issue 38

From the publisher

I was sitting down at St Aiden Wines in Dardanup when I was asked, “How long have you been doing this for?” Not everyone will remember but we were a digitally-based magazine before printing Menu Magazine. In fact, today is 25 years since we first registered on-line. Where has the time gone?

I’ve been so lucky to have a gifted group of writers and designers working with me for such a long time. Big shout out to Georgina in particular, as she has been with us since the beginning, profiling restaurants and putting together our dates pretty much every issue.

This issue has been fun as Phoebe uncovers a new fad hitting Australia; protein coffee. she also covers pet friendly cafes and restaurants, as it seems our canine family members can go just about everywhere these days.

Chef Michael rediscovers the joys of truffles in Manjimup, and Leanne demystifies what Modern Australian cuisine actually is.

Nobody seemed to know what is considered local cuisine in Amsterdam so we sent our intrepid Carmen to find out, while a little closer to home Joe gives us the inside scoop on where to wine and dine in Bunbury.

Further afield, we take a look at the crown jewel of WA’s ocean pantry, and eagerly anticipate the inaugural Exmouth Wild Prawn Festival in April.

Jenny shines the light on hospitality apprentices, while Chris uncovers some great sporting venues that also offer word class hospitality.

I was lucky enough to talk to Julie Goodwin as it’s been a long time since she was first on MasterChef and lots has happened since, and I dropped in on the Restaurant & Catering Awards as well as the Gold Plate Awards so you can read who was voted best in their categories.

After nearly 20 years of writing lyrically about all things beer, we say a fond and grateful farewell to Jeremy as he moves on to other interests, and welcome Ross who writes about hops.

I hope you enjoy the issue and I look forward to hearing about your culinary experiences. Stay well.