Councils cook up a ban on trans fat—around the councils
All new food outlets in NSW could be banned from using potentially deadly trans fats in their cooking, under a plan scheduled for debate at next week's local government conference. The move, proposed by Gosford Council, seeks to change planning regulations to stop new cafes and restaurants from using the controversial fats. Synthetic trans fatty acids are found in margarine, cooking fats for deep frying and shortening for baking. They are also found naturally in meat and milk, but are known to raise the risk of heart disease, increase bad cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol in the blood. Gosford became the second NSW council to ban trans fats in June, after Kogarah vetoed them in May, but Gosford's Greens Councillor Terri Latella wants a statewide ban. Both councils amended local Development Control Plans, forcing new businesses to use healthier oils. ``We've got the opportunity ... to actively get new businesses to not use trans fatty oils in their cooking,'' Cr Latella said. ``It's something we can regulate.'' Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), October 19.
The methods of Ferran Adria; A day at elBulli
The world's most celebrated chef, Ferran Adria, is in Melbourne to launch a book and share kitchen tricks from his restaurant, elBulli in northern Spain, widely considered the best restaurant in the world. Yesterday afternoon Adria, 46, held spellbound a sell-out audience of 1500 chefs and foodies at Hamer Hall, lecturing about his approach - part bowerbird, part boffin - and presenting videos of elBulli's methods and food. Dishes included flexible meringues that look like timber, astonishing replica fruit, leaf-like crackers, and sponge cakes prepared with a soda siphon and cooked in the microwave. Adria walked on stage with a baguette and explained that the science that goes into creating bread—or, indeed, making water boil—is as mind-bending as anything that springs from his kitchen. The Age (Melbourne), October 20.
World's greatest chef can make everything but money
Ferran Adria, known as the world's greatest chef—and the man responsible for spraying foam across the international culinary landscape—every year considers closing elBulli, his revolutionary Spanish restaurant. Famed internationally for its ground-breaking avant-garde cuisine (think liquid ham or Rice Bubbles paella) and voted best restaurant in the world for the third year running in April, elBulli, in Roses, on the Costa Brava, has been, according to Adria, run at a loss for years. Open for just 160 days a year, its staff of 70 serves 30-course degustation menus to only 50 diners a night at 15 tables, making it difficult to get into. Last year, despite more than two million requests, a mere 8000 diners sampled Adria's fare. ``People think that I actually like the fact that it is so difficult to get a reservation,'' said Adria, who is in Australia launching his latest book, the 528-page A Day at elBulli. The Australian
October 20.
Affordable water on tap
As consumers hunker down to cope with hard economic times, an environmental group in Washington has offered a suggestion for saving money: get your water from the faucet, not a bottle. The Environmental Working Group issued a report that charged that some bottled waters were no different from tap water. And it found fertiliser residue, pain medication and other chemicals in some major brands. While a lot of bottled water may be as pure as promised in those alluring commercials, the real problem is telling which is which. Some metropolitan water is better than others, of course, and New Yorkers are proudly unafraid to ask for their four-star tap water at the fanciest restaurants. The Federal Government requires all public waterworks to tell consumers once a year what is in their water and whether it meets federal standards. Those public reports are not always as helpful as they should be. Some are printed in ant-size type and best understood by chemists. But at least they are readily available, and the same detail should be publicly available for bottled water. Canberra Times , October 20.
City set for choc and awe
The economic downturn has not soured our taste for chocolate, and specialist cafes are springing up across Sydney. Belgian company Guylian launched its Circular Quay cafe on Thursday night, with Premier Nathan Rees and actress Miranda Otto headlining the guest list. Guylian will open a cafe in The Rocks later this year. A Max Brenner chocolate cafe opened in Westfield Bondi Junction recently, bringing the chain's Australian outlets to 13. Meanwhile, Lindt has three Sydney Lindt Chocolat Cafes—Martin Place, Cockle Bay Wharf and George Street—which were the first of their kind in the world. Haigh's Chocolates has 12 stores across the country, including one in Sydney. Guylian managing director Carl Krefting said chocolate was seen as "recession-proof". "None of us likes what seems to have arrived in the last few months," he said of the financial downturn, "[but] I do not see too much of a problem." The Sun Herald (Sydney), October 19.
No more barriers; Work imminent on heritage building: developer
The owner of the former Newcastle post office building says work to convert it into an upmarket bar, restaurant and function centre will be under way before Christmas. Sydney-based developer Sean Ngu was in Newcastle yesterday to survey the property he bought five years ago and for which he has now gained the necessary approvals to develop. The vacant heritage building has succumbed to squatters and vandalism, causing much public concern about its fate. Mr Ngu said yesterday the process of getting approvals to adapt the building had been long and complicated, so much so that he "nearly threw in the towel". The redeveloped building will contain a ground-floor hotel, a first-floor restaurant and function area, a basement lounge bar and mezzanine with administration and meeting rooms.
Boom time for organic fruit and vegies
WA's organic food industry is booming, driven by a surge in the popularity of farmers' markets and growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly produce. The retail value of organic sales in WA rose 30 per cent during the past year to almost $50 million and producers are gearing up to meet further growth in demand. Organic Growers Association of WA president Annie Kavanagh said increasing demand from consumers to know where their produce had come from and how it was grown was behind the rise in sales. The resurgence in farmers' markets had also proved a good selling point for organic produce. At a grower level, it was now easier to enter the industry than five or so years ago. Some farm consultants now specialised in providing advice to organic growers. West Australian (Perth), October 20.
Fancy a nice cold beer? It's only natural
Almost without us noticing, something strange has happened: Australians have stopped gagging down chilled chemical soup and now drink beer -- pure, sparkling, natural, cold beer. The nation's two biggest brewers, which between them make about 97 per cent of our beer, have both begun cleaning up their acts. Over the years the things added to beers served many purposes: to stop us dying (beer is food and will kill you if you drink it when it's off); to make the brewing process quicker; even to improve the ``lace'' or foam on the inside of the glass. Lion Nathan quietly announced recently its natural beer promise, while CUB has made natural claims about two of its beers. Lion Nathan makes the natural beer claim about Tooheys New, Old, XXXX, Swan Draught and West End, and they can only be made from up to five natural ingredients: malted (or unmalted) grains, hops, yeast, water and cane sugar. Weekend Australian, October 18.
Biggest influx of sport fans expected; Lancemania ready to fill hotel rooms
The lure of the world's greatest cyclist, Lance Armstrong, has sparked high demand for accommodation in Adelaide—months before the Tour Down Under. Hotels and accommodation websites have noticed a spike in interest with tourists wanting to secure hotel rooms for next January's race. Hotels are bracing themselves for unprecedented demand with Armstrong's participation in the event expected to create the biggest influx of overseas and interstate visitors to any sporting event in South Australia's history. Premier Mike Rann believes Lance Armstrong's global profile had the potential to double the 15,000 people who come to SA to watch the race. About 14 per cent of rooms available on online accommodation company, Quickbeds.com, have already been booked for the period of the tour from January. The Advertiser (Adelaide), October 20.
Push for school pokies lessons
Students would be taught the odds of winning on the pokies or the horses under a proposal from the hotel industry to add gambling education to the national school curriculum. Responding to concerns about problem gamblers, the Australian Hotels Association has written to a Senate committee suggesting there is a ``genuine need'' to teach factual information on all forms of gambling in classrooms. ‘`It is an unfortunate reality that many young people do not understand the odds when gambling, and overestimate their chance of success,'' the AHA submission said. ‘At present, schools throughout Australia teach students about safe sex, the dangers of smoking and drugs and the responsible consumption of alcohol. The proposal follows a furore two months ago, when a Brisbane school teacher was accused of leading his students astray after taking them to a racecourse to help improve their maths skills. The Courier Mail (Brisbane), October 20.
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Premier lurches to a call for last drinks
The State Government is poised to ban 24-hour trading and could impose a curfew as early as 2am on pubs and clubs in efforts to curb alcohol-related violence. A recommendation to restrict the trading hours of pubs and clubs is expected to go before the cabinet within a fortnight and the Premier, Nathan Rees, is understood to be keen on the change. Mr Rees could use the move to demonstrate he meant what he said yesterday as he repeated the mantra that his Government would be more decisive than its predecessor led by Morris Iemma. Today Clubs NSW will begin a campaign aimed at ensuring any ban on trading hours will be restricted to pubs, not clubs. It has put together data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research that shows assaults in clubs in the past financial year were about the same as 10 years ago (1279 in 2007-08 compared with 1280 in 1997-98), but the number of assaults in hotels had risen 75 per cent (from 2957 to 5157) and at the casino by 128 per cent (from 96 to 219). Sydney Morning Herald, October 20.