This week I am

preparing for a number of events in September, starting with a marmalade and citrus preserving class at Fowlers Vacola in North Melbourne. We're doing a trial class, and the first class will be on September 8.http://fowlersvacola.com.au/shop/cooking-school   The booking forms will soon be on-line.The other event is a special night at Circa the Prince on September 14, when I shall be hosting the Gastronomy Greats dinner. Group sommelier for the Melbourne Pub Group, Laurent Rospars, is celebrating 30 years in Australia. It's a party, with some of the greats also marking decades of importance. http://www.melbournepubgroup.com.au/food-and-drink/article/gastronomy-greatsIt's going to be a wonderful night. I met Laurent first when he was chef at a restaurant on Toorak Road, in the Como Centre, and got to know him better when he was chef at Richard Frank's restaurant Quarter Sessions. He had also been at Max's, at the Park Hyatt. Other chefs on the night? Ian Curley, one of the first of the British chefs to arrive in Melbourne; Philippe Mouchel, whose cooking at Paul Bocuse restaurant changed our expectations, and who continues to cook wonderfully currently at Philippe, just off Collins Street, and continues to train and encourage young chefs and apprentices. http://www.philipperestaurant.com.au  And then there's Annie Smithers, who trained with Stephanie Alexander and has developed her own wonderful inspired-by-French-provincial style, and whose hallmark is garden to table at the Trentham restaurant. http://dufermier.com.au/Book through the Melbourne Pub Group link.