Coeliac Awareness Week

This week (13-20 March) is Coeliac Awareness Week, so I thought I should do my bit to spread the word.

Luckily the food scene for coeliacs has improved tremendously over the last few years. Not only do most supermarkets now carry a good range of gluten free products, but more and more restaurants and cafes are catching on, and offering gluten free options. If you're looking for a restaurant that's coeliac friendly, have a look through my list of gluten free posts - there are plenty of places all over Brisbane.

If you've recently found out you have coeliac disease, or have a friend with coeliac disease, then look no further than the Coeliac Society, which does an amazing job of collecting all kinds of useful information for their members. I've been a member now for about 4 years, and I'm constantly overwhelmed by their helpful resources - their pocket sized ingredient list book was invaluable when I first started my gluten free diet.

And if you've never heard of coealiac disease, here's a bit of a background from the Coeliac Society's website:

Coeliac disease (pronounced seel-ee-ak) is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune means the body mistakenly produces antibodies that damage its own tissues. It is a permanent intestinal intolerance to dietary gluten. A number of serious health consequences can result if the condition is not diagnosed and treated properly.In those with untreated coeliac disease the mucosa (lining) of the small bowel (intestine) is damaged: The tiny, finger-like projections which line the bowel (villi) become inflamed and flattened. The function of the cells on villi is to break down and absorb nutrients in food. Through a microscope, the lining of the small bowel normally looks rather like shag-pile carpet, the villi making up the “pile”. The entire surface area of a healthy small bowel is comparable in size to that of a tennis court.In those with untreated coeliac disease, the villi become inflamed and the bowel has a characteristic flat appearance (like a threadbare carpet). This is referred to as villous atrophy. The surface area of the bowel available for nutrient absorption is markedly reduced (to the size of a table or less) which can lead to nutrient deficiencies.

What is the Cause?

In people with coeliac disease the immune system reacts abnormally to gluten, causing small bowel inflammation and damage. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats.

Who gets Coeliac Disease?

People are born with a genetic predisposition to develop coeliac disease. They inherit a particular genetic make-up (HLA type) with the genes DQ2 and DQ8 being identified as the “coeliac genes”. Gene testing is presently available through pathology laboratories (by blood test or buccal swab). The gene test is useful for excluding coeliac disease. The presence of HLA DQ2 and HLA DQ8 is not helpful as a positive predictor of coeliac disease, as only 1 in 30 people (approximately) with these genes will have coeliac disease. The gene test cannot diagnose coeliac disease – only exclude it.Environmental factors also play an important role in the development of coeliac disease.

How Common is the Condition?

Coeliac disease affects approximately 1 in 100 Australians. However 75% currently remain undiagnosed. This means that approximately 157,000 Australians have coeliac disease but don’t yet know it.

Can Coeliac Disease be cured?

People with coeliac disease remain sensitive to gluten throughout their life, so in this sense they are never cured. There is no correlation between symptoms and bowel damage, so even if asymptomatic (you have no symptoms), damage to the small bowel can still occur if gluten is ingested. Once gluten is removed from the diet, the small bowel lining steadily repairs and the absorption of nutrients from food returns to normal.People with coeliac disease should remain otherwise healthy as long as they adhere to a diet free of gluten. Relapse occurs if gluten is reintroduced.

What are the Long Term Risks of Undiagnosed Coeliac Disease?

The long term consequences of coeliac disease are related to poor nutrition and malabsorption of nutrients. Untreated coeliac disease can lead to chronic poor health, osteoporosis, infertility, miscarriage, depression and dental enamel defects. There is also a small, but real, increased risk of certain forms of cancer such as lymphoma of the small bowel. In children, undiagnosed coeliac disease can cause lack of proper development, short stature and behavioural problems.

Fortunately, timely diagnosis of coeliac disease and treatment with a gluten free diet can prevent or reverse many of these problems.

The Coeliac Society
P - (07) 3839 5404
E - qld@coeliacsociety.com.au
W - http://www.coeliacsociety.com.au/

Italian Food Safari

When it comes to food related shows on TV, Food Safari is my favourite, hands down. Over the years Maeve O'Meara has done a fantastic job of presenting cuisines from countries as diverse as Mauritius to Mexico.

Although I was sad to see that tonight was the last episode of Matthew Evans' Gourmet Farmer, I was over the moon to find out that it was being replaced with a new series of Food Safari. And just for something different, there's a twist with this series - it's all Italian. Guy Grossi from Grossi Florentino will be joining Maeve every week to tell us all there is to know about Italian food. I can't wait - tune in for the first episode next Thursday night at 7.30pm on SBSONE.

If you do happen to watch the new Italian Food Safari, make sure you keep watching at 8pm for the new series of Costa's Garden Odyssey. I'm hoping the second series will be just as interesting as the first - Costa is a very entertaining host.

Italian Food Safari
Thursday 18 March 2010, 7.30pm SBSONE
W - http://www.sbs.com.au/food/foodsafari

Costa's Garden Odyssey
Thursday 18 March 2010, 8pm SBSONE
W - http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/costa/about/page/i/2/show/costa

Raw Milk Cheese

I know its been a very long time since my last post. But I have a good excuse (really). I only found out a couple of weeks ago that I've scored tickets to the World Cup in South Africa in June, which has meant some pretty frantic travel planning. Anyway it's pretty much sorted out now, which means I can get back to putting a few more posts up.

And what better way to start than with the topic of raw milk cheese - rather than explain it myself, here's a blurb which Will Studd has prepared earlier (to use a handy cooking term):

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is seeking public comment on its recently released proposals (P1007) to change Australian Food Standards for cheese in Australia.

The good news is that if these proposals are adopted they will enable the production and sale of raw milk cheeses in Category 1 and 2, as described in the FSANZ Discussion paper in August 2008.

BUT

The bad news is that the proposals are very limited and cheeses made from raw milk in category 3, and raw drinking milk will continue to be banned.

It has been 14 years since the Australian authorities introduced a national ban on most types of cheese made from raw milk and raw drinking milk.

Since then FSANZ have granted only very minor concessions to imported hard cooked cheese types, and Roquefort after international trade threats and embarrassing media coverage.

Over six years ago, FSANZ agreed to review our application (A530/531) for a change to allow the production and sale of raw milk cheese, and an application for raw drinking milk.

The delay and past outcomes suggest it is unlikely the latest proposals will change much through rational debate, public submissions or scientific argument. But if these proposals are adopted without a challenge it will be years before there is an opportunity for another review.

Over the past two decades, international artisan and farmhouse cheese production has enjoyed significant growth in demand due to a revolution in consumer interest. Many of these cheeses are made from raw milk and are recognised as having an infinitely superior flavour and authentic regional character when compared to similar cheeses made from pasteurised milk. FSANZ has refused to recognise this trend and these proposals will continue to restrict the types of cheese that can be produced and sold in Australia.

FSANZ are obligated to seek public consultation by regulation on all proposed changes to the Food Standards.

If you think Australian consumers and Australian cheese makers deserve the opportunity to enjoy a complete range of raw milk cheese you can help by making a submission to FSANZ by February 24th.

So if this is a topic you feel strongly about, please make a submission to FSANZ. A friend of mine has put up a page here with a suggested submission (again prepared by Will Studd) - all you need to do is cut, paste and press send on your email. But get in quick - your submission must be in by 24 February 2010.

Christmas Pressies

Don't know what to buy the foodie in your life for Christmas? Here are a few ideas that will (hopefully) go down a treat:

The Songs of Sapa

I enjoyed Luke Nguyen's show so much that I went out and bought this book. I kind of justified it because we had a pile of friends over for a Vietnamese food night, so I had to have a few recipes up my sleeve. I've cooked a few dishes out of this book, and have found them fairly easy to make - they also taste great. The tricky part is finding ingredients like betel leaves and Vietnamese herbs. If you like fresh, tasty, clean Asian flavours, then you'll love this book.

Larousse Gastronomique

When it comes to cooking reference books, Larousse Gastronomique is the king. Although it's definitely focused on classical cooking, it's still an amazing book. Basically it's the encyclopedia of the cooking world and a new edition has just been released. Personally I prefer the cover of the edition I've got (which has pictures of quintessential French waiters), but you don't buy a book for its cover. Be warned though, its a bit pricey.

Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2010

I've bought a lot of wine books in my time, but when it comes to one book that covers everything, this is it. It's only small, but so comprehensive - the whole world of wine in one handy book. It's still the first book I go to for wine, and great value at about $25.

Serendip - My Sri Lankan Journey

Out of all the cookbooks that have been featured in Gourmet Traveller this year, Serendip by Peter Kuruvita is the one that really caught my interest. I can't say that I've ever come across a Sri Lankan cookbook before, but the recipes looked & sounded so amazing - the beetroot curry, snake bean curry, mud crab curry & egg hoppers all looked delicious. It's the perfect gift for the foodie that has all the "standard" cookbooks.

Vefa's Kitchen

I've always wanted a Greek cookbook, and if I bought one it would be Vefa's Kitchen. I've been admiring it for months at Borders in the city. I've got such great memories of the food we ate in Greece that I'd love to create it at home. Greek food is such a good match for the Australian climate and way of life that this book will provide years of delicious lunches & dinners.

Food Safari DVD

As far as I'm concerned, Food Safari is the best food show that I've ever seen on Australian tv. Maeve O'Meara is such a good host that's its hard not to enjoy Food Safari. Each episode features a different country's cuisine, so there's also an amazing variety of food. There are now 3 series of Food Safari, so there are hours and hours of cooking to enjoy.

Brisbane's Budget Bites 2010

Want to know where you can eat around Brisbane without burning a hole in your wallet/purse? More interested in spending your money on good food than propping up high rents at mediocre city restaurants? Then rush off to your local bookshop today and pick up a copy of Brisbane's Budget Bites. For the measly sum of $20 you'll be the owner of a great guide to bargain restaurants around Brisbane. I picked up my copy from Borders in the city a couple of weeks ago - they're widely available.

Brisbane's Budget Bites covers restaurants, coffee shops and specialist grocery stores. Some of the featured restaurants that I'm looking forward to trying out are K'mer at Sunnybank (Cambodian), Best Friends Kainan Sa in the Valley (Filipino) and The Persian Restaurant at Coorparoo.

Best of all it's independent and well written - pick one up today.

Brisbane's Budget Bites 2010
W - http://www.brisbanebudgetbites.com.au/

food bling, Brisbane turns two!

Well its now 2 years since I kicked off food bling, Brisbane. At the time there were only a handful of Brisbane food blogs around, but it's great to see that there are now so many people blogging about the food scene in and around Brisbane.

I'd like to pass on a very special thanks to all my readers - numbers have doubled in the last year, with almost 20,000 visits in the last 12 months. As always, I'm only interested in the best quality food, wine & service around Brisbane, rather than the current place to be seen.

The last year has been a huge one for me, especially with the arrival of Josephine, the newest food bling, Brisbane team member. Although she's not quite four months old, she's already visited a good few restaurants around Brisbane - she's off to a good start in the food stakes (even though she can't actually eat anything at the moment).

Top of my never-ending list of places to eat at the moment are The Buffalo Club, the three new Urbane venues (due to open in a few weeks), Wasabi at the Sunshine Coast, The Sardine Tin, Bar Barossa and Desmond & Molly Jones. There are also a load of new bars that have opened in the Valley this year, which I'm keen to visit before Christmas.

I'm currently in the middle of doing a photography course at TAFE, so hopefully you'll all notice a marked improvement in the standard of pictures on food bling, Brisbane. Although I'm not sure how much help the course will be when it comes to taking photos with my mobile phone...

As always, don't be shy in posting comments or passing on any feedback - it all helps to improve the blog. And of course, I'm always on the lookout for new restaurants, cafes and bars to visit, so keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks everyone for reading,

Richard

Luke Nguyen's Vietnam

Unfortunately my favourite food show of the moment, My Family Feast, has now finished up. Luckily for all of us though, the great people at SBS have replaced it with another food show - Luke Nguyen's Vietnam.

Luke Nguyen was born in Vietnam, but is now the chef and owner of Red Lantern restaurant in Sydney (I still haven't made it there yet). I watched the first episode last week, and he cooked some amazing dishes around Saigon - he makes them look so easy. The beef with wild betel leaf and lemongrass that he cooked on a street vendor's little van looked particularly tasty.

If you love Vietnamese food, then its definitely worth adding to your viewing schedule - Thursday nights at 7.30pm on SBS1. And stay tuned afterwards for Costa's Garden Odyssey, which is the most entertaining gardening show I've ever seen on TV - I'm hooked.

Luke Nguyen also seems to have a new cookbook out, called The Songs of Sapa, which I've been eyeing off at Borders. I think it will find its way into my cookbook collection sooner or later...

Luke Nguyen's Vietnam
Thursday nights, 7.30pm - SBS1
W - http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/lukenguyen

National Vegetarian Week

Is your diary looking a bit on the empty side this week? Well then its time to pencil in some more veges! This week is National Vegetarian Week, and the aim is to encourage Australians to lower their meat intake by making a "Pledge to Try Veg".

No need to convince me on that front - my wife is a vegetarian, so I eat 4 to 5 vegetarian meals a week. If you're interested in finding out about eating more vegetables, then have a look at the Vegetarian Week website. There's plenty of information on the website, including the benefits of a vegetarian diet, recipes and details of cooking demonstrations during the week.

When it comes to vegetarian food in Brisbane, I hate to say it, but I think we lag a bit behind the rest of the World - good vegetarian restaurants don't really seem to have caught on here. The best vegetarian restaurant I've been to is The Gate in London, which serves excellent food. We used to live just down the road in Hammersmith, so we were very lucky to be able to wander down there for dinner.

If you're looking for good places to eat vegetarian food in Brisbane, then your local Indian or Asian restaurant is usually a good start. Otherwise, these are my wife's favourite places to eat vegetarian food - restaurants that actually make an effort to plate up something a bit more exciting than "risotto of the day":

Era Bistro - South Brisbane
Songbirds - Mount Tamborine
Azafran - Annerley
Berado's - Noosa
Absynthe - Gold Coast (will prepare a vegetarian degustation with advance notice)
Tandoori King - New Farm
Urbane - City (currently closed)

National Vegetarian Week
28 September to 4 October 2009
W - http://vegetarianweek.com.au/

Celebrity MasterChef

In case you haven't seen the ads on Ten, Celebrity MasterChef kicks off this Wednesday night, 30 September 2009 at 7.30pm.

18 people have signed up for this series, including our Premier Anna Bligh, Alex Lloyd, George Negus, Peter Rowsthorn and Fuzzy Agolley from Video Hits. I expect it will be a bit less serious than the 'real' MasterChef, and hopefully there's a good enough mix of contestants to keep us all interested.

Celebrity MasterChef
W - http://www.masterchef.com.au/

My Family Feast

SBS make some terrific food shows - Food Safari is probably my favourite food show of all time. So I hope that My Family Feast turns out to be just as good.


Each week, chef Sean Connolly (the host) visits a different family and gets to help out with the preparation of traditional food. As with Food Safari, My Family Feast covers a diverse range of cuisines, including Italian, Mandean Iraqi, Vietnamese (I can't wait for that episode), Cuban and Burmese.

The first episode kicks off next Thursday night on SBS One at 7.30pm, and focuses on Congolese food in Sydney. I'm hoping SBS puts the recipes up on their website, because it sounds like there's going to be some cracking food over the course of the show. I'm really looking forward to it.

My Family Feast
7.30pm Thursdays
SBS ONE
First Episode on 27 August 2009

My Kitchen Rules

Think you could show Julie, Poh or Chris a thing or two in the kitchen? Then find a friend and get your entry in for My Kitchen Rules.

My Kitchen Rules seems to be the Seven network's attempt to ride on the enormous publicity of MasterChef. There are a few differences though with My Kitchen Rules. First of all you'll have to find a partner, as you need a team of two. The other big difference is that the food gets cooked in your own kitchen, which will be interesting as I'm sure there will be some pretty unique kitchens around the country.

If your brother/girlfriend/mum/postman is a kitchen maestro, then get your entry in today. You'll need to submit your entry through the My Kitchen Rules casting website.

When is a sandwich a scanwich?

Looking for inspiration for your next perfect sandwich? Then look no further than Scanwiches. It's a website devoted entirely to photos of New York sandwiches that have been scanned - creating the scanwich.

I'd hate to think what their scanner looks like, but I'm getting hungry just scrolling through the site. The Dac Biet (pictured - 2 types of Vietnamese ham, house paté, cucumber, carrots & coriander on a baguette) looks like my kind of lunch.

Scanwiches
W - http://scanwiches.com/

food bling update

Sorry for my recent slackness on the posting front. Our first baby is not far away now, and all the pre-baby running around is taking up about 99% of my spare time - painting, looking for a new car, pre-natal classes etc. So as you can imagine, the remaining 1% doesn't go very far. At least I have a good excuse...

I'll do my best to get a few posts finished off over the long weekend. I'm off to dinner at the River House at Noosa on Saturday night, which I am really looking forward to. I've wanted to go for such a long time.

I've also been messing around on Twitter. If you feel inclined to read my crazy, random rantings you can find me @foodbling or here. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it's a great way of getting insights into some of the big players on the food and wine scene.

Finally, I hope everyone is enjoying MasterChef as much as I am. I'd have to say I think Chris is going to be right up there at the end - he seems to have both the temperament and the skills.

Gordon Ramsay at Sanctuary Cove

If you've been waiting for something ridiculously extravagant to spend your stimulus payment on, have I got the perfect event for you. The always entertaining Gordon Ramsay is coming to Sanctuary Cove in June to host a few lunches and dinners.


Prices start at $300 for a three course lunch, which includes wine and a gift bag apparently valued at $150. If you really want to go crazy, for $750 you get a three course lunch or dinner, a signed Gordon Ramsay book, a spot at a private cocktail party attended by none other than Mr Ramsay himself and a gift bag. That would still leave you with $150 that you could generously send off to Foodbank.

It's not entirely clear from the Ticketek website, but it sounds like you also get to watch him cook up the meals before you eat. After being lucky enough to eat at his three Michelin starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London a few years ago, I would love to go along, but it's too bit pricey for me. A special thanks to Stuart for the great photo of the chef in action.

Gordon Ramsay at Sanctuary Cove
12-14 June 2009
Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove
Manor Circle
Sanctuary Cove 4212
Tickets from Ticketek

Foodbank

Just the other day I caught an ABC story on Foodbank. I'd heard of Foodbank before, but had no idea just what an amazing job they did. If you're wondering what Foodbank is, here's the blurb from their website:

Foodbank Queensland is a non-denominational community supported, non-profit organisation which relies on the support of a large network of dedicated people who have a commitment to fulfilling the aims and objectives of Foodbank Queensland.

The concept of Foodbank Queensland is simple - to feed the country's needy by redistributing surplus food.

Food growers, manufacturers and processors produce quantities of food which, for various commercial reasons, cannot be sold. The products may be incorrectly labelled, have faulty packaging, be part of a trial run or are not produced to exact specifications.

It is estimated that as much as 20% of all food produced is unsaleable for a variety of reasons.
Increasingly, welfare agencies are involved in an on-going struggle to provide food relief to thousands of people who are dependant on food handouts to supplement their welfare benefits.

Foodbank Queensland is the link between these two groups. Foodbank provides an outlet to food companies for their surplus stock and at the same time, allows community support agencies to save time and resources in the solicitation of nutritious food.

I was stunned to see just how much food is donated to Foodbank because it is apparently "unsaleable". Especially at the moment, with many people suffering financially, Foodbank is doing a tremendous job. You can watch the ABC Stateline story on Foodbank here.

If you're interested in helping out Foodbank, you can make a donation through their website.

Foodbank Queensland
179 Beverley Street
Colmslie 4170
P - 07 3395 8422
E - foodbank@westnet.com.au
W - http://www.foodbank.com.au/

MasterChef

So what does everyone think of MasterChef so far?

Here are my thoughts, after diligently watching it for most of the last two weeks:

• It seems compulsory to say "Yeah" at the end of most sentences - eg "You've really got to concentrate, Yeah?"
• Why is there a host? The three judges are more than enough to keep the show interesting
• Does it really need to be so strung out? I can't believe they managed to stretch out the voting the other night for a whole episode. I've decided only to watch MasterChef after its been taped, so I can skip through all the repeated bits either side of an ad break
• I wish I had entered
• Why does the starting time and length of the show seem to change every night? I can't keep track of when it's going to be on
• George is brilliant
• Why is Justine never shown in any footage? This is an outrage! Please send your protests directly to Channel Ten
• Is it just me, or does Linda think she is a young Cate Blanchett?
• I can't decide who I want to win yet. At the moment I like Sandra, Justine & Trevor

Anyway I hope it stays interesting. I think everyone is starting to realise just how competitive it's going to be. It's about time there was a decent food show on every night of the week.

MasterChef Australia

It doesn't seem that long ago when I put up a post for budding chefs to become contestants on MasterChef Australia, but the show starts on Monday night - 7.30pm on Channel Ten.

Channel Ten's website gives this rundown on their new show:

Thousands of applications flooded in from across the country. Students, mums, professional sportsmen, solicitors, nurses and cleaners all applied. Young and old, each came prepared with raw talent and enthusiasm to leave their old life behind and enter the kitchen with one driving aim: To become Australia's first ever MasterChef.

Hosted by Sarah Wilson, MasterChef Australia gives budding chefs the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop their cooking skills, to be mentored by the best, and ultimately make a change in their lives.

I'm really looking forward to it. No doubt there will be some disasters (which are usually great to watch), but at the same time I love to see people whipping up some amazing dishes under loads of pressure.

Judging by my quick glance of the tv guide today, it looks like the episodes this week will cover the audition process around Australia. That should definitely make for some interesting viewing. Hopefully we'll all still be watching it this time next week.

Susan the Providore

I know it's a bit of a tenuous link for a food blog, but I really love the new CGU ad, featuring the fast-rhyming Susan the Providore. If you haven't seen the ad yet, you can watch it here. It was filmed at the Rosalie Gourmet Market, so I suppose that justifies my post. Why can't there be more original ads like this one?

By the way, if you've never been, Rosalie Gourmet Market is definitely worth a visit. It's the perfect spot to drop into next time you're driving off to a long, lazy picnic.

Get your own shrimp

Sick of buying un-named, generic seafood? Tired of just asking for a kilo of "those" king prawns?

Well next time you head down to your local seafood supplier, you could just be buying your very own shrimp. I was just reading through Food Detective in today's Weekend Australian, only to find out that the Australian Marine Conservation Society is running an eBay auction to name a new species of shrimp. You can read about it on the AMCS website here. Of course all profits from the auction go towards marine conservation.


When I checked today, bidding on eBay was up to $3,050.00. So if you win the $20 million lotto tonight, make sure you throw in a generous bid! You've got to admit it's a very cool looking shrimp.

Menulog Competition

Just a reminder - today is your last chance to get suggestions in for the Menulog competition.

See my earlier post for more details.