Working as a civil engineer in Brazil seems a far cry from distributing coffee in Brisbane. Tiago Cruz agrees, taking a chance not only at a whole new country, but at a whole new lifestyle.

OneHome Coffee is the brainchild of Brazilian-born Tiago and his brother Mateus, who both saw an opportunity to break into the home-delivered coffee scene in Australia. An opportunity that not even Covid-19 could stop.

How did this idea launch from dream pipe to reality in not only a brand new country, but at an unusual point in history? 
​
Let’s find out.

​Where can you find Yorkshire pudding, a Tardis, a pint of London Pride, the Queen and a couple of corgis? 

If you said Mt Tamborine, you’d be right. 

The Fox and Hounds Country Inn is a British pub that was dismantled bit-by-bit from Tunbridge Wells, and rebuilt bit-by-bit in the Gold Coast Hinterland. 

It’s not a british-theme pub; it’s a right old British pub. 

But does it hold a candle to The Three-Legged Mare, or The Bull and Spectacles back in Blighty?

Let’s find out. 

​The cornerstone of Christmas celebrations is food and bad cracker jokes about deer. Festive feasting though is what mainly brings together friends, families and even foes (I acknowledge that those labels can be interchangeable with the same person).

However, not everyone is lucky enough to know when their next meal will be, with a staggering 3.6 million Australians experiencing food insecurity in 2017. This is a 10 per cent increase from the previous year, meaning that the need for food relief is escalating*. 

I’ve been incredibly lucky to eat some fantastic local food throughout the year, and now is a chance to give back. If you feel in any way similar, pledging a packet of food is a great way to provide.

What are the best items to add to your trolley? 

Let’s take a look at the most needed foods that charities are asking our help for this Christmas.
*Source: Foodbank Hunger Report 2017

With the current move towards healthy eating comes its natural successor: healthy drinking.

I don't mean browny-green smoothies and quinoa chia water; I'm talking about fun drinking. The alcoholic kind.

Esprit De Figues is the first fig liqueur to hit the Australian market, and in just a few months it has proven popular among cocktail aficionados nationwide.

I say it's health-conscious because of all the liqueurs out there, Esprit De Figues has one of the lowest levels of sugar. This provides the double benefits of allowing the natural flavours of handpicked Violette de Bordeaux figs to shine, as well as being kind to your insulin levels. 

In keeping its sugar levels down, is this drink something you'd still like to sip on during a night out? Let's find out.  

Life in general is a little bit harder with a newborn. Doing the groceries is harder. Cooking is harder. Loosing weight- pfft, don't even talk to me about that. 

So I was pretty stoked to be able to try the latest offering from the guys at Aussie Farmers Direct- their home delivered WW Freshbox which comes complete with recipes from Weight Watchers. Given that my brain space is currently filled with nap schedules and feeding times, not having to think about what to cook for dinner is an absolute god-send right now. 

It's also great to not feel guilty for running out of food at home and serving up a dinner of chips (guilty as charged). 

So how does the WW Freshbox stack up? Let's find out.

One reason I love pottering around at food markets on the weekend is to see what new, tasty concoctions have been created by clever local gourmets.

Sadly I don’t always make it to the markets though, particularly in winter when it’s a toss-up between a warm bed or an early morning forage in the elements.

This is where a brand new foodie service comes in.

FlavourCrate is the brainchild of Masterchef contestant Ben Macdonald, who has been working with Australian producers to collect a bunch of gourmet treats which can then be delivered to your door.

What kid of flavours do you get in a crate? Let’s find out.

A little while ago (read: Christmas) we did a day trip up Mt Tamborine way in the Gold Coast hinterlands, where it doesn’t take long for the fresh mountain air to set your tummy a-grumbling.

In need of a hearty meal, we stumbled upon the Bavarian Grill Haus, and thought we’d be onto a winner. If there’s one culture who knows how to fill a plate with meat, it’s the Germans.

So how was our kraut-filled experience? Let’s find out.

How do you make a weekend to the beach even more relaxing than it already is? One way to do it is to evoke the idea of another beach at the same time. This may sound like coastal overload, but oddly it works.

A coast to coast experience is exactly what you get at Cucina Vivo, a brand new restaurant on the Gold Coast that recreates the experience of Italy’s Amalfi Coast. The result is that all you can think about are long walks on the beach followed by even more long walks on the beach.

But can Cucina Vivo’s food carry you over to Italian shores? Let’s find out.

What do Las Vegas, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, the Bahamas and the Gold Coast have in common? Apart from the obvious answer (giraffes), there is one other thing that ties these places together; food created by Chase Kojima.

Chase has lead kitchens at various Nobu restaurants around the world, and now has opened his own Japanese restaurant at the Gold Coast: Kiyomi. This is his second Australian restaurant, following the opening of Sokyo in Sydney.