It was this time last year that Canberra first heard the news that chef, author and much-loved foodie Yotam Ottolenghi was heading to town.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And then 2021 didn't quite go the way we wanted it to and Ottolenghi's original June event was postponed.
Luckily he didn't give up on us completely. Ottolenghi has announced that he will now be in Canberra on January 17 and 19 for his Flavour of Life tour.
Renowned for his modern take on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, Ottolenghi is set to bring the region's exotic flavours to the forefront of home cooking in a relaxed, open and informative style.
It's an event that is sure to stimulate the senses, the chef will reveal his next-level approach to cooking, as explored in his book Ottolenghi Flavour. It will be an exclusive opportunity to hear about the taste sensations and ingredients that excite him, to inspire your own cooking.
It turns out we really shouldn't have been too worried about the chef skipping Australia on his tour. Ottolenghi is a big fan of ours (and we are, of course, big fans of his).
"I think I'm kind of Australian by nature," he said when he released his latest book Shelf Love earlier this year.
"I've got the same kind of sensibilities and I feel very at home there. Australia has managed to create this mixture of world cuisines where there is a kind of inherent happiness, a mixture of flavours and places, colourful, light and abundant. My food is the same, a mix of this and that, not too heavy, not rooted in one tradition. It's very playful and I think Australians do love playful."
READ MORE:
Coming out in September this year, Shelf Love was the little bit of love from the Ottolenghi test kitchen that kept us going through the lockdown.
"A lot of things happen in the test kitchen, it's where the magic happens," he said.
"People do think and cook a little differently now, the notion that you can get what you want, when you want, has kind of been thrown out of the window in a way.
"People are looking at food in a different way. In the book we tried to really focus on those simple ingredients that we have at the back of our cupboards and in our freezers and turn them into incredible meals."
It is the book's predecessor, however, that is bringing the chef to Canberra.
Flavour, which was released in 2020, was written with long-standing collaborator and co-writer Ixta Belfrage. It celebrates the limitless potential of vegetables and shows how to transform them into magical dishes.
The live show Flavour of Life is all about sharing and caring. The internationally-acclaimed chef and writer talks about his influences and experiences and offers insights about being a restauranteur and how you can dial up the flavour and be a sure-fire hit at mealtimes.
- Yotam Ottolenghi Flavour of Life is at the Canberra Theatre Centre on January 17 and 19. For tickets go to canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
The Bavarian
It's hard to walk away from The Bavarian and not feel full at the best of times.
The only problem is, sometimes you want to try the crispy pork belly, golden-crumbed schnitzels and traditional German sausages all at once. And the fact that The Bavarian is now offering all of that as a bottomless platter option is just the cherry on top of what would already be a satisfying meal.
Every Thursday until December 23 The Bavarian restaurants in Woden and Belconnen are offering All-You-Can-Meat platters.
Guests can order a meat platter generously loaded with pork belly thick with golden crackling, crunch-packed chicken schnitzels, traditional German sausages, sauce-smacked chicken wings, as well as sides of mash, sauerkraut and red cabbage (because apparently, you can't just have a meal made up of meat), for just $35 per person (minimum two people). The best part is, once a platter is finished guests can ask for it to be replenished until they have eaten their fill.
What's more, because of lockdown, the Canberra restaurants still have some of their Oktoberfest speciality beers available, shipped directly from Germany to celebrate the annual festival in style (it turns out there are silver linings to lockdown after all).
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram