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? 
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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.

Melbourne's Hosier Lane appears to be Ground Zero for trend-setting.

Where other places look to clean away graffiti as soon as a premises is tagged, the whole laneway owns and encourages the art-form to create a very funky atmosphere.

It is here as well where you can find true, authentic Spanish Tapas at MoVida Next Door. As far as trend-setting goes, this was one of the only places you could find tapas before the small-plate restaurant boom of 2013.

How does it fare against other bite-sized Euro-inspired bars? Let's find out.