´Finding Your Voice´ Seminar

Is public speaking your worst fear?

Whatif you could present without that flash-flood of nerves that sabotageyour efforts? What if you couldstand at the lectern relaxed and self-assured? What if you had theconfidence to speak from your heart so that you powerfully connect withyour audience every time? What if you knew you could maximise thelearning retention of your audience?

Finding Your Voice Seminar introduces a new holistic approach to publicspeaking training, suitable for new ormore experienced speakers. In this seminar you'll learn how to empoweryourself and achieve results with ease. Learn to use powerfultechniques to harness the adrenaline buzz and to access your authenticvoice.Learn how to put a spin on self-limiting fears and present successfullyevery time.

The seminar will be facilitated by Mary Atkins, a member and Past President of the FMCA, award-winningspeaker, intuitive coach and author of Finding Your Voice, the definitive self-help guide to public speaking. Her 25years of experience in conference and event management add to her teaching wisdom, enabling any speaker tomagically connect with an audience.

Margaret Fulton's 85th Birthday Dinner

A public celebration in Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney

You are invited to join the FMCA's Patron, Margaret Fulton, and friends to celebrate her 85th birthday at a very special dinner in the Strangers' Dining Room in Sydney's Parliament House. ABC Radio presenter and FMCA member Simon Marnie will be Master of Ceremonies while you dine with our “National Living Treasure", who is credited with having taught Australia how to cook.

Enjoy a menu designed by Margaret and executive chef Scott Clark that will be a reflection of her encyclopaedic culinary knowledge and an example of her role in bringing good food into Australian homes. The three-course meal will be matched
with Robert Oatley premium wines, and a birthday cake made especially by Adriano Zumbo will be cut.

This dinner will be part of the Sydney Morning Herald's Sydney International Food Festival (SIFF) during the month of October, and tickets will be offered to the public in the official SIFF Program which will be published in The Sydney Morning Herald this weekend, September 12, and also on the SIFF website.

We urge you to book early for your FMCA discounted tickets.

An alluring Arabian night in Melbourne

An educational tour through a virtual Middle Eastern souk plus a degustation dinner at the renowned Rumi Restaurant

We'll start at NSM Food Wholesalers where Omar Sidaoui, whose father started the first Lebanese restaurant in Australia more than 40 years ago, will give an overview of the huge variety of products he sells and talk about his spices, the preferred foods of Somalians, Greeks, Turks and various Middle Eastern cultural groups, and Syrian herbal teas and dried health herbs. Omar will also provide a sampling of his house brand tahini and halva.

We will then move on to Rumi Restaurant, where owner/chef Joseph Abboud will prepare his signature 15-course tasting meal, including sweets. In three short years Joseph has established himself as a master of Middle Eastern food in Melbourne because of the excellence and authenticity of his native cuisine. His mother cooks with him and she has greatly influenced his journey. In addition to his family's strong Australian-Lebanese influence, he honed his skills with Donovan Cooke at Est Est Est and Ondine, and with Michael Lambie at Circa. Joseph is fastidious about being true to his culinary heritage and he will talk to us about his cooking philosophies, his memories and his family's influence.

A clue to the soul of this gentle culinary giant is in the name of his restaurant, Rumi, in honour of the 13th Century Persian poet. Arabic script wraps around two walls of the restaurant, an extract from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, from a passage about eating, drinking and an acknowledgement that we're all part of a larger plan.

Farmed Thai prawns - a social and educational tasting

Further to the article “Throw another prawn on the barbie" in the Aug/Sept issue of FMCA Update, member Norm Grant, CEO of the Seafood Importers Association of Australasia, and the Thai Office of Agricultural Affairs in Canberra invite FMCA members to a social and educational tasting of Thai prawns at the celebrated Hugo's Lounge in Kings Cross.

Norm argues that imports are an absolute necessity if we are to maintain even a modest seafood component in Australian diets, and to reach optimum dietary health we need to import much more. This prawn tasting, which will include a six-minute video presentation, aims to provide an insight into Thai prawn farming, modern factory processing and the underlying food safety and quality assurance systems.

Hugo's celebrity chef Pete Evans, who joined Norm's recent trade mission to Thailand, will share his impressions of Thai prawn farming. Sample 13 delicious canapes prepared by Pete to showcase the product, accompanied by Domain Chandon NV, Cable Bay Sauvignon Blanc and Domain Chandon Chardonnay, Mitolo Jester Shiraz and Wildrock Pinot Noir. Plain cooked prawns will also be on offer for tasting au naturel.

Among the guests will be several who have seen the Thai farms/factories for themselves, including well-known chefs, the Director General of the NSW Food Authority, some well-known suppliers, and representatives of Thailand.

Should you have a guest who is keen to join this tasting, please register his / her name at the time of booking. If any vacancies remain at the RSVP deadline, they will be offered to members' guests in order of registration, at a cost of $40.

Butter and Margarine Panel Discussion

The purpose of this educational discussion is for FMCA members to receive objective and updated information about pros and cons of butter and margarine. We all know that margarine is better for our health but butter tastes better. Do we have a responsibility to our readers and customers to offer them not only delicious food but healthy food and recipes as well?

Find out from our expert panel, moderated by nutritionist Karen Kingham. The speakers will be:

Brooke Sprott, Senior Nutritionist, Unilever
Glenys Kerrins, Dietitian, Dairy Australia
Bill Shrapnel, Nutritionist
Coral Colyer, National Heart Foundation
Lynette Skeoch, Home Economist

Salami and Sausage Master Workshop

A six-hour hands-on class exclusive to 25 FMCA members at Pino's Dolce Vita Fine Foods Shop, Kogarah, Sydney

The day will start with a whole Bangalow pig on the bench and finish with the casings being filled before relaxing with a glass of Oatley wine and a sausage sizzle, with Notes of the Master Workshop to take home.

All types of salume (prosciutto, salami, pancetta, culatello etc) will be discussed and sampled during the class, and participants will produce their own salami, which will be individually tagged and air-dried at Pino's until ready. Depending on size, this process can take from two to three months. A follow-up visit to Pino's will be arranged for the class to reassemble to collect their salamis.

A list of requirements for the day will be sent to those attending.

Joe Mashett of Bangalow Sweet Pork will be with us on the day to discuss the merits of the piggery's product, and Peter Clay from Taralga Springs grass-fed beef will join us to showcase grass-fed beef, veal and lamb. He will point out the physical properties that grass-feeding creates, and cook some cuts for us to sample.

Should you have a guest who is keen to join this workshop, please register his / her name at the time of booking. If any vacancies remain at the RSVP deadline, they will be offered to members' guests in order of registration, at a cost of $200.

Join us to celebrate the Taste of Italy with good food, good wine, good friends and a bag of goodies to take home!

Exclusive dinner at Casa Barilla, Sydney

Visiting Executive Chef from Barilla Italy, Roberto Bassi, and Casa Barilla's Luca Ciano will prepare a unique four-course menu exploring Italian cuisine from the Renaissance to the modern day.

Roberto Bassi has collaborated with the Barilla Family as Executive Chef since 1988 providing expert advice on Italian cuisine, product development and organising culinary events across the globe.

Born and bred in Emilia Romagna, the home of Barilla, Roberto has worked extensively in Italy, and in London and Paris at The Savoy, The Stafford and the Hotel Prince de Galles. In the 80s, Roberto also worked with the legendary San Domenico restaurants (in Imola, Italy - one of the top Michelin-star restaurants of its time - and in New York) alongside Valentino Marcattilii and Gianluigi Morini.

Luca Ciano, born and raised in Milan, has brought a wealth of experience and passion to his role as Barilla Australia's Executive Chef. His career includes distinguished restaurants in Milan, London, Bermuda and Sydney, and some of his signature dishes have been published in Chefs of Distinction (2003 and 2004 editions). Luca also holds regular hands-on cooking classes at Casa Barilla in Sydney.

Mediterraneo Import Export will supply indigenous Italian wines, carefully matched with tonight's menu.

Master of ceremonies for the evening will be ABC broadcaster and FMCA member Simon Marnie, who will lead a discussion on Italian food with Roberto and Luca, and host a fun quiz loaded with prizes.

Join us to celebrate the Taste of Italy with good food, good wine, good friends and a bag of goodies to take home!

Exclusive tour of Sydney Markets

Members and their friends or colleagues are invited to take a guided tour through the lively atmosphere of Australia's largest fresh fruit, vegetable and flower markets. For people who have never visited Sydney Markets in Flemington/Homebush, deciding where to start can be a little daunting, so come and join the FMCA's tour with market professionals.

Attendees will be split into three groups led by Retina Hong, Communications Manager at Sydney Markets, Shane Chester, Head of Operations, and Sue Dodd, Retail Marketing Programs Manager. The tour guides know how the markets work, they know their fresh produce, and they know the market people. They'll provide a real taste of market life as they take you through the providores area, flower markets, banana ripening areas and growers' areas.

We'll then re-assemble in the Conference Room for a breakfast of fresh fruit, coffee and pastries, and watch a short DVD on the Markets' operations. CEO Brad Latham will brief us on the future of the Markets and the works in progress, followed by a Q&A session.

Attendees are then welcome to return to the market halls to make any purchases.