Campion & Curtis Newsletter - October 2007

 Welcome to the latest Campion and Curtis newsletter. This is what you might call a self indulgent mini newsletter - dedicated (mostly) to the release of the Foodies' Guide to Melbourne 2008. Yes, the latest edition is finally here and available for all to enjoy. We also have information on booking for the next Foodies' Bus Tour of Melbourne, plus great news for cheese lovers and those wanting to get hands-on with sourdough bread. We'll be back to our regular mix of food and wine news in the November-December newsletter soon. Until then, enjoy!

Visit the Campion and Curtis home page

The Foodies' Guide to Melbourne The Foodies' Guide to Melbourne 2008
The annual Foodies' Guide to Melbourne is the only place to go to find Melbourne's most incredible food - whether you're searching for spice-filled snags or whole-roasted duck, organic extra-virgin olive oil or white chocolate and wasabi gelato, The Foodies Guide to Melbourne 2008 will put the city's best-kept food secrets at your fingertips.

We've scoured the city and beyond in their search for the best produce, products and service. This year we have noticed an amazing boom in the availability of hand-crafted produce, with stores specializing in hand-made chocolates, freshly churned gelati, hot from the oven sourdough bread and stunning decorated cakes all making a big impact. We also invite readers to discover the wonderful metropolitan markets and farmers' markets, the food tours and cooking schools that all go towards making Melbourne one of the world's great food capitals.

Returning to this year's guide are the highly anticipated 'Foodies' Awards' - presented to the standout players in the Melbourne food scene. Brand new feature boxes also highlight some of our favourite food experiences - those brilliant places for breakfast, fish & chips, burgers, pizzas and takeaways, which you simply must know!

The Foodies' Guide to Melbourne 2008 by Allan Campion and Michele Curtis. Published by Hardie Grant Books, RRP $29.95.
A signed copy of The Foodies' Guide to Melbourne 2008 can be ordered online here by clicking the Add to Cart button. This title is currently out of stock.

Find more of our current releases including the Seasonal Produce Diary 2008 on the books page.

Foodies' Guide Awards 2008
These awards showcase the providores - both those who may be new to the food game, and those who have been around for several years - who stand out as the best of the best this year. It may be because of their constant striving to improve their business, it may be they are the best in their particular field, it might be a large business going from strength to strength, or just a two man show whose enthusiasm sets them apart from the rest. We believe a visit to any one of these shops will show you what excellent establishments we have in Melbourne and why they make this one of the great food capitals of the world.

Bakery - Crabapple Bakery - Factory 37, 756 Burwood Highway Ferntree Gully 9752 2000
Melbourne's love affair with cup cakes continues; here Jennifer Graham is the mistress of all things sweet and decadent.

Butchers - Bouchiers - 551 Malvern Road, Toorak 9827 3629
Peter Bouchiers' dedication to providing the best quality meat continues to scale new dimensions.

Cheese - La Bergerie- 141 Maling Road Canterbury 9830 7915
Probably the best new shop to appear in Melbourne in the last 12 months. Love the attention to detail.

Koko Black Hot Chocolate Chocolate and confectionary - Koko Black - 167 Lygon Street Carlton 9349 2775
These five shops are Melbourne's little touch of Paris, from their incredible truffles to their rich hot chocolates and cute salons, these are must visit stores.

Cooking Class - Tony Tan - 28A Lansell Road, Toorak 9827 7347
Tony's meticulous teaching and a program featuring some of Melbourne's top chefs are complimented by his use of state-of-the-art technology.

Delicatessen - Delicatess - Stall 706, Prahran Market, 163 - 185 Commercial Road 9824 1752
10 out of 10 for top service, fantastic range of products (always supporting upcoming new producers) and an awesome cheese selection.

Italian food - Monaco's - 525 Camberwell Road Camberwell 9889 7198
Over 30 years old and getting better and better. The momentum continues with plans to extend.

Spices - Peter Watson - 6 Union Street South Melbourne 9699 2566
Peter Watson hangs onto his crown of spice (and jam, marinade, sauce and all things good).

Takeaway/traiteur - La Fayette - 355 New Street Brighton 9592 3922
A change of address and this shop has taken on a whole new dimension – better and sexier than ever.

Beer - Bright Brewery- Great Alpine Road, Bright 5755 1301
The freshly brewed beer and knowledgeable service make this a must visit destination.

Farmhouse kitchen - The Red Hill Kitchen - 69 Prossers Lane Red Hill 5931 0186
A country kitchen that all food lovers should visit for its rural setting, fantastic seasonal cooking and warm welcome.

There's a more from The Foodies Guide to Melbourne on the C&C website.

Foodies' Bus Tour of Melbourne - Saturday 12th January 2008
The next Foodies Bus tour of Melbourne is just about to depart. We'll be enjoying a great day exploring the best food stores in South Melbourne, Prahran (including a tour of The Prahran Market), Fitzroy and Carlton. Expect freshly baked pastries, wonderful new seasons olive oil, freshly shucked oysters, farmhouse cheese and delicious gelati. Not to mention a yum cha lunch and a visit to the best foodie book shop in town! If there was to be an ultimate food tour through Melbourne this would have to be it.

The tour is conducted in a mini bus at a cost of $125.00 per person.
It takes 5-6 hours and runs from 10 am to approx 4 pm. It starts and finishes at Federation Square.
Details of the time and place to meet for the tour will be emailed along with the ticket confirmation after booking is made.
To book for Saturday 12th January 2008 click the Add to Cart button -
'Last weekend my friends and I enjoyed a fabulous getaway weekend in Melbourne and thoroughly enjoyed our day out with you on your foodies' tour.' Amanda S.

John Downes at Sunnybrae
Some of you would know the name John Downes as one of Australia's most influential sourdough bakers and Sunnybrae as a top Victorian regional restaurant headed up by George Biron. Well George is opening Sunnybrae for a small group to join John Downes for 2 classes devoted to the finer points of naturally leavened bread making. Sunday 21st October will be for non professionals and will demystify the process, explain the making of the starter and participate in the making, shaping and baking of a number of different breads. Monday 22nd October will be for professional and budding professional bakers and promises to be a unique and exciting day. John asks bakers to bring a loaf of their bread not for a competitive analysis but rather a way of displaying the many ways that this fundamental food is expressed and how each characteristic can be developed. There will be a comparative look at the many different bread flours available plus much more.

Most importantly on both days it will be a chance for bakers to meet and learn from this distinguished father of modern artisan bread in Australia. Both days will include plenty of time at the table enjoying the spring offerings of Sunnybrae’s garden and other specialties including a sneak look at the emerging small wineries of the region. For those new to Sunnybrae there is now a masonry baker’s oven designed and made by Alan Scott in the courtyard. The cost is $150.00 per person for each class. Includes all food wine and GST. Only a maximum of 14 places in each class. Booking enquiries to George Biron.

Cheese Slices by Will Studd
Will Studd with his new book Cheese Slices Cheese lovers will be pleased to learn that foremost cheese authority Will Studd has been hard at work for the past 18 months on a revised and much expanded edition of his award winning cheese bible. As Will says "Cheese Slices leads food lovers beyond bland plastic-wrapped slices and leads them instead to hand-made cheeses from around the world. Artisan and farmhouse cheese-makers, backed by discerning consumers, have taken a stand for diversity, quality and character against the mass-produced cheeses churned out by industrial dairies". Hear, hear we all say.

Cheese Slices, a follow-up to Studd's award-winning 1999 book Chalk and Cheese, charts his extraordinary odyssey through the world's cheese-producing regions, explaining where and how they are made and providing valuable information on buying, storing and eating cheese. Cheese Slices by Will Studd. Photographs by Adrian Lander and Michael Robinson. Published by Hardie Grant Books in September 2007. RRP $79.95 deluxe hardback.

The books publication coincides with the ABC's release of Cheese Slices Volume 3 DVD, his third television series devoted to artisan and farmhouse cheese. Filmed on three continents, this extraordinary 21-episode cheese odyssey provides a fascinating glimpse into the way the world's best-loved traditional cheeses are made. Cheese Slices has now been seen by up to 50 million people around the world, including viewers in France, Spain, Poland and Hungary. It is being translated into Mandarin and Cantonese and a fourth series is in production. The third series of Cheese Slices begins screening in Australia on the LifeStyle Channel on November 7.