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Food culture

This Month

Christmas meals in France are often fresh, locally sourced and avoid ultra-processed foods.

Don’t want to get fat at Christmas? Do what the French do

They don’t start stuffing themselves with mince pies as soon as the supermarkets begin playing festive music in September, for one thing.

  • Charlotte Kan

Christmas recipes from some of Melbourne’s best restaurants

Capture the festive spirit with a spectacular celebratory Christmas menu from Lucas Restaurants’ top chefs, who know what people want to eat.

  • Jill Dupleix

Why you’ll be eating KFC for Christmas in Japan

A finger-lickin’ good bucket of fried chicken and strawberry shortcake were not what our former foreign correspondent was counting on.

  • Michael Smith
Balinese roast pork for Christmas lunch.

Complete Christmas menu sorted – from three new cookbooks

Your turn to host? Do not panic. These three recipes are easy and delicious, so don’t be surprised if you’re asked to host again next year.

  • Jill Dupleix
Debbi Fields and Wade Shealy celebrate Christmas on their Nashville Tennessee farm.

This is how we celebrate Christmas

From rural NSW to Nashville, Tennessee and a luxury game lodge in South Africa, there’s a thread that runs through festivities everywhere.

  • Life & Leisure
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Michele O’Neill, standing in the centre in front of the fireplace, is Co-owner, La Chapelle, a 10th-century chapel restored as boutique accommodation in Provence, France

How Aussie expats celebrate Christmas with foreign flourish

Boxing Day might not include beach cricket for these five living abroad, but some customs from home can be honoured.

  • Tony Davis, Lauren Sams and Stephen Todd

November

Someone’s gotta do it - our intrepid drinks editor Max Allen has chosen his top drops for the year.

Max Allen’s top 20 drinks of the year

After 12 months of tasting, our expert reveals his picks of 2024: a diverse bunch of white and red wines, and a couple of non-alcoholic stunners.

  • Max Allen
At Africola, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

How to make perfect barbecue ribs – no restaurant required

Duncan Welgemoed, of Adelaide’s cult diner Africola, loves the thrill of the grill.

  • Jill Dupleix
Carne deim … Dario Cecchini’s motto.

Meet the humble Tuscan butcher with books, plates and a sock line

If two hours in beefy reverie sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon, you’d better head to Dario Cecchini’s butcher shop in Panzano.

  • John Lethlean

October

Dan Hunter and Danielle Alvarez are collaborating on a Sydney Opera House pop-up restaurant.

Two rock star chefs, one unique Sydney Opera House ‘performance’

Dan Hunter and Danielle Alvarez are combining for a culinary class act over four nights in January.

  • Jill Dupleix

How to make Supernormal’s famous lobster roll

Let the good times roll as Andrew McConnell shares one of his restaurant’s most popular menu items.

  • Jill Dupleix
Ben Shewry

How one of Australia’s top chefs turned anger into change

In his new memoir, Attica’s Ben Shewry hits out at rude customers, misbehaving chefs and uninformed food critics, while proposing an inclusive industry with more integrity.

  • Jill Dupleix

Where a Greek restaurant owner eats when he’s in Athens

Jonathan Barthelmess, the top chef behind Sydney’s The Apollo, reveals his favourite spots for dining and drinks in the Greek capital.

  • Jill Dupleix

September

anthony pieri

Melbourne dining powerhouse wins award for country’s best wine list

Gimlet’s head sommelier says the key to success is paying the same level of attention to someone drinking by the glass as to a high-roller ordering a $12,000 bottle.

  • Gus McCubbing
Chef Eilish Malony of The What If Society gathering rhubarb at Moonacres Farm, Wildes Meadow.

How this Sydney chef has won a cult following – without a restaurant

Eilish Maloney’s two regional cafes, her masterclasses and occasional pop-up diner reflect her adventurous approach to food, and people are lapping it up.

  • Eugenie Kelly
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Lunch with Donna Hay is delicious, with a side of house rules.

How Donna Hay changed the way we eat

Watching the cook perform her signature pasta twirl up close, one appreciates the elegantly simple approach to cooking which made her a household name.

  • Lauren Sams
Xiaopu-Wine-Tour-

Next-gen Chinese winemaker starts exporting to Australia

Meet sommelier turned nomad winemaker, Ian Dai, a man challenging norms of Chinese viticulture.

  • Updated
  • Max Allen
church of the Seven Martyrs Sifnos Greece

The sublime Greek island a ferry ride away from the madding crowds

Sifnos aims to become one of the world’s top 10 hiking destinations after restoring its old footpaths to foster slow travel. It certainly delivers.

  • Susan Gough Henly

August

Up your negroni game with these essential new vermouths

The last time vermouth was trendy, it was the 1970s and Cinzano was all the rage. But now it’s back and it’s come a long way.

  • Max Allen
Neil Perry’s ma po tofu will be served at his new Double Bay fine diner, Song Bird.

How to make this saucy dish from Neil Perry’s new Song Bird restaurant

Perry is set to open his next restaurant in Sydney’s Double Bay on August 30. And it’s going to be huge.

  • Jill Dupleix

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/food-culture-1mn1