Dirty Linen - A Food Podcast with Dani Valent

Over a cup of tea, with an audience of elderly dogs, we sit down at chef and author Annie Smithers’ kitchen table for a chat. We talk about her raw, tender, loving new book Kitchen Sentimental. Annie’s memoir is a journey to self-discovery, one recipe at a time. We touch on restaurant culture, the reasons she continues to cook, and life at her rural property of Babbington Park, a place that feeds...

Welcome to the third collaboration between Deep in the Weeds’ Producers podcast and AgriCULTURED, a festival which showcases and connects the produce and people of northern Tasmania, or Lutruwita as it’s called in Aboriginal culture. This is a special part of the world, with beautiful, fertile lands, true seasons, and rich traditions. So far, we’ve heard from duck farmer Bec Rumble, vegetable grow...

We love to celebrate food as an agent for change, community and connection. Today’s guest is Raman Richards, who grew up surrounded by his restaurateur mum’s Indian food and has always found cooking a powerful way to deal with depression. His home town of Daylesford is struggling with the aftermath of a car crashing into a beer garden, killing five people. Raman is responding with a Big Blue Table...

Angelica Iuliano is the Group Pastry Chef at Melbourne’s three MoVida restaurants. We talk about pushing yourself via competitions, how to find your way in new kitchens, and the fallout when restaurants don’t have a dedicated pastry chef. I also share my honey cake shame and swoon over quince tarte tatin. https://www.movida.com.au/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEWS, GIVEAWAY...

How do small business owners think about time? It’s something Kirstyn Tate, owner of Small Axe Kitchen has considered a lot. We chat to her as the business celebrates 8 years in Melbourne’s cafe-clogged suburb of Brunswick. How much time do you spend looking at competitors? How do you decide what to say no to? And why should you start the day with her breakfast pasta? http://www.smallaxekitchen.co...

Welcome to the third collaboration between Deep in the Weeds’ Producers podcast and AgriCULTURED, a festival which showcases and connects the produce and people of northern Tasmania, or Lutruwita as it’s called in Aboriginal culture. This is a special part of the world, with beautiful, fertile lands, true seasons, and rich traditions.  Today, we meet Wouter Sels from Seven Springs Farm. Wouter far...

From culinary school in Mexico, to a New York vegan fine diner, to a permaculture farm in Australia and then to Sydney’s Three Blue Ducks, Juan Carlos Negrete has had quite a journey. We chat to the owner of Maiz restaurant about cooking Mexican food in Sydney, the joy in restrictions and limits (and dietaries!) and why it costs more to create a great workplace culture. https://maizmexicanfood.com...

As we head closer to competition time for the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, we check in with one of the ten contestants, Kogwoussougo Ouedraogo. Born in Burkina Faso, Kogwoussougo hated cooking until she stumbled upon an episode of Top Chef and realised she wanted to be a chef. She’s travelled the world learning, growing and developing her ambitions, and is now a chef for Melbourn...

Welcome to the third collaboration between Deep in the Weeds’ Producers podcast and AgriCULTURED, a festival which showcases and connects the produce and people of northern Tasmania, or Lutruwita as it’s called in Aboriginal culture. This is a special part of the world, with beautiful, fertile lands, true seasons, and rich traditions. Many farmers are on generational properties but others - like t...

Gourmet Traveller recently held its annual restaurant awards. The Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality Award went to the Ayubi family, owners of 15-year-old Parwana in Adelaide. Parwana serves and celebrates the Afghan food of its founders, reframing Afghanistan as a place of bounty and welcome. Daughter Durkhanai Ayubi is an incredible thinker on food, culture and the possibilities of making t...

We’re thrilled to celebrate the achievements and recognition of Kristine Young, director of Bella Venezia restaurant on the Sunshine Coast. Kristine has taken out two major awards at the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards, being named Champion in the Restaurant category as well as Champion Influential Woman. It’s timely to honour female leaders in the midst of conversations around t...

We’ve always talked about toxic work culture on Dirty Linen but unfortunately it’s a topic that doesn’t get old. Over the past week, the Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food have published a series of investigative articles about Swillhouse group, and I wrote an ancillary story about the endemic nature of sexual harassment in hospitality. We talk it all over with Katie Shortland, co-owner of RaRa R...

What's it like when a venue doesn't make enough money and is forced to close? We talk through this difficult topic with Gurvinder Sandhu, who put his heart, soul and life savings into Desinental in Melbourne. What went wrong and how is he processing the loss? https://www.instagram.com/desinental/?hl=en SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES, NEWS, GIVEAWAYS AND BEHIND THE SCENES https:...

When times are tough, it’s natural to bunker down and feel like you need to fight for customers but what happens if you ditch a scarcity mindset and move more into collaboration? We chat to Topher Boehm, co-owner of Wildflower Beer in Sydney. Wildflower has teamed up with fellow craft brewers Mountain Culture to create Village, a collaborative brewery and taproom. https://wildflowerbeer.com/pages/...

What’s on my mind this Friday? In this week’s occasional brain dump of where I’ve been eating and drinking and what I’ve been thinking, we head to Tasmania with Pure South, visit AgriCultured and stumble across Sydney restaurants Komaru and Mum and Dad’s. In Melbourne, I talk about Northern Soul (spice bags) and Carnation Canteen (restrained delight). There’s also appreciation for cookbooks, the j...

We love a return guest on Dirty Linen, especially when they’re back to tell us why hospitality isn’t broken. Kieran Spiteri is part of Yolk, a Melbourne cafe group with four venues and about to open their fifth, Ophelia. Kieran shares insights about running a successful business and team, and also asks Dani her views on the state of things. https://www.yolk.group/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR E...

Nevedya, a cafe on the outskirts of Melbourne, is built around the spiritual power of food and a belief in kindness that carries through to working conditions for their employees. We chat to chef Shakti Em Iyer, who owns the restaurant with partner Daniel Rigos. How do you maintain your values and work-life balance when trading conditions seem to be conspiring against you? https://nevedya.com.au/...

Is food political? Absolutely, if you ask Alice Taylor, New Zealand MasterChef contestant and author of Alice In Cakeland. We talk about being taken seriously as a young woman with a Masters degree who also loves baking pink cakes, the resistance that some people have to thinking food is embedded in broader societal issues, and stints cooking at top New Zealand restaurants Amisfield and Paris Butt...

We last caught up with Robin Wagner in 2022 when the German-born Adelaide-based chef was crowned the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy winner for the Pacific. As the next round of contestants prepare for competition, we talk about pressure, focus and the ups and downs for plant-based dining. We also ponder why so many restaurants are very similar and rather dull. Our previous chat with Robin: http...

Brendan Gamze is part of Gamze Smokehouse, a family-run smallgoods company in north-east Victoria. Building on his father Felix’s work as a butcher, Gamze turns free-range whole beasts into small-batch chemical-free smoked products, working with local farmers, distributors, and retailers near and far to build an ethical business they can stand behind with pride. https://gamzesmokehouse.com.au/ SUB...

Some people work in hospitality for a short while, others devote their lives to it but it’s pretty unusual to enter the game in your 50s. Catherine Gibson Roy owns We Three bar in Sydney’s Marrickville with her daughter Alli, an experienced hospo pro. As a newcomer to the industry, Catherine is in awe of Alli’s skills. She’s also appalled by some of the habits and practices she’s observed in hospi...

Dirty Glass! It’s time for another crossover podcast between Over A Glass with Shanteh Wale and Dirty Linen with Dani Valent. This time we chat about Callan Boys’ review of Quay (19/20!) and the way wine is written about and appreciated by restaurant critics. We also dissect the wine lists at Pure South and Bau Bau - how does region and cuisine impact a drinks program?  Callan Boys’ Quay Review: h...

Generation Next! We caught up with Bubble Booker Malcolm in 2022 when she was a year 11 student working part time at Joseph Abboud’s Rumi restaurant in Melbourne’s Brunswick. Two years later, she’s finished high school and is working as a chef. Why did Bubble make the leap and how is she finding full-time work in a busy restaurant? https://www.rumirestaurant.com.au/ Bubble’s first time on Dirty Li...

Let’s hear it for front of house! Today’s guest is Melissa Ammirati, restaurant manager of Sydney’s Oborozuki, a hatted Japanese-French restaurant with a female leadership team. Melissa talks about the art, skill and intelligence required to run a dining room, and the inspiring words of her 101-year-old grandfather that drive her every day. https://www.oborozuki.com.au/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER...

Every milestone in a restaurant’s story is worth celebrating. If one year is good and five years is excellent, getting to 30 years is absolutely extraordinary. We’re marking three decades of Melbourne restaurant Matteo’s with its founder Matteo Pignatelli. We discuss what’s changed, what’s persisted and what’s coming next for an industry that Matteo still finds fascinating, engaging and energising...