Flavours of Melbourne: a culinary biography

O’Brien, C 2008, Flavours of Melbourne: a culinary biography, Wakefield Press, South Australia.

In her culinary biography book of Melbourne Charmaine O'Brien, a passionate food writer, explores how diverse significant events in the city’s history have influenced the changing eating habits of Melburnians. The author leads the reader through different gastronomic epochs of Melbourne’s past, beginning with a natural diet of indigenous people before white settlement - passing through Gold rush, the Great Depression, two World Wars, Melbourne Olympic games, the changing immigration policy - and finishing with a modern culinary assortment. Each chapter contains relevant recipes of a particular time period. The book includes recommendations on some close to city restaurants and cafes with reviews on their historical connections or as examples of good quality food. V.O.

Top Art and Food: Melbourne : art & eatery guide

De Chesne, B 2005, Top art & food : Melbourne : art & eatery guide, Bois de Chesne Design, Melbourne.

This is a unique title that marries peoples interest in viewing art with that of eating fine food in nearby restaurants. The book is separated into art galleries around Melbourne and corresponding restaurants. There are many beautiful photographs of art. Information about the restaurants is concise and includes contact information and typical dish prices range from $12-30 or so dollars for the selected restaurants. So it may not be suitable for people on a budget of less than $20 or it more realistic for meals to be around $30 or so. There is a usually a picture of a signature dish and also a complimentary recipe that accompanies the write up of the restaurant. This book was published in 2005 so is a little out of date, although all the restaurants that are featured in the book are all still operating. I enjoyed the concept of enjoying art and food alongside each other. The books focus is stronger on the art than the food, so it seems the food is to be complimentary and enjoyed after the main course of the art.

The content of the book was inspiring to me and I am looking forward to taking in some art and afterwards trying out some of the restaurants the book recommends. I think the book it a good touch stone to create awareness of different art galleries and restaurants, although some online research would be necessary to see what is currently featuring at the art galleries and checking if the prices at the restaurants are not too inflated for your price range, since the book was last published over six year ago. T.N.