Despite containing only five ingredients, a good mont blanc has fantastic depth of flavour and is one of my favourite winter desserts. Named for the famous mountain, which straddles the border between Italy and France, the dessert is also claimed by both …

I don’t think I’d be able to count the number of fish I’ve cooked in my life. But no matter how many, I still really enjoy it. And even though cooking fish in a bag is arguably the most simple and commonly practised method, it does deliver the hits. When …

This year the New South Wales government announced it will spend $9 million on a deer control program delivered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Methods used will include trapping and baiting along with aerial culling. All of which allow very …

It was a slow start to Victoria’s wild mushroom season this year. Very little rainfall early in autumn means we haven’t seen large quantities of the two wild mushroom varieties that are prolific along the fringes of pine plantations. Pine mushroom …

Persimmon is a relatively difficult fruit to use fresh. The Western palate prefers it, with its fairly savoury and vegetal flavour, “blet”. Bletting is the process of letting the fruit overripen and ferment in its own skin, therefore transforming …

Delicate steamed savoury egg custard (chawanmushi) is a common start to a meal in Japan. It is generally served as part of a set with rice, broth, pickles and grilled meats. It’s a huge contrast to my early culinary experiences with custard. As a young …

Traditional Cullen skink is a Gaelic mariners’ dish served more as a soup than a bake, and using haddock as opposed to a smoked river fish. These humble ingredients form a decadent dish. I recently served a version of Cullen skink at a dinner celebrating …

Over the years, I have witnessed some heinous treatment of abalone to try to make it tender. From rocks to meat mincers, it all seems fairly mediaeval. Personally, I find a little bit of “bite” – a more flattering description of tough – pleasing. …

Poor old turkey. The bird has been the packhorse of nondescript protein for generations. But years of genetic selection for maximum return and fast growth has rendered the turkey of the wild into what is more akin to a cephalopod. Debeaked and with breasts …