Drank whisky for work this week. Well, not just whisky but @larkdistillery Tasmanian whisky in a guided tasting with master distiller @chris.thomson_whisky at @apolloinn.bar .
Might be entering my whisky era...
🥃📽️@foodwinedine
#whisky #tasmanianwhisky
whisky, Tasmanian whisky, cocktails
Are we in a new era for hotel restaurants?
@bencreeklondon thinks so.
This week on @dirtylinenpodcast , we chat to Ben, Vice President of Food & Beverage in Asia and the Pacific for @all.accor_pacific .
From great coffee to smarter buffets to inclusive employment and AI, he shares the levers he’s pulling to make sure hotel hospitality is attractive to locals and visitors alike.
The day after this chat, I went to @flaminia_sydney at an Accor property in Sydney...and it was absolutely great.
Listen to Dirty Linen wherever you find podcasts.
#hoteldining #hotelrestaurant #hotelrestaurants
What @jobarrett did next.
She started cooking at @surfhotel_torquay using invasive species harvested via @discovered_foods .
One is this delicious and nutritious venison schnitzel.
Watch Jo and chef Aaron Brodie make it here, and stay till the end to see how happy I am to spend the night at this super cool retro seaside motel.
My story in @goodfoodau
#torquay #venison #eattheproblem
Is there anything more perfect than an oyster?
@isabellepearl runs @finnsoysterbar which offers just-shucked bliss at events. She also works for @shuckdontchuck , which collects oyster shells to use in reef rehab.
Finn’s is named for Bella’s son Finn, who died in 2019 aged 13 months. The grief is always present but there’s joy too.
Listen to @dirtylinenpodcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
#oyster #oysterbar #shuckdontchuck
"If you’d told me three years ago that 'attend Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion' was in my 2026 diary, I would have asked if you were feeling all right. But here we are. Or here I am, anyway, sitting in an office building in Clarence Street, Sydney, getting ready to read out a story I wrote for an anthology," writes @danivalent .
Valent shares what it’s like to tell the royal commission, and the world, about her experiences of life as a Jewish Australian at the link in bio.
Photo: @domlorrimer
@danivalent will be talking with @lucyridgewrites about her book, Fed Up, on Thursday the 28th of May.
Fed Up takes readers on a journey from paddock to plate, exploring the role of women in food production and prompting us to think more deeply about the people responsible for our dinner.
Time: 6.00pm
Location: @readingsbooks Emporium, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Free, but bookings are essential. Link in bio for more details.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to bring our 1st @womenincafesandrestaurants event to Melbourne. Introducing our fabulous Mc @danivalent and extraordinary panellists Jackie Middleton @eatingwithjack Frankie Cox @coxfrankie and Rebecca Yazbek @rebeccayazbek An evening of conversation, collaboration and discussion. Book your tickets via the link in the bio 💜💜
A big, important, brave chat.
Returning to @dirtylinenpodcast after a huge 16 months, @umbertoespressobar ’s Marco Finanzio has changed the shape of his business, closing venues and refocusing.
In hard times, what matters? Who are we accountable to? What is the mission? A bowl of pasta might be part of the answer…
#restaurantlife #melbournerestaurants #smallbusinessowners #smallbusinesstips #italianfood
Be unrelenting in your vision. Love this. A clear throughline is critical to business survival.
We return to a favourite series on @dirtylinenpodcast : Illuminating Lumen. In this occasional catch-up, we enter the world of @lumenpeople , a cafe and wine bar that launched in North Melbourne in 2023, closed in 2025 and reopened in Fitzroy. Six months after landing in the second site, owner @em.sheahan tells us how it’s going.
Listen to Dirty Linen wherever you find podcasts 💛
#melbournerestaurants #melbournecafes #melbournecoffeeculture #smallbusinessowners
Sutinee Suntivatana came to Australia as an international student from Bangkok in 2006. She now manages five Asian-inspired city venues: two Tori’s cafes, brunch spot Humble Rays, vegan gelato shop Sugar Rays, and Regale’s – a uni third space by day, and offers homey Thai cooking at night.
On this instalment of The Age’s series profiling Melbourne’s restaurant tycoons, we look at Tinee’s rise to being one of Melbourne’s most significant placemakers.
Link in bio for the story by Dani Valent.
Photo: @simonschluter
Video: Gabriela Sumampow
Unvarnished real talk in today's @dirtylinenpodcast .
Chef John Laureti owns @cafelewi in Sydney’s Lewisham with his wife Isabella Leva Laureti, a pastry chef.
The pair have a background in fine dining but they decided to bring their skills and experience to a daytime cafe, which now does a couple of nights due to customer demand.
In a tricky time for hospitality, we talk about expectations, scary spreadsheets, shit reviews, and open conversations with a cafe’s community. Oh, and feeding legendary chef Peter Gilmore.
