the frontline

BURGER TIME

In case you missed it – like I, for example, most definitely missed it – Hungry Jacks now has a vegan burger. That’ll be perfect for desperate vegans trying to find something of substance to chow down on at 2AM. The burger was launched in June and is compromised of “a 100% vegan patty made with carrots, peas, corn, potato and capsicum, plus veganaise and non-dairy vegan cheese”. To be honest, from sight alone it just looks like a vegan-ified version of the chain’s Veggie Whopper – but who’s complaining about that? The burger is available now for a limited time, so get in quick and hit us up with an official review because quite frankly, there are so many vegan burgers to try and so little time.

A(I)N’T THAT SOMETHING ELSE?

Norway has always done things a little differently. From breaks every 45 minutes during school lessons to legislating policies after oil was found to give Norwegians long-term wealth, to its sustainable culinary traditions, its a country of preservation and local empowerment. And while its capital city Oslo is famous for its eco-friendly approach to food, there is one restaurant taking the term ‘locally sourced’ to a new level. Maaemo, the first Norwegian restaurant ever to receive three Michelin stars, serves ants in place of lemons. That’s right, lemons don’t grow in Norway, so its head chef and co-owner Esben Holmboe Bang, uses local ants instead. “Yes, we do serve wood ants; they have a delicious acidic lemongrass flavour that we are unable to get from anything else,” Bang told The Bob Edit. “Luckily we live in a city that is so close to nature that we can have a relationship with our produce,” said Bang in an interview with Visit Oslo. Bang says the ants have a lot of the same qualities as lemons – “it’s just they’re a bit more aggressive than lemons.” Unsure of who would pay to have ants on their meal? With only eight tables seating 30 guests, it’s an exclusive affair for those able to spend upwards of AU$870 for the degustation and wine pairings – hence Martha Stewart’s glowing review of the restaurant in February this year following her nearly 20-course dinner.

OH SHARON!

Margot Robbie

Quentin Tarantino’s next movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is set to recount events that took place in late ’60s Los Angeles. Revolving around a struggling actor (Leonardo Dicaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt), it’s all set against the memorable backdrop of the gruesome Manson cult murders. Margot Robbie will portray Sharon Tate, the actress, model and wife of director Roman Polanski, who was one of the nine murder victims brutally murdered by Manson’s followers. Now, to the delight of Tarantino acolytes the world over, the I, Tonya actress has shared a fi rst look at herself in character in an Instagram post. The fi lm will also star Dakota Fanning, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Olyphant, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, and Tim Roth. It is set to be released on July 26th, 2019. Tarantino has stated that Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is stylistically “probably the closest to Pulp Fiction that I’ve done. It has two lead characters and a ton of supporting characters.”

WHAT A WASTE

Aldi’s attempts to reduce food waste appear to be failing, with the supermarket chain having been found to throw out excessive quantities of perfectly good food. Ever since the German supermarket chain opened its first store in Sydney back in 2001, Aldi has managed to carve out its own niche in the world of Australian supermarkets, becoming one of the more popular choices over the years. In the past few years though, the company has come under fire for the disproportionately large amount of waste that they produce. While the recent decision to ban plastic bags highlighted just how much plastic the chain uses when it comes to packaging items and produce, it appears that their attempts to eliminate food waste still have a ways to go as well. Taking to Facebook recently, Carmen Will, who runs the Foodshare Melbourne Facebook group, shared images of the excessive amount of perfectly good food that she retrieved from two of Aldi’s bins. “Last night I went on my first real dumpster diving mission,” Carmen began. “Most of this haul came from two Aldi bins alone. It’s absolutely disgusting the amount they throw away all because they package their produce in plastic and label it with a use by date.”

FOR IAN, FOREVER AGO

Never once have we doubted that Sir Ian McKellen is the purest, most wholesome being to grace this earth, but this just solidifies our belief. Recently a performance of King Lear had to be cancelled after McKellen, set to play the lead, injured his leg running for a train. He responded in the most wonderfully McKellenian way imaginable – by hosting an impromptu Q&A. The show was cancelled 30 minutes after it was supposed to start, but McKellan was determined not to let the punters down. Instead of sending the people home, he pulled up a chair and started answering audience questions, performing scenes from the King Lear off the top of his head, and even whipped out a couple Gandalf impressions. Oh, and everyone was completely refunded. To be honest, I can’t tell what my favourite facet of this story is: Sir Ian McKellen being an absolute angel, or the fact someone of his stature catches public transport.