Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

In February, sourdough pioneer John Reid from Trentham's RedBeard Historic Bakery, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. We talk about optimism, collegiality, cuddles, support, gratitude and the pleasures of wrangling a big old Scotch oven that's never allowed to grow cold. https://www.redbeardbakery.com.au Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deepintheweedspodcast/?hl=en...

Melbourne chef Jo Barrett is currently living at Future Food System, a closed-loop house that grows its own food, deals with its own waste and is currently installed at Federation Square. It's an inspiring project and this is an inspiring conversation: what if everything could be different, starting now, right where you are? https://www.futurefoodsystem.com Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://...

With Perth emerging from a three-day lockdown, we chat to Don Macdonald from Big Don's Smoked Meats. Don quit supermarket middle management to go big on brisket and the pandemic has delivered him his biggest and wildest year yet. We talk about the magic of low n slow barbecue and the community that forms around it, and the beauty and jitters that come from following a dream. https://www.bigdons.co...

You could call Xinyi Lim the chef at Sydney's Cafe Freda's but that wouldn't begin to describe all the many hats she wears and strands of doing, being and thinking that she draws together. We talk about racism, identity, the social justice potential of cooking and sharing food, and the blessed beauty of mediocrity. https://www.instagram.com/megafaunafood/?hl=en https://www.cafefredas.com Follow Di...

Chef and restaurateur Mauro Callegari owns The Independent in Gembrook, in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne. The past year's events have reinforced his belief in community and giving back. Despite huge challenges finding staff, he's grateful for Australia's pathway through the pandemic, especially when considered in the light of his homeland of Argentina's very different track: 25,000 cases...

We continue to chat silver linings with drinks guy Chris Hysted-Adams from Moon Dog brewery. The pandemic has been tough for the indie Melbourne brewers but it's also given them time to develop a range of alcoholic seltzers which - to their absolute astonishment - has overtaken beer sales. We chat about work-life balance and the differences and similarities between product development, wholesaling...

Some people have had quiet pandemics. Then there's chef Rebekah Pedler, who had her dream job at Eleven Madison Park in New York when COVID hit. She lost her job, then went back to the restaurant when it started making meals for frontline workers, transforming herself from fine dining chef to bulk cook. What else? She was part of Black Lives Matter protests, the craziness of the American election...

Dirty Linen is spending a fortnight talking optimism. What's good? What's worked? Where are the bright spots? We start with chef and entrepreneur Charlie Carrington who launched Atlas Masterclass at the start of the pandemic. His recipe box service was a successful pivot in a crisis and it's continued to build after lockdown. https://www.atlasdining.com.au Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram https://w...

I’m wrapping up a fortnight of discussions about anti-Asian racism with a great chat with Mike Souvanthalisith. Mike and his partner Muriel-Ann Ricafrente are designers and food lovers based in Sydney. In February 2020, as the pandemic started to impact Australia's Asian communities, they launched More of Something Good - MSG - a website and Instagram designed to shine a light on Asian restaurants...

Victor Liong is chef and owner of Lee Ho Fook in Melbourne and Chuuka in Sydney. After an early career embedded in European fine dining, Victor moved on to cook a new style of Chinese food. We talk about being a model minority, staying contained to keep safe, struggles with identity and the power and limits of kindness. https://www.instagram.com/smokeystevenson/?hl=en Follow Dirty Linen on Instagr...

Sandra Tan is part of The Entree. Pinays, a collective of Australian Filipinas working to further understanding and enjoyment of Filipino food and culture. She's also a writer, editor and content strategist working mostly in design and architecture. As part of our series of discussions around discrimination against Asians, we talk visibility and the office microwave, about the differences in repre...

Dirty Linen continues airing the issue of anti-Asian racism in this conversation with Sydney restaurateur Will Mahusay. Will moved from Cebu in the Philippines to Sydney as a child and was the victim of devastating racist insults and abuse for many years. After long struggles with shame and his identity - including as a gay man - he has forged a victorious career that shines a proud light on his h...

Visible and vocal, restaurateur, author and two-time MasterChef Australia contestant Khanh Ong was born in a refugee camp to Vietnamese parents, grew up in Springvale and immersed himself in fashion and DJing before finding a career focused on food. We talk about his path, representation, being the boss and when it's not a banh mi. https://www.thegeorgeoncollins.com.au https://www.instagram.com/kh...

As part of a series of discussions about anti-Asian racism, we are speaking today to food writer Yvonne C. Lam. Yvonne is the digital editor of Gourmet Traveller magazine and a founding member of Diversity in Food Media. This is a Big Chat. https://www.yvonneclam.com.au References: Yvonne C. Lam on Problematic Restaurant Names: https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/news/food-and-culture/problematic-...

We continue opening up and exploring the topic of anti-Asian racism, as experienced and expressed in the restaurant world. Deb Ong is originally from Singapore; she came to Melbourne to study anthropology and ended up training to be a chef and, for a time, owning a cafe. She now balances her time between the hospitality industry and further study. Among other topics, we discuss the discrimination...

Dirty Linen begins a series of discussions about anti-Asian racism in the hospitality world. We begin with C.K. Chin, a restaurateur from Austin, Texas. C.K. has been outspoken around the #stopasianhate movement, as well as supporting Black Lives Matter, frontline workers during the pandemic and people impacted by Austin's February big freeze when the power went out and water was in short supply....

Colin Wood found his way to cheffing after a back injury stymied his Olympic plans. After a fruitful and inspiring period working in Melbourne for Andrew McConnell, Colin took on a role with Ignacio Mattos in New York, leaving on the cusp of the world locking down. A pandemic year in his home town of Perth took him deep and he's fired up to forge a new path. https://linktr.ee/colejwood Follow Dirt...

Brisbane is in a snap third lockdown so we check in with Jerome Dalton, owner of Dalton Catering. Jerome is pedalling hard but he's hurting and reckons he probably has PTSD after a tumultuous year. A lockdown announced just as JobKeeper finished is a huge blow, affecting income, employment and business projections. Where to now? https://daltoncateringbrisbane.com.au Follow Dirty Linen on Instagram...

The way immigrants are welcomed - or not - into Australia can have a huge impact on their own lives and the contribution they are able to make to Australian society. Hamed Allahyari is a cooking instructor, recipe developer, social entrepreneur and owner of Cafe Sunshine and SalamaTea in Melbourne's west. He was born in Iran and now - after a hard road - is an important part of Australia’s culinar...

Niro Vithyasekar runs Tuka Tuka Kotthu Roti Man food stall, selling the classic Sri Lankan stir-fried roti dish, the making of which is also a percussion show. Niro is a Tamil man and was forced to leave Sri Lanka because of ongoing conflict and discrimination. He came to Australia by boat, was detained for six years and still doesn't have a certain path to permanent residency. https://www.instagr...

This week on Dirty Linen we talk to trailblazers who are shining a light for their communities, trying new things, striking brave paths. We start with Ngemba woman Trish Frail who recently launched Thulii Ngemba Cafe in Brewarrina in north-western New South Wales. Bre is also known for its ancient Aboriginal fish traps, "built before the Egyptian pyramids were even an embryo". https://www.facebook...

Marios Cafe in Melbourne's Fitzroy is turning 35 next month. We chat to one of the two Marios who own it, Mario De Pasquale, and get stuck into the crapshoot of dealing with multiple layers of government, the beauty of regulars and the joy of newcomers, staying relevant in a fast-changing industry, how to manage a longstanding business partnership and - once and for all - why baristas hate soy mil...

On the anniversary of Australia's March 23, 2020 pandemic lockdown, we chat to hospitality consultant Ivan Brewer. Ivan gets fired up by profitability - he'll look at everything from menu items to bottle bins to the spring in a waiter's step. He thinks we're on the verge of a huge number of restaurant closures but that there'll be massive opportunities on the other side. How do business owners and...

This is a great chat - practical, personal, nostalgic, hopeful and human. When thinking about the future, it's great to get some perspective from the past. Veteran hospitality owner Adam Sadiqzai innovated his way through the pandemic and has come out more or less positive about the prospects for Australian restaurants. His new eatery, Stella's Kitchen at Montague apple farm on Melbourne's fringe...

Dirty Linen heads to Sydney to chat to Sharon Salloum, owner of Syrian restaurant Almond Bar in Darlinghurst and 3 Tomatoes Cafe in Ashbury. We chat about the daily difficulties of running small hospitality businesses. Sharon admits that everything is hard and that margins are incredibly slim but she still burns with passion for the industry. When your heart fills by feeding people, you never real...