Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

We start the week in Shepparton which is throwing all its resources at a Delta outbreak. Graeme Murphy's Thai Orchid was an exposure site last year. This year he's using everything he learnt to keep building community, stay safe and feed a struggling Shepp. Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani https://www.instagram.com/danivalent Follow Deep In Th...

We head to Canberra to talk to magazine editor Katarina Kroslakova, who is powering along with new print publication T Australia - food is a big focus there. Katarina is also helping her restaurateur partner Pasquale Trimboli with marketing, packaging and pandemic pivoting at his Canberra restaurant Italian & Sons. We talk food media, the resilience of print publications and the place of anonymity...

We talk to Dom Wilton, owner of Hector's Deli, a Richmond sandwich place that is so popular they are completely (temporarily) changing the menu to stop people gathering outside the shop. We talk about the overlaps between fine dining and accessible food like toasties and burgers and why Dom thinks this is a great time to be optimistic and charged up about Australian dining. https://www.hectorsdeli...

We're going to Ireland! JP McMahon owns three restaurants in Galway - one of them Michelin-starred Aniar - and runs culinary talkfest Food on the Edge. We talk about how reopening is going in Ireland, vaccine passports for indoor dining and what it might mean to create an indigenous Irish cuisine. https://www.instagram.com/mistereatgalway/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagra...

Esca Khoo has just started his first head chef job at Melbourne's Miss Mi but it's hard to build momentum in lockdown. We talk about growing up in Borneo, the joys of fermented durian, his initial ambition to be a soccer player (hello Gordon Ramsay!) and work stints at Noma Australia and Dinner by Heston. Esca's career to date has been as much about working out what kind of leader he doesn't want...

Debra Allard is a cheesemaker near Byron Bay, making small-batch cheese from her own Jersey cows' milk. Her Cheeses Loves You business went gangbusters at the start of the pandemic when imports slowed down but there have been tricky periods since then. We get mad about anti-maskers who jeopardise the farmers' markets that are her main source of income, ponder closed borders, and rhapsodise about c...

Chris Lerch is co-owner of Lagoon Dining in Carlton, a modern Asian restaurant which opened in late 2019. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Lagoon has developed a strong Melbourne following and a considered identity, adapting pillars of fine dining for a more casual experience. https://www.lagoondining.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow D...

As Melbourne digests news of Lockdown 6 Extension 2, we chat to experienced hospitality consultant and restaurateur Duncan Fraser-Smith. Duncan planned Vesper in South Yarra while he was in hotel quarantine back in lockdown #1 after wrapping up a long period living in Dubai. Despite the uncertainty and frustration of opening and closing over and again, he's managing to stay upbeat, connected, stra...

We start the week with a trip to Europe to visit Aussie expat chef Lee Thompson. Lee's gastropub St Bart is in a cool part of Berlin - we talk about the highs, lows and other lows of the pandemic and the intricacies of understanding life and business in Germany. Bring on the bacon sandwich! https://www.instagram.com/st.bart.pub/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirty...

We head to the Orange area to chat to chef Charles Woodward from Sisters Rock Restaurant at Borodell Estate. This part of country NSW is not in lockdown but it's very quiet without Sydney trade. We talk about the state of the industry - how does work-life balance relate to pricing relate to staffing relate to apples for tarte tatin? It's all connected... https://borrodell.com.au/sisters-rock-resta...

Chef Nicky Riemer found lockdown number 6 a tough one to wrap her head around. We talk strategies for coping with bad news and tricky times, plus some financial words of wisdom, especially for women in hospitality. And then there's food: pigeon pie, a very fine cabbage, and the coming of spring, green and sprightly and full of promise. https://www.instagram.com/nickyriemer/?hl=en Follow Dirty Line...

Dirty Linen kicks off another week in lockdown with a deep dive into the art of hospitality and the service experience with Society's Danilo Mancini. Melbourne's much anticipated Society Restaurant hadn't been open a week when it had to close for another lockdown. How does Danilo keep his young front-of-house team upbeat and engaged? We also find out how he trains waiters from scratch and why he t...

Vaccinated US travellers were the first to book in for cookbook author Emiko Davies' Tuscan villa getaway. Meanwhile, your vaccinated Dirty Linen host is trapped in Fortress Australia. Sigh. We talk Venetian snacks, Italian lockdowns and green passes for COVIDsafe travel and dining. https://www.emikodavies.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani...

Dirty Linen looks forward to cheese dreams after today's chat with Cam Rowan from Milawa Cheese Company. The north-east Victorian cheese factory is artisan in approach but works at scale - we talk about the challenges and intense rewards of doing so. We learn about a lifechanging trip to France and why there was a bucket of cow poo in the cheesery, plus Cam's stint running a goat cheese factory in...

With three Sydney restaurants, each in different local government areas, Antonio Tarzia is having an interesting time of it. We talk about lockdown takeaway, the merits of JobKeeper vs COVID Disaster Payment and the challenges of dealing with landlords and suppliers. Antonio is concerned that recovery will be hampered by hospo workers leaving the industry and a lack of diner confidence and cash bu...

Wani Sakellaropoulos owns Cremorne's Ms Frankie with her partner Melinda. Their restaurant was a Tier One exposure site in Melbourne's recent outbreak and Wani, Mel and most of their staff ended up with coronavirus - their chef is still in hospital. It's been an incredibly tough time but Wani has wise words born of hard experience about COVID-safe procedures, vaccination and her hopes for a powerf...

When Prahran Market was named a COVID exposure site, traders went into isolation. We catch up with Sweet Greek's Kathy Tsaples who shares the shock of being locked out of the shop that's been at the centre of her life for a decade. Even though she's not allowed to leave home, she's making the most of her time in quarantine. https://sweetgreek.com.au Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.inst...

Greg Malouf http://gregmalouf.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dirtylinenpodcast Follow Dani https://www.instagram.com/danivalent Follow Deep In The Weeds on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deepintheweedspodcast/ Follow Rob Locke (Executive Producer) https://www.instagram.com/foodwinedine/ Follow Huck (Executive Producer) https://www.instagram.com/huckstergram/

What does it feel like to toss in a high-flying corporate job for a Greek donut hustle and have it turn into a runaway success that's then derailed by a fire and COVID? We find out from Melbourne loukoumades legend Dean Giannakis whose St Gerry's business has adapted from events to bricks-and-mortar and a sometimes frustrating delivery model. Why is everything in this world rated out of five anywa...

Dirty Linen heads to Sydney to talk to John Lepouris, owner of cafe/deli Against the Grind and dark kitchen Crumbed - House of the Schnitty. We talk about neighbourhoods helping small business through lockdown and the trials and tribulations of trying to run a business that relies on delivery platforms: unhelpful, unresponsive and definitely too expensive. Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://w...

From one lockdown to another: Melbourne to Johannesburg. We talk to OG food blogger Ed Charles, who now lives in South Africa where society is fraying, food security is fragile and COVID cases are rising. We also talk food media and the early days of influencers and Ed shares his perspective from afar on the difficult times Australian hospitality is navigating. Overall, he reckons better days are...

Dirty Linen chatted to outspoken Seattle chef Eric Rivera way back in episode 10. With the US reopening, It's time to check back and see what's happening at Eric's indie restaurant. Addo is open to small numbers of vaccinated diners, the menu changes daily and Eric is enjoying feeding customers in person. But he's also fighting hard - and frustratedly - against injustice, inequality and virtue-sig...

We head to Victoria's Yarra Valley to talk to chef Grant Flack. As well as all the lockdowns, his crew at Balgownie Estate also had to deal with the restaurant burning down last winter. As part of a project to keep chins up and minds ticking, Grant is making sure his team look beyond the immediate crisis to a bright future: a new dining room on the way and loyal diners keen to get back out there a...

Dirty Linen clocks up 250 episodes with an inspiring and fortifying chat with Paolo Arlotta. The Italian chef started his Australian cooking career at Vue de monde but it was a step sideways to social enterprise Kinfolk Cafe that opened his mind to a new direction. He opened vegetarian, sustainable-minded, small-scale Riso Diner during Melbourne's long 2020 lockdown. Though it's been very challeng...

Julian Hills is not loving Melbourne's 5th lockdown: it's tough on him and his staff at Navi and Zymurgy in Melbourne's inner west. The mental health implications are significant, not least because it's impossible to see a clear path forward that doesn't involve more disruptions to business and creative flow. https://www.restaurantnavi.com.au Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.c...