Fifteen

Jamie Oliver's vision started years ago. A now acclaimed chef and publisher of various recipe books he has decided to give a little bit back. Commencing with his restaurant Fifteen in London Jamie's vision to help the under-privilege and those that need an opportunity for a fresh start has extended to Melbourne, Australia. At Unit 1 the television program that documents the journey of 30 auditioned individuals and Jamie's team as they attempt to refine this group of keen potential Australian chefs to 15 is compulsory viewing. We were impressed that the recruitment team were impressed with what Melbourne had to offer. This program has hit the media by storm, read Here, here and here and is (as you could imagine) not without
controversy.


The concept behind of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Foundation is great. I was going to make a reservation for this place so I can check it out when I get to go home. This may be difficult. I might be lucky to get in sometime next year.

Hot off the press

This is a pic of the beautiful baby Marcus, as promised. His Mum sent these photos through today. Many Thanks. What a lovely way to end such a hideous day.

Day of Peace

Apparently today is the International Day of Peace, as established by the UN General Assembly in resolution 36/67. My day has not been peaceful. I don't want to go into details but contained within the walls of Bond University Law School are some fantastic lecturers, students, librarians and support staff, there are also some that are not. I wish my day had been peaceful. But hey you've got to look on the bright side of life at least it wasn't as bad as what's going on here. apparently, it isn't very cool to observe this day.

More upbeat, I haven't been here, but think I might go. Perhaps my Brunswick breakfast buddy might like to accompany me!

Headlines

Today there has been a great deal going on in the world.

• A coup in Thailand, I'm glad my sister is now safely back in Australia. Soon she is heading over to Western Australia to give a paper at a conference. She is also the 2nd Year co-ordinator for prosthetics and orthodics at La Trobe University.
• Native Title has been found to exist in a metropolitan area in Western Australia. This is a first. The state government are going to appeal the decision, they do not agree. In the Yorta Yorta case it was found that native title did not exist. Olney J believed the claimants could not establish a continual connection with the land. His consideration of the evidence presented has been criticised. A number of people did not agree with his decision. Most of the Native Title legislation I do not agree with, especially John Howard's amendments: The 7 point plan. At the end of the day Native Title is not Land Rights. There is a right to land for Indigenous people in the Northern Territory. Had the initial bill for this been passed, rather than watered down when the Whitlam Goverment was dismissed making way for the Frazer Goverment, it would have been far better. Even this has been ruined now.
• ABC workers to go on strike tomorrow. I think my Dad would argue this is the best television station in Australia, accordingly the workers should be paid more. If it telecasted the AFL it would be perfect.
• This is one brave kid. This is a video of the speech she gave. I bet her Dad would have been proud.

Adventures in Australia: Palm Cove

When launching this blog I undertook to include traveling tips for Australia. Better late than never.

Over Easter I flew up to Palm Cove in Far North Queensland with my Mum, and our friends Andrea and Dave. We had many adventures. Thanks to my Mum for the 1000th time for an amazing traveling experience.

When I speak to friends about travels and like to ask them to isolate the best thing and the worst thing (they can list more than one place/event/person/experience under either heading)
In accordance with this interrogation technique:
The best: the most amazing food, the fine dining, the swimming pools, the proximity to the Daintree Rainforest.
The worst: the development that is going on, especially the monolith that is this.

Restaurants included: Chok Dee , the Reef, NuNu, and the 3rd Restaurant at the Outrigger that had Italian style food (i can't recall the name.) There were a few more we frequented and all were fabulous. This would have to be one of the top eating places in Australia. Divine food.

Places to visit included; Green Island (a day trip to the reef and here is suggested), the Great Barrier Reef (visible from the moon), the Atherton Table Lands, the Sky Rail (fantastic, but don't get off at the top just turn around and go back down, what once may have been a quaint, alternative town is now tourist central), the amazing Daintree Rainforest, (a World Heritage Site.)


It also inspired me to contemplate new destinations in this gigantic country:
1. the Atherton Table Lands
2. The Savannah Way (my family have driven to most places in Australia but we haven't taken this route which takes one from the east-coast to the west-coast from Cairns to Broome, we've gone east to west a few times but lower down the Nullabor-Highway A1 under the national highway classification system)
3. Cape Tribulation
4. return trip to the Daintree Rainforest (this time without a river about to burst it's banks and the fear of crocodile attacks(more on that later) - maybe I'll get to stay here and explore here.

This is pretty nifty: View virtual tour of Reef House Restaurant. This was my favorite restaurant. My friends the Beachs are currently at Palm Cove. I hope they are having a fantastic time.

Sabrina

This is my gorgeous friend Sabrina. She kept me sane at Law School. Well at least she tried. She has arrived home (via, Sydney, China, Fiji and LA.) I really miss her but don't wish she was here. She didn't like it very much on the Gold Coast. I don't think she will ever come back to Australia. Well she might come back to Melbourne. She is welcome to stay with me when ever she does. She is back in Toronto, in Canada. She has to wait until next year to sit her challenge exams. She needs to sit these so she can practice law in Canada. Hopefully, I can drop past Canada one day and say g'day. While I am missing her, I think there might be someone at Bond who is missing her more!

While I'm at it...

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. During the Soccer World Cup i read a lovely piece. In the Age Santo Ciluaro reminisced:

"....That affair began on a cold night in 1970.....
I thought I heard some voices coming from the kitchen. It was dark. When I walked in, I could just make out the disconsolate figure of my father hunched over the laminex table in his blue and black checked dressing gown. He had his back to me and the red glow of a cigarette tip seemed to hang low, almost touching the floor. It was June 22, the longest night of the year - little did I know that it was being made even longer by what he was listening to. As a trebly roar spluttered out from the plastic short-wave radio, suddenly he thumped the tabletop. It was a big moment for an eight-year-old - it was the first time I heard my father swear. The remarkable thing was he wasn't angry. What proceeded was a resigned, bemused tirade. He was half-laughing, half-admiring. The sentence was long and flowing - only one word that wasn't an Italian expletive: "Pele."
He turned to me and smiled. "We lost the World Cup."
Wow. This game was cruel, beautifully cruel. He patiently explained that when Italy went head to head with Brazil in the final in Mexico City in front of 110,000 people, it was winner take all. They were both two-time champions, so the victor this time would take home the trophy. Brazil did that. Italy didn't. It was that simple, that cruel. I walked back down the corridor and climbed back into bed, not sure how someone could be upset and happy at the same time..."

Read the entire piece here.

Some one i know who is rather nostalgic from time to time said this:
"Em,
I read the article last night, surely he must win an award for such a heartfelt message of life. I apply it to the Royals, the East Perth Football Club when some Saturday's we (Dad & I) walked from the ground with a heavy heart on a loss or [in the case of a win] in jubilation. Colour my week those Saturdays did...my little Dad would arc up if the ump didn't see it right! Perhaps it's also akin to listening to the test match in England with my RAAF headset and crystal set. Dad or Mum used to come in and take them off after I had fallen asleep. Ah memories....ps can't you smell the coffee and pastries as they listened through the night."

Slow Food

This is a great initiative: www.atasteofslow.com.au. The festival culminated with a weekend of 'slow food' at one of my all time favorite places: The Collingwood Children's' Farm.They have a cafe there and a farmer's produce market, held on the second Saturday of every month. If in Melbourne this is a must do. After going to the market you can walk back past the animals. And to think this is in the middle of suburban Melbourne, Melways Map 44 for those of you familiar with this publication.

Values?

In this hectic fast-paced world time dictates our daily lives. McDonald's Drive Thru, fast-food, video games and reality television are the demands of children, rather than Mum's home cooking with fruit and vegetables from the garden and day-dreaming in fantasy lands.

Walking down the street to buy an ice-cream which is then devoured by grotty and happy children who have spent endless hours playing backyard cricket and other games that child-like imaginations conjure up, now can be equated with Play-Stations X-Boxes and childhood obesity, apparently an emerging epidemic. Fearful of the litigious society we have evolved(or should that be devolved?) into playground equipment has been removed while television, DVD's, computers, the internet, IQ scores and extra-curricular activities for the big-time CV's of small and imaginative children take precedence over the enjoyable art of being a child. Where glossy magazines, the latest must have accessory and Barbie is all consuming and constitute entertainment, rather than the sandpit, home made instruments and inventions, explorations of the never-ending world out the back-door and frolicking inside to make cubbies from Gran's old sheets, which provides a residence and hideout until its collapse when another family member dismantles the master-piece.

People need to spend time to STOP. THINK and if you like LISTEN (as cliche as that may be and no this is not a reference to crossing the road). People need to take stock and consider what really matters.

Most people don't do this. But observing an ever increasing need to return to old-school values and appreciations is the highly acclaimed Melbourne Chef Stephanie Alexander. The launch of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Foundation introduces a program that takes children (and I imagine incidentally adults) on an adventure. An adventure that is wholesome, healthy and value laden (far beyond the Tuesday afternoon tennis lessons, Saturday morning Ballet class and Thursday morning extention French lessons.)

Well done Stephanie what a fantastic initiative.

Side bar: Stephanie previously jointly owned Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder. She has also published many cook books. My personal favorite is The Cook's Companion - this is like a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia for cooking all rolled in to one! A source that would call themselves 'reliable' has told me that Stephanie actively encourages people to annotate and decorate this text as they explore it (alternate experimenting with the content contained within.) I wonder....

Departed

I have now left Melbourne. I have arrived on the Gold Coast. I am not particularly happy about this. But, you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Not very clear on that either. Oh well. Watch this.