Rann sets tourism sights on $6bn year

Tourism can become a $6.3 billion a year industry for the state within five years despite the tough economic climate, Premier Mike Rann says. Speaking to 600 industry leaders at the State Tourism Awards on Saturday night, Mr Rann conceded 2009 had been an ``unbelievably challenging'' year for operators globally. Mr Rann said South Australia's tourism sector became a $4.2 billion industry between 2000 and 2007. He has targeted growth to $6.3bn a year by 2014. The Tour Down Under was named best major event for 2009. It won over the Clipsal 500, which scored a national event award this year. The best major tourist attraction prize went to the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre in the Barossa Valley. Majestic Roof Garden was named best deluxe accommodation in SA and the Sebel Playford Adelaide the top luxury accommodation. The Advertiser (Adelaide), November 9.

Hot spicy fare for ladies of the night

Sugo alla puttanesca is a relatively modern Italian sauce, known only since the late 1950s. There are several theories as to how it got its rather racy name. According to Wikipedia (and this is an explanation I'd not come across before), Italian newspaper journalist Annarita Cuomo claims that it was invented by Sandro Petti, owner of a famous Ischian night club and restaurant. Late one night Petti was obliged to feed a group of hungry friends, although, as he told them, he didn't have enough food to make a proper meal. "Facci una puttanata qualsiasi", (make any kind of garbage), they insisted. Puttanata here means garbage but you can appreciate the rather crass word association with puttana (whore). Later Petti included the dish on his menu as spaghetti alla puttanesca. Canberra Times, November 8.

Chef secrets help others

Melbourne chefs have joined forces for a good cause, revealing some of their most treasured kitchen secrets for charity. St Kilda Rotary Club has published recipes from some of the city's best eateries, including St Kilda's Stokehouse and Lau's Family Kitchen, Toorak's Bistro Thierry and O'Connell's Hotel in South Melbourne. Sunday Food's favourite comes from Chapel St's Caffe e Cucina, which shared its tiramisu recipe. Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne),

November 8.

No soy for you—Baristas put Seinfeld soup nazi to shame

Soy coffee drinkers are steaming after being shunned by Sydney cafes with no-soy policies. Customers who prefer the alternative to dairy for its taste or for health reasons are being told by zealous baristas to get their caffeine fix elsewhere. Reasons for refusing to sell soy-milk coffees vary. Some cafes say heating soy milk in addition to full-cream and skim milk is too much trouble. Others, such as those in Leichhardt's Italian cafe precinct, decline on the grounds of tradition. In northern Sydney, no-soy establishments include Awaba Cafe at Balmoral and Wharfy's at Mosman. At Awaba The Sunday Telegraph witnessed staff telling customers it was a ``pain in the a***'' to heat soy milk, with a waiter saying the cafe didn't need soy drinkers' business. Management chose not to comment. Mosman 26-year-old Camilla Morgan, who ordered soy milk at Awaba, was told it was unavailable, but that a nearby cafe served it. Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), November 8.

Rare wine takes top honours

Canberra winemaker Nick Spencer holds the famed Jimmy Watson Trophy in one hand and this year's winner, his 2008 Eden Road Long Road Hilltops Shiraz, in the other. Both are about as rare as each other. You'll see the Jimmy Watson -- the Melbourne Cup of the winemaking world -- once a year at the Melbourne Wine Show. And, unless you're lucky enough to have grabbed some already, the only place you'll find Spencer's cool-climate shiraz is on a few Canberra and Sydney restaurant wine lists. ``We only made 300 cases, so it's sold out now, unfortunately,'' Spencer said. Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), November 8.

The seating spies

Councils are using cameras to spy on cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating so they can fine them for exceeding table limits. Councils are also fining venues for bringing out additional chairs to accommodate patrons. One eastern suburbs cafe owner said he had been told he was unable to add a single extra chair to an outdoor setting without risking a penalty. Waverley, Sutherland, Leichhardt and Woollahra councils have all admitted photographing cafes and are issuing penalties for those putting out tables and chairs without permission, or more of these than allowed. The fines vary dramatically. Some councils claim they charge a $330 fine as set by State Government legislation, while another Sydney council is charging more than double that amount with $750 fines. Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), November 8.

It's dote cuisine - Adoring fans flock to see celebrity chefs

As the lights go up in the theatre, the squeals and screams begin. The object of adulation saunters on to the stage, microphone affixed to his face, and then picks up not a guitar, but a prawn. Australia's leading chefs were greeted with worship worthy of rock stars by foodie groupies at the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show yesterday afternoon. Perhaps it was their charm, sweaty brows, precision whisking or the complimentary wines from exhibitors at the Convention Centre, but the crowds lapped up the sex appeal served by the culinary world's leading men. Celebrity chef Ben O'Donoghue was a clear crowd favourite as he made his way on stage in a tight-fitting Brisbane Lions jersey. With raw prawns in one hand and a mango in the other, he soon had the crowd mesmerised by his every word and action. ``Queensland's such a beautiful place - what's not to love about it?'' he said. The 800-strong crowd, who paid $20 for a ticket, nodded in agreement. The Sunday Mail (Brisbane), November 8.

Cider house rules here, OK?

It's fizzy, fruity and refreshing on a hot summer's day. And because Europeans have been drinking it, we're jumping on the bandwagon. Cider may well be the alcoholic drink of choice across Sydney this summer, with a flurry of new releases hitting the market. Manufacturers are hoping to capitalise on the growth of the fermented apple or pear drink. In the past 12 months, cider consumption has grown by 25 per cent, says Nielsen ScanTrack. Fosters' low-carb cider, Strongbow Clear, will be on shelves from tomorrow, Tooheys Extra Dry has launched its Five Seeds cider, and Independent Distillers Australia has the new Apparella Dolce. Carlton United Kate Bentley Restaurant and Bar sommelier Nick Hildebrandt serves artisan ciders from Victoria, France and Spain. "We recently did a dinner and we served cider with some pork belly," he said. "It's a new take on a classic match—apple and pork. "Everyone really liked it." The Sun Herald (Sydney), November 8.

Warning over attack of the chiller tomato

NSW Health has warned against eating uncooked semi-dried tomatoes because of feared links with hepatitis A. After an outbreak of the disease in Victoria, it emerged that 66 per cent of those who had fallen ill had eaten semi-dried tomatoes. NSW Health director of communicable diseases Jeremy McAnulty said public health investigators suspected the affected tomatoes had been sold loosely in delicatessens and were likely to be served in restaurants, cafes and sandwich shops. "Despite a comprehensive and complex investigation, no single supplier of semi-dried tomatoes has been proven to be to the cause of the Victorian outbreak," he said yesterday. More than 80 people in Victoria have contracted the disease, while five cases have been detected in NSW since August 15. It is believed three of those are related to the contaminated tomatoes. "We are working closely with the Victorian health authorities and will continue to monitor the situation closely," Dr McAnulty said. The Sun Herald (Sydney), November 8.

Love a bit of sauce

British food is on the rise. In Britain, that is. What started with Fergus Henderson at St John restaurant in London 10 years ago with pig's tails and tripe continues with Tom Kitchin in Edinburgh at his niftily named The Kitchin. Kedgeree and gull eggs and offal and puddings with funny names. And why is this important? Because marrow bones and brawn with parsley salad in Britain one year means something similar in Bondi or Brisbane the next. The colonial ties are still strong when it comes to the chef caper. So, given the current renaissance of Britain's much-maligned national cuisine, what are we to make of the simultaneous assault on its traditions being waged by the authoritarian zealots of local government? In case you missed it, a council in Wales has rebranded one of Britain's favourite old puds: ladies and gentlemen, can I interest you in a bit of Spotted Richard? Seriously. Tired of the puerile sniggering that accompanied requests for Spotted Dick, canteen staff at Flintshire Council in Mold lobbied successfully to change Dick's name "back" to Richard. There's more than one precedent; supermarket giant Tesco, for example, opted for the name Spotted Richard back in 2001, but eventually admitted defeat and reverted. The Australian Magazine. November 7.

Master chefs' appeal not simmering down

Gordon Ramsay might be one of the world's best known chefs, but Australia's own George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan can hold their own. The MasterChef duo were opening the Brisbane Good Food and Wine show at the Convention Centre yesterday in front of a capacity crowd. They joked that they had out-sold Ramsay at both the Sydney and Melbourne shows—their two daily shows had indeed sold out but Ramsay had presented thirteen sessions. Calombaris showed off his Greek heritage, preparing an avgolemono, a Greek egg and lemon soup that he said was a childhood favourite when he was sick as a child, as well as a slow-cooked lamb souvlaki, while Mehigan showed the crowd how to cook a warm trout salad. Jam-filled doughnuts were on the menu for dessert. Jokes flew between the two, especially at the expense of their third MasterChef presenter Matt Preston, much to the delight of the audience. The Courier Mail (Brisbane), November 7.

$35,000 paid for a plumb bad chair

A man injured when a seat collapsed under him at a Hungry Jack's restaurant in western Sydney won $35,000 in damages from the food chain yesterday. Pierre Matouk, 50, suffered a severe back injury when a concrete and steel chair at the Warwick Farm store fell apart as he sat on it on August 10, 2008. As a result of his injuries, he was unable to continue his work as a plumber's labourer. Supreme Court Justice Jane Matthews ordered Hungry Jack's to pay Mr Matouk $35,000, as well as to pay his court costs. Justice Matthews quoted from a civil engineer's report of the outdoor seating area which noted the ``unusually haphazard and somewhat eclectic methods'' used to assemble the chairs. She said Mr Matouk's accident could have been avoided if staff at the store had regularly checked the stability of the chairs. The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), November 7.

Spending drops as stimulus wanes

The fear of another interest-rate rise before Christmas, combined with waning government spending on stimulus packages, has played its part in the latest retail sales result. Although the data was collected prior to last Tuesday's rate hike, it's nonetheless a trend that has been brewing in recent weeks. Retail spending fell by 0.2 per cent in September after a 0.7 per cent rise in August. Sales at chain stores and other large retailers fell by 0.4 per cent in September but still remained up 8 per cent on a year ago. In the September quarter, spending increased most at liquor outlets, takeaway food stores and pharmacies but fell sharply at newspaper and book outlets. The dip in department store sales indicates consumers are still looking for bargains. There was a rise in sales for the discount department stores and the marginal improvement in housing also saw a gain for bulky goods. Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney), November 7.

$5.2bn in food from home goes to waste each year

Wasteful Australian households are being advised to avoid shopping when hungry after a study found we throw out at least $5.2 billion worth of food each year. Fruit and vegetables are tossed out most, followed by unfinished restaurant and takeaway meals and fresh meat and fish. Consumers are being urged to think twice about bulk buy discounts, use plastic containers to store leftovers and write and stick to shopping lists to reduce the amount of food that winds up as rubbish. Singles living alone, buying over-sized items and territorial flatmates refusing to share their fridge's contents are the biggest offenders, research shows. The Australia Institute study for the environmental initiative, Do Something, warns the mountain of discarded food is taking an environmental toll through millions of tonnes of waste left rotting in landfill and giving off methane gas. The Advertiser (Adelaide),

November 6.