Introducing ... Regan Drew your local Tassie Gourmand!

G’day There,

My name is Regan Drew and if you're lucky enough to be part of the upcoming Tassie Gourmand tour, we'll get to know each other well, but if not, here's a little bit about me and Tassie.

I worked in bars, bottleshops, nightclubs and pubs for around 13 years in Tasmania from the mid 1990s. Then I landed a real day job in Sydney, but I could never shake the association with quality wine. I undertook Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 Award studies and passed with Distinction, have been an Associate Judge for the Citi New South Wine Awards in 2013, been a Steward/Assoc Judge for the Royal Sydney Wine Show. The academic side is fine, but I love the agricultural aspect and had a couple of stints helping out in the Hunter Valley during vintage with Andrew Thomas of Thomas Wines. After being exposed to all this good wine, I've contributed writing wine review content for Cracka Wines and Sunshine Coast based wine hub The Grapehunter. After starting my own blog, vinonotebook.com, I was invited to be the "Weekend Magazine" wine columnist for the APN ARM stable of newspapers, with a readership of over 500,000.

Lakiesha Mundy

December 20, 2015

Family, Food, Foodie, Home Cooked, Indulgent, Insight, NSW, Silly Season, Sydney, Traditions

Traditions... why keep them going?

Lakiesha Mundy

December 20, 2015

Family, Food, Foodie, Home Cooked, Indulgent, Insight, NSW, Silly Season, Sydney, Traditions

Family traditions are something rife in my family... well thanks to ME! haha I believe there is much more to them than, putting up a real tree we've bought and CARRIED HOME, naming it a one syllable B name, having a non-functional train sitting beneath it.... it's the memories, the time together and the symbolism of 'that time of year'.

My brothers and sisters (all 4 of them..!) roll their eyes, laugh at me and pretend to hate them. Secretly, they love them as much as me!

So, what is a tradition?

Lakiesha Mundy

December 19, 2015

Abbotsford, Cafe, Coffee, Food, Foodie, Healthy Eating, Little Big Sugar Salt, Melbourne, Raw Food, Silly Season, Sydney, Taste-E, Tasting, Tourist, UBER, VIC, Water

Taste.E Tips // for surviving the SILLY SEASON!

Lakiesha Mundy

December 19, 2015

Abbotsford, Cafe, Coffee, Food, Foodie, Healthy Eating, Little Big Sugar Salt, Melbourne, Raw Food, Silly Season, Sydney, Taste-E, Tasting, Tourist, UBER, VIC, Water

"Water gets warmer. Drinks get colder. Music gets louder. Nights get longer. Life gets better." - Anonymous

It's that time of year again, I am sure it comes around quicker as I get older! Although a great time of year with lots of fun, laughs, time with friends and family... it is also filled with parties, lots of alcohol, long hours, deadlines, stress, lack of sleep... a recipe for BURNOUT...

Here is how Taste.E are getting through this year:

Made in Mudgee

Words by Gregor Stronach I received an invitation a couple of weeks ago, by email – and it took me all of about 20 seconds of frantically stabbing at my keyboard to type “Yes please, of course, I would love to be there, it sounds amazing!” to lock in my seat at the Crow Bar for the Made in Mudgee event on August 25.

How to UnWINEd on a Friday Night...

"Sumptuous food with complimentary wine choices. A fun, relaxing and educational evening." - Matt Slee, Tulloch Wines

TGIF! After a long week, there is nothing better than settling in with a glass of wine... Our guests at The ArtHouse Hotel were lucky enough to do just that last Friday!

Lounging on the Chesterfields with a Tulloch Cuvee in their hand, our guests were well and truly “UnWINEd”ing into their weekend. As the last guest arrived and the last of the bubbles disappeared... our first “UnWINEd” dinner began.

Whisky & Cheese @ The Hive Bar, Erskineville

I’ve long been a fan of cheese pairings – but I’ll readily admit that they’ve all been pairings done with a range of wines, from the ‘top shelf’ end of the decadent scale to some seriously mediocre offerings lined up alongside a bowl of well-beyond room temperature cheddar cubes.

But even longer than I’ve been a fan of a cheese-pairing evening, I’ve been a devotee of whisky – specifically, Scotch whisky (with the occasional smattering of Irish, Bourbon, Canadian, Rye, Japanese… and especially Australian whisky thrown in for good measure…)

Lakiesha Mundy

July 2, 2015

Asia, Bars, Cocktails, Drink Local, Drinking, Food, Foodie, Healthy Eating, HK, Hong Kong, International, Tourist, Wine

Going Bonkas in Honkas... an adventure fuelled by cocktails and food!

Lakiesha Mundy

July 2, 2015

Asia, Bars, Cocktails, Drink Local, Drinking, Food, Foodie, Healthy Eating, HK, Hong Kong, International, Tourist, Wine

Travel while you're young and able. Don't worry about the money, just make it work. Experience is far more valuable than money will ever be. - Anonymous

Functioning purely off excitement and adrenalin I stood in the middle of Hong Kong Airport - I did it, I'm here.

With a few ticks off the bucket list already that day, I couldn't wait to start a week of new experiences!

A night of indulgence... with life's guilty pleasures...

Wine was breathing, cheese bubbling on the stove and you could faintly see your breath in the air when you spoke... yes, Winter was here and so was the Fondue Feast! As the last candle was lit, the first guests started to filter in up the stairs...

Lakiesha Mundy

May 20, 2015

Alexandria, Food, Healthy Eating, Lunchbox Angels, The Grounds, Workshops

Food Revolution Day with the Lunchbox Angels

Lakiesha Mundy

May 20, 2015

Alexandria, Food, Healthy Eating, Lunchbox Angels, The Grounds, Workshops

"FOOD REVOLUTION DAY IS FIGHTING TO PUT COMPULSORY PRACTICAL FOOD EDUCATION ON THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM. With diet-related diseases rising at an alarming rate, it has never been more important to educate children about food, where it comes from and how it affects their bodies." - Jamie Oliver

A brisk Autumnal Friday morning, the animals are awake and the Garden is starting to fill with the rich smell of morning coffees and fresh bread coming out of the oven... the scent of a big weekend ahead!

It's Food Revolution Day and The Grounds of Alexandria are hosting the Lunchbox Angels on a weekend of food education and fun for the whole family!

Falling in love with Orange is something worth 'raven' about...

The bubbles are poured and guests slowly start to trickle in.. the murmur of conversation thickens with each person and soon enough the room is a buzz with eager diners ready to "Fall in love with Orange".

The first wine of the night is the NV Cuvee of Printhie's sparkling range Swift. It is an easy to drink sparkling and pairs nicely to the two canapé courses of Baked Polenta, whipped cream cheese and basil pesto followed by the Cocktail Potatoes filled with crispy bacon, garlic mayonnaise and chives.