2018 has been the most action packed year yet for the Chef’s Wife! It’s been 12 months full of many highlights. Like every year, I feel like I didn’t blog as much as I wanted, but life just gets in the way. I’m slowly feeling ok with that, but I’d love to write more often on dining, foodie events and travel.
My blog highlights of 2018
Looking back, it was a busy old year! I was proud as punch to be ranked in the top 3 of Perth’s most popular and influential Food Review Blogs (source aussiefoodbloggers.com.au). The list is a fabulous way to discover more Perth Food Bloggers, including cooking-style blogs.
This year I have continued my monthly restaurant review for the Post (the Western Suburbs local newspaper). I’m heading into my sixth year of reviews and very proud to be a part of such a well written local newspaper.
I’ve been freelancing my little butt off! I also write about kid friendly places to visit and dine for Perth’s #1 Family Website Buggybuddys.
My blog highlight for 2018 was visiting the Gascoyne Food Festival in Carnarvon. I had three days in the winter sunshine packed with amazing WA produce, from touring the plantations with some of Perth & WA’s tops Chefs, to enjoying a lazy long table lunch and epic assado-style BBQ. It really struck home to me just how bloody amazing the fruit, veg and seafood is up in Carnarvon and that we need to support the hard working farmers by remembering to always “Buy West, Eat Best”.
For the City of Perth’s Eat Drink Perth food festival I checked out a vodka high tea, and Northbridge walking tour and loved getting stuck into “Let’s Thursday Like it’s Friday” with a cocktail walking tour of Perth city and tacos at Baby Mammoth.
I worked with City of Vincent this year to highlight the brilliant North Perth Café scene for Mothers Day. My own Mum and Little Chef joined me on a photoshoot – which was a first for me! Though it was far out of my comfort zone, I’m so happy that I was brave enough to give it a go. I loved the pics and discovering gems Satchmo and The Old Laundry.
Our beautiful city played host to some fantastic events this year. The Night Noodle Markets were excellent. I even had a chat with Marco Pierre White! My Brother in law, The Pastry Chef, used to work for him in London. Our favourite dining experience of 2018, has to be a tie. Billie H was a lunch to remember, as were our two epic lunches at the amazing Xanadu Winery in Margaret River.
I was lucky enough to head to Margs three times this year. I still have a few blogs to write from our stays at Binya Maya and Retreat on Roxburgh. That’s on my to do list for 2019 – as well as more travel. I was also really lucky to enjoy a few stay-cays in the metro area, with Crown Towers being cream of the crop! I relished every moment of a very special progressive dinner at the magical Crown last month.
My love for the Perth Hills continues with a few trips to gem La Fattoria and the new Naked Apple Cider House. There’s a few hills newbies I hope to try in the new year. I think this amazing part of Perth doesn’t get as much exposure as it should, so I’m more than happy to toot my horn about the Perth Hills at every opportunity. Which was why I was so excited to get involved with the Armadale Hill’s Araluen Avocado Festival recently.
My Favourite 2018 Openings
In 2018 we have eaten at many diverse cafes, bars, restaurants and even food trucks. Here’s my favourite new Perth dining spots for this year…
o Cocktails by the harbour at Helm, Fremantle
o Top notch Italian dining at Garum, Perth CBD
o A egg-tastic brunch at 8 Yolks, Success
o Huuuuuge burgers at Charcoal Charlies, Currambine
My Favourite “Oldies” of 2018
To be fair, some of these venues aren’t that old. With all the hype of new venues, it’s important to support existing restaurants that are doing a fantastic job too! Here are my favourite Perth dining spots I visited in 2018:
o Cott & Co Fish Bar, Cottesloe
o D’s Authentic Japanese – Connoly
o Bistro Guillaume – Crown Perth
And THOSE closures!
Not only did 2018 hold many tasty new spots to try, it was the year that we said goodbye to lots of favourites – West @Ku De Ta, Basq, Hermosa… the list went on. I was so gobsmacked by the spectacular implosion of Ku De Ta, that I took a second to take stock and go through my blog, realising that since I started it in 2013, SO MANY of the spots we’d dined at had closed their doors – leading to my most popular post of the year – “32 Restaurants That Have Closed in Perth”. Fingers crossed 2019 is a much more successful year for Perth’s restaurateurs!
Vital Statistics
My background is in accounts, so I’m a total number nerd. I love a stat and think its pretty nifty to see how my little blog has grown from year to year. Here’s a few of my 2018 stats…
o 58 new blog posts
o Over 48,000 views of my blog posts
o 15,000 social media followers, growing by the day.
You can follow me on social media at…
@Thechefswifeperth on Instagram
@perthchefswife on Twitter
On Facebook www.facebook.com/TheChefHisWifeTheirPerthFectLife
A Word on Invited and Sponsored Posts
To all the restaurants, artisans and local companies that have contacted me in 2018 – thank you for taking the time to discover my blog. I get an incredible amount of emails and invites on a daily basis and unfortunately it would be impossible to attend all the events I’m invited to, and not drown in “mum guilt”.
Another reason I limit my invited/sponsored posts is that I want to keep my blog as interesting as possible. An authentic meal at a restaurant (where the wait staff have no idea that I’m a blogger) makes for the most interesting and “real” blogging experience. Saying that, an invite to a restaurant that I’ve not had chance to discover or would not have thought to go to, always mixes it up a bit and offers some unique experiences… like meeting renowned Chefs (like having high tea with Chef Anna Polivou!), hanging on stage at the Regal Theatre or cooking in the C Restaurant Kitchen.
Sure, it’s great getting a freebie, but as the saying goes ‘nothing really comes for free”. With each kind gift and invite, a lot of my time and effort goes into creating posts to promote it. When I do collaborate with a brand, I do like to keep it local and you know I’m bringing you something I’m genuinely excited about.
Our 2018
This year had many personal highs and lows. Just like a rollercoaster, it seemed like it was all over in the blink of an eye. Outside of my blog and family life I love to get stuck into the Formula One season and my favourite book series Outlander. And I managed to squeeze both in. I can’t tell you how excited I am for Game of Thrones to be back on our screens in a few months!
This year my little business – The Chef’s Wife Social Media Management grew and grew. I love working from home and the flexibility that freelancing gives me, especially with Little Chef. Specialising in the hospitality, family and lifestyle industries. I work with cafes, hotels, restaurants, takeaways, lifestyle products, family brands and more to create content for their own blogs and social media platforms. Feel free to get in touch with any questions for your business.
Chef had a crazy 9 weeks working at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. He ran the Athlete’s Village Kitchen, which was open 24/7, so he was very burnt out after that. Currently, he’s helping to establish a new menu at the WACA, during their busy cricket season.
We were so excited to welcome a new addition to our house – a beautiful Groodle pup – Ruby Lou (Yes, we named our dog after a potato!). Ruby, or Roux for short, has fit in very well – particularly loving our coastal coffee walkies along Burns Beach.
What’s to come in 2019?
What’s happening in 2019? It’s safe to say there will be lots more food and travel – stay tuned to find out! I’m also hoping to catch up on my backlog of 20+ unwritten posts. Just thinking about that makes me break out into a sweat. In the last few months I’ve eaten at Bump in Burger, Fishbone Wines, Yefski and many more.
Lastly and most importantly – to all my followers, thank you very much for all your support! Every Facebook like, Instagram love and blog comment is really appreciated. It makes writing what I love about so rewarding for me.
Thank you very much for reading! I’m hoping 2019 is the best yet for us all. Wishing you health and happiness for 2019.
Happy New Year!
Amanda xx