Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

What’s the meaning of a restaurant, anyway? What’s important about being human? Martin Pirc has been in hospitality for decades: Punch Lane in Melbourne’s Chinatown has been there for 31 years, doing wine bar before we even knew what wine bars were. Juliet, an adjoining cellar bar, has been around for eight years, and over in Richmond, neighbourhood restaurant Waygood is 10. We talk about the impo...

Meat. Most of us eat it. It’s often the hero centrepiece of occasions and important gatherings. But how much do we consider where it comes from? And would we be prepared to kill the animal that we’re planning to eat? Jai Felinski has just released Tucker, a thought provoking and very personal film that digs into these issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsqlD6ZT_DQ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER...

Jewish Australian Ed Halmagyi closed Sydney's Avners Bakery in the days after a murderous terror attack targeting Jews on Bondi Beach. We talk about running a business in the face of persistent antisemitism and why it finally became too much. https://www.instagram.com/fastedmedia/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEWS, GIVEAWAYS AND BEHIND THE SCENES https://deepintheweeds.us6.l...

Apparently they play tennis at the Australian Open. I’m here for the food: we hit five food outlets to discover what’s cooking and what it’s like to feed people at an event that attracts more than a million punters over three weeks. We meet Rob Uldis Libecans from Caretaker's Cottage, Angie Giannakodakis at Taverna x Stalactites, Ray Capaldi at Wonder Pies, Mindy Woods to talk popcorn with native...

Love Shack in Castlemaine is a crucial community hub that started as a brewery and has expanded into a full-service pub with great food and friendly vibes, 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne. Its beer was stored at nearby Harcourt Coolstore, which was destroyed in January’s bushfires. We talk to owner Conna Mallett about the week that was and the huge project of recovery. Pubs are always the first...

Summer always means bushfires in Australia but this season has already been devastating for people, animals and businesses in Victoria. We talk to Pietro Porcu, owner of 30-year-old Da Noi restaurant in South Yarra, whose home and farm in Yarck, two hours north of Melbourne has been destroyed. The farm supplied the restaurant with vegetables, eggs and meat, focusing on high welfare animal husbandr...

Dirty Linen is back for 2026. This is a solo chat with me, Dani Valent, covering big topics like the Bondi shootings and bushfires. We set some intentions for 2026 and share some of the restaurants that meant a lot to us in 2025. I’ve missed you…let’s do this. I talk about: Pod with my dad https://deepintheweeds.com.au/podcast/dr-paul-valent-psychiatrist-traumatologist-the-impact-of-disasters/ Aux...

Dirty Linen visits the Old Macaroni Factory, an 1859 building in Hepburn Springs, on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Central Victoria. The Jens - Jenni Draper and Jennie Wilmoth - have painstakingly restored this historic building, turning it into a space for events and unique accommodation, as well as living on the property themselves. This episode contains a special announcement. https://www.oldmacar...

Erfan Norouzifard is well-placed to talk about the power of hospitality and the true meaning of welcome. He arrived in Australia as a refugee from Iran and was running low on hope when he joined Scarf in 2013. Scarf is a social enterprise that trains refugees in front-of-house skills - with life-changing results. Erfan is now part-owner of Melbourne’s People’s Coffee. Learn more about Scarf: scarf...

Fern Barrett (AO Tennis) - https://ausopen.com 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.instagram.com/danivalent Follow Rob Locke (Executive Producer...

As he opens his second venue, a bar called Moondrop, Steve Chan reflects on Sleepy’s, his inner Melbourne wine bar, and the journey of embracing and expressing his Chinese identity. How does he balance the joy of looking after people with the seriousness of running a business? https://www.instagram.com/scubaschteve/?hl=en SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEWS, GIVEAWAYS AND BEHI...

Laura Valli looks at food systems with the perspective of an anthropologist. Born in Estonia and raised on rye bread, her special focus is rye, an underappreciated grain that lends itself to rich storytelling as well as delicious nourishment. This episode is part of our miniseries around Grainz, a gathering of producers, bakers, brewers and sourdough enthusiasts. Listen to our episodes with Nick S...

Tania and Stephen Walter are biodynamic grain farmers in north-western Victoria. Burrum Biodynamics is a place of dark cracking soil and grey loam, red clay and sand, underpinning fields and wildlife reserves which attract native birds. The Walters grow oats, wheat, barley, lentils and rye according to biodynamic principles. It’s a life of creativity, variety, challenge and meaningful rewards that...

It's Grainz week on Dirty Linen! We spent time with grain growers, users and appreciators at Pomonal, thinking about local food systems and community. Join us for three conversations in and around the Grainz Gathering and grains in general. First up, Nick Shelley from Blue Wren Bakery, our hosts in Pomonal. We talk bread pathways, small business and resilience. https://bluewrenbakery.au SUBSCRIBE...

Dirty Linen goes to Adelaide, joining Daniella Guevara Muñoz at her taqueria La Popular. After a meal of esquites and housemade tacos, we sit down for a chat about Dani's pathway from food-loving Mexican kid to marine biologist to Adelaide restaurateur. It's always so good to meet another Dani! Look out for Daniella Guevara Muñoz's new cookbook Provecho - it's gorgeous. https://lapopulartaqueria.c...

How can Australians be hungry when our country grows so much food? Kylea Tink was an independent MP in the previous term of parliament and she’s now the CEO of FoodBank, which distributes food to those doing it tough. FoodBank’s 2025 Hunger Report shares the shocking statistic that one in three Australian households experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months, with renters, the disabled and...

As Farm My School gets ready to build its second site in Colac, we catch up with CEO James McLennan to talk transformative change. This innovative program turns land on secondary schools into growing space, farmed by kids, and producing vegetables that are cooked by and for students, and distributed to local families. The impact is remarkable. https://www.farmmyschool.com/?srsltid=AfmBOor2FAyWE9zH...

How many cows do you need to milk to call yourself a dairy farmer? Tess Sellar has 10 friendly girls at her farm on Dja Dja Wurrung country in central Victoria. As Sellar Farmhouse Creamery, she bottles milk and makes yoghurt, selling both directly to local customers who value short supply chains and delicious dairy. ⁠https://sellardairy.com.au⁠ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES,...

What does it really mean to welcome someone into your restaurant? Ioannis Kasidokostas has recently opened Aegli in South Melbourne, his second restaurant after Carnegie’s Sowl. We talk about his upbringing in Greece and his surprising journey to becoming a restaurateur in Melbourne. https://www.instagram.com/yianni.kas/?hl=en SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEWS, GIVEAWAYS AND...

Local food stylist and recipe developer Caroline Velik recently won best specialty dish in the World Porridge Making Championship in the little village of Carrbridge, Scotland. We talk porridge spreadsheets, mindset, the concept of spoon drag, plus check in about food styling trends. Want more porridge? Listen to my chat with Constantine Conti, director of The Golden Spurtle film https://deepinthe...

How does baking provide meaning? Baker, cook, recipe developer and psychologist Helen Goh has just released her cookbook Baking and the Meaning Of Life. We talk about coherence, purpose, significance and the possibilities and pleasures of asking big life questions through excellent baked goods. https://www.instagram.com/helen_goh_bakes/?hl=en SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEW...

Royce Akers is one third of Pep, a peppy new Australian brand shaking up the world of pepper. Even though pepper has a dramatic and storied history, a driver of fortunes and cross-cultural connection, Royce and his friends thought it had lost its way a little: ubiquitous but under appreciated, rarely elevated or feted in the same way that salt is, for example. From lack comes opportunity… ⁠https:/...

We’re celebrating 800 episodes of Dirty Linen at the moment. Just over five years ago when we started the podcast - the second on the Deep in the Weeds network - it was because there were stories that urgently needed to be told…so we got about it. More than 800 conversations later, we’re still here to show and share the power and possibilities of connecting around food. Thanks for being on the jou...

We’re celebrating 800 episodes of Dirty Linen at the moment. That is 800 conversations that show the power and possibilities of connecting around food. Today’s guest knows all about connecting over a meal. His specialty - pizza - is one of the best foods ever invented to bring a group together. Lorenzo Tron is founder of Shop 225 a pizza shop in Pascoe Vale South in Melbourne. He’s just back from...

Do high street butchers still have a place in today’s supermarket society? We chat to Luke Iles, owner of Lucky Pig Butchery in Melbourne’s Bentleigh. Luke has just scooped the pool at the Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards with his Leaning Tower sausage. Check out all the winners: https://www.melbourneroyal.com.au Like butcher chats? Listen this one with Troy Wheeler: deepintheweeds.com.au/po...