Not only is everything Cassie Lucas of Firecracker Event prepares delicious, but she also caters effortlessly to all tastes – the dietary-requirement lists we send her way err on biblical!

So, after a zesty vegan dish and a hearty lamb crowdpleaser, she’s back with this ‘winner’ chicken dinner!

Hearty yet fresh, today Cassie Lucas of Firecracker Event shares her recipe for a deliciously slow-cooked roast lamb and zesty side salad.

This one is a crowd-pleaser, and although there’s a lengthy roasting time (trust Cassie, you can taste the difference) it’s surprisingly simple to whip up!

Every neighbourhood has their local food and retail operators who really bring the community together. In Collingwood, there’s Meg and Zenta Tanaka of CIBI, who have been serving up nourishing Japanese-inspired fare for the past ten years, alongside a curated selection of homewares.

After a decade of operation in their Keele Street location, CIBI has recently spread its wings to inhabit the next door warehouse space, a 60-year-old former garment factory right next door to the old location, and four times the size of its predecessor!

‘I can’t believe it,’ they’ll all say. Because these jackfruit ‘pulled-pork’ tacos are that unbelievably good – whether you’re vegan or not!

Cassie Lucas of Firecracker Event began her food series with the ultimate grazing table last week, and she’s certainly backed-up with another one to rave about – disfrutar!

Did you catch our Scaling Up Small Business story on Friday? If so, you’d know great things have been happening for Cassie Lucas of Firecracker Event!

The founder/creative director and long-time TDF friend (we’re still talking about those legendary Open House 2017 lunchboxes) is back to host our food column throughout October!

From renting kitchens on a causal basis in 2014, to setting up in Thornbury in 2015, Cassie and her brilliant team have just moved into their stunning ‘HQ2’ in Northcote – now available for bookings.

Being one of the hardest workers we know, she also recently found time to cater for her sister’s wedding… which leads us to her opening recipe: a show-stopping grazing table perfectly adapted to events, relaxed meals with friends, or, as Nigella Lawson would endorse, a treat-yourself solo dinner!

Over the past month, Matt and Lentil Purbrick of Grown and Gathered have invited us into their village. Recipes from The Village come from their community and travels – an ad hoc veggie risotto whipped up by a mate every time they visit; cacioricotta cheese passed on from Nonno Giuseppe in Puglia; and a method for making sourdough flatbread paninis that is a weekly staple for the Grown & Gathered crew.

This final recipe hails from Sardinia, Italy, and really exemplifies what Matt and Lentil have been all about from the very beginning – fresh produce, good quality ingredients, and a quick and easy meal to make and share.

The average Australian now consumes 110 kilograms of meat per year. As concern grows about the health implications and environmental impact of this unsustainable diet, advocates have banded together with Australian charities – Bowel Cancer Australia, World Animal Protection and Sustainable Table –  for Meat Free Week!

The initiative challenges participants to give up meat for seven days and raise funds for great causes. So whether you are on-board for a week sans-meat, or are instead giving Meat Free Mondays a try, today we offer up the tastiest vegetarian recipes from our archives!

There must be no more of an agreeable food than bread. This humble staple usually stays out of the spotlight, allowing more attention-seeking toppings like cheese and roast veggies to emerge as the stars of the show. BUT TODAY it’s taking centre stage!

In their latest book, The Village, Matt and Lentil Purbrick of Grown & Gathered share their recipe for homemade flatbread, using leftover sourdough culture. Where in the name of panini am I going to find sourdough culture, you ask? Don’t worry – they’ve got you covered! Read on for an epic DIY.

From their new cookbook, ‘The Village‘, Matt and Lentil Purbrick of Grown & Gathered document recipes from important people in their lives and in their community. Today’s recipe is for a cacioricotta – a cheese that uses a hybrid processing technique, somewhere between a hard cheese and a ricotta. Take note of the field guide, recipe notes and special equipment required for this recipe.

The most important thing to know? This cheese is good on EVERYTHING!

For most of us city slickers, making a meal generally involves a trip to the local supermarket. For Matt and Lentil Purbrick, it’s as easy as walking out into their garden in regional Victoria! Since 2014, the Grown and Gathered duo has been sharing their skills, knowledge and belief that health and happiness can be found by taking our modern lifestyles back to basics. Last week, they published their second book, The Village, exploring the idea of experiencing food, together!

Expanding on some of the ideas found in Matt and Lentil’s first book, Grown and Gathered, this second volume focuses on the importance of nurturing your own community, the values and history of villages, and how the experience of sharing meals strengthens relationships. With this in mind, it seems rather fitting that for the first in a four-part series, Matt and Lentil share a risotto recipe from one of their mates, Lach.