Rita\

Welcome to my website

In January this year I amalgamated the contents of Rita's Bite website and the Hobart Food for Thought blog and gave the whole thing a bit of a makeover in the process. As with anything in life, constant amendments are being made, so if something isn't working for you, please tell me.

This page presents my latest blog entries and the menu bar at the top will take you to information that used to be on the old Rita's Bite website. It should make it much easier for you to read and comment on the various sections.

If you want to find a past post, I encourage you to use the Search function on the top right hand side of this Home page. Type in your key word, and it will bring up all posts which have used that word in them.

Many of my readers use the Restaurants page for times when trying to decide where to go for dinner. They can scroll down a cross section of Hobarts restaurants, see what Rita and her readers had to say about them, then call and reserve a table at their final selection. Problem solved!

Recent Posts

Thursday, December 17, 2009

What to eat on Christmas Day?

As the world evolves and progresses, and we become way more travelled than we ever have previously been, I notice customs evolving along with us. Hence the traditional Christmas fare from my childhood seems to be slowly given the push in favour of a reflection of a variety of topical external issues, like weather, more heightened awareness of different foods from around the world, and people’s desire to make things easier and faster generally.

So far this year I have heard of a few interesting Christmas Day menus in the newer style of today’s menu choices. One is an Indonesian-style feast of satays, gado gado and other delightful celebratory food items. Others are working around the seafood theme but with quirky variations. Last year Nellie featured a whole baked salmon as her piece de resistance (with no plum pud to finish up with!).

I’m not sure how I feel about today’s emerging customs. On the one hand I really love the traditional roast turkey with accompanying roast veges and a rich turkey-juices gravy, followed by a small serving of plum pud with brandy butter and cream, and maybe even a bit of custard. But then again on one of our boiling hot Christmas Days there’s nothing more unbearable than being stuck in the kitchen cooking all that stodge! A seafood and salad bonanza is the go for that boiling hot Christmas Day.

This year remains undecided at this stage for Rita but I suspect I’ll try to second guess any specific desires, and the weather, and cater for both!

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Didn't we a luverly time, the day we went to (no, not Bangor) PB...etc



(Pictured above - Top: beef carpaccio, gazpacho, saffron potato, free range egg yolk and garlic ciabatta, then below: pork belly 'brick', tamarind caramel, salted pineapple, pear puree)

Rita’s final act as southern Tasmanian RICA occurred yesterday when she led her group of teachers of every definition on a merry dance round the Channel area.

I have previously referred to this (at that time, upcoming) trip on this blog, so won’t dwell too much on it, but let me tell you that I think many of my compatriots saw another aspect to food production, and passion, that they might not have previously suspected existed.

Our first stop at the farm of Chris Read at Fleurty’s (Woodbridge) graphically demonstrated the need for diversity in farm income which ultimately led to Chris veering off the path of his native pepper berry processing and flower production, and into the cafĂ© industry. A speccy morning tea followed at the cafe (thanks Nadine), then it was back into the bus and off across Woodbridge Hill to Tas Saff at Glaziers Bay (outside Cygnet), and the property of Terry and Nicky Noonan.
(Pictured below, Nadine at Fleurty's)

Terry and Nicky presented as a couple who bantered between each other with their presentation to the group in a jovial Punch and Judy-type act! They had us in fits of laughter throughout their talk, and I found them a lovely and amusing couple. The information they also imparted to the group was invaluable, especially for the saffron industry, and I will be surprised if there isn’t a paella included in many people’s menus over the next few weeks!


It was difficult to extract everyone from Tas Saff to get back on the bus and continue the trip but eventually we made it back across Woodbridge Hill to our ultimate destination of Peppermint Bay, and into the welcoming arms of old Rita-favourite Paul Foreman!

Once again, Paul pulled out all stops to present everyone in my group with the most perfect in food – ever! PB couldn’t be faulted in their hospitality – from CEO Luke, all waitstaff and kitchen staff, and Heddy in the providore.

(Below - medium roasted beef tenderloin, carrot, proscuitto, spinachand gorgonzola puree)

It was a pleasure to be able to be in a situation where I was able provide a group with a glimpse as to why my passion for fine food and dining exists. Quite a few present yesterday hadn’t ever been to PB for a starter. Many also hadn’t tasted what we class as fine food. Paul managed to strike a fine balance for some, a feat which I applaud. His food was proclaimed as being ‘some of that wanky food, but tasting good’.
(The troops pictured above, spellbound, listening to Frances, and Paul....)

Your average diner quite simply doesn’t give the proverbial shit about food – and why should they? They eat to live, not live to eat (unlike me!). It’s not until they are on the receiving end of a meal such as we had yesterday at PB that they experience a tiny glimmer of what other people experience often. My greatest wish would be for everyone to forget drunken orgies, violence, discrimination, one-upmanship, hurt and rudeness, and embrace simply sitting down and savouring delicious food lovingly prepared.

The talks following lunch were equally as informative. Frances Bender from Huon Aquaculture managed to charm all present, and meet the challenge presented (as she had quite rightly anticipated) with questions around last week’s 7.30 Report salmon battery farm issues intelligently and realistically. I don’t know about anyone else but I was made happier after listening to her addressing many of the concerns raised by the 7.30 Report.

Paul Foreman (below) also spoke well about working in hospitality, which was great for the classroom high school teachers in my group to hear.


All in all, a great finish to the Tasmanian chapter of the federally-funded Career Advice Australia initiative, of which Regional Industry Career Adviser (RICA – or as you more familiarly know her, Rita, is part).

I would like to thank and acknowledge everyone with whom I have had dealings over the past 4 years, and who have added to my knowledge, and development as a well-rounded and informed human being. RICA is the sole reason for the birth of this blog site.

And don’t forget Luke – Paul REALLY needs another Thermomix down there at PB!

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