Michael Harden, Freelance Food Writer, Melbourne Editor and Restaurant Critic for "Australian Gourmet Traveller"
"the Melbourne-style Cafe"
Michael has worked in restaurants in various parts of the world for 15 years to support his writing habit and now spends a lot of his time writing about restaurants. He is Melbourne editor and restaurant critic for Australian Gourmet Traveller and a regular contributor to a number of other local and international publications. He’s the author of 15 books, including one on Lygon Street families and the De Bortoli wine family, and is an ambassador for Australia’s Eat Drink Design Awards.Michael introduced his talk with a recent experience of the Hardware Society, a modern Melbourne styled café that is making its mark in Paris. He believes Melbourne’s journey as a world class café and casual dining destination got its roots from the Melbourne Olympics when more than 160 international chefs were recruited to manage the culinary needs of visitors to our shores.
Michael took us on a journey from Melbourne’s post war affluence, the red tape and bureaucracy where issues like the colour of your carpet and the definition of a meal dictated whether or not you’d get a licence, to a more flexible and casual approach to opening cafes. He talked of the many people who influenced and shaped what we see today, our obsession with smashed avo and finally how the café and dining scene has transformed into a social experience.
Thanks Michael for bringing it to life in such an exciting way.