The
Good Life
Films of exquisite taste at the Bangalow Film Festival Just about everybody loves food. And one of the things that people love just as much as food is watching food on the big screen, and the little screen, and the in between screen. At this year’s Bangalow Film Festival there are two wonderful food films to tantalise your tastebuds – one about cakes, and the other about truffles. Directed by Laura Gabbert, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles documents the collaboration between world renowned chef, Yotam Ottolenghi, (Jerusalem, Plenty) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This feature film follows five visionary pastry makers as they endeavour to construct an extravagant food gala based on the art exhibit Visitors to Versailles. Exploring the relationship between modernday social media and the open court of the French Monarchy, the film studies the alarmingly
Pictured above – A delicious threetiered creation in Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles Pictured left – A man and his dog (and the fungi they search for) in The Truffle Hunters cyclical intersection between food, culture, and history. As well as Ottolenghi, the film features Dinara Kasko, Dominique Ansel, Sam Bompas, Ghaya Oliveira and Janice Wong. The second film features truffles and those Earthlings with a nose
for finding them. Selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, The Truffle Hunters follows a group of eccentric, elderly truffle hunters, and their beloved truffle dogs through the forest as they covertly seek out one of the most prized food
Easy and healthy, the ethos of the Japanese Kitchen Story & photo Melissa Butters
The Japanese Kitchen brings an ‘easy healthy’ ethos to the markets each week. Their unique menu, inspired by the teachings of a Japanese monk, uses fresh Australian seasonal produce. This popular little stall was started by humble Japanese sushi chefs, Takayuki Kuramoto and Takashi Yaguchi, who fell in love with Australia. They have a passion for creating nutritious local cuisine. Takayuki began as a chef at the age of 15. He worked in Tokyo and America before venturing to Byron Bay in 2004 on his honeymoon, and
Cooking it healthy at the Japanese Kitchen, Manabu Kishimoto, Satomi Hook and Tetsuo Kuno. beginning a working holiday. Here he met Takashi at Sushi-O in Byron. They had a vision to feed the community and give back to the place where it all began.
Keen to expand his skills and knowledge, Takayuki regularly returns to his homeland. He has been visited by a chef from Munakatado, one of the
ingredients in the world. Traversing the picturesque Italian countryside, directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw build a warm portrait of the passionate hunters, who discuss the joys of working in the wild, the stiff competition of the hunt, and the creeping effects
best bakeries in Japan. They spend time together perfecting recipes and techniques. Taka began experimenting with Rakkenji, which was invented by a Japanese monk. This special culture is 100% fermented and therefore good for the gut. It is a key ingredient for his rare signature dish, a savoury pancake called Okonomiyaki. The monk’s teachings used stretching and exercise between two people for developing good health from the outside. He also stressed the need to be healthy on the inside. At the markets you’ll find sushi cones made with biodynamic brown rice and dishes using seasonal sprouts, avocados,
of climate change. A window into a multi-milliondollar industry – in which truffles are auctioned on plush velvet cushions – the film delves into this mercurial market and its denizens, from an anonymous buyer sourcing the fungi for a president, to the dark-alley bargains between sweet-talking truffle traders and cagey hunters. Q The Truffle Hunters screens at the Bangalow Showground on Sunday 17 January at 8pm and Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles will screen at the A&I Hall on Saturday 23 January at 5.10pm. The Bangalow Film Festival runs from 13–23 January. For more information visit the website: www.bangalowfilmfestival.com.au.
tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and tempura market veggies. Manabu, Satomi and Tetsuo, who assist Takayuki and Takashi, arrive early each week to grab what’s fresh and start prepping and chopping. They’ve now expanded to Doma in Federal and Qudo in Bellingen, but Taka pays tribute to the markets
where it all began. ‘I love the atmosphere, the people. It felt special to be a stallholder and making food for the community’. Q The New Brighton Farmers Market is on every Tuesday from 8am to 11am, and the Mullumbimby Farmers Market every Friday 7am to 11am.
Happy Hour Everyday 4-6pm $6 LOFT LAGER $6 LOFT WINE $10 APEROL SPRITZ $14 MARGARITA Open every day 4pm till Late 4 Jonson St, Byron Bay 0266809183
www.echo.net.au/byron-echo Byron Shire Echo archives Loft-Echo-Ad-XL_260x88mm_V23.indd 1
Book online: loftbyronbay.com.au @loftbyronbay
`ëŕƖëſƷ ǭǽ ǩǧǩǨ The Byron Shire Echo 15 31/8/20 3:19 p. m.