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MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Australian chef, writer, and TV presenter known for home style Mediterranean cooking? Her Melbourne Wine Room is a foodie destination.
Born in 1971, she says all she has ever wanted was to cook and she has been doing for so long as she can remember. At 15, she worked under French-Australian chef Jacques Raymond before learning classical skills from Tansy Good at her Melbourne restaurant, which gave her the freedom to create her own brand of Mediterranean cuisine.
In the 1990s, she held chef positions at Haskin’s and the much lauded Kent Hotel, before cementing her reputation at the Melbourne Wine Room in the iconic George Hotel.
Her food in unmistakably Mediterranean, but also undeniably individual. She is firmly produce driven and has a passion for fresh herbs, heirloom tomatoes, fennel, garlic, virgin olive oil, anchovies, coriander seeds, cumin, the freshest seafood and properly aged organic meat.
“My food is an expression of my heritage (her great grandfather’s family moved to Tunisia from Nice and Italy), a product of my curiosity, and a result of my hunger,” she likes to say. The Melbourne Wine Room has been the recipient of numerous Chef’s Hats during the ten years she ran the restaurant.
In 2002, she took up a unique career challenge with then business partner Maurice Terzini and became executive chef in what soon to become one of Australian’s most talked about restaurants, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar. She however, retained control over the kitchen of the Melbourne Wine Room during this time and continued to supervise the menu and high standard of food.
She sadly relinquished this role to open Mr. wolf, a new Martini-esque style pizzeria, restaurant, and bar in Melbourne. Apart from being a chef, she is also a food writer and TV presenter, and has represented Australian cuisine in international events.
In august 2004, she became food editor of the Sunday Life, the Sun Hearald and Sunday Age’s Magazine published weekly in Sydney and Melbourne. She has also contributed several articles to The Weekend Australian.
In 2005 Martini was the resident chef on Lifestyle Cafe, a 13-part series on the Lifestyle Channel. She is also the food presenter on the Better Homes and Gardens TV show.
She released her first cookbook, Where the Heart Is, a collection of recipes with over 140 simple ways to enjoy creating, combining and consuming food. Her second book, Cooking at Home was published in 2008.
Over the years, she has cooked for many charity functions including Chefs Unite Feed for Seed, a fundraising dinner with all proceeds going to a tsunami rebuilding project in Sri Lanka. She has also cooked for the Mission Dinner for the Homeless, the Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Starlight Foundation Four Chefs Dinner.
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Last week’s answer: Charles Eames
Last week’s question: Who is the influential 20th century American designer responsible for iconic buildings like the Eames House and the Enteza House in Pacific Palisades?
Winner: Bernadette Pajares, Marikina City
