A Deep in the Weeds Production
Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent
Dirty Linen goes behind the scenes in restaurants, cafes and bars, covering issues the hospitality industry finds hard to share in public - it's all up for grabs and everything is on the table. Your host is food journalist Dani Valent. For 20 years, Dani has been writing about restaurants and the people who give them life. But she's an outsider, a critic, a tourist, a fan. Despite hearing the stories and writing the tales, she's never really understood what happens behind the scenes. Now it's time to get stuck in, with compassion, humour and fearlessness. Dirty Linen goes deep, both in convers...
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Episodes
Daniel Saade and Redmond Stevenson (Order Up) - A City Fed by Many Cultures 29.03.2026 40:36
Daniel Saade and Redmond Stevenson have collected thousands of order dockets from 33 Melbourne restaurants and made them part of a fond, resonant, immersive exhibition called Order Up: A City Fed by Many Cultures. It’s on at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne until May. What can we learn about restaurant culture by looking at crumpled, food-stained scraps of paper? See Order Up: https://museumsvi...
Lucy Ridge (Author) - Recovering chef 24.03.2026 31:50
‘Recovering chef’ Lucy Ridge is the author of Fed Up: A Chef’s Adventures in Food, Farming & Feminism. Burnt out by hospitality, Lucy embarked on something of a chef’s gap year, seeking out female farmers and producers to intern with, all around Australia. There was cheesemaking, distilling, pig farming, salad nurturing, harvesting bush foods on Country and grape stomping. https://lucyridge.com SU...
Felice Jacka (Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University) - Connecting food and mood 22.03.2026 40:16
Connecting food and mood - whether good or bad - is probably not a radical proposal for anyone listening to this podcast. But what’s the science behind it? Today’s guest is Felice Jacka, Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry and founder of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. Felice’s work links the food we eat with our mental wellbeing - can foods of different types make us feel better…or w...
Abi Balingit (Cookbook Author and Dessert Remixer) - the dusky kitchen 17.03.2026 31:04
Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is on March 20-29 with local and international chefs and creators heading to Victoria to cook, share and inspire. There’s a big Filipino thread to the program and we’re chatting to one of its stars, cookbook author and dessert remixer Abi Balingit, author of the James Beard Award-winning book Mayumu. See Abi’s events: https://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/search/?s...
The Producers: Carly Baker-Burnham (Bonnie Doone Organic Beef) - Winds of change 16.03.2026 28:30
Carbon neutral climate positive agriculture is not the first thing many people think of when it comes to cattle farming but in Queensland Carly Baker-Burnham and her family from Bonnie Doone Organic Beef have an incredible story of evolution, generational change and now Australia’s first and largest soil carbon sequestration. https://www.bonniedoone.com.au SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLU...
Greg Sanderson (Speakeasy Group) - a focus on workplace culture 15.03.2026 39:28
Greg Sanderson has played a pivotal role in establishing some of Australia’s most beloved bars as managing director of Speakeasy Group, which has eight venues in Melbourne and Sydney. What’s it like running a bar group in a time of renewed and necessary focus on workplace culture, and when so many people are reducing their consumption of alcohol or not drinking at all? https://speakeasygroup.com.a...
Dirty Glass with Dani Valent and Shanteh Wale - the life of a wine taster, fine dining, Quay, Yiaga and more 10.03.2026 44:33
Shanteh Wale and Dani Valent team up for Dirty Glass, the occasional crossover pod featuring Over A Glass and Dirty Linen. We talk about fine dining: as Quay closes and Yiaga begins, what can and should high-end dining be? Plus bushfire recovery, the life of a wine taster, the joys of Coravin, and whether buying local and seasonal is a bunch of BS. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE...
Matthew Evans (chef, author and farmer) - well grounded 08.03.2026 34:30
I said in my first episode of the year that I want to cover big juicy topics that draw some of the many strands of the food world together, things like farming, education, cooking, pricing, environment, health. We do that today with chef, author and farmer Matthew Evans. Matthew runs Grounded, a roaming farming conference that’s also a food festival. I’ll be one of the MCs at this year’s festival...
Bill Drakopoulos (SRG Hospitality) - a family group. 03.03.2026 32:47
We’re chatting to Bill Drakopoulos at a pivotal moment. The veteran restaurateur is handing over Sydney restaurant group SRG to his four children as the family-owned company enters a busy period of expansion. SRG’s venues include waterfront Aqua, Sails and Ormeggio as well as sweet neighbourhood spots. One of the topics I’m always thinking about is the place of the family restaurant in a hospitali...
Heleana Genaus ( Rising Sun Workshop) - the heart of community 01.03.2026 45:39
Restaurants are at the heart of community, community is at the heart of restaurants - or the best of them, anyway. Whether it’s a lunchspot in the centre of a big city, a family restaurant in a suburb, or a coffee machine in a servo in a tiny town, a business that understands the value of community and its place within it - to give and to get - is the kind of place that reels me in. One place I’m...
Dirty Linen on the Ghan - a special episode 26.02.2026 19:12
Dirty Linen on the loose…I’m on The Ghan, travelling 3000km up the spine of Australia on an 800 metre long train with 250 other rail riders. This podcast diary tracks the experience, chatting to staff, fellow travellers and reflecting on the logistics that make this bucket list experience a trove of lifetime memories. https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/journeys/the-ghan/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLET...
Jess Hite (Chef on the Ghan) - tasting the landscape 24.02.2026 28:02
Jess Hite (Chef on the Ghan) - tasting the landscape https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/journeys/the-ghan/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEWS, GIVEAWAYS AND BEHIND THE SCENES https://deepintheweeds.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d33e307cf7100cf947e2e6973&id=d17d8213f5 Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani Valent https://www...
Khash Kohan (Kitchen 55, Melbourne) - sharing generous hospitality 22.02.2026 45:07
With the backdrop of enormous upheaval and violence in Iran, we talk to Khash Kohan, part of the family that runs Kitchen 55 in Melbourne’s Templestowe. Kitchen 55 makes homestyle Persian dishes that are rarely seen in restaurants. What are the stories behind them? What’s it like to be in Australia, serving food and sharing generous hospitality when the country it showcases is in trauma? https://k...
Priscilla Williamson (Bright Boutique Accomodation) - where to stay? 15.02.2026 13:35
You’re heading to the High Country…but where to stay? Priscilla Williamson runs Bright Boutique Accommodation, a collection of individual properties suitable for all sorts of trips, holidays and get-togethers. https://www.brightboutiqueaccommodation.com.au https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Linen. We’ve eaten the f...
Rachel Reed (Reed & Co. Distillery & Koji Bird) - the spirit of Bright 15.02.2026 17:51
Rachel Reed runs Bright’s Reed & Co with her husband Hamish. The pair are chefs who turned their focus on fermentation into life as distillers. Best known for their gin, Rachel explains why they’ve now branched into shochu and their new Koji Spirits range. https://www.reedandcodistillery.com/home https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country s...
Jacob Hanna (Punkah Pantry) - come and say Pie! 15.02.2026 15:32
Jacob Hanna runs Punkah Pantry, a licensed cafe, provedore and pie shop in Porepunkah. Why did he give up a teaching career to work one of the High Country’s busiest coffee machines, and what’s it like moving to a rural community? https://www.instagram.com/punkahpantry/?hl=en https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Line...
Julie Holm (Ringer Reef Winery) - embedded in the community 15.02.2026 24:12
Julie Holm runs Ringer Reef Winery with husband Mark. We talk family business, the dynamics of small enterprise and how they’ve embedded themselves in community. But will Julie share her secret local swimming spots? https://ringerreef.com.au https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Linen. We’ve eaten the food, sipped the d...
Marcus Warner (Pepo Farms) - small farms, small business and big dreams 15.02.2026 34:01
Marcus Warner is the CEO of Pepo Farms, an innovative and endlessly creative farm, production facility and visitor-friendly retail showroom. We talk about small farms, small business and big dreams. https://www.pepofarms.au https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Linen. We’ve eaten the food, sipped the drinks, met the peo...
Scott Brandon (Bright Brewery) - A cornerstone of community and economy 15.02.2026 24:25
Scott Brandon is owner and founder of Bright Brewery. A cornerstone of Bright’s community and economy, the brewery has a modern production facility on the outskirts of town and a bar, restaurant and beer garden on the Ovens River in the centre of town. https://brightbrewery.com.au https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty L...
Rowan Blakers (Bright Adventure Company) - the best job in the world 15.02.2026 13:22
Rowan Blakers reckons he has the best job in the world. The owner of Bright Adventure Company spends his days kayaking, abseiling, rock climbing and caving, introducing visitors to beautiful natural landscapes and having fun along the way. https://www.brightadventurecompany.com.au https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Li...
Monica Melendez (Elm Dining, Bright) - leadership, seasonality and thriving through change 15.02.2026 26:24
Monica Melendez is the extraordinary chef from Elm Dining in Bright. With her working life split between the town and nearby snowfields, we talk about leadership, seasonality and thriving through change. https://elmdining.com.au https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/high-country This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Linen. We’ve eaten the food, sipped the drinks, met the p...
Luke Dudley (Sixpence Coffee, Bright) - keeping the High Country caffeinated 15.02.2026 25:16
Luke Dudley runs Sixpence Coffee, a roastery with cafe outlets in Bright and Albury. Luke opens up about his career twists and turns, the family reasons behind making the move to the High Country, and the community that’s sustained him along the way. https://sixpencecoffee.com.au https://www.victoriashighcountry.com.au This podcast is part of a special High Country series on Dirty Linen. We’ve eat...
Eleonora Rossi (The Hardware Club, Melbourne) - inclusivity, welcome, real human contact, and the perfect bowl of pasta. 10.02.2026 32:50
What’s it like to run an independent restaurant in a large Australian city, surrounded by groups with more money and presence? What if you’re a woman, a migrant and part of the queer community? We chat to Eleonora Rossi, manager of the Hardware Club in Melbourne, about inclusivity, welcome, real human contact, and the perfect bowl of pasta. https://www.thehardwareclub.com SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETT...
Jenna Abbruzzese (Lamb Farmer) - turning to rural life 08.02.2026 36:30
We love a special series on Dirty Linen… and this is the first episode of an occasional but ongoing discussion with Jenna Abbruzzese. I first encountered Jenna more than a decade ago when she was a chef at Middle Eastern restaurant Rumi in Melbourne’s Brunswick East. Later, she opened her own business, Kitchenette, with her friend Megan. Kitchenette was a cafe and food store where everything was m...
Peter Gunn (Ides) - going out on a high 03.02.2026 43:55
Peter Gunn’s Ides restaurant will close in March, exactly 10 years after it first opened in Collingwood, Melbourne. We talk about the pathway from young chef bursting with creativity to a business owner who is older, wiser and more keen on using barbecue tongs than tweezers to get dishes on the table. Also - did Pete trick Dani when they spoke for her recent review of Ides? Read my review: https:/...
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