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.

Australian dining traditionally evokes images of charred sausages on questionably blackened barbeque grills, buckets of prawns, and fingers sticky with mango juice.

​While there’s nothing wrong with each of these gourmet experiences, there is also a more nuanced way to appreciate Australiana on a dish- by making the most of native ingredients that otherwise grow, bloom and are forgotten on the vine. 

Harvest at Newrybar has taken the second approach to Australian dining, creating an ever-changing menu that makes the most of its own native garden, and other produce local to the region. Where exactly is the region you may well wonder? The tiny town of Newrybar is a 15 minute drive from Byron Bay, so while dining here you are in basically sniffing distance of a Hemsworth. 

Let’s take a stroll through the wilderness to find out what could end up on your plate when you venture out this way. 

For someone who enjoys creating things in the kitchen, I don’t have an array of fancy gadgets. Three pots, a couple of fry pans and a whisk seems to have done me fine so far. 

When I had the chance to review the new multi-cooker from Crockpot, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. While I’ve heard from people who rave about one-button cooking, the luddite in me still seemingly hasn’t progressed far from the stove. 

The Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi Cooker has an individual sauté button, stew button and there’s even a dessert button. That’s my kind of button . 

How did I go with unleashing a new piece of technology in the kitchen? Read on to 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.

Finding one blue duck is unusual, let alone three. Similarly, it’s unusual to find a top quality restaurant embedded in the farm from which it sources a lot of its produce.
 
That’s exactly what you get though at Three Blue Ducks, located atThe Farm at Byron Bay.

Is the food here all that it’s quacked up to be? Let’s find out.

Fish anatomy is not my strong point, so luckily Fins has kept it simple.

Fins Restaurant in Kingscliff has been awarded a Good Food Guide chefs hat every year for the past decade, so you know you’re going to be in for some seriously good noms when you swim through these doors.
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Is there a catch to the food here? Let’s find out.

I love a good food joke. My friend has a company distributes gift boxed cashews and she has a delivery guy that drives her nuts. 

My inbuilt appreciation for a dad joke like this, means that any café with a name that makes me smile is already a winner in my book. 

Choux Box at Kingscliff is one such place with a pastry pun name that you just knead to chuckle at.

Does the food here rise to the occasion though? Let's check it 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.