When it comes to quality produce, there are two adjectives that weave their magic and elevate simple food to a higher level: seasonal and regional. Two simple concepts that are becoming rare in some parts of the world where we willingly exchange flavour for year round availability. But not in Italy. In the Sicilian town [...]

Truffles are curious objects of seduction. They excite and provoke the senses. The mere whisper of their name elicits an immediate response. They make you want to study their size, admire their shape and depth of colour. They implore you to close your eyes as you inhale their pungent aroma. They make you quiver with [...]

The range of artisan honey on display caught my attention. Small glass jars of honey in teddy bear shades wore the label J Friend and Co. I wondered how these little pots of gold would taste. J Friend and Co are artisan honey makers from New Zealand who create a range of single varietal certified [...]

I enjoy nothing more than bringing home with me food items from France that evoke the memory and taste of travel. When I first laid eyes on a box of Calissons d’Aix in a shop window in Avignon, I was smitten. Calissons d’Aix are a regional specialty of the provençal town of Aix en Provence. [...]

On this Bastille Day in Sydney, the ambience at Restaurant A Toute Heure is very French. Crisp white tablecloths, tricolore napkins, Bernardeau porcelain tea lights and the sounds of Charles Aznavour, Thomas Fersen and Patricia Kaas fill the dining room. On one wall, a foulard commemorating 50th anniversary of la France Libre, on another, framed [...]

There’s nothing like the first swig of a rough red wine as it goes down the throat. At 10 am. Cassoulet, red wine and baguettes have become a tradition at La Gerbe d’Or in Sydney’s suburb of Paddington. Every year, owner Franck François puts on a generous serve of food and wine for francophiles who [...]

On the A50 autoroute to Marseille, I am filled with mixed anticipation. I have been told that France’s third largest city is hostile and unwelcoming with a high crime rate and undesirables. But for me, Marseille has echoes of Mireille Matthieu’s songs, Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy Marius, Fanny, César, the old charm of  the Vieux Port, [...]