​Have you ever stopped to think how people come up with restaurant names?  Is it a special heartfelt meaning or does it  just sound exotic or kooky?
Here are some that I pondered about and researched the meanings:
Aria: A long operatic song for a solo voice  (Located near the Sydney Opera House)
Mezzo: A female singer with a voice pitched between soprano and contralto / or / the Italian word for Half or Medium  (Musical themes are popular. What about Filo Harmonic?)
Pecorino:  A type of sheep’s milk cheese / or / simply a little sheep  (Better than Giraffino)
Movido: Spanish for Active, swinging, abuzz, stirred  (I like it!)
MoVida: Spanish for Happening, Gathering
Bambini Trust:  Bambini is Italian for children (I don’t think they serve kids meals but their food is divine)
The Golden Stool: Stop snickering, it actually means the royal and divine throne of the Ashanti people
And a couple that don’t need any explanation or passionate meaning:
A Salt & Battery    and    Just Falafs!  (Love it!)

Fresh organic honeycomb honey is delicious! Tear off pieces and quickly pop into your mouth for a honey explosion. The fresh honey trickles out of the hexagonal structure and the wax honeycomb is edible. It takes a bit of chewing, but it is great if you have a sore throat. Beekeepers like to return the comb back to the bees to save them some work but if you have a lovely friend like Victoria, (thank you Victoria!) you can experience the real deal.
 
When still in the honeycomb, it is virtually certain that the honey is raw food. This means that it hasn’t been heated, pasteurised or processed and therefore nutrients are intact. Raw honey is a natural antioxidant, is antibacterial and contains healthy bacteria and enzymes for gut health.  Honey will take on the perfume of bees’ chosen pollen, making it a treat to try different honeys.
 
Try serving honeycomb honey scattered over roasted spiced vegetables and meats or simply with fresh fruit and cheese.

Wow, Cocktails have come a long way since the days of a menu of Dacquiris, Harvey Wallbangers, Brandy Alexanders and Tequila Sunrises. I used to love them but eventually got a little bored. Cocktails are back in trend and with some sassy attitude! And not just for summer.

Just had to share  this article again - An Oldie but a Goodie!

​Congratulations to Viktor for winning the NSW final of the BBQ Scotch Fillet Steak final! Yes, he wowed the judges with a Kitchen Jazz recipe and now he is off to compete in the international challenge in April in Lexington, USA!!

Article in the Mosman Daily:

On my recent trip to Provence, I visited Lilemand (est 1866!) in Saint Remy de Provence. What a spectacular display of candied fruits. The process  is long and tedious but well worth the result when done correctly. Yes, they are sweet, but they are perfect to include in cakes, desserts and my favourite: the local speciality of nougat ice cream. The high sugar content allows them to keep for several months.

Here is an excerpt from their story:

Through alchemy of a technical nature, sugar syrup slowly replaces the moisture in the fruit. Over a period of 3 to 4 weeks, the fruit is repeatedly simmered in this gourmand nectar, and slowly, gradually, osmosis between the flesh of the fruit and the sugar syrup is gently obtained. The fruit is then left to rest for at least two months to slowly complete the candying process. The candied fruit is only removed from its syrup when orders are filled. This old-fashioned process is the only way to ensure the flavor and lovely consistency and texture of the finished product.
The very last bath, known as glaçage, sums up the Lilamand spirit. Patience, meticulousness, expertise and quality are all part of this finishing touch. Each piece of glacéd fruit steeps in the glacé syrup then gently dries on a rack prior to packing and shipping.  Shiny and soft, the fruit looks like it has just been picked.

​Keep your dish cloths and sponges hygienic by soaking them in boiling water to kill bacteria. Then rinse them in soapy water to remove dirt and grime. Always allow them to dry. 

After using Pinot Grigio in one of the classes, there was debate about whether Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris were the same grape or whether they were slightly different strains of the same grape. I have made a few enquiries and all information seems to stem to the fact that it is the same grape - named Pinot Grigio in Italy (and Australia) and Pinot Gris in France. It is a strain of the Pinot Noir grape and each country has their different style of winemaking.

​Veal is a nutritious and nutrient-rich meat that is produced from the male offspring of dairy cows. Dairy cows give birth once a year in order to continue producing milk. While female offspring serve as dairy replacement animals, male calves have little value to the dairy farmer prior to the establishment of milk-fed veal farming.

​To answer queries on pine nuts which we used in the Catalan Pyrenees class, pine nuts are seeds of the pine tree and not actually nuts.

Here is an excerpt from Janet Fletcher, a food writer from the Napa Valley, USA:

Remember those pine cones you used to gather for grade-school crafts projects? Nestled inside their bark-like brackets are the shell-covered seeds, capable of generating another pine tree under the right circumstances.

Every pine tree makes seeds, of course, but only certain varieties produce seeds that are large and tasty enough to eat. In New Mexico, Pinus edulis is the official state tree, producing piñon nuts that are a local delicacy. In Nevada, Arizona, Utah and parts of California, enthusiasts harvest the cones from Pinus monophylla (Nevada's state tree) and claim that its soft-shelled seeds are even tastier than New Mexico piñons.

The Mediterranean pine nut crop, so prized in Greek and Italian cooking, comes primarily from Pinus pinea (in Spain, Portugal and Italy). Pakistan harvests Pinus gerardiana, and in China and Korea, Pinus koraiensis yields edible seeds.

But none of these trees gives up its seeds easily. Harvesters must first gather the cones in the late autumn or early winter in some countries, from wild trees. Europe has pine plantations, but in China, at least, the pines aren't cultivated in orchards like walnuts or hazelnuts. Harvesters pick up fallen cones, clamber up ladders to cut them off, or break them loose with a long-handled hook. Then, typically, the cones are sun-dried or heated to encourage the brackets to open and make their cache more accessible. Depending on the processor, the seeds are then coaxed out by hand or machine, then dried further before processing to remove their hard outer shell. Traders say much of this process is done manually in some countries, which partly explains the nuts' high price. 

An intriguing question by a student in one of my classes. Intriguing because it was quite a task to find the answer! After a lengthy search on the internet and reading all of my food reference books, I contacted the Sydney Markets to find out why these mild and delicious onions which are either red or yellow, are called 'Spanish'.

They contacted a specialist from a seed company to ask him about Spanish onions who was actually in Spain at the time. He advised that the term Spanish was most likely introduced by the supermarkets in about the 1980's.

When we first started growing red onions in Australia, the varieties (seed) were sourced from the USA. Many of these had Spanish sounding names and in fact are a Mediterranean type of onion that likes hot humid conditions.

Spanish onions as a variety do not grow well in colder climates. In the US a Spanish onion can be red, white or yellow .

They found the following on an American seed company's website. You can see how they came to have the name change.

Allium cepa 'Red Burgermaster F1'
Onion, Sweet Spanish 'Red Burgermaster F1'

Sydney Markets name these 'Spanish' onions as 'red onions'.