For your chance to WIN 1 of 2 Wiltshire baking utensil sets – simply share your favourite dessert to bake here, like my facebook page and sign up to receive foodie cravings by email (if you haven’t already). Competition is open to all foodie cravings readers with an Australian postal address and closes Sunday 23/6/13. Winners will be announced on my facebook page Monday 24/6/13.

The Wiltshire Art of Baking Magic Whisk which retails at $9.95, takes the effort out of whisking. The magic whisk operates by a pumping action that requires just the one hand to push it down into the liquid which makes the whisk head spins around automatically. When released, it spins the other way making whisking super easy.

The Wiltshire Art of Baking Squeeze Bottle Icing Set retails at $9.95 and is great for icing / decorating.

The Wiltshire Art of Baking Large Spoonula which retails at $6.95, besides being super cute in pink is great for mixing, stirring and scraping.

My goal this year is to slow down and cook more at home – baking is my next step! I look forward to hearing all about your favourite desserts to bake

All Wiltshire Art of Baking utensils featured are available at Woolworths.

Competition T&Cs

• Competition is open to all foodie cravings readers with an Australian postal address.
• Two foodie cravings readers who have commented here with their favourite dessert to bake, liked foodie cravings facebook page and signed up to receive foodie cravings by email will be drawn at random to win a Wiltshire Art of Baking Utensil Set which includes a Magic Whisk, Large Spoonula and  (valued at $26.85 each).
• Competition closes midnight WST Sunday 23/6/13 and winner will be notified by email / announced on foodie cravings facebook page, twitter and blog on Monday 24/6/13. If the winner doesn’t respond within 72 hours with their postal details, foodie cravings will redraw the competition and notify a new winner.

Andrea was looking for a new, exciting challenge and thought Crown Perth would be the perfect place to try. Having worked with former Modo Mio Chef de Cuisine Giampaolo Maffini in Tokyo 15 years ago, he jumped at the chance to join forces with him again. When Andrea received a phone call to open Modo Mio, he headed straight to Perth from Melbourne and immediately fell in love with our Perth weather and lifestyle!

Modo Mio which means ‘My Way’, opened in June 2011 and the menu is designed to be savoured over several courses in true Italian fashion. For burger boy and I’s wedding reception, we served half our guests an Italian banquet and the other half Chinese banquet. I remember my Italian mother-in-law wanting us to add pasta after the antipasto. She was worried that our guests wouldn’t be full after our 6 courses which included antipasto, a seafood platter, mains, dessert, biscotti & coffee and Italian liqueurs! So yes expect to be fed well at Modo Mio!

Andrea worked in some of the world’s best restaurants in Italy, Paris, USA, Japan, and China and brings to Perth his traditional Italian recipes and personal contemporary style to Modo Mio Italian restaurant.

Here’s my interview with Andrea – enjoy!

Who inspired you to start cooking?

I definitely credit my love and passion for cooking to my Grandmother who inspired me with her culinary creations throughout my childhood. Today at 93 years old, my Grandmother is still influencing my cooking, with some of her special recipes showcased on the Modo Mio menu.

I remember spending long summer vacations at my Grandparents’ house, where my Grandmother would pick fresh vegetables from her garden and buy seafood from the local fishmonger to use in her dishes. We always enjoyed her delicious, authentic Italian meals such as smoked salmon, beef Carpaccio, ravioli, beef stew, cheese platters and her delicious dessert creations.

I read your grandmother’s special recipes are featured on the Modo Mio menu – which one is your favourite?

My favourite dish that has been influenced by my Grandmother is the grilled Wagyu sirloin and Wagyu cheeks dome, braised red cabbage, porcini mushroom and veal jus. She always serves her incredible braised beef cheeks at Christmas dinner so I wanted to share this with our diners at Modo Mio.

She also influenced our Mother’s Day menu in Modo Mio this year as we included her ‘veggie salad with prawns’ as a classic Italian appetizer, which our patrons loved!

What was the very first Italian meal you cooked?

I was 12 years old when I started cooking for myself and of course I began with pasta! I would often invite my friends for sleepovers on the weekend and we would cook our favourite spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chilli – buonissimo!

What’s your favourite meal to cook for your family?

My children always ask me to make pasta when I’m at home. I love to prepare homemade pasta from scratch and ask my children to help me – there is usually flour everywhere at the end, but I want to show them how to cook traditional Italian food like my Mother did with me and my two younger sisters!

I really enjoyed spending time in the kitchen as a child and quickly learned important techniques from my Mother. Growing up, I can remember my Mother’s delicious, hearty stews during the cold winters in Cuneo, which is part of the Piedmont region of Northern Italy.

What’s your advice to aspiring chefs looking to make their mark in the highly competitive restaurant world?

I think it’s important to have a strong work ethic and always be guided by what your guests want. Every day is different, so you have to be ready and flexible to deliver to your customers’ demands. It’s also vital to change the menu seasonally so you’re always using new, fresh ingredients of the highest quality and keeping the menu updated for returning diners.

What’s your favourite Perth restaurant (besides Modo Mio)?

I love Nobu Perth! I spent more than 10 years in Tokyo and fell in love with the incredible Japanese food over there. Nobu has created an innovative fusion of traditional Japanese cuisine with South American flavours. They always use fresh ingredients with a good balance of flavours and serve each dish with a modern twist, which I love.

Have you cooked for any famous people? What did they like most?

I have cooked for Giorgio Armani at the Armani Restaurant in Tokyo; President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano; Richard Branson and famous Japanese architect Kenko Kuma. They all wanted traditional Italian cuisine including fresh appetisers, Italian cold cuts and of course – pasta!

What was it like to cook for Richard Branson?

It was a fantastic experience and something I will always remember! Richard Branson and his mother organised a charity event at the Armani Restaurant in Tokyo where I was Executive Chef. We had an open kitchen in front of the guests at the event and Richard himself even got involved, helping us cook a saffron risotto all together which was fun!

burger boy and I are yet to try out Modo Mio but it’s on our massive Perth to eat list. Modo Mio is open everyday for lunch and dinner, see Crown Perth’s website to view the Modo Mio menu or for booking info.

This post was sponsored by Crown Perth. Refer to foodie cravings disclosure policy for more details.

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Reading The Food Pornographer and Juji Chews Toastface Grillah reviews along with all the tweets about this hidden café in Grand Lane got me curious. Grand Lane is one of two lane ways refurbished as part of the City of Perth’s Forgotten Spaces Laneway Activation Strategy – it was pretty cool to walk through.

Here’s our artistic journey starting from Murray Street…

If you look closer, you’ll see some random eyeball art to the left we were facing this wall as we enjoyed our toasties…

The entrance to Toastface Grillah…

You won’t see this cool Toastface Grillah art unless you’re walking into Grand Lane from the Wellington Street end…

There’s decking on entry and funky coloured wooden furniture. The service area through the below door was actually a lot more intimate than I had expected. The chalk board menu is to the left with the Toastface Grillah crew tucked behind the small counter space to right. Service was quick, friendly and down to earth. One of the boys took our order, another made our toasties and one was a dedicated barista.

There were plenty of toasties to choose from ranging from $5 – $9 with some cool names…

We decided to share the Danny Zuccho $9 (left half) and the Apple Gouda $8 (right half)…

The Danny Zuccho was my fav, it was filled with blue cheese, zucchini and prosciutto. The ingredients were fresh and worked well together. The bread itself was your usual sandwich style bread. I could have easily fit in dessert so hopefully down the track the boys will beef up the toasties a bit.

The Apple Gouda was filled with gouda cheese, ham, onion and apple. The melted gouda cheese was so good that my colleague got it all over herself and even managed to take some back to work

Our Bickford’s old style red creamy soda and ginger beer matched the setting nicely…

I liked that Toastface Grillah makes a really simple food appear cooler and tastier. Price-wise it is a bit costly for what it is (you can probably make something similar for less than $2 in the good ole sandwich press) but for the creative space, service and a lunch outside of the office it’s worth the visit. I hope there are plans to get a liquor license, as it’d be a great venue for a small bar. I’ll be back again to try the coffee and when I’m dashing back to the office after a quick lunch hour shop in the city.

Toastface Grillah is open for breakfast, lunch and coffee Mon – Fri 7am till 4pm and Saturdays 8 – 4pm. Best way to find Toastface Grillah is to go to the Woolworths end of Murray Street until you find the entrance to Grand Lane, keep walking to the end of the lane and you’ll find it to your right.

One of the things I love about food blogging is the people you meet along the way. I was just a bit excited to have pizza and wine with Packed to the Rafters actor and WAAPA graduate Jacob Allan last Thursday night.

Jacob who lives in Sydney is here in Perth for his debut in Black Swan’s WA premiere of Joanna Murray-Smith’s Day One, A Hotel, Evening which is showing at the State Theatre 15 – 30 June. So when they say theatre and wine go hand-in-hand, it certainly does in Jacob’s case who also has his own online wine business Garrick’s Wine which is named after David Garrick, an English actor, playwright and theatre manager who was also a wine merchant.

Jacob’s family owns Rosily Wines in Margaret River which is where his passion for wine started. After 14 years of acting, Jacob decided to take his love for wine to the next level. He took a two year break from acting to further his wine education in London and Los Angeles.

While in London, Jacob was Corney and Barrow’s Drinks Training Manager and trained bartenders in thirteen boutique wine bars. Jacob said that being a Training Manager was a great way for him to learn about wine as he had to learn the programs first to be able to train others.

So with the wine experience behind him and missing the warm weather, Jacob decided to make the move back to Australia and start Garrick’s Wine which stocks wines from boutique wineries in Australia and overseas. Jacob wholesales wines to restaurants and provides free shipping for those ordering online via Garrick’s Wine.

He has also just started to make his own wine which he has named Hearts of Oaks. This organic Chenin Blanc will be available via Garrick’s Wine soon, I love the theatrical label!

Like most small business owners, Jacob was inspired to start Garrick’s Wine in 2010 because he wanted to be his own boss and have the flexibility to do something he loved which fitted into his schedule (in this case his acting career).

Drawing on his wine expertise, Jacob helps burger boy and I match our crust pizzas with wine.

For the Crust Oregano Verdi & Parmesan starter pizza Jacob recommends the Cruzat Argentinian Sparkling which he describes as having a nice roundness.

As for the Mediterranean Lamb he recommends a cabernet like his family’s 2010 Rosily Cabernet as it is a bit fuller.

For the Prosciutto pizza Jacob recommends the Foster e Rocco Fiano which is an Italian grape variety which has enough acidity to deal with the weight of the pizza.

As we finished our pizza dinner, Jacob tells us his favourite Perth restaurant is Capri Restaurant on South Terrace in Fremantle. He loves that nonna is still in the kitchen cooking authentic Italian dishes and Capri is a non-pretentious BYO restaurant. Jacob’s favourite Capri dish is the filetto di maiale alla friulana which is a pork fillet cooked with garlic, parsley and cream with a bowl of chips on the side. burger boy and I don’t get out to Fremantle enough, Capri has been added to our to eat list!

Chef Giuseppe Pagliaricci from the renowned Perugino Restaurant in West Perth kicked off the first Italian Cooking Master Class which was held on Monday 20 May at the Accento Showroom in Claremont. It was a sold out class and from what I hear the food was excellent and plentiful.

This was Chef Giuseppe Pagliaricci’s recipes from the night:

• Roast shoulder of pork, thinly sliced and served with broccoli
• Homemade Italian noodles, tossed with fresh local squid, sundried tomatoes and baby spinach
• Slow cooked rabbit stew, with Taggiasca olives, served on a bed of soft polenta. Accompanied with roasted tomatoes, mushroom, and baby carrots
• Crepes filled with wild fruit served with Cointreau Zabaglione

The 5 remaining Italian cooking master classes are limited to 30 places and are all held at the Accento Showroom 6:30pm on a Monday night. Details of the upcoming Italian cooking master classes are listed below – visit the Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry Perth website for more info / to book a class.

Italian cooking is minimal at our place as my wonderful Italian mother-in-law cooks the most authentic Italian meals. The family still makes tomato sauce in Uncle Paul’s Garage every second year and we are often treated to pasta meatballs, chilli mussels and chicken/veal parmigianas. Eating Italian out is also minimal for the same reason so it was wonderful to meet Perth’s best Italian chefs and have the opportunity to learn how to cook Italian food authentically (although I won’t be challenging my mother-in-law in the kitchen any time soon).

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burger boy and I had the pleasure of meeting My Kitchen Rules Season 2 cousins Daniela and Stefania at Nespresso’s Perth Boutique Launch last year. We shared Italian food stories and chatted about burger boy’s family tradition of making tomato sauce in Uncle Paul’s Garage. Having met Daniela and Stefania, I was excited to hear they had taken their passion for food to the next level with the launch of their new Italian cookbook Saporito!

For your chance to win a copy of Saporito! hot off the press, simply like foodie cravings facebook page, sign up to receive foodie cravings by email and comment here with your favourite Italian meal by midnight WST Sunday 2 June 2013.

It was so lovely to see Saporito! filled with Daniela and Stefania’s beautiful family photos and to read the stories behind the homestyle recipes drawn from years of cooking with their Italian mums. The cookbook reflects the cousins’ love of family as much as their passion for cooking.

Here’s my interview with Daniela about her favourite Perth restaurant, My Kitchen Rules experience and advice for aspiring foodies looking to publish their own cookbook…

What’s your favourite Perth restaurant?
I love Nobu at Crown. Just love the intricacy of fresh Japanese food.

What was your best and worse moment on MKR?
Best moments were the two people’s choice awards we won for the kids festival and the farmers… absolute awesome feeling. The worst moments were getting bad critiques and feeling like your food wasn’t good enough but missing my kids tops it all.

What’s your advice for aspiring foodies wishing to create their own cookbook?
To create a cookbook you need a passion for food and patience. You also need the best photographer and team to bring your food to life, and a good eye!

What’s your favourite Italian dish to cook for the family?
Wow that’s a huge question – I love to cook everything and anything Italian for my family and friends

Where to from now?
Wherever our passion for food takes us we will ride along with it, stay tuned, a travelling cookbook maybe on the horizon?

We bought burger boy’s Italian mamma Saporito! for Mother’s Day, I can’t wait for her to cook us Daniela and Stefania’s Pavlova roll with mango and passionfruit and the Italian doughnuts recipes. You can find Saporito! for $34.99 at most good bookstores including Dymocks or online via UWA Publishing (postage is free).

Competition T&Cs

• Competition is open to all foodie cravings readers with an Australian postal address.
• One foodie cravings reader who has commented here with their favourite Italian meal, liked foodie cravings facebook page and signed up to receive foodie cravings by email will be drawn at random to win a copy of Saporito! (valued at $34.99).
• Competition closes midnight WST Sunday 2/6/13 and winner will be notified by email / announced on foodie cravings facebook page, twitter and blog on Monday 3/6/13. If the winner doesn’t respond within 72 hours with their postal details, foodie cravings will redraw the competition and notify a new winner.

Hosted by Three Lil Princesses

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We needed a quick dinner option before going to see Lawrence Leung at the Perth Comedy Festival and Mr Munchies was perfect. It was just a 5 minute stroll from the venue and from many past take-away experiences I knew we’d be able to get in and out within 45 minutes.

The décor was fun and cute, my mum who is a bit of a germaphobe was most impressed with the handbag hooks.

Table service was quick and friendly – I love that the staff use a special app on their smart phones to take our orders. My mum ordered the Salmon Sashimi ($14.50), I had the Teriyaki Chicken Bento Box ($14.50) and I can’t help but have the Katsu Kilpatrick Roll every time I have Mr Munchies. Even when I try to be adventurous and try different rolls, I still need my trusty Katsu Kilpatrick (pork or chicken) in the mix. So even with plenty of food we (ok maybe I) decided we could share a small Pork Katsu Kilpatrick Roll (4 pieces for $9).

As we waited for our dinner to arrive, I noticed Mr Munchies do take bookings as there were a few tables reserved. Good thing we rocked up early, as it wasn’t long before the small space was filled.

Sipping on our refillable green teas ($2.50 each), we watched sushi rolls being made in the open kitchen.

This is mum’s salmon sashimi which she enjoyed. The salmon was fresh and served with soy and shallots.

The sashimi sparked conversations about Mr Munchies Japanese fusion style which we thought was creative. I was never a huge sushi fan until Mr Munchies came along, now I crave their Katsu Kilpatrick rolls all the time.

Pork katsu, cucumber and bacon topped with cheese – takes me to foodie heaven every time.

My pink chicken teriyaki bento box was super cute…

The skin was crisp, chicken tender and there was the perfect amount of sweet teriyaki sauce. The bento box came with rice, a light spinach & cherry tomato salad, spring roll and karaage (fried chicken). The spring roll was a bit soft for my liking and there wasn’t much in it but it wasn’t the main event so I wasn’t too fazed.

What I love about Mr Munchies is the ease of dining. They have EFTPOS / PayPass facilities, you can dine in or take-away, book or walk-in and the menu caters for all from sushi to sashimi to cooked bento boxes. You don’t need to dress up but you don’t look out of place if you do – Mr Munchies is perfect for a quick casual catch-up or bite to eat.

Sitting next to Russel, one of three owners of The Fig Cafes and chatting to Jamie the Operations Manager of the Naked Fig. I was told The Fig Cafe’s philosophy was all around serving well balanced healthy food in a creative environment.

Each Fig has it’s own personalities by virtue of their location. We were told that the Naked Fig which is named after the Swanbourne nudest beach tends to appeal more to the Western Suburbs diners, Pickled Fig to the quirky / creative Freo crowd and Wild Fig to the younger (possibly wilder) Scarborough beach crowd who are a bit more casual and keen for a quicker meal.

Wild Fig was Mahara and I’s go-to Fig for breakfast when they were located in Waterman Bay. Every time we went, I’d have my usual latte, egg benedict and a Pink Panther juice which is a tropical blend of pink grapefruit, strawberry and watermelon. I’ve only ever deviated from my usual order once for the Grizzly Bear Pancakes – you can find my full Wild Fig breakfast review here.

Last week was my first experience of the Naked Fig and wow, it was completely different to what I had expected. It truly does have a different feel – the meals from the dinner menu were beautifully presented and of a fine dining quality and price.

Naked Fig although serving a fine dining dinner menu doesn’t reflect the fine dining moody feel – it’s creative, hip and family-friendly thanks to the creative design flair of one of the owners, Greer, who has a background in graphics and signwriting.

There’s plenty to look at, from the coloured bucket chandeliers to the photos of the beach…

Then there’s the brightly coloured kid’s playroom…

Naked Fig’s breakfast and lunch menus are more affordable, breakfast ranges from $4.50 for a muffin to a full breakfast for $19.90. Lunch ranges from $16 for an entree sized baked puff pastry with salad to $35 for a 300g piece of steak with wedges.

What better introduction to The Fig Cafes than a three-course dinner by three different chefs from the three different Fig restaurants at the one beachfront venue.

From L-R: Wild Fig Chef Rodrigo da Rocha, Naked Fig chef Chris May and Pickled Fig chef Andy Walton

Keep reading for the feast Mahara and I happily indulged in. We shared three different entrees, mains and desserts amongst the table so we could have a taste of each Fig’s menu.

Pickled Fig menu by head chef Andy Walton

Andy Walton tells us that his Pickled menu is inspired by what’s in season and through experimenting with different combinations.

Entrée: Pitted mixed olives, olive tapenade, olive bread
Main: Crispy grilled barramundi, basil mash potato, chorizo, capsicum & orange reduction
Dessert: Mandarin & thyme crème brulee, shortcake biscuit

I figured being married to an Italian burger boy who doesn’t eat olives means it’s perfectly ok for me not to be a huge olive fan I’ve tried a few times but still can’t get my taste buds to budge. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the lightly toasted olive bread. The olives were nice and subtle.

The grilled barramundi was crispy on top and served with a basil mash potato, chorizo, capsicum and orange reduction. The barramundi was soft and I liked the balance of flavours.

The mandarin and thyme creme brûlée texture was quite thin and the caramel top was crunchy with a slight bitterness. The homemade shortbread was a nice touch and would have been great to dip with coffee if it wasn’t so late in the night.

Naked Fig menu by head chef Chris May

I really loved the Naked Fig menu, everything selected for our bloggers dinner would be what I would normally order. When I asked Chris May what inspires his food combinations, he enthusiastically said his menu ideas are like “lightning has struck” which I can related to as often my best ideas happen at the oddest times and are inspired by random things.

Entrée: Scallop & tarragon tortellini, shellfish cappuccino
Main: Roasted peppered sirloin, beef blade, chickpea puree, sprouts, garlic & rosemary jus
Dessert: Popcorn Panna Cotta with vanilla sugared popcorn and butterscotch sauce

The scallops and tarragon tortellini were soft and creamy. It had a beautiful truffle oil flavour.

There were discussions with Chris May around whether the roasted peppered sirloin and beef blade was a good combination. Like most, I thought that as the blade was so tender it takes away the attention from the Sirloin making it taste tougher than it is. I liked the blade and would have loved a full dish of blade which was slowly cooked to perfection.

Oh Chris May’s dessert just blew me away. This popcorn panna cotta was served with vanilla sugared popcorn, fudge and butterscotch sauce. I love salted caramel so I loved this combination of salted sweetness and the panna cotta wasn’t too rich. I love that food can trigger all sorts of memories –  the popcorn and butterscotch sauce reminds me of the movies and the fudge triggers memories of my school days when I used buy them from the local deli on the way home.

The menu at Naked Fig changes every fortnight so your taste buds will always be tested.

Wild Fig menu by head chef Rodrigo Da Rocha

Entrée: Lemon & thyme polenta, aubergine & tomato roulade, agro dolce puree
Main: Pan roasted duck breast, confit duck & mushroom tart, parsnip puree, sautéed kale, pistachio brittle, plum jus
Dessert: White chocolate & raspberry mille feuille

The lemon and thyme polenta had a strong vinegary flavour which Mahara enjoyed. The polenta was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

The pan roasted duck was tender and Mahara loved the buttery carrots & fresh herbs in this dish.

The white chocolate & raspberry mille feuille was Mahara’s favourite dessert. She loved the crispy savory pastry.

After tasting menus from the three Figs, we indulged some more. Mahara had this massive bowl of chai latte, her regular order at the Wild Fig.

I had a pot of green tea…

Although I wish I had tried the new range of tea which launches tomorrow (Mon 13/5) – below is the fresh mint tea and green tea.

I enjoyed watching each of the green tea flowers float to the top and open…

The Fig Cafes serves my kind of food – I liked everything that was served and ate pretty much everything except the olives. Russel tells me Greer started The Fig Cafes with The Wild Fig twelve and a half years ago in Waterman Bay and The Fig Cafes have been growing ever since. All The Fig Cafes cater for vegans, gluten free and vegetarians.

You would have heard The Fig Cafe recently caught the attention of social media with their Chalkboard responses to Paul Tonich’s negative facebook post about their service. So I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I received an invite to this bloggers dinner but what I’ve learnt by being both a business owner and food blogger is that how you deal with criticism makes all the difference. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and sometimes those opinions are warranted and sometimes they are not entirely correct. In this instance, The Fig Cafe owners decided to take a stance which would have both cost them some customers and won them new customers. Being in business is hard and you do make hard decisions – the chalkboard responses wouldn’t have been the approach I would have taken but it’s none of my business. All that matters to me, is that there is a commitment to customer service and to make amends where there has been issues.

I enjoyed my experience at the Naked Fig and The Fig Cafe’s approach with providing healthy balanced food. I’ll be going back soon to see what the service is like at all the Figs for myself on an ordinary day.