Getting to share a panel with two good friends always makes for a great conversation. Late last month Fleur Bainger and I joined Max Veenhuyzen who curates Yes, Chef! a monthly conversation series at Lawson Flats. a creative leaning private members club in Perth.
On the night our wireless mics failed but having set the iPhone to record I had a rough but actually pretty serviceable recording. There’s a little bit of traffic noise here and there and maybe the glug-glug-glug as water is poured but for those who told me they’d love to come but weren’t in Perth, here you go. Listening back I had to get passed the cringe of listening to my constant fillers - the ums, ahhs, likes, kind ofs, et al - especially next to an ABC trained broadcaster. But the inner voice that spurs me on said, get over yourself.
Max (the other one) is one of Australia’s most well known food journalists, with a reputation and network that is both vast and international in nature. He’s the state editor for Gourmet Traveller, writes a weekly review under the Good Food umbrella, and in recent years co-authored the Burnt Ends book (a weighty tome on the cult Singapore restaurant). He’s a gatherer of people as much as stories, hosting and curating events here and away.
We’re all pretty much the same age but Fleur, I believe, pips us to the post in years on the job. She’s worked for the ABC, our national broadcaster, as well as freelancing for the likes of Australian Geographic and Australian Traveller. While her wheelhouse is very much travel Fleur is noted for her food writing, at one time serving as the restaurant critic for STM (Sunday Times Magazine). In recent years she’s turned her hand to mentoring, helping to develop the next generation of curious writers and journalists. I’ll often get submissions from writers and when I find out that they’ve worked with Fleur the penny often drops as to their quality. Let this serve as a not so subtle ad for anyone who needs a Fleur in their corner.
If you enjoy what you hear please do drop a like or a comment and any ideas of what you’d want to hear more of, as we’ve got another two conversations penciled in for early next year. This is only slightly edited, a Q&A was cut as we hadn’t expressly got permission from the audience members who participated (and absolutely nothing to do with me getting a little more ranty than in the main conversation.)
