Monday, August 31, 2015

Fair trade logo boosts consumer's willingness to pay and other food and drink news

Study finds fair trade logo boosts consumer's willingness to pay - Products labeled with a Fair Trade logo cause prospective buyers to dig deeper into their pockets. In an experiment conducted at the University of Bonn, participants were willing to pay on average 30 percent more for ethically produced goods, compared to their conventionally produced counterparts. The neuroscientists analyzed the neural pathways involved in processing products with a Fair Trade emblem. They identified a potential mechanism that explains why Fair Trade products are evaluated more positively. For instance, activity in the brain's reward center increases and thereby alters willingness to pay computations. The study results have now been published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

A Toast to Southeast Asia's Wine Underdogs - When it comes to Asia’s emerging wine industry, China sits at the helm. But despite China’s head start, little-known vineyards across Southeast Asia are vying for spots in the nearly $300 billion global wine industry — and placing their own spin on it. ... Oh, and for imbibers, it’s a brand-new experience: Southeast Asia’s young vines and rare grapes churn out bold red and sparkling white wines that are “energetic, fiery and more acidic,” according to Archie Gracie, the winery and supply chain director of Siam Winery. These tastes, he says, better pair with the region’s spicy, seaside cuisines and suit the Southeast Asian palate.


The Bloody Mary Meat Straw: An All-American Story - This is a story of American ingenuity and entrepreneurship. It is the story of the meat straw. Yes, you read that right. "It is a straw made out of pork," explains Ben Hirko of Coralville, Iowa, the man behind Benny's Original Meat Straws. It's a half-inch in diameter, the same length as a standard plastic straw. And it has a hole running down the middle of it, through which you're meant to slurp up Bloody Marys.

Slow-melting ice cream ingredient discovered by scientists
Buying organic veggies at the supermarket is a waste of money - It’ll come as no surprise to most shoppers that organic produce is typically more expensive than the other options. ... But this price difference does not just reflect the added cost of organic agriculture techniques: It’s also because people will pay more for the label—often without knowing what it means. “Organic” has essentially become another way of saying “luxury.” As a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found, the “premium” markup on organic food is 29-32%, when only a 5-7% markup would be needed to break even—making organic farms more profitable than conventional ones. (Of course, it takes three years of organic practices to get certified, so farmers may still be left covering their additional investment after that period.)

Some Brands Are Labeling Products “GMO-free” Even if They Don’t Have Genes - More companies are paying to label their food as non-GMO, whether they need it or not.

Why should you get to know Georgian wines? Because they’re exciting. We tend to think of the classic vinifera wine grape varieties as European, meaning French, Italian and Spanish. But vinifera’s origin lies to the east, in the Caucasus region: where Europe and Asia intersect, where ancient trade routes crisscrossed the mountains between the Black Sea and Persia, and near where the Bible says Noah planted a vineyard after the ark settled on Mount Ararat. This is where the oldest archaeological evidence of wine production, vinifera seeds in clay vessels, was found. Both Georgia and Armenia claim to be wine’s homeland, as borders have been fluid between antiquity and now.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Wine: is there a better cure for being human? and other food and drink news

Ben Brantley on London Theater, Where Characters Drink to Dull the Pain of Life - Wine is very much on the menu at the Almeida Theater in Islington these days. It is served, of course, at the bar that adjoins the theater. But more important, wine is being extolled as absolutely essential to our daily diet on the Almeida stage, where a riveting production of Euripides’ “Bakkhai” is hypnotizing packed houses. Listen, if you will, to the wise words of the blind seer Teiresias and grab yourself a flagon:
 “Wine is an escape from grief, a slip into sleep, a cool forgetting of the hot pains of the day. What better cure for being human?”
Ben Whishaw utters that eulogy to wine.
Meanwhile, at the Donmar Warehouse, Abi Morgan’s acerbic “Splendour” ... portrays four, mutually contemptuous women gathered for an evening of evasion and confrontation, as the revolution-torn city around them erupts into flames. The drink they share, and occasionally choke on, is appropriately fiery. It’s chili vodka, which was presented to the hostess of this anxious, improvised soiree earlier in the day by a friend who explained that the liquor allows you “to enjoy the pain” of its spice.

Push on for wine tax reforms - The Abbott Government has released its Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) Rebate Discussion Paper aimed at pruning market distorting wine industry subsidies. Submissions to the discussion paper – originally flagged for release in July - are due to close on September 11. A WET Rebate Consultative Group comprising senior wine industry members has also been established as part of the taxation reform process.

Reality bites: shortage of chefs hits restaurant industry growth - Australia’s booming restaurant scene is at risk of stalling as an international chef shortage begins to bite locally. Restaurateurs say a combination of ever-increasing demand for chefs, inadequate training and an indifference to the long-term advantages of doing the hard yards among young adults means chef positions across Australia have become difficult to fill.

Drinking water doesn't prevent a hangover, study says - Raiding the fridge or downing glasses of water after a night of heavy drinking won't improve your sore head the next day, Dutch research suggests. Instead, a study concluded, the only way to prevent a hangover is to drink less alcohol.

Looking for Authentic Wine in the Angel's Share - Researchers develop a method to sniff out counterfeit wine without opening the bottle. A team of researchers at U.C. Irvine believes they have developed a valuable new tool in the battle against counterfeit wines—a test that authenticates wine by extracting wine vapor molecules from the cork while it's still in the bottle.

Natural wine is a natural fit in Tokyo - The natural wine movement is spreading. Everywhere I look in Tokyo, neighborhood wine bars and small bistros are introducing all-natural wine lists. I’m starting to wonder, why does natural wine fit so organically into the city? Japanese consumers were early adopters of natural wine, developing a taste for it in the early 1990s — even before it was a trend in France.

Novels that will make you crave booze - In fiction, at least, the privations and compromises of war can be made much more palatable with judicious amounts of alcohol

You are what you eat: biting into seven common food myths

American Barbecue in Paris - American food used to be a “goofy novelty” to the French, but now they’re tucking into ribs, pork belly and wings, with all the sides.




Thursday, August 27, 2015

Rosetta


Southbank VIC 3006 Italian

RestaurantRosetta
Street addressCrown Casino, 8 Southbank Boulevard
SuburbSouthbank, Melbourne
StateVIC
Postcode3006
Phone03 8648 1999
Websiterosettaristorante.com/
StyleItalian
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides2016 GFG 2 hats; 2015 GFG 2 hats
Awards Gourmet Guide1 star
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Equal 51st after Top 50; AustMag Top 50 2014
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes"... It's a voluptuous menu, giving maximum pleasure from the flavours of wood-firing and char-grilling applied to deluxe produce, some of it rarely seen elsewhere" - 23 Aug 2014
ReviewerJohn Lethlean - The Australian
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Hartsyard


Newtown NSW 2042 American

RestaurantHartsyard
Street address33 Enmore Road
SuburbNewtown
StateNSW
Postcode2042
Phone02 8068 1473
Websitehartsyard.com.au
StyleAmerican
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides2015 GFG 1 hat
Awards Gourmet Guide
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Equal 51st after Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards#2 Sunday Telegraph Top 10
Reviews & Notes“a bustling bolthole on Enmore Road, has been slinging Yankee classics like oyster po boys, fried chicken with biscuits and gravy and pulled pork since its doors flung open in June 2012.”
ReviewerAmy Harris - Sunday Telegraph 2/11/14
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Anise


New Farm QLD 4005 Contemporary/Wine Bar

RestaurantAnise
Street address697 Brunswick Street
SuburbNew Farm
StateQLD
Postcode4005
Phone07 3358 1558
Websiteanise.com.au/
StyleContemporary/Wine Bar
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides
Awards Gourmet Guide
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Equal 51st after Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes"Anise is a little wine-centric gem ... food is contemporary but with obvious classical roots. Most of it is very good ..."
ReviewerJohn Lethlean - The Australian 14/11/15 3 1/2 maps
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Josef Chromy



Relbia TAS 7258 Vineyard Contemporary

RestaurantJosef Chromy
Street address370 Relbia Road
SuburbRelbia
StateTAS
Postcode7258
Phone03 6335 8700
Websitejosefchromy.com.au
StyleVineyard/Contemporary
Awards 2014 Fairfax Good Food Guides
Awards Gourmet Guide
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Equal 51st; AustMag Top 50 2014
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes"... in...the elite group of Australia's best vineyard restaurants" - 23 Aug 2014
ReviewerJohn Lethlean - The Australian
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Seans Panorama


Bondi Beach NSW 2026 Contemporary

RestaurantSean’s Panaroma
Street address270 Campbell Parade
SuburbBondi Beach
StateNSW
Postcode2026
Phone02 9365 4924
Websiteseanspanaroma.co/
StyleContemporary
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides2016 GFG 1 hat; 2015 GFG 1 hat
Awards Gourmet Guide2 stars
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Equal 51st after Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
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How James Bond deals with hangovers and other food and drink news

Male bonding with Daniel CraigThe actor has spent nearly a decade portraying the world’s most famous spy, but there’s a very complicated relationship between James Bond and the movie star who plays him
How do you deal with hangovers?There’s this thing called Pedialyte. It’s basically a diuretic; you give it to kids who are dehydrated. If you wake up in the morning and you’ve got one of those on standby and you down the whole lot… you can carry on drinking! 
How did you discover that? Hanging around with a lot of babies?No, Mark Wahlberg. Who I don’t know, but I was told that’s what Mark swears by. It’s the difference between life and death as far as I’m concerned. 


Garum sauce: ancient Rome's 'ketchup' becomes a modern-day secret ingredient - Also known as colatura di alici, the centuries-old condiment of fermented and salted anchovies adds a sharp, savory flavor to simple pasta dishes

10 up-and-coming wine regions - CNN selects Moldova, Sicily, Tasmania, Swartland, Michigan, Francaciorta, Bekaa Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Moravia and Soave

Consumer Reports Study Finds that Nearly All Ground Beef Sold in America Has Feces in It


Heart of Agave - How a renegade optometrist is defying Big Ag and saving Mexican farms - with the finest tequila you'll ever taste

The Bottom Line: Foods with Trans Fat are Lingering - Foods with trans fat are finally on the way out, but the food industry is working to keep this deadly ingredient in foods.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Lake House


Daylesford VIC 3460 Contemporary

RestaurantLake House
Street address4 King Street
SuburbDaylesford
StateVIC
Postcode3460
Phone03 5348 3329
Websitelakehouse.com.au/restaurant
StyleContemporary
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides2016 GFG 2 hats; 2015 GFG 2 hats
Awards Gourmet Guide2 stars
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Equal 51st after Top 50; AustMag Top 50 2014
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes"The givens here are great produce, even better service and a wine list (with service to back it) the equal of any regional restaurant in Australia. A serious restaurant ..." - Aug 23 2014
ReviewerJohn Lethlean - The Australian
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Reviews & NotesAs part of our policy of developing a direct relationship with our growers and producers - much of the produce used at Lake House is sourced from nearby. Menus are generally altered twice each season, according to best available produce . These changes generally follow the seasonal calendar, although Mother Nature, marching entirely to her own drum frequently throws some surprises at us.
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Wasabi


Noosa QLD 4567 Japanese

RestaurantWasabi
Street address2 Quamby Place
SuburbNoosa
StateQLD
Postcode4567
Phone07 5449 2443
Websitewasabisb.com
StyleJapanese
Awards 2014 Fairfax Good Food Guides
Awards Gourmet Guide2 stars
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Top 50 &2014 - Hottest Restaurant QLD 2014
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes"... an uncompromised hybrid of creativity and authenticity" - 23 Aug 2014; "Wasabi, under the watchful eye of owner and qualified sake sommelier Danielle Gjestland, takes classic Japanese cuisine and spins it – gently, intelligently – into something quite new and exciting, as intricately composed as a hand-sewn kimono." 22/8/15
ReviewerJohn Lethlean - The Australian
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The Glass House


Hobart TAS 7000 Asian

RestaurantThe Glass House
Street addressBrooke Street Pier, Franklin Wharf
SuburbHobart
StateTAS
Postcode7000
Phone0437 245 540
Websitetheglass.house
StyleAsian
Awards Fairfax Good Food Guides
Awards Gourmet Guide
The Australian Top 502015 AustMag Top 50
Restaurant & Catering Awards
Other Awards
Reviews & Notes"the very new Glass House reflects the indulgent tastes and standards of local hoteliers (The Islington) and their consultant chef Ikuei Arakane (ex-Taxi, Melbourne), who has sensibly embraced Tassie’s ace card of seafood to create a snacky menu that works to the Glass House mixed-business formula of bar/lounge and some more traditional dining space. ... The Glass House is one of the year’s lovely surprises."
ReviewerJohn Lethlean - The Australian 22/8/15
Reviews & Notes"... the signs of fatigue are showing. Let's call it Consultant Chef Syndrome."
ReviewerJohn Lethlean 7/11/15 3 maps
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