The chef, her camera and her blog

What did a visiting Provençal chef and a Sydney food writer talk about when they first met? Shoes of course!

And, it wasn’t just because we are both women. When I first met Chef Reine Sammut, it was not in a kitchen, but in a nightclub. She was wearing a great big grin and the sunny disposition for which she is renowned. She was also happily bending down … eyes behind her camera … taking photos of the floor …

It actually took a couple of meetings with Chef Reine Sammut to find out the whole story.

At 55, Reine has enormous energy and not only has a Michelin star restaurant gastronimique, a bistro and a guesthouse, but she is also a blogger. The night after the Sydney Cuisine NOW Gala dinner, I went home to bed. Reine, on the other hand, wrote her blog post.

Just before we met in Sydney, we’d already met on the Internet. Reine found this Inside Cuisine site, and my earlier post, on the Cuisine NOW festival (to which she was an invited guest chef). Unbeknownst to me, she posted this site on her twitter stream. I then found her, and, I read her blog.

I digress. Back to the shoes.

The next night, at the reception for the Gala Dinner, I discovered that Reine was fascinated by the Sydney disposition to wear thongs (flip flops) as footwear in the CBD, and about the ability of the Sydney woman to transform her footwear for the night. She even sent me over to ask Gala Dinner guest Nadine Brodie (previously unknown to both of us) if I could take a photo of her shoes (pictured below).

And, at Reine’s masterclass the hunt for shoes continued …

Shoes by Australian designer Leona Edmiston were captured (below) on the feet of Alexandra Lambert at the masterclass and lunch.

Me, well I was wearing Michael Kors‘ platform cork wedges … If you want to know about the food, rather than about the shoes, you can visit:

Cuisine NOW website for recipes and photos of the festival events or

Reine Sammut’s website Hôtel Auberge de Charme et Luxe en Luberon Provence