2023 Some KFC outlets go cashless
Some customers weren't happy, but in 2023 a number of KFC outlets moved to cashless sales only. According to the… Read More
2020s
2023 Degustation prices hit new heights
It's likely a new record for degustation prices in Australia. In March 2023, chef Mauro Colagreco, whose French fine diner… Read More
2022 Hallucinogenic spinach recalled
In December 2022, more than 200 people were poisoned by eating their greens. The hallucinogenic spinach had been contaminated with… Read More
2022 Top Australian food companies
In December 2022, Food & Drink magazine published a feature on Australia's 100 top food companies. Of the ten top… Read More
2022 Iceberg lettuce prices soar
In mid-2022, vegetable prices in Australia climbed steeply. In particular, iceberg lettuce prices made the news, with The Guardian reporting… Read More
2022 Soft plastics recycling program falls over
We've been putting our bottles, cans, paper and rigid plastic containers in the recycling bin for decades, but soft plastics… Read More
2022 Butter Board craze on Tic Toc
Forget Instagram. In the 2020s the new food influencers are all using Tic Toc. And on 15 September 2022, one… Read More
2022 Varroa mite threatens agricultural industries
Varroa mite is a small parasitic mite that attaches itself to honey bees. By feeding, it weakens the bees and… Read More
2022 Non-alcoholic drinks on the rise
I wrote the following article for SoVino, the in-house magazine of the Independent Liquor Retailers group, in late 2021. Since… Read More
2022 Food supply chains fail owing to COVID
As Australia's 90+ per cent fully vaccinated population headed into 2022, hoping for a break from COVID-related dramas, a new… Read More
2021 Gnocchi tops list of most Googled recipes
Tracking the list of most Googled recipes over the past few years is both revealing and mystifying. The most Googled… Read More
2021 Alcohol consumption increases during pandemic
In June 2021, Roy Morgan research found that the number of Australians consuming alcoholic drinks had increased significantly over the… Read More
2021 Coles ditches single-use plastic tableware
From July 1 2021, Coles withdrew single-use plastic tableware from all its stores across Australia. The initiative, which had been… Read More
2021 Providoor expands to Sydney
Providoor changed the game for home-delivered meals. Restaurant meal delivery services have been around since the 1980s, with some of… Read More
2020 Mateus Rosé makes a comeback
To those of us of a certain age, the words "Mateus Rosé" conjure up memories of our early wine-drinking years.… Read More
2020 7-Eleven mini store in high-rise
In July 2020, the convenience store chain opened an 8sqm store on the 27th floor of a high-rise office building… Read More
2020 Fast food consumption rises during pandemic
In May 2021, the research company Roy Morgan reported that during 2020, more than 75% of Australians ate take-away food… Read More
2020 Coronavirus prompts panic buying
In March 2020, in an unprecedented wave of panic buying, supermarket customers cleared the shelves of non-perishable foods including canned… Read More
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