ExtraVirgin Food & Travel

 In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food & Travel, we're exploring conscious travel and what responsible tourism really looks like in practice. As more travellers seek sustainable travel experiences and meaningful ways to give back, the question becomes: how can we see the world while making a positive impact? Natascha Mirosch chats with Robyn Nixon of Intrepid Travel , who takes small groups everywhe...

Hospitality runs in the blood of chef and restaurateur Tony Percuoco, owner of Tartufo restaurant in Fortitude Valley. His food journey began as a young boy growing up in the Italian town of Naples, where his father and uncle were restaurant owners, and his mother was a remarkable home cook. While all the other kids around him wanted to become pilots and police officers, Tony's dream was to become...

It was a simple coin toss and a chance bus ride - two sliding-door moments that would forever connect  Belinda Jackson's destiny to the country of Egypt. In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel , Natascha Mirosch is joined by Belle, a multi-award-winning travel journalist, to talk about her second home: Egypt.  One of the world's most fascinating destinations, Egypt is often misunderstood....

   In this episode of ExtraVirgin, travel writer Natascha Mirosch offers some suggestions of trips and destinations you might like to put on your wish list - from cruising the Amazon to a new Orient Express luxury train journey, visiting the home of the world's most famous cartoon dog and more. You'll find links to the places mentioned in the podcast on the ExtraVirgin Food & Travel website.  

Sonya Gellert has the enviable job of being a full-time food writer. She's done a host of fabulous things throughout a career that's taken her from Australia to Japan, the UK and back to Australia.  She's been a travel editor, restaurant reviewer, editorial food and drink writer, copywriter and recipe editor. She's written for Table Magazine UK, Escape magazine, delicious Magazine, Vogue Living, H...

Thanks to the incredible popularity of the show White Lotus, Sicily is red hot right now. In this episode, Natascha Mirosch chats with Carmel Ruggeri, former restaurateur-turned-tour guide, who runs extremely popular tours to a part of Italy not only blessed with natural beauty, but some of the country's best regional cuisine (cannoli anyone?)   Carmel and Natascha chat about everything from the p...

Guy Grossi has carved out a distinguished career and made a significant contribution to the hospitality scene over the last forty years, both as a restaurateur and chef. In fact, in 1996, Guy was awarded the L'insegna Del Ristorante Italiano by no less than the president of Italy, for his dedication to presenting and promoting "La Cucina Italiana" and the Italian lifestyle. He's written four cookb...

We've talked about  those one Euro houses in Italy in a previous podcast (episode 81) but in this episode we're about to revisit the subject (and the topic of buying property in Italy as a foreigner in general) with Michele Capecchi, a lawyer based in Florence, who has extensive experience in guiding foreigners through the red tape that is buying a property in Italy. Michele is managing partner of...

Have you been thinking of (or dreaming about) taking an Antarctic cruise? Cruising is huge and estimates have the cruise industry growing by another 9% in 2024. For some regular cruisers, particularly those with large disposable incomes, the great white continent, represents just another an as-yet unexplored cruise destination to conquer.   For others, Antarctica is a long-cherished dream. But wha...

We all know that getting out and communing with nature is good for both our body and our mental health, but where to start if you've never done any hiking but are keen to give it a go? Trekking, hiking, tramping, rambling or just plain walking - whatever you call if and whatever you aspire to, whether it's a kilometre on a flat countryside track to conquering rugged terrain over multiple days, or...

Agnes Restaurant was recently awarded Restaurant of the Year by Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant . In this episode of ExtraVirgin, Natascha Mirosch chats with Agnes executive chef, Ben Williamson, who also co-owns other popular restaurants  Same Same , Bianca, Honto and Agnes Bakery . Western Australian-born Ben spent time travelling the Middle East, where he sharpenened his kitchen skills...

Is South America on your wish list but you worry it might be too challenging or unsafe? In this episode, ExtraVirgin host,  Natascha Mirosch  who has just returned from 3 weeks in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, shares her experiences. Her trip, travelling by plane, car and boat, starts in Santiago in Chile, where she visits an extraordinary museum and wanders the vibrant Yungay and Lastarria barrio...

Accommodation is one of the biggest expenses when we travel, but what if you could travel almost anywhere in the world and stay for free? Our guest on this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel tells us how. Fiona Ryan has done more than a dozen exchanges, temporarily swapping her home in Brisbane, Australia for one in cities such as Helsinki or Barcelona.   Fiona, who's a volunteer regional coor...

This episode of  Extra Virgin Food and Travel's "Postcards,"comes to you from the Republic of Ireland's capital, Dublin.  Our guide is Louise Slyth, who's originally from Scotland but has made this enchanting city her home.  Louise shows us around 'her' Dublin, her favourite galleries and museums, parks and pubs. She tells us the best places to shop and shares with us her recommendations of where...

Welcome back to another episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel Podcast. In this episode, we're embarking on an extraordinary journey to an enchanting travel destination, where east meets west (literally) and history and flavours are equally complex -   Istanbul, Türkiye. Chatting with host Natascha Mirosch , is intrepid travel writer and cultural connoisseur, Lisa Morrow . Lisa has spent more than...

Being credited with having "the Midas touch" is one thing that riles the seemingly unflappable Tony Kelly. His journey from young apprentice to owning ten successful Sunshine Coast hospitality businesses has been far from easy, nor linear - there have not only been set-backs and hard times, but also periods of intense self-doubt, the chef-turned-restaurateur admits. Today though, Kelly is recognis...

Sommelier, importer and wine writer Jane Lopes reckons that Australia is making the most exciting wines in the world right now, and ExtraVirgin podcast host Natascha Mirosch, while she could be accused of being a little biased, agrees.  In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel Podcast, Jane and Natascha discuss Jane's background - including the soul-destroying experience of passing, then hav...

Heading to London? There's a lot more to the city than Buckingham palace and Big Ben. Our guest on this episode of "Postcards," is Che-Marie Trigg, a freelance writer and editor. In February 2023 she relocated from Sydney to London for the second time – she spent two years living and working in the English capital in 2017 and 2018, and has been in the city's grip ever since.    In this Postcard, C...

What could possibly be wrong with volunteering in an orphanage for a week of your holiday? Should you reconsider taking that Antarctic cruise? In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel, Natascha Mirosch talks with Freya Higgins- Desbiolles , an academic in the field of tourism and co-editor of the recent books Socialising Tourism: Rethinking Tourism for Social and Ecological Justice  (2022)  ...

Italians have what is indisputably the best cuisine and lifestyle in the world, right? In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel, Natascha Mirosch talks with Silvestro Silvestori, owner and director of cooking school The Awaiting Table, in the beautiful baroque city of Lecce, in Italy's south about how to cook and eat like an Italian. Rich in cooking tips and fascinating facts about this high...

In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel podcast, we hear from travel and food journalist Belinda Luksic, who left her home in Australian in December to live in Split, in Croatia.  For this postcard from her adopted town, Belinda shares what's so special about Split, its beautiful coastline and nearby islands, the ancient palace and atmospheric old town, packed with cafes, galleries and home...

What is wrong with our food system? What's threatening food security? Covid and food shortages highlighted one aspect - the supply chain, and climate change is showing us another. There is an urgent need to fundamentally transform the way we farm, shop and cook - it's no longer enough to just try to maintain the status quo, but instead, we need to realise the abundance is finite and adopt a regene...

The Great Barrier Reef, at 2300 kms (1400 miles) is almost twice the length of Italy. It's pristine southern end, just four hours drive, or a short flight from Brisbane, however remains a bit of a secret yet is no less spectacular than the tourist hot-spots off Cairns. For this episode of ExtraVirgin, we travel to one of the southern islands, where we hear from Amy Gash, whose family caretake a sp...

Well, some of them! This year has produced a bumper crop of fantastic cookbooks - way too many to give love to in a podcast, so Natascha Mirosch has picked out a few of her favourites from 2022. Some are already sauce splattered and dog-eared, others waiting their turn, but she reckons all are a little bit special - from books that will help nip food wastage in the bud, to easy "Chinese-ish" recip...