2020 McDonald’s vegetable burger launched
Given the trend towards vegetable-based eating, it took McDonald's Australia some time to catch up with a non-meat burger. Launched… Read More
Media
2019 Aussie food favourites on coins
In 2019, The Royal Australian Mint issued a series of one-dollar coins featuring a range of Australian symbols on the… Read More
2017 Good Food Guide goes national
Instead of publishing a separate book for each state, in 2017 Fairfax made the move to a national Good Food… Read More
2016 Halal snack pack is People’s Choice Word of the Year
The Macquarie Dictionary named 'halal snack pack' as a runner-up word of the year for 2016, behind 'fake news'. However,… Read More
2013 McDonald’s becomes Macca’s
For a few weeks leading up to Australia Day, McDonald's in Australia became 'Macca's', on the website, in advertising, on… Read More
2010 Instagram food photography begins
nstagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger could hardly have predicted the effect their new social media platform would have… Read More
2010 MasterChef trumps politicians
The culinary contest/reality TV MasterChef series proved so popular in Australia that it outranked national politicians. The pre-election television debate between… Read More
2009 MasterChef TV series airs
The first of the MasterChef Australia TV series went to air on 27 April and kept viewers enthralled until 19… Read More
2007 25th anniversary of “Good Living”
The 25th anniversary of Good Living in the Sydney Morning Herald prompted a feature wherein several of the Good Living… Read More
2007 Locavore is word of the year
The term "locavore" was named the Word of the Year for 2007 in the Oxford American Dictionary. Locavore was coined by… Read More
2006 Food books are big sellers
Two million food books, worth almost sixty million dollars, were sold in Australia in 2006 (Neilsen Bookscan). Writing about food and… Read More
2005 Lamb for Australia Day
As a response to declining lamb sales, the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation recruited former Aussie Rules footballer and media… Read More
2004 Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me
The American documentary film Super Size Me by director Morgan Spurlock aimed to expose the evils of fast food. The film… Read More
2002 delicious. magazine launched
Precious spelling (with a lower case d and a full stop) didn't prevent this ABC-backed magazine from proving a success.… Read More
2002 Gastronomy degree introduced
The Graduate degree program in Gastronomy (which led to a Master of Arts in Gastronomy) was a collaboration between Le… Read More
2001 Donna Hay magazine launched
The former food editor at Murdoch Magazine’s Marie Claire, Donna Hay had a trademark style of simple recipes and clean,… Read More
2001 Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation
Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation:The Dark Side of the All-American Meal explores the global influence of the American fast… Read More
1998 SMH Good Food Month launched
The Sydney Morning Herald sponsored Sydney's Good Food Month in October as an adjunct to their Good Food Guide. The… Read More
1997 The Jamie phenomenon
Jamie Oliver became The Naked Chef. The impossibly jaunty young chef received his big break from appearing on television as… Read More
1995 Arrival of pay TV
The first subscription TV service was Galaxy, which offered eight channels via microwave and satellite. It was followed the same… Read More
1988 The Bush Tucker Man TV series
In the TV series, The Bush Tucker Man, first screened in 1988, Army major Les Hiddins cruised around northern Australia… Read More
1987 Mackay Report on Food in the 1980s
Social researcher Hugh Mackay turned his attention to food. His 1987 Mackay Report, Food and Social Change, available in the… Read More
1986 The Age Cheap Eats Guide launched
Alan Attwood, the Cheap Eats guide's inaugural editor, writes: ‘Ah, 1986. What a year. Bob Hawke was prime minister of… Read More
1984 First Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide
The first Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, edited by Leo Schofield, David Dale and Jenna Price, began with The… Read More
1982 Australian Association of Food Professionals founded
The Australian Association of Food Professionals Inc (AAFP) was an association of food professionals who had expertise in diverse food-related… Read More
1982 Sydney Morning Herald launches ‘Good Living’
The Good Living supplement first appeared in Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday June 15, 1982. Leo Schofield wrote the cover… Read More
1980 The term ‘foodie’ invented
Although the term 'foodie', for someone who is keenly interested in all things food, was first used by Gael Greene… Read More
1980 The Age Good Food Guide arrives
The Age already had a popular food section, which prompted the publication of the Guide. It was first edited by… Read More
Late 1970s Peter Russell-Clarke sells eggs
As question marks were raised about eggs as high-cholesterol food, The Victorian Egg Board enlisted the services of artist, author… Read More
1975 “You oughta be congratulated”
The famous “you oughta be congratulated” advertising campaign was designed to assure mums that Meadow Lea Margarine would not only… Read More
1975 Colour TV introduced in Australia
On 1 March 1975 Australian television stations officially moved to colour. Colour TV had been around for a while overseas… Read More
1971 Smoked oysters fall from grace
1971 was the year when smoked oysters became socially unacceptable. Playing Stork in the eponymous movie, actor Bruce Spence single-handedly… Read More
1966 Australia’s first food magazines
In 1966, both Epicurean and Australian Gourmet food magazines were founded. Epicurean was the first Australian magazine devoted entirely to food… Read More
1960 Margaret Fulton joins Woman’s Day
Margaret Fulton, then working at advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, joined the weekly women's magazine Woman's Day as food editor… Read More
1959 Coke’s advertising agency arrives
Testament to the growing importance of global brands, the Coca Cola advertising agency, McCann–Erickson opened an Australian office in 1959.… Read More
1957 Australia’s first TV chef
Australia's first TV chef was Willi Koeppen. His program, The Chef Presents was one of Australia’s earliest TV cooking programs. It aired on… Read More
1956 Television broadcasting in Australia
Although there had been experimental television broadcasts since the 1920s, public television broadcasting began on 17 October 1956 in Sydney… Read More
1954 Happy Little Vegemites jingle
The Happy Little Vegemites song, used to advertise Australia's iconic Vegemite spread, was written by Alan Weekes of advertising agency… Read More
1950 Betty King debuts as ‘leading home economist’
Betty King, Home Economist, of World Brands Pty Ltd was one of the leading ladies of Australian cookery…the Margaret Fulton… Read More
1933 Australian Women’s Weekly founded
Originally conceived as a weekly newspaper for women, The Australian Women's Weekly became the largest-selling magazine ever circulated in this… Read More
1902 New Idea magazine
Australia’s oldest women’s magazine was launched by Thomas Shaw Fitchett as The New Idea — A Women's Home Journal for Australia.… Read More