The Only Gig to be at Tonight

Delectable singer Christie Lamb will be launching he new album tonight at the insanely named Rooty Hill RSL ( Whispers has been there- like something out of Las Vegas!)

Christie Lamb             pic: fireflyphotos.com.au

Born in Nottingham, England, Christie moved to Australia aged 6 and attended a Performing Arts School for dance, drama and music.

Now with a plethora of prestigious awards under her belt, Christie can add ‘CMC New Oz Artist of the Year 2015’ and a Golden Guitar for ‘CMAA New Talent of the Year 2016’. Winning both these awards is unheard of as an independent artist, and at just 23 years of age, is a truly extraordinary achievement. 

These awards wrap up an incredibly fruitful year that started with the success of her debut album 

‘All She Wrote’. Following a sold out album launch in Sydney, the album hit #1 on the Aria Hit Seekers Album Chart (All Genres) and #2 on the ARIA Australian Artist Country Chart. The subsequent five radio releases spurned three #1 hit singles and two top 5 singles.

As a result, Christie Lamb has been hailed as ‘the one to watch’ by country music industry insiders including legend, Lee Kernaghan.  As Lee concurs, “Christie is an incredible artist; not only an amazing singer, she is also an extremely talented multi-instrumental musician. I reckon Christie Lamb is the one to watch. She is a star of the future”
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here : http://rootyhillrsl.com.au/christie-lamb-tickets-2016

Chiswick Turns Two

It's without a doubt one of Sydney's dining successes. Top chef Matt Moran's Chiswick in Woollahra turned 2 years old and they threw a small bash to celebrate.
Guests supped on apple and red basil martinis with fried zucchini flowers and mint- all picked from Chiswick's own garden that can be viewed from the restaurant. Now that is fresh and for a Tuesday night, the restaurant itself was packed.
And a scrumptious Bombe Alaska was dished up with guests helping blow out the candles.

Party host & Chiswick co-owner Peter Sullivan        Warren Fahey & Victoria Morish             Kerri-Anne Kennerley

Matt Branches Out

Not content with now two of Sydney's hottest restaurants, ARIA right near the Sydney Opera House and the hugely popular Chiswick in Chiswick Gardens Woollahra (and making time for appearances on Master Chef) and an ARIA in Brisbane, one of Australia's top chefs Matt Moran launched his latest catering partnership at the Opera House late last week.

Peter Sullivan & Matt Moran

 And it couldn't have been a more perfect night. A warm Autumn evening nestled below the Opera House sails in a beautifully decorated marquee, with the mastery of the Harbour Bridge opposite, ferry lights gliding by, copious flutes of Laurent Perrier and some of the finest food to be had on this continent as guests were guided down a candle lit red carpet

You have to give it to Matt and business partner Peter Sullivan. Everything they touch turns to gold and this latest venture is a winner. MorSul Catering can be contacted on 612 9240 2244 www.morsul.com.au

Marriage Made in Heaven

Chiswick Gardens in leafy Woollahra is one of the council's prime properties, surrounded as it is by the well heeled of the Eastern Suburbs and a stone's throw from the Consular district .

The restaurant in the gardens-Chiswick has lain dormant for some years now and after a long tender process the council has awarded the premises to one the countries best know chefs, Matt Moran and his business partner Peter Sullivan. It's a wise decision on the council's part and the pair have spent the last 18 months renovating the dining areas and adding their own vegetable garden to supply the kitchen with fresh produce.

Masterchef's Hayden Quinn

Silvia Colloca, Richard Roxborgh & Matt Moran

Anyone who has dined at Matt's Aria restaurant right next door to the Sydney Opera House will know of Matt's superb culinary skills that have made Aria the first stop of choice for visiting celebrities and tourists.

Chiswick Gardens is a bit more laid back with it's polished floors, rustic tables and superb floor to ceiling windows that open onto the gardens giving the place a light and airy feeling. Prices are reasonable and it's guaranteed to become one of the area's most popular dining spots. On Tuesday they held a launch party for regular customers.

Kerri-Anne Kennerley loves a party

Silverchair's Chris Joannou & Laura Csortan

the veggie garden

MKR's Manu Feidel & Clarissa Weerasena

Leo DiCaprio's New Sydney Neighbour-Bill Gates.

The world's second richest man Bill Gates and his family are in Sydney and have settled in for a month's holiday in a grand Point Piper mansion.

Gates is staying just 6 doors away from Hollywood star Leo DiCaprio who is in Sydney to film Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (in glorious 3D). Leo also has an entire floor at the newly renovated Star Casino where his entourage stay. That floor has been provided gratis by The Star management in return for DiCaprio turning up for the odd party now and then. They throw in the corporate jet as well for Leo's use.

Neville Crichton

Gates and family have now been spotted at several Sydney restaurants including Matt Moran's Aria on Tuesday night  and today he leaves for a few days of sunshine at Hamilton Island .

The Tuscan style mansion that Gates is renting for a reputed $25000 a week belongs to luxury car entrepreneur, New Zealander Neville Crichton. With an underground garage, a spa, a pool and a private beach and jetty, the villa has everything one could desire.

The Ferrari HQ minus tram shed

Neville Crichton has also scored another property victory. Two years ago he spent $4M on his new Waterloo headquarters where one can pick up a new Ferrari or Maserati for some loose change.

the vanished tramshed

Crichton has had an ongoing battle with the local council over a rather dilapidated tram shed that sat right at the front of his glistening new glass and steel showrooms. Locals insisted it should be heritage listed but in a city where so many glorious sandstone convict era buildings have bitten the dust, the tram shed was just an eyesore.

Over the past few months the council demolished half the building, leaving a bizarre half section remaining with a plaque on it. Just a month ago the entire thing finally disappeared leaving Neville Crichton's entrance free of obstructions.

Chef Goes Bananas !

Courtney Act & Danni Minogue at Aria

Is it all a stunt ?. It's certainly a wonderful promotion for Masterchef now in it's 4th season and driving us all witless as we sit munching on our baked beans and watch amateurs produce sensational dishes.

Chef Matt Moran who is now a fixture on the show has thrown a tizzy and it could become a youtube hit (with our help)

Moran owns Aria, one of Australia's smartest restaurants over-looking the Sydney Opera House. His food is simply to die for and the Shuttle will go to the opening off a pantry door if it's at Aria just to sample the hors d'ouvres.

The last shindig a few weeks ago was a promotion for Danni Minogue's TV show and the previous party late last year was a super secret bash for the Queen of TV Oprah Winfrey.

Winfrey who was staying at the nearby Hotel Interontinetal also rented an apartment above Aria in the infamous 'Toaster' Building. She used the apartment to dine on several nights with Matt preparing some of his world famous dishes.

Here's Matt doing a Gordon Ramsey:



Update : as we correctly guessed..a stunt !. All for a good cause by http://www.ozharvest.org/ to highlight food wastage.

The giveaway- despite Matt's superb acting skills, when the camera pans around the crew as Moran storms off. It's something we see in every fake 'reality' TV show ala The Office.

exclusive : Oprah Winfrey flees Sydney Hotel After One Day

The Toaster

She arrived on Saturday morning in her private jet having flown from Melbourne, and checked into the Hotel Intercontinental. 

But last night while Oprah Winfrey held court and wined and dined her 300 American guests in a marquee opposite the Sydney Opera House, our spy disguised as a Louis Vuitton hold-all reports assistants packed up Oprah's luggage and transported it to the controversial Toaster building where the Big O returned to after the party to spend the next few days in a luxury apartment on the top floor.

She didn't last one night at the Intercontinental and no-one in Camp Oprah is saying why. Nor will they talk about the absence of actor John Travolta who as the Qantas world-wide ambassador was to fly Oprah's 300 guests to Australia. Travolta never arrived.

Bennelong Apartments (the Toaster) was built in 1998 and gained it's nick name because of it's resemblance to a kitchen appliance. 

It is only one block from the Intercontinental and boasts spectacular views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. It was dogged by controversy during it's construction and critics deemed it to be one of Sydney's ugliest modern buildings.

 One bonus for Oprah-on the ground floor of the Toaster is chef Matt Moran's award winning restaurant Aria (left) where a welcome dinner party will be held for her on Monday evening (naturally with the Shuttle in attendance)

Our guest snapper Stephen Fry

Just received from Stephen Fry..a snap from a grey day on Sydney Harbour.

Fry's Sydney Opera House appearances have been a sell-out success. Last night he celebrated by dining with Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton at Aria.
Today he is filming in Cronulla-the scene of the infamous race riots in 2006 - for a BBC documentary on language. Let's hope he understands the locals.

..and let's not forget Max Markson in Rome !