Hospitality Blog

The Mascot Deli is the destination of choice for foodies and gourmet home cooks in the mascot and surrounding suburbs. In fact, they have many regular customers who travel there weekly to purchase their requirements. Read more

Not so long ago, you might have walked out of a restaurant that served you ludicrous-sounding creations, like cream of mushroom foam or spheres of olive oil that explode in your mouth like salmon roe. Not anymore. Read more

We speak to Melbourne waiters about restaurant service and the importance of letting them guide you through your dining experience. Good service is a vital part of a restaurant – its oxygen, if you will. It contributes to atmosphere, delivery and the context of your experience, and dining in a restaurant is all about context: what you pay, what you sit on, the cutlery and glassware, the linen (or not) and the environment in which all of it is set will determine your expectation for what lies ahead. The service is a pivotal part of this; how the waiter delivers the experience physically, verbally and respectfully will determine how you feel about being there. In other words, a good waiter is the architect of the dining context. This architect needs to build experiences table by table, and when you’re paying a lot of money (or not) what should you expect? Read more

Mark Best and Peter Gilmore, Sydney's two most acclaimed chefs, could qualify as multistarred chefs in any number of cities, such as San Sebastian, San Francisco or Paris, but they both feel that Australia defines their styles. Mr. Best, of Marque restaurant, concedes that "thanks to food symposiums and the Internet, we are up-to-the minute on the latest techniques and ingredients," but he described the "New Australian" style as being open-minded and emphasizing the freshness of the ingredients. Read more

Channel 10 has won the battle for the services of Sydney celebrity chef Matt Moran for the next season of MasterChef. Read more

The Sydney Institute and Northern Sydney Institute have initiated a new industry driven training program – Appetite for Success – designed to develop and groom tomorrow’s leading chefs and cooks to ensure they have a long, successful and balanced career in the hospitality industry. Read more

Why do we go out to eat? Sometimes, it's for simple convenience but, more often, it's for pure pleasure: to feel nurtured and spoilt, to try something special and be surprised and delighted. Sometimes, it's to lose ourselves in a world where we're being treated with respect, where the room is lovely and the care warm, or to be transported to other places through flavours. Sometimes, it's to be made to feel important, to be treated like we're Brad and Angelina, to relax, to avoid having to do the dishes, because we're tired. Sometimes, because we're just plain hungry. And when we look at the reasons we love to eat out, it's often not just about the food, restaurants deliver a lot more. They're a product of their times — and the times, they are a-changin'. Chefs and diners are turning towards what's local and what's good, to ingredients with provenance, that take the shortest route between paddock and plate. Here's what's driving the way we dine now. Read more

On Monday night the 2010 Electrolux Appetite for Excellence national winners were announced at an exclusive reception held at the Electrolux Showcase, Sydney, attended by Australia's leading chefs, restaurateurs and food industry luminaries. Read more