Young chefs Jessica Chand and Mary Elzir have won the New South Wales leg of the Nestle Golden Chefs Hat award and will now be part of the national final in September in Sydney.
 
Chand, 21, and Elzir, 23, both chefs at the Sydney Convention Centre, beat a staggering 18 other junior and apprentice chef teams from around the state in the tense cook-off held at the Northern Beach/ Brookvale TAFE kitchens.

The team that triumphs at the national finals in Sydney will win a $12,000 international culinary training trip to the 2008 World Culinary Olympics. The prize will be an invaluable opportunity to see some of the world’s top chefs in action, catch up on the latest trends and meet with key industry people.

The Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Award is the only national culinary competition dedicated to the development of junior and apprentice chefs under 23 years of age. The award has been running for 40 years and recognises cuisine innovation and excellence. It is coordinated annually by the Australian Culinary Federation and solely sponsored by Nestlé.

There will be no more weasling out of eBay sales after a judge today ruled against a man who has been refusing to hand over a $250,000 vintage plane he sold on the online auction site.

In a case that reached the NSW Supreme Court, Peter Smythe sued Vin Thomas after he changed his mind on the sale of a 1946 World War II Wirraway plane after the eBay auction had ended.

Acting judge Nigel Rein, handing down his judgment today, ruled against Thomas and ordered him to hand over the plane for the agreed amount. “It follows that, in my view, a binding contract was formed between the plaintiff and the defendent and that it should be specifically enforced,” Justice Rein said in his decision.

Standing ovations and superb playing saw last year’s Bangalow Music Festival packed with full houses. This year the 6th annual magical weekend festival of music happens in the Byron hinterland paradise of Bangalow between Friday 17th to Sunday 19th August.

Lush green rolling hills, tranquility and a charming Federation village combine with welcoming warm winter sun, a friendly atmosphere and Australia’s finest musicians for an unforgettable escape from the pace of modern life.

If you require more information on the festival visit the Bangalow Music Festival website.

The Melbourne Writers’ Festival is a celebration of the written and spoken word. Featuring 240 Australian and international writers, the festival now attracts audiences of over 34 000 people annually.

The Melbourne Writers’ Festival endeavours to develop and support writers, their invaluable work, voices, stories and ideas for the enjoyment and benefit of the citizens and guests of Australia’s cultural capital.

Acclaimed as Australia’s premier literary event, the festival seeks to showcase the art and talent of the writer and to expand and enhance the experience of the reader.

24th August – 2nd September 2007

Online retail index, wyshop , is the first shopping directory of its kind and is about to launch Gold Coast residents and visitors into shopping heaven.  wyshop is a website that lists every clothing store on the Gold Coast.  It was designed for the mums who do not have time to shop, the men who wouldn’t know where to look, the style-savvy women who want to find a particular label, the males who need a suit, and the visitors who want it all. 

The idea surrounding the initial concept of wyshop was to create a site that would encapsulate all of the shopping areas on the Coast through one particular e-source. Wyshop makes the entire shopping process more efficient and effective. 

St Kilda Music & Poetry Inc. (StKmp Inc.) is a community-based non-profit artistic body, with strong literary and educational interests. The administrators are St Kilda residents, involved professionally in the arts industry and in arts education.

A primary focus of StKmp Inc. is to facilitate performance opportunities for artists, at any stage of their career and of any style, and to provide assistance and encouragement for developing artistic talent within a performance, exhibition and writing medium, taking into consideration the influence of digital and other technology on the arts. A primary activity is to promote artists’ original works.

Join them for their next event on Sunday, 5th August 2007 at the EcoHouse, Blessington St, St Kilda (in the St Kilda Botanical Gardens) & throughout 2007. View the talented artists right here .

Sydney’s most creative chefs are about to unleash a feast of culinary sensations with the launch of James Squire Chef’s Match, a competition held from the 6th to 31st August 2007.
 
In an Australian first, twenty chefs will go head-to-head to create the perfect flavour-filled pairing of great Australian food and James Squire beers. But, perhaps the tastiest part of the competition is that each of these flavour-filled pairings will be available at the participating venues at a great combination price, during August.
 
Sydneysiders will be spoilt for choice with 10 gastro pubs and 10 restaurants each matching one entrée and one main dish with different James Squire beers. Judging for the James Squire Chef’s Match will be based on three categories – flavour, innovation and passion.

Check out the website for participating venues & chefs.

The Awards encourage, acknowledge and reward valuable contributions and outstanding achievements of individuals, networks and groups in regional and rural areas.

The focus of the awards is small to medium size businesses, organisations involved in promoting the community through events and tourism, individuals providing leadership and initiative and community groups enhancing the social, economic, commercial and environmental prosperity of their region.

Close of nominations:    Friday 3rd August 2007     
Judging:   Thursday 20th September 2007     
Awards Presentation:    Saturday 24th November 2007

YoungGuns along with Two Flat Whites understand the mental and physical suffering that young creatives go through to get their talent recognized. There is an opportunity for you to be named “YoungGun of the Year” and win US$20,000 to celebrate.

As an YGAward Winner and Finalist your work will be showcased on the YoungGuns site, appear in the YGAward annual and form the YG Travelling Exhibition (Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Japan, Johannesburg, London, New York, and LA). It is worth the pain to get your talent seen all over the world by your peers, creative directors and potential employers.

Entries Open: Wednesday 1 August 2007
Entries Close: Friday 12 October 2007
Shortlist: Thursday 29 November, 2007
2007 Winners and Finalists Announced: Thursday 6 December, 2007

This concept is not a contest but an international challenge bringing together more than 50 artists, famous or not and carefully picked up. The challenge is to share ideas, concepts, moods and styles of very differents talented artists coming from all over the globe in ONE COMMON SKETCHBOOK .

The distinctiveness of this sketchbook is that artist will not have to send a sketch, a drawing or a painting to a publisher : instead, a real sketchbook will travel from one artist to another during one year.