Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

The Producers in Launceston is a special series celebrating the farmers and produce of northern Tasmania.  Our first episode is with pig farmers Kim and Daniel Croker, who live and work on idyllic Fork It Farm in northern Tasmania. Their rare-breed Berkshire porkers forage, socialise and wallow their way around a small, pretty farm half an hour from Launceston. Their pork is incredibly tasty, rich...

We chat to Chris Wotton, Group Executive Chef for GM Hotels in Adelaide. Chris oversees the food and up to 80 kitchen workers across 12 hotels. He's implemented lots of changes to keep things running smoothly while staffing is stretched: it's not all bad, either. Chris is also part of a new hospitality advisory group to the South Australian government which aims to entice more school leavers into...

Yun Kim is about to launch EziStreat, a hybid dark kitchen and food hall in North Melbourne that also acts as an incubator for food businesses low on capital. Yun hopes to create a hospitality network that can take advantage of better deals with delivery apps while building dine-in custom. EziStreat is also designed with an eye on whatever crisis this funny old world throws our way next. Listen to...

The Reids, have been farming in Mimosa for over one hundred years. Six generations of sheep farmers that have perfected sustainable and low stress methods of farming. Lamb man Dan Reid (Mimosa Valley Lamb) and his family, farm in the heart of the Riverina in Southern NSW and supply Sydney with some of the best quality lamb in the country. https://www.mimosavalleylamb.com.au Follow The Producers on...

Why do people go hungry in Australia? We puzzle over this failure of policy and systems with Dr Katherine Kent, a public health nutritionist and lecturer in public health at Western Sydney University. Katherine has just released a fascinating study that looks at Tasmanians’ experience of food insecurity during the 2020 lockdown. What changes do they wish to see in their lives and communities? http...

Jobs and skills are huge topics in Australia right now but are we considering all the ways of promoting employment and training in Australian society? Bianca Stern and Lloyd Clarke work at All Things Equal, a Melbourne cafe and social enterprise dedicated to providing meaningful paid work for people with disabilities, and great food and coffee for the dining public. Every cafe on their Balaclava s...

What's on the horizon for hospitality? We check in with futurist Rod Fowler to talk robots, fake meat, food distribution and more. https://rodfowler.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani Valent https://www.instagram.com/danivalent Follow Rob Locke (Executive Producer) https://www.instagram.com/foodwinedine/ Follow Huck (Executive Producer) http...

Nicolas Ojeda Amador is a baker at Casa Nata, which makes amazing Portuguese tarts in Melbourne. He moved from Colombia in 2018 as an international student and also has experience working with migration agencies and in multicultural communications. We talk about great custard tarts, hospitality as a welcoming space for all cultures and how pride can foster connection. https://www.instagram.com/nic...

Wiradjuri man Zane McMillan is the co-CEO of Uncle Charlie's Tastes of Country, an Aboriginal-owned family company that makes popcorn seasoned with Indigenous flavours. Uncle Charlie's is a new company but it’s anchored in more than 60,000 years of Aboriginal connection to the land and has broad ambitions beyond offering a tasty commercial snack. It’s as much about storytelling, connection and und...

How relevant are five-star hotels and their kitchens in today's culinary landscape? We find out in today's discussion with Apoorva Kunte, executive chef at the Westin in Melbourne. Apoorva worked at hotels in India, Bangladesh, Oman and Sydney before moving to Melbourne, cooking with luminaries such as Alain Passard and for VIPs including the Dalai Lama and George Clooney. https://www.instagram.co...

Rosemary Morrow, known to all as Rowe, is a teacher of permaculture and regeneration with 40 years experience working around the world to restore social and environmental health. She lives in the Blue Mountains and has just released a comprehensive new handbook called Earth Restorer's Guide to Permaculture. We talk about community, change and mindset: how do we transform ourselves from consumers t...

Bistro Livi had only just opened in Murwillumbah when floods swept through northern New South Wales, shutting the sodden restaurant for a five-week rebuild. We chat to chef Ewen Crawford about his journey from Albany, West Australia, to MoVida in Melbourne, and now to a regional town anchored in community and local produce. https://www.bistrolivi.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.ins...

After 11 years working in Australia, Sebastiano Pisasale left his job as restaurant manager at regional superstar Brae. He's moved back home to Italy and has launched a pop-up restaurant in Inzago, near Milan. We talk about the differences between Italian and Australian restaurant culture, both for diners and for workers, and Seb outlines the hospitality revolution he's planning to spark in Italy....

Shima Wasabi is in northern Tasmania, and shares its latitude with southern Japan. Tasmania’s cool climate is the ideal year-round environment in which to grow this rare plant to create genuine wasabi products and for Esme Atkinson, working with this amazing plant has changed her life. https://shimawasabi.com.au Follow The Producers on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/producerspodcast/ Host Ant...

We had so much fun chatting to Abby Kitchen from Nomad Sydney that it seemed only right to find another awesome female chef to talk to at Nomad Melbourne. Rupal Bhatikar grew up in Goa and quit a high-flying corporate career to retrain as a chef. What's it been like to start again at the beginning in a new country? We talk culture, values, learning, authenticity and - crucially - seasoning! https:...

We check in with legendary chef Donovan Cooke, who Marco Pierre White calls an essential part of his campaign for a third Michelin star, and currently the owner of Ryne in Melbourne. How different are kitchens today from those of the past, especially in terms of commitment and skills? We also talk about Google review extortion: customers who threaten one-star slams if they're not given refunds. ht...

Reuben Mardan is the founder and owner of Sample Coffee, a cafe, roastery, retailer and wholesaler in Sydney. Reuben first worked in coffee as a side job but his engagement grew as the specialty coffee scene burgeoned and the first Sample outlet opened in 2011. After a decade in the business, Reuben still finds the industry enriching, especially because it allows him to connect with people at the...

Abby Kitchen and I have a cute meeting story: I perved inside her fridge for a Good Food story. The head chef at Nomad Sydney talks about her challenging path from raw American chef to embedded Sydneysider. We discuss female leadership in hospitality: what's changed and what still needs to? https://nomad.sydney Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani...

Long Prawn is a Melbourne food, art and event collective, currently in Bali to launch a book about oddly named dishes. Nun's Farts, anyone? I chat to the prawn's tail, Frederick Mora, about the meaning and fun in gathering around food in non-traditional hospitality settings. Is having a tangential relationship to the world of food and drink a new way of pushing forward and if so, where to next? ht...

Many people would be able to look back on their lives and view their actions with shame or regret. But few people - thankfully - have committed a shocking and violent crime like Dom Walker. I talk with the young farmer and agroecologist about what happened, the way he has been able to process what he did, and whether there's a path to redemption, or at least purpose, in the act of growing food. ht...

After two decades in the restaurant game, Sway Quach knows a lot about small business. The co-owner of Tom Phat and Bhang in Melbourne's Brunswick shares tips on purpose, staffing, costs and self-care. Despite all the tricky moments, what is it that keeps Sway fronting up for work every day with joy and passion? https://www.tomphat.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirt...

When the pandemic landed, it forced most in the food industry to re-think offering. With a handful of successful restaurants, the likes of Dear Saint Eloise, Love Tilly Devine and Ragazzi a young dynamic group began making fresh pasta to heat and serve at home. Cam Birt, a professional in the realms of artisan, bespoke food products saw an opportunity, not just as a stop gap, but to create a whole...

Melbourne's iconic Monarch Cakes has been dispensing joy on Acland Street, St Kilda, since 1934 and owner Nikki Laski has been working in the family enterprise her whole life. What's it like being custodian of a business that's so important to its community, especially in a time of short-staffing and increasing prices? And what is the mysterious Paradise cake that's coming back to the menu? https:...

Third-generation farmer Catherine Velisha is the managing director of Velisha Farms, based in Werribee South on the outskirts of Melbourne. She’s also the founder of VegEducation, a training organisation that promotes the diverse opportunities in farm work, as well as extolling the virtues of veg to the broader community. The way she sees it, horticulture is nourishing in every way: a great busine...

Two years ago, during one of many Melbourne lockdowns, Kady Simkins opened food truck Dingo Ate My Taco. A former social justice lawyer who has lived between the US and Alice Springs, we talk about the immigration rules that make staffing extra challenging, and share hopes for a new era in visa and training policies that smooths a path for international workers, hospitality businesses and the coun...