Not Quite NigellaThe cooking, eating and travel blog of a hungry blogger from Sydney, Australia featuring original recipes, interviews and articles on all things food @

L’étoile, Paddington

Not Quite Nigella — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:00:47 +0000

“Why are we sitting in the naughty corner?” I ask Joan Holloway taking a seat at a banquette table in the corner of the L’étoile restaurant and putting my bag down. “Manu is hosting a children’s birthday in the back” she answers smiling. “Are you making that up?” I ask laughing. “No I’m not! Besides…” she [...]

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Baroque Bistro & The Black Truffle Macaron

Not Quite Nigella — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:00:29 +0000

The weather outside is newly cold and the rain clouds threaten up above. We’re driving through the city and jittery. It seems in one stretch of the road, people have lost all sense and we see a car coming right towards us going the wrong way in a one way road. A fat raindrop plops [...]

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The Albert Roux Dinner at the Sofitel Wentworth

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:00:33 +0000

Albert Roux “I’m French only in passport” Albert Roux says in his French accented English when someone asks him why he chooses to live and work in England. “It’s no secret I’m a royalist, not a republican” he tells a somewhat surprised crowd. Albert Roux, 75 years old leans on his cane and stands in [...]

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Ad Lib Bistro, Pymble

Not Quite Nigella — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:00:58 +0000

“I could give birth any minute now” Christie says to me as she picks me up outside of my house. My eyes widen in slight panic. I’m on my learners driver’s license and can only drive supervised. Besides which, I have very little to no experience in childbirth so I’m fairly useless in this situation. [...]

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Iron Chef Dinner 2010, Sydney

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 19:00:30 +0000

The golden ahem … black ticket! I look around and survey the crowd standing outside the Hilton’s Grand Ballroom. There’s not a single Chairman Kaga outfit in sight. Despite this lack of frills and puffy shirts, there is excitement in the air as about 300 eager diners holding a ticket enter the waiting area for [...]

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La Brasserie, Darlinghurst

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:00:20 +0000

My parents always taught me that when looking for good food from a particular country, ask the people native to the country. Better still, when you walk into the restaurant and it’s filled with these people, you know you’ve chosen the right place. When Mr NQN and I went to Myriam’s place for dinner we [...]

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Becasse Regional Degustation Dinner: Languedoc-Roussillon, Sydney CBD

Not Quite Nigella — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:00:04 +0000

Being invited to a Becasse degustation dinner was an exciting invitation indeed. Not just because it came directly from the Becasse chef Justin North but also because this was my first degustation there. Becasse holds degustations every month matching different wine regions with food and this one was the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France and tonight’s [...]

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A Masterclass with Tetsuya Wakuda & Win A Place at a Masterclass!

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:00:21 +0000

Tetsuya Wakuda I do have a few dreams left and many of them involve eating at spectacular restaurants around the world. One of them is located here in Sydney and it’s one that I haven’t visited in over seven years as the last time was for my 30th birthday. So I was very happy to [...]

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Apres, Potts Point

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:00:32 +0000

Christie and I are a touch frightened. It’s raining and there’s a note under the windscreen wiper. We’ve just attended the opening of the new Essential Ingredient store in Rozelle and we were just about to find somewhere around here to eat when we go to feed the parking meter and find this note. It’s [...]

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Guru Restaurant for Indian French Cuisine, Surry Hills

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:00:46 +0000

“We’re going to dinner with Trissa and Dan” I tell Mr NQN one evening and then mumble “It’s Indian French” and then scamper off quickly before he can ask me to clarify. No such luck “Whaaat? Did you say Indian French?” he asks incredulously. *Gulp* “Yes” I answer. “Well I hope it ends better than [...]

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