Food Media Club Australia Update - August/September 2005 - ISSN 1443-5357

Patron: Margaret Fulton OAM President: Ian Hemphill herbie@herbies.com.au Vice President: Veronica Cuskelly veronica.cuskelly@bigpond.com Treasurer: Robert Goldman robertg@rcnsw.asn.au Committee: Lachlan Bowtell lbowtell@mla.com.au Averill Chase averill@tpg.com.au Sarah Hobbs shobbs@fpcliving.com.au Simon Marnie marnie.simon@abc.net.au Fran Neylon fneylon@bigpond.net.au Sydney Pemberton sydp@ign.com.au Gawen Rudder gawensfood@bigpond.com.au Stewart White swhite@whiteworks.com.au Please contact any Committee member if you have comments about the Food Media Club.

Editorial Production Konmac Publishing Services, tel: (02) 9427 4810 fax: (02) 9420 3929 email: konmac@bigpond.net.au

The copy deadline for the October/November issue is Friday, September 16. Please submit contributions by email to editor@foodmediaclub.com.au or to Annie MacDougal at the secretariat (secretariat@foodmediaclub.com.au)

Food Media Club Australia Inc 4 Henley Street, Lane Cove, NSW 2066 Tel: (02) 9427 4810 Fax: (02) 9420 3929 ABN 71 220 250 354 Website: www.foodmediaclub.com.au Email: secretariat@foodmediaclub.com.au editor@foodmediaclub.com.au webmaster@foodmediaclub.com.au

President�s message Communication is what this Club is all about, and we have seen some excellent examples of this in this Update newsletter. However, if our members don�t tell us what they are doing we can�t let everyone else know. There are a few things you can all do to make your membership more valuable and to help make the club relevant to other, like-minded food professionals who belong to FMCA. Firstly, we do have a Members� News column and we would like to have this full of your news. Many of you must be involved in a myriad of interesting activities that other members would like to hear about, so please tell us about them. Secondly, we�d like to include more news from around the states. Stephanie Alexander has written a timely piece for this newsletter about The Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College in inner-city Melbourne, which is now four years old and going from strength to strength. Please tell us about what is happening in the food scene in your state. Thirdly, we would really like to increase our coverage of food-related events around the country. There are many food festivals and exciting and entertaining activities taking place that we just do not know about. Imagine how useful it would be to know of these in advance. If you know of any food-related events that are coming up in either the capital cities or regional areas, please let us know so they can be included in the next newsletter. The Last Minute Factor! A lot of members are disappointed to find a function is fully booked when they inundate the Secretariat with last minute desires to attend, days after the RSVP date. Besides missing out on a great function, late RSVPs cause a lot of unnecessary stress for your hard-working functions committee, and the Secretariat. Please look at your diaries when you receive an invitation and respond as soon as you can. This way you won�t miss out and everyone can be properly catered for. On the subject of functions, some members have asked why there is a differential in the cost of attendance between members and non-members. Members pay less to attend functions as the Club is primarily for the benefit of members, and to this end we always strive to make the cost of any activity the best value possible. In this newsletter you will read about the amazing atmosphere and positive response from the Food Explorer launch to members, the club�s initiative to take our website and online communications ahead with sponsorship from Food4Media.com, and a great article by member Samantha Wight on the Symposium of Gastronomy in Beechworth. At the risk of sounding like a cracked record (or, in today�s parlance, like a jumping CD) do not lose sight of the fact that this is your Club. What you get from the Club will be directly proportional to the interest and involvement that you share with us. We look forward to seeing you at functions and hearing your latest news and views to share. Ian Hemphill

FMCA PHILOSOPHY FMC Australia is an association of food professionals who have expertise in diverse food-related areas such as journalism, production, marketing, public relations, food science, nutrition, education, recipe development, food styling, catering, restaurants and small businesses. Our common bond is a love of food and a willingness to share information. Our mission statement is: to communicate food issue and to encourage excellence and professionalism through an exchange of ideas and information. FMCA UPDATE � EDITORIAL POLICY FMCA Update is the official newsletter of Food Media Club Australia Inc. Views expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FMC individuals. The newsletter�s editorial policy is based on the premise that the newsletter be used to further the information and understanding of issues relating to food. Where possible the newsletter will encourage contributions by members, particularly new writers. The newsletter will not be used as a vehicle for public relations. OBJECTIVES OF FMCA UPDATE To be a true forum for members. To encourage excellence and professionalism through an exchange of ideas and information. To profile food trends and issues and inform members about club activities. FMCA Update will be published six times a year.

Upgrade to our website The Food Media Club has appointed Food4Media.com to host our website, not only allowing the Club to have access to new technology, but also saving the Club in web hosting costs. Costs for hosting are now to be absorbed by Food4Media and in return we have given our endorsement to its service, set up links between our two websites and outsourced the electronic distribution of our Update newsletter, beginning this month. We still maintain full control of our website and its content. Member exclusivity to the newsletter and security will also be enhanced, with a new individual password for each member. Your username is simply your initial followed by your surname, eg jsmith, and your password is your first name, eg john. The username and password will be the same on both sites � food4media.com and foodmediaclub.com Food4Media is a service that will host and store press releases (including those from the Food Media Club) and distribute them online. It may also include photography, company information and PR contact details along with other useful features, all online. A similar site has been operating for several years and offers the same service for the travel industry, called TravMedia.com and is supported and endorsed by the Australian Society of Travel Writers. ASTW�s website and TravMedia.com are connected in the same way. As a Food Media Club member you have been registered to receive our newsletter through Food4Media.com but you will have a choice as to whether you�d like to receive other information through the Food4Media.com website as well. This can either be through an hourly, daily or weekly email notifying you of all the press releases recently released. This is a useful service for any member wishing to keep up to date with current food-related press releases, a service some of you have utilized to date. For more information or to enquire about the costs of putting your press releases on Food4Media.com please contact Nick Wayland on nick@food4media.com or Sam Sample on sam.sample@food4media.com, or phone (02) 9953 1923.

Le Cordon Bleu class of 2006 The Food Media Club Australia scholarship for the Le Cordon Bleu Master of Arts in Gastronomy invites applications from members for the class of 2006. This year�s scholarship is valued at $11,000 which reduces by 50% the scheduled tuition fee of $22,000. The successful recipient must commence study in January 2006. If studied full-time, the MA can be completed in one year. If studied part-time, it must be completed within three years of commencement. Study can be full- or part-time and either on campus in Adelaide or online. Applications for the 2006 scholarship must be received by the Le Cordon Bleu Australia office in Adelaide by October 29, 2005. The scholarship recipient will be announced by the Club during the first week of December. Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree in a related field and/or have relevant specialist experience and expertise in the food industry. They must be permanent residents of Australia and financial members of the FMCA at the time of applying for the scholarship. The successful applicant will submit a brief annual report to this Update newsletter. For further information on the scholarship and for application forms, email: australia@cordonbleu.edu

The 2005 FMCA/Le Cordon Bleu scholarship was won by caterer and freelance food writer Liane Colwell, who outlines her first six months of study: For successful study in the Master of Arts (Gastronomy) you need to like detective work, dictionaries, metaphors, books, theories and symbolism. The standard is sky-high at the University of Adelaide and plagiarism is verboten. We submit online and get to see the other students� answers with marks displayed by student number. You need all your dictionaries and reference books, so buy a few trestle tables and encourage your kids to leave home. Stop having therapy � you can use that anger and frustration in your essays � and the money saved can go towards your uni fees. There is tons of research. After all, you are paying good money to do the course, so you may as well enjoy the hell out of it. Every essay topic is a potential dissertation. The books pile into pylons with Lego ambitions. You can�t out-read them and you can barely outrun them. Still the library beckons. You re-read the topics dozens of times to ensure you are exactly on the topic. Many distract with their gripping content: famine, cannibalism, stolen seed patents, epidemic drinking binges, witchcraft (botanical medicine), Singaporean race equations, and endless dyadic classifications of food: food/non-food, edible/inedible. Simple concepts at first glance but within minutes the layers of debate reveal themselves. Still, there are victories to be had, like a great mark, a new website or writer. Certainty on any topic is rarely to be had. Several prejudices have been jettisoned already. In theory, if you answered the question, you could argue anything if supported by facts and references. That�s my weakness. I can�t ever stop reading, there is always more � just one more article and I have nailed it � one more to get an excellent mark. I railed at the task of 500-word essays from such fabulous articles but it is an excellent discipline in food writing. I am still angry, still researching and still prosecuting my arguments. And I couldn�t be happier. There is more out there to explore, study, taste, argue and enjoy than you or I could ever imagine. In Principles of Gastronomy I�ve traveled back in time for thousands of years and gone forward in the future, been across every continent, up and down. Do you know how big the question is, �What is food?� On balance, it�s a fabulous journey � and I am loving it. Thank you for my scholarship.

Gastronomy in Victoria�s High Country The 14th Symposium of Australian Gastronomy spanned three days in June in the historic Victorian town of Beechworth. Samantha Wright reports on the action.

An 1860s lunatic asylum in Beechworth was the chosen venue for the 14th Symposium of Australian Gastronomy. Thankfully, for those of us in attendance, the asylum is no longer in use and now operates as a conference centre. For three days in June we gathered there, amateur food lovers and professionals alike, to discuss the theme �Preservation or Change?� Among the attendees were a number of FMCA members, including Stephanie Alexander, Ian and Liz Hemphill, John Newton, and Barbara Santich. Our days were packed with information and discussion. Papers pertinent to the Symposium�s theme were delivered and debated. There was a session from a panel of local winemakers, a trip to Milawa Cheese Company, a number of workshops and a foraging excursion. All of this hard work left the evenings free for serious eating and sampling of local wines and grappa. The opening meal was dedicated to the late Melbourne butcher, Jonathan Gianfreda. Chefs Noelle Quinn, Peter Quinn and Rhy Waddington presented a meal that showcased local produce, and we eagerly devoured a dish of rich and dense cotechino from Formicho Butcher in Wodonga, served with a buttery parsnip galette, and an intense essence made with mushrooms from nearby Kergunyah. In tribute to the influence that migrants have had on our food, dinner on the second night was at Bonegilla, Australia�s largest migrant reception centre, which operated until 1971. Chef Steve Manfredi recalled memories from the time his family spent in Bonegilla as newly arrived immigrants. He served our meal in the old mess hall, and was assisted by TAFE Wodonga�s Hospitality on Wheels � a brand new mobile commercial kitchen housed on the back of a semitrailer! Melbourne chef Andrew McConnell, from Circa, transformed the final banquet into a whimsical food fantasy. Before taking our seats in the midst of a large catering kitchen, we were treated to delicately pickled oysters nestled in grooves carved into huge blocks of ice. Next was a journey through a room littered with coarse rock salt that crackled under our feet. Here we helped ourselves to bite-sized pieces of smoked fish such as mackerel, individually pinned to stark white specimen boards. In keeping with the Symposium�s theme, Andrew designed the seven-course meal to �pay homage to the past�. A par-boned leg of duck took his team three days to prepare � involving brining, poaching and deep frying. The result was succulent duck with airy, crisp skin balanced with a prune and sherry compote. The 15th Symposium of Australian Gastronomy is planned for Tasmania in 2007, and will allow us the chance to enjoy the bounty of the Apple Isle.

Books Australian Regional Food Guide by Sally and Gordon Hammond (New Holland Publishers), rrp $29.95 Take a journey of discovery, region by region, through every Australian State and Territory, and see the countryside unfold as you read. Or better still, take this book with you as an invaluable guide when you travel. There are more that 1500 entries, among which you�ll find: farmers who raise everything from quail to buffalos; dozens of country restaurants which proudly use local produce; the country�s fledging super-gourmet industries of truffles and saffron; and where to find everything from sourdough to spuds or smoked salmon. Discover, too, superb local cheeses, chillies and cherries, and where to dine on organic beef or the freshest seafood in Australia. Participate in bush food tours, or take part in festivals that celebrate the wealth of the local soil.

Food Explorer Blast Off Welcome to Food Explorer: �Inspiring children to experience, explore and celebrate the world of food.� Three years after the challenge was issued to FMCA members by then president Lyndey Milan, and two and a half years after the first meeting of volunteers was convened by Anneka Manning and Annan Phillips, the Food Explorer program was launched at Orange Grove Public School to Club members, sponsors, educators and the media at large. Karen Hughes reports. With the decline in cooking in the average home and widespread community concern about children�s health and fitness, a number of FMCA members put their minds to finding practical ways to contribute their skills and experience to combat these negative trends. Food Explorer is the result, a program which has evolved, after much research and discussion, from a series of pilot programs conducted last year by FMCA volunteers in public primary schools. It will provide students with hands-on classroom activities to encourage them to become �Food Explorers�. The objectives of Food Explorer are to stimulate interest and a positive attitude to food and cooking; to foster ongoing informed, independent and healthy food choices for life; and to encourage further food-based learning within the existing education system and the child�s wider environment. Initially the program will be presented by accredited FMCA food professionals in Sydney metropolitan public schools, and it is planned to �roll out� the program to schools throughout NSW and Australia over the next five years. A Food Explorer website will also be developed to provide kids with ongoing resources such as recipes and food-related activities. On June 6, Orange Grove Public School opened its doors to the FMCA and its guests for the launch of this fabulous initiative, with our children the beneficiaries of a Food Explorer demonstration. Anna Phillips was the presenter, introducing apples and carrots to the class and asking the kids what they knew about them, asking what they felt like, smelt like, how they found the tastes and how the kids thought they should be cooked and used. There were some very interesting replies, and all the youngsters had opinions and ideas. The kids then grated the carrots (with a little help from the �teachers� aides�) and assisted with the making of the salad for our sausage-sizzle dinner. They were definitely happy little Food Explorers when they left, clutching their goodie bags containing fruit, recipes for them to try at home, and vegetable seeds to grow. This was just a taste (!) of things to come. The most exciting part is that, as food professionals, we can each make a difference, instead of standing on the sidelines and having opinions on the impact of food habits, commercialism and trends on our children�s waistlines. We can volunteer for active duty with Food Explorer and foster informed, healthy food choices in Australian children for life. Well done, team, a credit to you all. A fabulous launch. Our thanks to the sponsors for the evening, who helped make it such a success, and to the Club for driving and backing such a program. Special thanks to our Patron, Margaret Fulton, for not only attending and speaking to the children with encouraging words, but for endorsing Food Explorer and being a role model for another generation to come. NB: A registration form for volunteers is enclosed with this issue if Update. If you have misplaced it or need more, please contact Annie at the Secretariat. Likewise, if you or any of your clients would be interested in becoming a Food Explorer, Annie can supply full details.

How it All Started At the FMCA�s 20th Birthday Celebration dinner in 2002, then President Lyndey Milan challenged the gathered members by saying, �We have often lamented the lack of food [education] in our schools � whether it�s making dough for bread or pasta at your local pre-school or giving a cooking demonstration at a primary or high school, you can make a difference.� Anneka Manning at the time was running hands-on food sessions at her daughter�s pre-school and saw the potential of using this activity as an example for getting other FMCA members involved in a program that would bring food appreciation into schools. The call went out for those with a similar passion to join a working group to develop a suitable food program. In January 2003, the Food Explorer Working Group had its first meeting. Over the next 2 � years, more than 30 FMCA members worked tirelessly at developing the program, and conducted pilots at three NSW primary schools. Early in 2006 the first of many Australian primary school children will experience, explore and celebrate the world of food through Food Explorer. Our thanks to our sponsors Baker�s Delight for the bread, bread rolls and pastries. Dairy Australia for the cheeses and accompaniments. Everdure/Shiro Australia for supplying the barbeque. Maloney Communications for the Fiji Water. Furitechnics for the chopping boards. Horticulture Australia for the fruits and vegetables. Huhtamaki for the plastic cups, plates and cutlery. Masterfoods for the sauces. Nudie for the fruit juices Smart Balance KIDS for the spread. United Housewares for the apple slicers and vegetable graters. Orange Grove Public School for the venue� The grounds of Orange Grove Public School host an organic food market each Saturday from 7.30am to 1.00pm. Located on the corner of Perry Street and Balmain Road, Leichardt, the stallholders offer a large array of organic food and other goods, as well as good coffee and bacon and egg rolls (or similar) to kick-start any Saturday morning.

Melbourne�s Little Diggers The Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College in inner-city Melbourne is now four years old and going from strength to strength. Its founder, the legendary Stephanie Alexander, reports on its progress. I am sure that all members of the Food Media Club agree that it is of major importance to find ways to positively influence the food choices made by the nation�s children. The statistics are well known and I will not reiterate them. I was interested to read that NSW members were meeting to discuss the Food Explorer program being developed and I feel it is most important to mention other initiatives. South Australian members might also wish to inform interstate members of initiatives in their state. In the USA Alice Waters, chef and food activist, indpired the 10-year-old project �The Edible Schoolyard� in the Martin Luther King Jr Middle School at Berkeley in California. The website of this project is inspirational: www.edibleschoolyard.org.com. Alice is also the Vice-President of Slow Food and has this to say: �Everyone should have the right to wholsesome food. What could be a more delicious revolution than to start committing our best resources to teaching this to children?� One of the aims of Slow Food is to educate children about taste. A recent Slow publication, The Slow Food Companion, outlines worldwide projects where this is already happening in schools. The project I have initiated at Collingwood College is in great company with schools in Edinburgh, Capetown, Hong Kong, various cities in the US, and in Switzerland. Jamie Oliver has given the problem high profile through his work in Greenwich, brilliantly documented on television in Jamie�s School Dinners. Jamie was able to improve an already existing structure which does not exist in Australia. I thought it might interest the broader FMCA membership to know a little more about The Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College in inner-city Melbourne, which is now four years old and going from strength to strength. All children in Grades 3 to 6 (approximately 120 children) spend one period a week in an extensive and productive vegetable garden, created in the school grounds, and a double period a week in the revitalized school domestic science classroom, cooking the foods they have grown and sitting at round tables to eat together. The project is staffed by two part-time specialists � a cook and a gardener � both passionate young women, and a team of marvelous volunteers drawn from the community. We never describe foods in terms of their nutritional makeup or as �good for you� or �bad for you�. What is stressed is pleasure, enjoyment and flavour. After four years of this extensive and in-depth exposure to the world of food, the kids have an increased understanding of land care and water management, they know about companion planting and no-dig gardens, they are familiar with a very wide range of fruit and vegetables, they can all roll pasta and pizza dough, make soup and make savoury muffins and mix salad dressings, and they are mostly willing to try anything at all that they have made. I have established the not-for-profit Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation which will be officially launched on Friday September 9 at the school and is now actively seeking partners to enable this work to be extended to other schools in Victoria. The Foundation has tax-deductible status should anyone feel like contributing. Further information is available on my website: www.stephaniealexander.com.au

News for Members Tasting Australia Update Tasting Australia in Adelaide is from October 21 to 30 this year and it will be a great event for FMCA members to attend. You can register as a Friend of Tasting Australia at www.tasting-australia.com.au to receive the latest details and regular updates featuring articles on the Festival, its events and personalities. We are planning an FMCA cocktail party for our members and Members of the New Zealand Guild of Food Writers, so watch this space for more details as we get closer to the event. Fiery Food Cools Off The FMCA recently received the following notice from the organizers of the Fiery Food Festival: �It is with regret we have to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances the 8th Australian Fiery Food Festival is postponed until further notice. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.� Now, that�s a Knife! Brisbane-based Furitechnics is the firm of engineers that built an enviable reputation among the top chefs of the world with its cooks� innovations: one piece East/West knives, Diamond Fingers and Tech Edge knife sharpeners, and the Clean Cut cutting board system. Since launching Furi knives and accessories in 1998, Furitechnics has received strong support from both professional and domestic cooks and is quickly taking sales from traditional knives and sharpeners in the USA, UK and many European countries. It has now leapt ahead of the old guard again, with the innovative Exoskeleton forging method, creating the FX, a stronger, more hygienic and more durable knife than any other. Three separate parts are fused into one seamless piece; instead of adding handle parts around a forged tang in the traditional way, the FX handle is the tang, made from the finest German CrMoV alloy. The handle cap is then added, and then a �Coppertail�, a Furi innovation for rebalancing the knife as the blade wears (as the blade is sharpened away, you grind off some of the copper to rebalance the knife). The principal of Furitechnics, FMCA member Mark Henry, is a very proud Brisbane engineer: �After years in this industry, and knowing my competitors very well, I truly believe that FX knives are now the very pinnacle of knife technology available today.�

Members� News Zen Sational Our own Japanese master chef, Hideo Dekura, will conduct a Zen cooking course at TAFE Northern Beaches starting in mid October. In this program students will learn the art of producing Zen shojin-ryori vegetable cooking, or �temple food�, including Kaiseki cuisine, based on the principles of balance, harmony and simplicity. TAFE Northern Beaches is at 154 Old Pittwater Road, Brookvale, and the course will be run on Mondays from 6pm to 10pm for three weeks, starting on October 17. The cost is $250 and you can register online at www.tafestudy.info or by phone on (02) 9942 0099.

Fresh and Seasonal Home Economist for Market: Ingredients: Combine one enthusiastic home economist with a skilled Food Media Club member to season her in a creative, learning and flavoursome environment. Method: Place this home economist, who would love to work with you, for one day a month. Cost is nil, value excellent. She wants to learn from our experienced members about work they do. To serve: phone Diane on 0422 494 559.

Events Gusto � an Exploration of Italian Regions - September 18, Sydney Fish Market A Dinner to Remember, with Sydney�s Finest Italian Chefs � September 19, Piers 19 � 21, Pyrmont Since the arrival of half a million Italians between the 1940s and the 1980s, our national dish has become spaghetti Bolognese and our national drink has become cappuccino. But in adapting to the ingredients and tastes of a new continent, have the people who serve Italian food wandered too far from the source? This question will be explored at an event to be held in September by the Council of Italian Restaurants in Australia (CIRA), which was formed in 2004 by 15 leading Sydney chefs and restaurateurs to promote the values of Italian food in Australia, preserve Italy�s regional culinary traditions and increase public knowledge of both traditional and evolving Italian food. One of the ways they intend to do this is through Master Classes in Italian regional cooking, wines, cheeses, oils, pasta, and the whole exciting palette of Italian traditional (and newer) ingredients. Gusto � an Exploration of Italian Regions will be an all-day event, featuring cooking demonstrations, wine and olive oil workshops, chat sessions on Italian regional cuisines, and exhibitions by some of Sydney�s leading Italian chefs, producers, provedores and importers. There will be 6 cooking demonstrations, 5 wine and olive oil tasting workshops and 5 interactive presentations on Italian regional cuisines, at $60 per session or $240 for a one-day pass including 5 sessions and parking at Sydney Fish Market. Gusto will reach a grand finale the following evening with a formal 6-course dinner prepared by Sydney�s leading Italian chefs: Armando Percuoco (Buon Ricordo), Tim Fisher (Lucio�s), Giovanni Pilu (Pilu at Freshwater), James Kidman (Otto), George Pompei (Pompei�s) and Joe Camilleri (Mezzaluna). It will be held at Doltone House, a unique heritage-listed venue on the upper deck of the recently restored Jones Bay finger wharf; a stunning location with spectacular harbour views (Piers 19 � 21, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont). Time: 6.30pm for drinks and canap�s; seating at 7pm. Cost: $150 per person. To make a booking for the dinner or any of the Gusto sessions, or for a full program, call Sydney Seafood School on (02) 9004 1111 or email sss@sydneyfishmarket.com.au

Culinary Tours with Tony Tan China and Hong Kong, September 18 to 28; Spain, October 5 to 18 Chef, food historian and food writer Tony Tan is reputed for leading quality culinary tours. Taking in China�s rich culinary tradition, participants will learn to prepare the country�s four major regional cuisines with award-winning chefs while visiting pulsating Shanghai, beautiful Hangzhou, historic Beijing and dramatic Hong Kong. From $5795 twin share, land arrangements only. For 12 days in October, tour members will revel in traditional Spanish cuisine as diverse as tapas from Madrid, seafood from the Basque country, jamon and paella from Seville, not to mention the cutting-edge cooking of star chefs inspired by Ferran Adria and Sergi Arola. From $7700 twin share. Costs include transfers, luxury hotels, internal travel, most meals, and cooking classes for both tours. For details, telephone (03) 9827 7347, visit www.tonytan.com.au or email ttgroup@netspace.net.au

2nd Australian Farmers� Markets Association National Conference August 27 -29 Lake Hume Resort, Albury Since the inaugural conference held in Bathurst in November 2002, the number of Farmers� Markets has swelled from 30-odd to more than 80 trading regularly in all states. Recent research undertaken by DPI Victoria indicates that an estimated $20 million turnover passes through these farmers� markets annually, underlining the fact that farmers� markets are now recognized as a pivotal part of the food chain and a vital driver of regional economies. The two-day conference will deliver leadership and practical information, celebrate business achievements, set new horizons and establish networks. Delegates will also be treated to delicious Hume Murray regional produce and the wines of Brown Brothers. The conference program (plus an optional pre-conference day) and registration details are available on the Australian Farmers� Markets Association website: www.farmersmarkets.org.au

Two for Tea An insight into the lives, loves and longings of Food Media Club members. Jo Anne Calabria is a food consultant, food editor, a past president of the FMCA, and chair of The Vittoria Australia Food Media Awards 2006. My earliest food memory is making jam biscuits with mum when I was around 4 or 5 � I�d use the back of the wooden spoon to make the indent in the dough and fill them with strawberry jam. I�ve been a member of the Club since the mid to late 80s, I think. My �desert island� cookbook would be the Elizabeth David collection � she was so ahead of her time. The books are a good read as much for the recipe ideas as for the delightful insights into the culture of France and Italy. My favourite dessert is Aunty Judith�s lemon meringue pie. The best FMC function I�ve been to � what can I say but the Presentation Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel of the 2004 Vittoria Australian Food Media Awards. The launch in February at MG Garage was a lot of fun too! If I could have three people to a dinner party, they would be �Il Divo� � I know that�s four but hey, which of these four could you not invite? And I would cook barbecued lamb rumps, harissa, and a chickpea salad. Cheese � a Meredith Blue or Gippsland Blue. And an Aussie classic for the guys of �Il Divo�: a small pavlova with passionfruit curd. And to drink, we�d need some bubbles, so Croser; plus Cullens Cabernet Merlot. I wish I could dance as well as the tutors (or even some of the celebs) on Dancing with the Stars.

Victoria Hansen is a newer (just over one year), but no less enthusiastic, member who teaches the fundamentals of food preparation and cooking via media. My earliest food memory is watching Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) on TV and wanting to be just like him. I was between 6 and 7 years old. My favourite dessert: cr�me brulee. My one �dessert island� cookbook would be: actually, I wouldn�t want a cookbook, I�d want a sharp knife and something to keep it sharp. The best FMC function I�ve been to: Tasmania Tasting earlier this year. If I could have three people from anywhere and any time to a dinner party, they would be the Dalai Lama (the 14th and the current � Tenzin Gyatso), plus Albert Einstein and Carl Jung. And I would cook a selection of very simply prepared fresh vegetables, some poached fish, char-grilled lamb, a few chicken skewers and a couple of simple versatile sauces. The food would not be elaborate but nourishing, and should appeal to all the guests� tastes. My drink of choice: anything vodka-based, particularly a very dry martini. I wish I could teach people how to prepare and cook fresh ingredients and to appreciate how very simple, enjoyable, fulfilling and relaxing cooking is.

Column Ate Wellness beer? Yes, Karlesberg has introduced Karla beer-based wellness drink with folic acid, vitamins, balms, lecithin and soya extracts. Another stress-relief variant features melissa (a herbal sedative) and 1 per cent ABV. Both are only available in pharmacies. In case you missed them. The World Pea Shooting Championships were held at Witcham, UK, in July in which the winner accurately shot a pea through a tube and scored maximum bull�s-eye points. And unless you�re quick, you�ll miss the two-day Tofu Festival in Los Angeles on August 13 an 14. Still time to catch it. Ahh, this is the one where you need to book with your travel agency. The World Black Pudding Throwing Championships will be held on September 12 in Ramsbottom (where else?), in Very Little Britain. This world-renowned competition has been going for more than 150 years. Not to be confused with the annual Bratwurstmeisterschaft, or World Sausage Championships, held in Berlin early in June. First prize was won by top German chef Joerg Staroske for his invention, in which he mixed orange peel with chocolate chips to produce his world-beating chocolate sausage. Still in Germany, a failed attempt in Leipzig by 80 cooks to grill the world�s longest sausage. The 333-metre monster required 294 barbies to cook it, but the snag (sic) was that strong winds blew out the flames. Magpie pies anyone? A New Zealand Tourism Award nominee, the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, last year attracted 16,000 visitors who sampled bizarre foods from 91 stalls, including cow�s udders, gourmet garden snails, magpie pies and goat testicles. Red wine partners red meat � right? A Washington DC eatery, 26 Brix, serves meat from cattle raised on red wine skins, described as having �well defined richness�.

Books Low GI Eating Made Easy by Prof Junnie Brand-Miller and Kaye Foster-Powell with Philippa Sandall (Hodder) rrp $29.95 This book is about choosing and using the top 100 low GI smart carb foods � the ones that produce only small fluctuations in your blood glucose levels � so that you feel fuller longer and increase your energy levels, making looking good and feeling healthy achievable and sustainable. It includes an easy-to-understand overview of the GI and GL and its importance on health and wellbeing; a complete listing of the top 100 low GI smart carb foods in easy-to-follow sections such as fruit and vegetables, breads and cereals, legumes, nuts and indulgences; clear commentary on how to choose and use low GI smart carbs � how to plan a balanced diet, and how to substitute high GI foods with low GI smart carb alternatives. Real Food by Loukie Werle, rrp $19.95 In response to demand for healthy, practical, no-fuss meals, the National Heart Foundation of Australia has released a new cookbook called Real Food. Ideal for individuals and families, it features handy heart-health information and more than 50 easy-to-prepare recipes � a tempting array of breakfasts, snacks and starters, vegetarian dishes, desserts and baking options. Each recipe meets specific Heart Foundation requirements for saturated fat, kilojoules (energy), sodium (salt) and fibre, and each one also features a nutrition analysis panel so that you know what is in each serve. Fabulous Food Finds by Sally Hammond (Lothian Books), rrp $24.95 Fabulous Food Finds is the ultimate guide for foodies � no matter where you are in Australia you�ll find the best bakeries, fish and chips, cafes, Chinese food, delicatessens, pubs, ice cream, butchers and much, much more. Released in March this year, Fabulous Food Finds is jam-packed with listings for the best eateries and food suppliers around Australia, as well as markets, food and wine tour operators, kitchenware retailers, smallgoods suppliers and much more.