I have a dream.

I have a dream that one day fussy eaters will rise up eat whatever is put in front of them.

I have a dream that one day the fussy eaters and the non fussy eaters will be able to sit down together at a table without hearing “what’s that green stuff on the chicken?”

I have a dream that one day even the pickiest people, who only eat avocado in guacamole or tomatoes in tomato sauce, will be transformed into functioning human dinner guests.

I have a dream that one day phrases like “I don’t eat Chinese/Italian/Mexican food,” “capers are weird” and “I can’t eat anything here, can we go somewhere else?” will be but distant memories.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every lettuce leaf shall remain on it’s burger, and every salad shall be served with it’s dressing,the crusts will be left on, and the olives shall not be picked off.

I have a dream that one day people will realise that trying something new will not kill them, that having a taste of pesto will not bring about their demise, that life is short and there are much tougher hardships to face than being served a new food.

This is my hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the kitchen with.

With this faith, cooks will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the uneasy discord of our dinner parties into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to eat together, to go out together, to split bills together, to share pizzas together, to travel on the sushi train together, knowing that we will be free of fussiness one day.

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of the home cooks and frustrated parents will be able to sing with new meaning:

My kitchen is not a restaurant, of thee I sing.

Eat what you’re given, or go home hungry,

From every table, let fussiness end!

And if dinner is to continue to be served, this must become true.

And so let fussiness end in school lunchboxes.

Let fussiness end at the Christmas dinner.

Let fussiness end at the barbecue lunch.

But not only that:

Let fussiness end when someone has taken the time to make you something special.

Let fussiness end at every meal that is not made up of plain carbohydrates and unseasoned meat.

At every table, in every home, let fussiness end.

And when this happens, when we allow fussiness to end, when we let it end from every village and every cafe, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all the cooks who wish to try a new dish will be able to say:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank Jamie Oliver, we are free at last!

if you’re a food-lover, you have probably heard a lot of the “r” word lately. no, not rissole. i’m talking about all things “rustic.” these days it’s impossible to flick through a cookbook or read a restaurant review without seeing some mention of rustic cookery. sensing that this trend could have more staying power than the sundried tomato craze of the 90’s, i decided to investigate.

a quick look around the food mag section at my local newsagent reveals an array of rustic images. from wooden boards and meals served in pots, to frayed or creased table linen, mismatched plates, sauces served in measuring cups and crumbled biscuits; it sure is a rustic month out there in magazine world.

yet rustic style extends far beyond publishing. restaurants are replacing stiff, leather-bound menus with brown paper, chalkboards and printed placemats. peasant-style dishes, second-class cuts of meat and nose-to-tail cookery are suddenly chic, while shared plates and communal dining are overtaking stuffy a la carte options.

take sydney chef warren turnbull, for example. he developed his new restaurant district dining as a casual counterpoint to his two-hatted assiette. district ticks several rustic boxes. bare tables? check. wooden boards? check. blackboard menu? chalk… i mean check.

turnbull’s not alone. rusticity has made its way into some of the world’s most renowned restaurants. copenhagen’s noma serves a dish called “radishes in soil.” presented in a terra cotta pot, the dish features three radishes sitting in “soil” made of crushed malt, hazelnuts and beer. it’s a remarkably rustic dish for a restaurant twice voted “best in the world” by restaurant magazine.

other michelin-starred chefs getting rustic include heston blumenthal, whose new london restaurant “dinner” features a dress code described as “comfortable,” and ireland’s dylan mcgrath, who swapped molecular gastronomy for stone cooking, opening dublin restaurant “rustic stone” in 2010.

but is rustic just another word for lazy? after all, it wasn’t long ago that we were arranging chive sprigs, layering ingredients into ring moulds, carving radish roses and discarding any plate that wasn’t white. call it the jamie oliver effect, but I think it’s more about finding great ingredients, and treating them as simply as possible.

so, fancy getting in on the rustic scene? just remember to relax and leave intricate plating to trembling masterchef contestants. keep in mind rustic’s true meaning: “simple and charming in a way seen as typical of the countryside.” 

why not dish up on mismatched plates, place antipasto on a beautiful wooden board, or pour drinks into jam jars? you could serve slow-cooked meats right out of the pot, or gnocchi in a shallow pan.  or, swap linen and glass vases for bare tables and unusual flower vessels, like old watering cans or ceramic water jugs. another handy tip is to write your food blog in lowercase text.

and if all else fails, just throw some radishes in a garden pot. if it works for the best restaurant in the world, your family will surely love it for dinner too.

(image: rustic fritto misto de verdura at cotogna, san francisco)

a few months ago, when i told my friends and family that i planned to set off on a culinary tour of the united states, i was startled to hear the same reaction each time: “why would you go to america for food!? yuck, the food there is terrible, you should be going to europe!” after a quick, sagacious “you don’t know me!” i felt dismayed at the apparent misconceptions about american gastronomy. after two brief visits to the land of the free which had included only brilliant dining experiences, i couldn’t understand the negativity. this, coupled with a once-in-a-generation strong aussie dollar, and my mind was made up- i wanted to go to there. 

(ferry building, san francisco)

and now, as i adjust back to life in now-freezing sydney, i can say with utter confidence that america is a brilliant destination for a culinary tour, should you wish to do one. in thirty days and five cities, i partook (what an odd word) in some of the most delicious food experiences of my life, visited arguably some of the most exciting restaurants in the world and ate approximately 500 pieces of pizza.*

(dean & de luca, nyc)

i know what you’re thinking, and let me reassure you, dear reader(s?)— all of the aforementioned foodstuffs were detailedly (another odd word) and often painfully documented. so stay tuned over the coming days as i relive my trip through the often blurry snaps of a food blogger abroad….

(farmer’s markets, san francisco)

… what you’ll (hopefully) see through the following posts, is exactly what i discovered: that as far as produce, service, innovation and value for money go, the us is the place to be. sure, it’s terrible at preventing gun violence, recovering from national debt and educating themselves about countries other than their own, but food: food they know.

enjoy!

*sadly, not as wildly exaggerated as it sounds. i ate, like, a lot of pizza.

happy new year! should old acquaintance be forgot? yes, if the acquaintance you’re referring to is 2010. most people i’ve spoken to were all too ready to kiss the past year goodbye. floods, fires, budget crises… and that was just within my kitchen.

nonetheless, a new year cannot dawn without some acknowledgement, so i decided to host a small get together for some wonderful, lovely friends. delighted that they agreed to come to me, i decided to thank them in the best way i know how: with food.

anyone who knows me is aware of my love of a theme. in fact, it’s more of a compulsion. yeah, i’m that control freak who is stressed when sushi is served alongside sausage rolls at a party. i just feel that a consistent theme is the easiest thing you can do to impress your guests. of course, if that’s too much of a hassle, or sushi & sausage roll is your favourite food combo, simply set a “foods of the world” theme, crack out some toothpick flags and bob’s your uncle. 

anyway, my theme this year was my old faithful, rustic italian. how does this differ from other kinds of italian, you might ask? it’s about much more than an imperfectly shaped pizza. rustic, for me, means simple, unfussy food which highlights classic flavour combinations & the seasonality of ingredients. 

that being said, here’s what i came up with:

the spread

our “bar”

amongst other things, crudités with homemade dips, parmesan, grapes, marinated mushrooms, artichokes & olives

oven baked ricotta, salami, roast tomatoes, asparagus & cauliflower

pizza #1: potato, rosemary, parmesan & white truffle oil

pizza #2: old favourite, rocket & proscuitto (with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar)

pizza #3: pepperoni & zucchini

the best of all the italian desserts: tiramisu

despite this being the most low-key new years in recent memory, it was, for me, one of the best. celebrating with the people you love, and eating some good food at the same time: pretty fab if you ask me. hope yours was enjoyable too.

now, to get cracking on my nicaraguan fiesta for 2012. 

:)

note: individual recipes for these dishes will be posted soon. feel free to contact me in the meantime if you have any questions.