Hello readers. How are you? No, not the usual “how are you?” question that’s met with the usual “fine thanks” response. How are you really?

I’ve driven past Rin so many times. Like The Drunken Admiral, I’d always wondered what it was like. In the spirit of ticking places off the list, we booked a table on a rainy Friday night to find out.

The adrenaline is flowing, you’re feeling way too busy to sit down and eat lunch and you might not even feel thirsty or hungry. Or you might raid the office lolly jar or a pack of bikkies in your close vicinity for a quick sugar hit on the go.

Argyle Street isn’t somewhere that you’d immediately think of heading for dinner, but with the new Deep South Brewing Co (220 Argyle Street, North Hobart) venue opening for dining, it’s suddenly a destination.

The adrenaline is flowing, you’re feeling way too busy to sit down and eat lunch and you might not even feel thirsty or hungry. Or you might raid the office lolly jar or a pack of bikkies in your close vicinity for a quick sugar hit on the go.

You’ve heard it before, and we’ll say it again, Tasmanian produce is amazing. And winter is the perfect time to get out and eat it all. Explore the markets, head straight to the farm gates or expand your cooking skills across the island.

Sometimes you just want to enjoy eating something comforting. No fancy foams or trends, but just good, tasty fare.

The borders were declared shut in Tasmania on the 30th of March, 2020; the first stare to do so amid the COVID- 19 pandemic and hard lockdown of Hobart followed.

Tasmania’s brand as a foodie haven is cemented. But within the local hospitality industry there are those who love to use local produce…and those who are next-level obsessed with it. We spoke to a bunch of Hobart chefs who are top of the game when it comes to fostering relationships with local farmers and growers.

Nepalese food is a comfort in our house. Having spent much time trekking and mountain climbing in Nepal as a younger man, Nepalese food is something I always love to go back to.

When I was younger, the things I looked for in a pub were somewhere with a comfy bar stool, cheap drinks, a social crowd and a few hot chips. As I’ve aged (hopefully gracefully), my pub ‘wishlist’ has too.

Moving to Hobart from Brisbane almost two-and-a-half years ago, I’d heard this town served up some great food. I knew there were wine bars hidden around a sandstone corner, or I could pick locally caught seafood at tuck in while watching the boats at Constitution Dock.

You never know when you’re going to have your culinary world expanded and for me recently it was in the back on an Uber.

Festive season entertaining got you frazzled? We’ve got you covered.

A few extra festive recipes from some of Tassie’s top foodies to get you hungry this Christmas.

The green fairy has left bohemian Paris and come to Hobart.

There’s quite a bit of choice when it comes to Vietnamese food in Hobart, especially with the staple banh mi bread roll.

Setting up shop during a pandemic was a risky move, but if the crowd at Dāna Eating House (Dāna) on a Friday night is anything to go by, it’s one that’s paid off. With tables of diners chatting and laughing over drinks, the music and conversation buzzes off the monstera-leaf-green walls. Low-hanging rattan lights and worn wooden floorboards give the newly opened South-East Asian fusion venue in Hobart’s CBD a relaxed vibe.

As we emerge from the cold we’re certainly ready for more get togethers. However, while we can all be grateful for Mother Nature hitting the ‘Defrost’ button, we may not have the same spring in our step coming out of our caves this year. Lockdown in late summer through autumn, followed by winter’s frosty hiatus, may have left our social skills rather scant.

Although stretching your gut to make room for that last slice of pizza could technically be construed as an exercise, it’s unfortunately not what I’m here to talk about today. I’m talking about the impact of physical exercise on your gut health.

Anh Nguyen followed her life purpose to switch from being an engineering academic to a biodynamic winemaker in the Coal River Valley. But, after winning a major agriculture award for innovation, Anh is bringing her past experience into her new direction.

Hamlet Cafe has been part of the Hobart hospo landscape since February 2016 and delivers targeted training and work readiness skills in order to tackle the barriers which prevent disadvantaged Tasmanians from participating in work and community life. Since then, founder Emily Briffa has helped to provide over 22,000 hours of work experience to over 260 Tasmanians.

Making the most of abundant seasonal produce has never been more timely (excuse the pun).

“This is something I’ll often make at home with dried Orrechiette, which you can easily find in most supermarkets. It’s a really quick and easy recipe to do. I learnt it when I spent some time in Sicily. If I’m not in too much of a rush, I’ll make fresh Orrechiette too.”

While summer’s colourful crops may be well behind us, we can still hold on to the last harvest of berries, red greenhouse cherry tomatoes and yellow sweet corn before winter takes her pound of fresh. Though the seasonal palate through May and June is decidedly green and gold on both the plate and ground.

New Town Plaza probably isn’t your first choice for a dinner date locale but with the opening of Ruckus Fried Chicken a little while back, it’s stocks went soaring.

If you’re after some tasty Indian cuisine then Culinary King is for you. Sitting among the restaurants lining Elizabeth Street in North Hobart, Culinary King is quickly becoming the go-to spot for delicious dhal, fragrant curries and top-notch naan bread.

Tough and true Tasmanians stand strong in the face of winter, as do harvest veggies still growing in the garden. Brassicas and bulbs boldly anchor their stalks while underground tubers and root vegetables tightly take hold for the chilly months ahead. Whether one vigilantly braces or vigorously embraces single digit forecasts, the astringent crisp air tends to make us move a little faster homewards to hibernate. Quick shops, slow food and hot meals call for batch cooking.

“The hasselback potato is an oldie but goodie, you can’t beat some crispy potatoes on these cold winter days. These are best served with lots of butter and salt. You can find some really interesting varieties like pink fur apple potatoes at the markets, the more colourful the better. It takes a bit of patience to get them all cut but it’s definitely worth it. I love to eat these as a snack with a glass of wine or as a side dish with some roasted fish.”

There’s a buzz about Suminato in Sandy Bay. The Japanese restaurant opened 10 months ago in the former Witchery site on King Street and brings its own contemporary twist to a burgeoning Japanese restaurant scene in Hobart.

“In this simple dish, the flavours of Middle Europe sparkle with the smoked eel, dill, caraway and Russian salad. The salad, once a mainstay of menus decades past, is something not often seen today but I think it deserves another moment in the sun. I’d serve the dish with some chilled Tasmanian Vodka for a really authentic taste.”

Crossing over spring’s peak towards summer, the leprechaun-green shoots of new growth herald a rainbow of new colours for the plate. Pears depart while pops of red and blue appear in November’s fruit basket with the season’s first ripened blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Summer is here and Hobart’s bar scene has never been hotter. Tassie nightlife hits its peak when the weather is warm and our city offers intimate and quirky watering holes like no other. Here are our top picks for Summer.

“This is a really nice early summer dish using buffalo mozzarella, it’s the most delicious thing! I remember when I was a first year apprentice in my first few weeks of working in a little restaurant in Melbourne after I had just moved there. My head chef gave me a little slice of buffalo mozzarella to taste when the cheese van had come around to the back door of the kitchen. It was one of those moments where the world stood still. So simple yet so delicious. That’s when I knew that I was going to be stuck in the kitchen forever.”

Sitting at the bar on a busy Friday night, my partner and I immediately have flashbacks of a ski trip we took to Japan a couple of years back. After skiing all day, the izakaya, (a Japanese version of a pub) became our go-to each night for dinner, drinks and fun. Bar Wa Izakaya, on Elizabeth Street between the city and North Hobart, is a cranking little spot which feels about as close to authentic as you can get this side of Tokyo.

The Aussie summer comes with two big advantages. While we take an opportunity to relax and enjoy time with friends and family, the kitchen garden peaks in full swing. The abundance of growth and colour nods to a positive start to the new year. Resolutions to address expanding waistlines acquired over the festive season are buoyed by an array of choice to inspire creative salads, with bulging garden beds and pops of fruiting colour beckoning one to get moving outdoors and start picking summer’s harvest.

I love simple, balanced cooking. Good ingredients prepared well never fail to impress and delight. I also – like any self-respecting human being – love fried food. Putting together this dish on a Sunday night with a movie and some of my partner April’s ice cream for dessert is the simplest of joys.

With a name like Mullet Cafe and being perched above the rolling surf of Park Beach at Dodges Ferry, you’d think this place would be full of wax heads chugging on milkshakes and dimmies. But there’s more to this little local secret than meets the eye.

Ever wondered what Italians do for tomatoes in winter? Family traditions are still in common practice across this truss-loving nation to make homemade passata (uncooked tomato purée, strained and bottled), estratto (rich tomato paste), whole peeled tomatoes (canned in jars with lemon and salt), as well as Giardiniera (pickled vegetables in oil or vinegar and herbs) at Summer’s end.

Pretzels are a firm favourite in my house. They are quick and fun to make, and you don’t really need to follow a prescriptive recipe so you can add any toppings and flavours you like.

There’s family friendly, then there’s family friendly. The first is an establishment that has a kids menu – a few fried options and not much more. The second is somewhere that you genuinely feel comfortable being.

If you’re feeling the pull towards hibernation – wellness practitioners say it’s time to slow down. Resist overloading your schedule, embrace the longer nights with adequate sleep and above all else – don’t push yourself. ‘Winter in Tassie is not the time to be feeling like a hamster on a wheel,’ Goulds naturopath Belinda Robson says.

If there’s one thing we can all agree food should be right now, is that it’s got to be hot! Steaming porridge, simmering soups, roasts and ragus are all the rage, if not a vital requirement to keep us thermally stable.

The tuna in the picture is how we plate it in the Dining Room at The Shoreline Hotel. Of course, like always in cooking, you are free to present in any way you see fit!

Sometimes you just need to go back to a place and rediscover it all over again. When Fico first opened back in 2016, I enjoyed the full experience of the tasting menu and savoured every dish.

Some food is just worth going an extra few miles to experience. Timbre Kitchen, just outside Launceston in the Tamar Valley wine region, has been on my radar for some time now. So when we popped up to Launceston recently with our two young kids in tow, we seized the opportunity.

Unless you’ve gone to the trouble of fattening up a fowl yourself, you may be gobble-smacked to know procuring a Tasmanian turkey is off the menu, literally.

As a nutritionist, gut issues are my bread and butter. However something most people wouldn’t associate with gut issues are mental health disorders. Yet I see it over and over again and research has proven that patients with persistent gut issues are much more likely to present with anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.

Years ago I travelled through Morocco and there’s one dish that still haunts my memory. It was a smoky evening in the Djemaa El Fna, Marrakech’s main square, and I found a very busy but non-descript stall serving fish with a seemingly simple fresh, cold tomato sauce.

You might have noticed the term ‘plant-based meats’ more and more recently. It seems everywhere you turn, another business is creating a product that doesn’t contain any animal products and is made from plants. But why is there such an increase and is it any good for you?

You need nutrients to survive. They’re the building blocks of all matter within your body. However no other topic on earth seems to have as much controversy as nutrient intake (your diet). It’s complex, it’s messy and no one seems to have all the answers.

There’s no doubt that chef Analiese Gregory has commanded the attention of the food world over the past few years, taking Franklin restaurant to the next level and becoming a poster girl of sorts for where food in Tassie is at right now.

March is a magical month when it comes to food. While technically Autumn, it really should be a special season unto itself and more aptly named “Late Summer”.

If I asked you to think of a food item that makes you sexy, healthy, attractive, youthful and energetic I can almost guarantee that you didn’t think of gelatin.

Although we’re learning more about Coronavirus everyday, there’s currently no accepted conventional treatment or prevention of Covid-19. Because of this, natural alternatives are worth investigating.

The vacant stare in front of the open fridge or cupboard has afflicted us all on occasion. No matter how much food we have in store, there seems like nothing to eat. When you’re hungry and lacking cooking inspo, the ‘hangries’ can easily take hold.