Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

As we continue talking seafood and Port Phillip Bay, we check in with a director of Future Fish, the recreational fisher lobby group that is responsible for the impending net ban that will decimate Victorians' access to fresh, local seafood. But David Kramer - lifetime rec fisher, host of a fishing radio show and tackle shop owner - doesn't even want the imminent sardine ban to go through. Why, th...

Why are local people losing access to sustainable local seafood? We continue with our series on Port Phillip Bay fisheries in a discussion with Joanne Butterworth-Gray, Independent Chair of Seafood Industry Victoria. SIV represents commercial fishers who sometimes feel like their industry is being dismantled around them. Given that commercial catches are regulated and limits tied to future viabili...

Today Dirty Linen embarks on a special series focusing on fishing in Port Phillip Bay, the vast body of water that shapes Melbourne. Local food has never been so important - and Melbourne people love showing off their great food city. At the same time, supply chains are strained. Fuel is expensive. The pandemic, floods, droughts and fires have shown us that our stores are only a few days from bein...

Greta Donaldson eased her way into confectionery as an escape and alternative from her stressful work in public relations. Slowly and surely, her passion has turned into a thriving sweet treat business that’s allowed her to make deep connections with her regional community, find balance and bring joy to brittle lovers all around Australia. https://www.bendigobrittle.com.au Follow The Producers on...

Ronston Baira was named Victoria's Indigenous Chef of the Year at the recent Restaurant and Catering Industry Awards. Yeah Ronston! We talk about growing up in north Queensland where seafood was a food focus for his large family, his satisfying work at MoVida Aqui and the reason he might lug a paella pan on the plane one day. https://www.instagram.com/ronston_baira/ Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram...

Our epic miniseries with the Pipit Girl Gang wraps up with Yen Trinh, co-owner of Pipit Restaurant and the powerhouse behind the Girl Gang pop-up. We reflect on the motivations behind this and other events, the challenges of being a parent and working in restaurants, and the benefits of bringing outside perspectives to an industry that can sometimes be insular. https://www.pipitrestaurant.com Foll...

We continue with the Pipit Girl Gang in this conversation with sommelier Gabby Fury. Gabby works a day a week at Harvest Newrybar and consults on wine in between looking after her baby daughter Freida. Her family lives 10 minutes out of flood devastated Lismore and recovery and rebuilding looms large. We also chat about the pull of restaurants after a career as a musician and the challenges of bal...

After building a career in the hospitality sector, Jordan Sly (Wormticklers) had a yearning for a greater connection to produce. He set himself a mission to grow the best quality organic seedlings and he’s now become one of the most important parts in the organic food chain on the east coast of Australia. https://www.wormticklers.com Follow The Producers on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/prod...

We continue our Pipit Girl Gang series with Jude Ng, a chef at the Pottsville restaurant. Jude has been busy dealing with the floods - feeding people and pitching in. As an ex-social worker who came to cooking later in life, Jude reflects on the structural issues in hospitality as well as its many powerful joys. She also has the best story ever about a dog bite that changed her life. The Pipit Gir...

It's FriYay and that means it's time for Friday On My Mind, a short, sharp(ish) brain dump of food news, eating obsessions and recent and upcoming articles. This week I chat Nigella, recap our Pipit Girl Gang series, preview a pod-series about Port Phillip Bay fishing and touch on the plight of refugees imprisoned in the centre of Melbourne. Have a great weekend, everyone! Nigella Lawson interview...

We continue our miniseries in the flood-smashed Northern Rivers, talking community and hospitality with the Pipit Girl Gang. Today we hear from Pipit front of house manager Alice Dwyer. Alice is big on respect, caring leadership and building a culture that makes hospitality a career of choice. https://www.pipitrestaurant.com/store-1/girl-gang-female-chefs-mentor-booklet-free-download Follow Dirty...

We continue our mini-series celebrating Pipit's Girl Gang. Saffron Brun-Smits never stopped asking questions when she trained with Pipit owner Ben Devlin at his previous Paper Daisy gig. Saffron is now head chef at La Casita in Brunswick Heads. She's young, driven and keen to always keep learning. Right now, the floods loom large: we talk community, recovery, ambition and balance. https://www.pipi...

We're marking International Women's Day by launching a series of podcasts centred on Pipit's 'Girl Gang' celebration of women in hospitality. Since we planned the series, the northern New South Wales region surrounding the Pottsville restaurant has been slammed by devastating floods. There's a lot to talk about. We kick off with Lily Pegus, pastry chef at Pipit. https://www.pipitrestaurant.com/sto...

Jo Bangles was getting tired of hauling eskies full of cheese to music festivals. Sure she wasn't the only one, she launched Splatters cheese truck, an instant hit that emerged from the pandemic as a cheese train. But Splatters is more than a conveyor belt restaurant: it's a beacon of diversity and inclusion and a testament to the power of food to bring people together. https://www.splatters.onlin...

After nine years working with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Zenon Misko moved to Bangkok with his wife and young son, Yuri. He's loving eating his way around the city, toddler in tow, seeking the best crab rice, noodles and mango sticky rice, https://www.instagram.com/roamingbangkok/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani Valent https:...

It's been a huge two years for Kelly Eastwood. Through bushfires and pandemic, she turned her south coast of NSW cafe and cooking school into Eastwood's of Bermagui, a ready-meals business powered by Cookaborough. Along the way she worked with World Central Kitchen to feed her community in a time of crisis. Food has always been her passion but it's never been so rewarding. https://www.eastwoodsber...

Victorian producer Kerri Farrell and her spud sister Catherine farm potatoes, source potatoes and sell potatoes to fine dining restaurants, farmers’ markets and online. Third generation farmers and providores, Kerri loves being a spud specialist, enjoys the opportunities for connection and education and truly believes you can never be too enthusiastic about potatoes. https://spudsisters.com.au Fol...

Veteran chef and restaurateur Geoff Lindsay (Lamaro’s) started working in restaurants because his first boss seemed to have a lot of time for surfing. Though he soon realised that he hadn’t chosen the best profession for lifestyle perks, Geoff has retained for the industry, spilling tales from legendary Stephanie’s and his award-winning restaurants Stella, Pearl and Dandelion. https://geofflindsay...

We head to three-Michelin-starred Geranium in Copenhagen where Australian sommelier Alex Jacques is enjoying everything! He appreciates the support of the restaurant and the Danish government through Covid, he loves the incredible wine cellar and the pescatarian menu that he’s matching with. A one-time Quay somm, Melbourne will always be home…but not quite yet. https://www.instagram.com/alexanderj...

Racha Abou Alchamat runs Racha's Syrian Kitchen in Sydney. She shares her migrant story and explains why she loves sharing food from her culture. What makes Syrian food special and distinct and why was it so easy to taste the love in her beautiful ma'amoul biscuits? https://www.instagram.com/racha_syrian_kitchen/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Fol...

Inspired by native haired sheep seen on their travels to South America, the Gilmore Brothers set out to breed a fully haired meat sheep intended for Australian conditions. Through years of careful breeding using the latest technology and techniques, they succeeded in their venture, developing a unique breed of lamb, certified as the Australian White, and as Tim Leahy (Margra Lamb) explains, some o...

Beloved Melbourne institution Tuck Shop Takeaway closed recently after 9½ years. We chat to owner Clinton Serex about why he and wife Karina parlayed their fine dining experience into a burger shop and the joys and challenges of running a small values-based business while bringing up a family. After the Serexes announced the shop’s closure, reflective Instagram posts led to a binfire of misunderst...

Zac Bird makes us laugh every day with his sharply observed but disarmingly silly digs at non-vegans. We chat about his path as a recipe developer and influencer, why he loves cooking for his dad, and the part that deafness has played in his fascinating plant-based journey. https://www.instagram.com/zaccharybird/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Fol...

Chef Bodee Price knew he wanted to get back to the regions at some point but he couldn't have imagined how satisfying and rewarding his role at Brown Brothers restaurant in Milawa would be. The pandemic has forced positive changes in sourcing, growing and using produce and the restaurant is better and more resourceful as a result. https://www.instagram.com/bodeeprice/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on I...

If you eat Australian-grown pumpkin seeds, you can be sure they’re from Pepo Farms, a unique farming and production business based in northern Victoria. For owner Sharan West Rivett, Pepo’s mission isn’t just growing and selling a product, but also advocating for its health benefits and culinary potential, and enriching the land which makes it all possible. https://pepofarms.com.au Follow The Prod...