- This week Letho argued the (printed) guide book is dead. He was referencing the Gault et Millau guide, which, to be fair, may have been dismissed before it had even began here in Australia. To this end, he acknowledges his gripe with the editor - you may remember the uproar when the guide launched? To be fair, Letho's dissing of the guide is pretty valid: it's riddled with errors and is subsequently largely ignored, at least by the industry.
“Guides that do the job really well are struggling, in hard copy form anyway, to remain relevant. By producing such a lacklustre example, poorly written, unreliable and uncurated, Gault & Millau just makes the job harder for everyone next year. Don't buy it.”
Of course, inadequate fact-checking is rife everywhere, printed guide book or not, even in the News stable. On this, see last week’s delicious.100 citing Matteo still at the helm of Pilu, in spite of his highly publicised departure and indeed opening a new restaurant in Surry. It was incorrect at the time of printing, it is still incorrect online.
- There's quite a bit of this relevancy chatter around the food media traps at the moment (in fact, media everywhere is anxious). And so, I have been interested to note just how many scoops Gourmet Traveller (a monthly magazine) is getting (read: all the scoops, all the time). We can probably largely put that down to Pat; the cynical will suggest that’s because he has mates, the Pollyanna’s will suggest it’s because he writes well. I vote a little from column A and a little from column B. We should also note their diversification over the years from mag to online to social.
The mag is killing the game – of course I don’t know how that translates in dollars, but the general industry respect is unquestionable. And so, on a selfish note, I'm sad to see Anthea Loucas, their long-standing editor, is leaving. She’s been incredible. Congratulations on a fabulous tenure, Anthea. They are very big shoes you leave behind to be filled.
- Rootstock. What an incredible weekend. So many of the things I think our food and wine industry should be about were just a given over the weekend: sustainability, collaboration, conviviality. It meant that every conversation started from that point and worked up. There was no preaching, no pandering, everyone was there to share, support each other and have a great time - and obviously drink great wine. So many wonderful old friends, some fabulous new ones. Thank you to Mike, James and Giorgio for making it happen each year. You are stellar. Xxx
(If you missed out and you’re in Adelaide tomorrow get to The Summertown Aristologist and taste the wine of these legends. Alternatively, if you’re in Melbs you should get to Soulfor Wine on Sunday for a soupçon or two - or if you're really patient, wait until next year's MFWF where they are taking a mini version on a roadshow.
- Finally, my friend Raff aka the cartonographer, has pulled together a delightful look at the fruit and veg cartons he celebrates in his art with little interactive vids that strip the branding from the art works on the boxes. It’s brilliant – better on a desktop but still worth a peek on the mobes. Beauty in the mundane.