Steven Spurrier was in town this week for ongoing Singapore Airlines wine selection tastings (he’s been doing it for 22 years!), along with panel colleagues Michael Hill-Smith MW and Jeannie Cho-Lee MW.

As it turned out, it was the perfect opportunity to raise a glass to Spurrier’s innings, 70 not out. Spurrier was in good form and looks nothing like 70,  as he quipped when someone asked if there were going to be more parties, which came out the wrong way, as in meaning other 70th celebrations, he replied, “I’m hoping a least another 10 and 80 is a good number”!

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In case you have not been following the ‘Duck Run’, the Wandering Palates recipe for Thai Duck Curry has been gaining momentum around the world with ducks ‘on the run’ all over the place.

What began as an approbation of Kai Schubert’s www.schubert.co.nz enormous capacity for our Thai duck curry and the subsequently posting of the secret recipe, the story continues as gourmands around the planet share their gluttonous pleasure at the Wandering Palates table or in their own kitchens cooking up the said duck curry.

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To most of us gourmands, kitchen gadgets are a never ending fascination. For cooking professionals it’s a preoccupation and fundamental to the logistics of a working kitchen.

Like everything related to chefs, we all want to know where the pros go to source their equipment, not only out of functionality and arming ourselves with the very best kit, but also price. Invariably there is a kitchen supply wholesaler that sells direct to the public where one can save a considerable amount of money, compared to conventional large, magnetic retailers in shopping malls or small so-called specialist shops.

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This article caught my interest last week, a concept that has enormous potential in Singapore and something that deserves a lot more attention from a global perspective. There is already a groundswell of city greening going on around the world however in high density cities like Singapore, moreover with a finite amount of land, the dynamics of turning every building rooftop in to a garden, whether it is for agriculture or purely aesthetics is profound.

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There was a time and not that long ago; Singaporeans ate nothing but firm, meaty and flavoursome kampung chicken. That is the French breed of chicken acquiring the name kampung (or kampong), with its orange feathers and black head, commonplace roaming around Malay villages – a true free-range, happy chook.

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Of course there is no such thing as ‘the’ best bread in the world. There’s fantastic bread all over the world however, Poilâne is definitely one of the best breads on this planet (along with Dench Bakery, in Melbourne www.denchbakers.com.au) and a must-visit when you are in Paris. And that’s exactly what the wandering palate did when holidaying in Paris back in July.

Actually, we were more intent on going for lunch at La Cuisine de Bar, the sandwich bar next door serving Poilâne’s bread, with an amazing selection of open-toasted sandwiches. The coffee is good here too, and that’s saying something for Paris.

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Like artisan local butchers, fishmongers are under threat of extinction, their formidable predator, supermarkets moreover, an increasingly lazy, nonchalant consumer.

The last bastion is fresh food farmer markets and wet markets, which thankfully occupy a strategic place in practically every city, town or village in the world where savvy locals shop for produce sometimes at a fraction of the price of supermarket exploitation.

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Breaking Duck News

DIRECT FROM SELL OUT PERFORMANCES AT THE MELBOURNE FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL 2011 AND HONG KONG, THE DUCK CRAWL COMES TO SINGAPORE

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Expounding on a recurring question, “When dining in a restaurant, do you choose the wine then the food, or the food first then the wine”? Logically, the food would normally come first, assuming one is heading to a restaurant with a particular cuisine or flavour in mind.

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We discovered a cake shop the other day with a difference, moreover an inspiring example of trusting one’s gut instinct and being brave enough to make a courageous career change after 20 years in a totally unrelated industry.

Classic Cakes opened its doors in 2005 when Charles Quek finally succumbed to his passion for baking, leaving behind 20 years in the insurance industry and fore filling a nagging obsession to turn his hobby in to a business.

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