At almost 23 years old, the Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an institution. But it has never been the must-do event in Melbourne’s jam-packed calendar the way other festivals – film, flowers, footy, food and fashion – have. But that’s all changing. A new CEO and a partnership with the brand design consultancy Elmwood have reinvigorated the MWF over the past couple of years. A quirky character called Pencil is writing the future for this Festival. So you might just want to pencil it in!

According to Rosemary Cameron, who became the Festival Director in late 2005, the biggest issue facing the Melbourne Writers Festival was its inaccessibility to a broad audience. It was considered a “serious” writers festival. The concept of “fun” was not part of its brand. As a result casual attendees, including younger people and lay bookworms, were isolated from the Festival.

To increase accessibility and reach new audiences the Festival needed a makeover. It needed a new look & a new program. So what are you waiting for? Catch the festival from the 22nd August to 31st August 2008.

The National Design Centre’s 2008 Melbourne International Design Festival is gearing up to be another eye-opening celebration of design. The highly-anticipated festival will be jam-packed with design-related activities and events, intermingled with a series of exciting surprises.

Many of the MIDF events are free. Now in its fourth year, the festival has expanded to reflect the global nature of design. This year’s program includes long-time favourite, the Australian International Poster Annual, the popular PopUps program, Studio Open and a series of international and national exhibitions. Market-goers will be pleased to hear the Melbourne Design Market is also set to return during the Festival.

For more information phone or email , or visit the website here . The National Design Centre’s 2008 Melbourne International Design Festival runs from the 17th to 27th of July 2008.

Co-presented with the Melbourne International Film Festival, lashings of gratuitous sex, violence and fuel-injected muscle car mayhem – the 70s and 80s Aussie exploitation films that broke all the taboos. Co-curated by director Mark Hartley and inspired by his long awaited documentary Not Quite Hollywood, these legendary works smash their way back onto the big screen after prowling the filmic wilderness for decades.

ACMI is the Australian Centre for the Moving Image . From the wonders of more than a century of cinema, to television, computer games and the screen-based art of the future, ACMI is the place to find out everything about the moving image. The films run from Friday 25th July to Sunday 10th August 2008.

Get ready to strap yourselves in for a six day blast of exceptional animation from around the world in the 8th edition of the Melbourne International Animation Festival 2008!

This will be your only opportunity in Australia to see such a comprehensive line-up of current animated short films in competition and specially curated programs that highlight recent productions and absolute gems from the archive.

MIAF aims to challenge and inspire audiences with thematic, aesthetic and technical diversity from award winners, outstanding industry veterans and those wonderful newcomers who are exploring their talent on screen for the very first time. The festival runs from the 16th June to 22nd June 2008.

The good people at Villain are throwing yet another art show with an impressive line up as always. It’s easy to take for granted the calibre of artists these guys get involved in their group shows regardless of the medium they get them to work with. So get on down and check out some quality work and support the villain crew who are constantly cooking up new schemes and exhibition ideas which give many artists a forum to have their work shown.

Cut Outs @ Per Square Metre Gallery in Collingwood. Catch the exhibition from the 30th May to 8th June 2008.

This May, the Next Wave Festival invites you to get closer to the future of art. With over 400 young and emerging artists from around Australia, the Festival presents two remarkable weeks of genre-busting new works across Melbourne.

Through 61 projects, the 2008 Next Wave Festival will infiltrate the city with visual art, performance, dance, new media, literature, hybrid projects and more. Next Wave’s artists will caress, confront and ensnare audiences with their fearless, multifaceted approach to making art: pushing the boundaries of existing media and creating some new ones in the process.

More than 50 artists from interstate and 5 artists from across the seas, as well as hundreds of local artists will converge on Melbourne to grab the arts industry by the seat of its pants and thrust it into the public domain with startling public projects, unexpected performances and invigorating discourse. The Next Wave Festival Club at the Mercat Cross Hotel will be buzzing with ideas throughout the day during the Polyphonic workshops and forums, and sparkling at night as artists, audiences and passers by come together to exchange ideas, dance moves and phone numbers every night of the festival.

Young indigenous artists come to the fore throughout the Festival, embracing modern arts practices including hybrid performance styles, collaborative writing, puppetry, digital technology, reworked classical theatre and photography to tell stories of identity and their people.

The 2008 Next Wave Festival will explore new ideas and, for a couple of weeks in May, plunge Australian art and culture into the future, and beyond.

LISTING INFORMATION
Dates: 15th – 31st May
Venues: Various venues around Melbourne, regional Victoria and beyond
Tickets: Most events are free. For the few ticketed shows check the Next Wave website for details.
Bookings info, show details and everything else: www.nextwave.org.au

Two Flat Whites has been on the hunt to find our best restaurants. We have been licking our lips & over the coming months, we will rate Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane’s best restaurants not only by quality & service, but also by location & price. If you have a suggestion, let us know.

The following restaurants are little gems. All are hidden wonders in Sydney’s west. All have demonstrated great service, tasty food & all of this at a great price. There is something here for every taste.

Let them know that Two Flat Whites sent you.

Ani – American Restaurant
86 Blaxland Rd
Ryde NSW 2112
Phone

Fortune8 – Yum Cha Restaurant
Shop 1, 44 Park Rd,
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone

El Jannah Lebanese Charcoal Chicken
4-6 South St
Granville NSW 2142
Phone

Pendle Hill 888 Asian Food Restaurant
146 Pendle Way
Pendle Hill NSW 2145
Phone

Bai Bua – Thai Restaurant
20 Woodriffe St
Penrith NSW 2750
Phone

Two Flat Whites had the pleasure in interviewing newly-graduated Enoteca Vino Bar Chef Antony Campbell . Antony was awarded ‘Apprentice of the Year 2007’ & wowed the judges with his attitude, commitment & knowledge.

Antony won the award against all trades, quite an achievement! Antony’s passion for great food and the perfect dining experience, as well as his affable, easygoing nature make him a valuable member of the Enoteca kitchen brigade.

Where did you grow up & where do you hang your hat?

I grew up in Pyalong, Victoria and am currently living in Epping.

In your own words, what do you do?

I take ordinary products and work with them to create something memorable and exciting for our diners. I get to express myself through the food I cook. There aren’t many jobs you get to express yourself so freely in, it’s like being an artist.

What inspired you to become a chef?

The freedom to express myself through my work! The hours, the adrenaline & the whole environment have always been attractive to me. Being surrounded by such amazing produce is really exciting & the possibilities and combinations are endless.

What is your favourite meal?

Generally anything that I don’t have to cook is a bonus but I really love sushi!! Any kind salmon, tuna, avocado, whatever…

Name three (3) restaurants you dine at?

Three One Two
Rockpool
Nobu

Can you share a recipe with our readers?

Chocolate Fondant (made easy)
Ingredients
100gm dark chocolate
100gm butter
2 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
50 gm caster sugar
30 gm plain flour
Butter for greasing

Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
– Grease 4 coffee cups with butter
– Melt your chocolate and butter in a bowl sitting over a pot of simmering water, remove from heat and set aside
– In a separate bowl whisk your eggs, yolks and sugar together
– Pour the chocolate mix into the egg mix and stir well
– Add the flour and stir until well combined
– Pour your fondant mix into your greased coffee cups, fill to 1cm from the top to allow for the fondant to rise
– Place the cups on a tray and put into the oven to bake for 8 minutes, no longer and no less!
– Remove from the oven and serve
– To serve, leave in the cup and dust with icing sugar. Be careful, as the cups will be very hot.

Childhood Memories:

TV Show – Simpson’s and Futurama

Hobby – Music (drums, bass and vocals)

Food – My Nonna’s spaghetti bolognaise

Fear – Dying young, there’s way too much I want to do!

Defining moment – Work experience in Year 10, I worked in a kitchen watching the chefs doing their thing with such discipline and precision and having fun whilst doing it. I knew it was what I wanted.

Schooling memories, chore or cherished?

Chore, I couldn’t wait to finish. I look back now and am glad I completed my VCE (Year 12) though.

Where is the most beautiful place in Australia you have visited?

There are two – the little town of Westbury in Tasmania and Willmot up in the hills of Tasmania near Forth. Their bakery is a great place to relax for ½ hour or so.

From the hours of 9am to 5pm, what do you get up to?

Generally busy working my butt off to get ready for lunch service at noon, and after lunch service busy working my butt off to get ready for dinner service at 6pm.

Where can people see your work?

Enoteca Vino Bar , 920 Lygon Street, North Carlton.

For love or money?

Love, you don’t become a chef to earn good money, there’s no such thing.

What future endeavors are in the pipeline?

A lot of travel – London, France, Italy, Spain and all around South America. Relief work in Africa with my fiancée (she’s a nurse).

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Assuming I make it back from Africa! Back in Australia toiling behind the stove…perhaps of my own restaurant.

If you could invite 3 people to chat over coffee, who would they be & why?

Andrew McConnell – I want to pick his brain and work out what makes him tick. His food is inspiring to me.
God – I want to know the meaning of life.
My fiancée – because I work too much.

Coffee or Tea?

After 10pm tea, before that its coffee, coffee & more coffee!