ABSTRACT
The tantalising discourse of food critics like Terry Durack, Matt Preston and Jonathan Gold, television shows like My Kitchen Rules (2010), Master Chef (2009) and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (2004), as well as the birth of ‘the celebrity chef’ like Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, and Marco Pierre White have made us savvier than ever about food, restaurant design and service. Eating out, though, has become more than simply celebrating a special event. Many of us are eating out more regularly as the demands of work increase, leaving little energy, time or the desire to cook. Some of us eat out every night . . . and some of us alone. As for cafés, many of us frequent them and drink coffee nearly every day. Professionals line up ‘patiently’ to get their takeaway macchiato, espresso or mocchaccino on their way to work. Sleep-deprived students on their third double-shot ristretto work on overdue assignments. A group of friends while away much of the morning sipping their chai soy lattes. Sydneysiders have an obsession with finding the perfect cup of coffee, and Australia’s love of coffee, and how it is made, has infiltrated the New York, London and Hong Kong coffee scene with many Australian-style cafés popping up.
