans for the rest of the day or the next, as you’re going to experience the hospitality that the Hunter Valley is known for. It’s best that you pack some Panadol too… There were no headaches [...]

It was 3 words, spoken to me one October afternoon that sent me weak at the knees. “Dad has cancer”. It’s easy to forget that behind every statistic is a story. I’d heard that 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer by age 85 but until I got the phone call from Mum, [...]

Guillaume Brahami is one of the finest proponents of modern French cuisine in Australia so when I was invited to attend the launch of prestigious French cookware company Tefal’s new Heritage range of pans at his eponymous restaurant Guillaume at Bennelong recently, I jumped at the chance to tick this restaurant off my bucket list. [...]

In ancient Italian Etruscan culture, the “Eliunts” were considered by most to be the best producers of olive oil. They were using farming techniques passed down by their forefathers and they were highly skilled in their craft. Top notch olive oil is now being produced all over the globe including some stunning examples right here [...]

HAMILTON ISLAND is the largest of the Whitsunday Islands and is the gateway to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef. The lush green hills of the island quickly give way to the warm, azure waters of the Coral Sea and it is at junction of the two, on the [...]

This weekend I’m lucky enough to be heading to Hamilton Island for a fantastic Champagne dinner at qualia. You’ll be able to follow my adventures on this site, see my Instagram photos on my twitter feed or connect with me directly on Instagram @jezzster. but if photos aren’t enough for you and you want to to check out paradise [...]

I must confess I have a bit of a soft spot for Champagne. I’ve tried a fair few but with over 5,000 individual producers of Champagne I’ve barely scratched the surface. We’d be lucky to see 3% of all available Champagnes in Australia which is why it’s always good news when a wine distributor steps [...]

Earlier in the year, I had the pleasure of travelling to Tasmania and visiting the Petuna Ocean Trout farm outside of Strahan. The fish is favoured by leading chefs such as Tetsuya Wakuda and Peter Kuruvita so it’s no surprise that the fish won Gold medal and overall Champion Fresh Fish medal for excellence in [...]

Food writer Elizabeth Meryment recently opined about the death of Tuesday night dining in an article published in the Sunday Telegraph, but for me it’s always been one of the best nights to dine. The cobwebs from the excesses of the weekend have cleared, it’s easier to get a table at some of the hottest [...]