“If Rome is a living museum, then Venice is a dream,” says Rinaldo “Ronnie” Di Stasio. The Thornbury-born son of Italian migrants is a hospitality legend in Melbourne, best known for the groundbreaking restaurant Rosati in the […]
Freelance journalist
Category: Lifestyle
Melbourne’s pedestrian crush
I enjoyed researching and writing this feature for the April-May edition of RoyalAuto magazine (and with great pics by Eamon Gallagher). Having worked in and around Melbourne since the late ’90s I’ve noticed the CBD […]
The ‘mongoose’ of North Fitzroy
Introducing Pearl, the ‘mongoose’ of North Fitzroy. Photo: Peter Barrett. I’ve never liked cats. For all the usual reasons: too aloof, won’t fetch sticks, can’t order them about. But as a young family living on […]
Dame Edna’s hometown up for international environmental award
The City of Moonee Valley is up for an international award for its plan to plant 30 per cent more trees by 2040. Photo: Isamu Sawa. Here’s my story from today’s Domain section. You can read it […]
Insider’s design guide for Voyeur magazine
The nice folks at Voyeur Pacific+ (Virgin Australia’s in-flight magazine) asked me to put together a brief, insiders’ guide to great design experiences in Melbourne for a 2018 issue earlier in the year. I had […]
Bistecca’s James Bradey puts Italy on a plate
Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Bistecca in Sydney. Photo: James Brickwood. By Peter Barrett, 27 November 2018. James Bradey and Warren Burns were 12 when they met. The friendship lasted through school and beyond as they backpacked […]
Behind the scenes at the Good Food Guide
Restaurant critics Roslyn Grundy, Gemima Cody, Ardyn Bernoth, & Myffy Rigby at 2019 Good Food Guide Awards. Photo by Kristoffer Paulsen. Roslyn Grundy, Victorian editor of Fairfax Media’s Good Food Guide, used to laugh at the […]
