Check out out sister blog – Snap West.

We’re mainly concerned with Melbourne western suburbs cheap eats … but not exclusively.

There’s many hundreds of food blogs in Australia – and a goodly whack of them are concerned with Melbourne and Victoria. Yet frequently when I and my fellow foot soldier in the pursuit of funky eats, Bennie, discover a new bakery, noodle shop, deli, cafe, gelati joint or market, a simple check online to see what others have to say about them turns up … nothing, or at least not much at all.

So this here site will be a record of our foodie and related explorations of what I consider to be our “neighbourhood”, which roughly stretches from Williamstown to Sunshine to Moonee Ponds and Flemington. We are also known to venture to Brunswick (Sydney Rd, for some reason, has become a Saturday lunch regular), Carlton and Fitzroy, and also are well familiar with the alleyways and back streets of the CBD and Chinatown.

But the other side of the river? Why would we bother?

Click on the pics for a closer look!

Comments and (particularly) hot tips most welcome!

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Kenny’s oft-spoken rule No.1: “Bennie, tonight we’re gonna go somewhere we’ve never eaten at before and we’re gonna order something  we’ve never had before!”

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KENNY WEIR is a journalist/editor/researcher/writer by trade, but food hound and music nutjob are his true callings. He was raised in Dunedin, New Zealand; moved to Melbourne in the mid 1980s; and has lived in Melbourne’s west for a decade. In the ’80s and through the ’90s he was a frequent visitor to New Orleans and the cajun country of South Louisiana, inhaling as much of the food, music, beer and general all-round ambiance as he could suck up. Since then, fatherhood has taken him on a different kind of journey. At home, he cooks mainly Italian and Indian.

His co-conspirator, BENNIE MINTER WEIR, 11 going on 12, sailed though toddlerhood hating tomatoes and potatoes … but loving chips. These days he loves tomatoes and spuds, and has come a long way since the early days of this blog. He evens likes eggplant these days. He has a healthy tolerance for spicy and is mostly happy to go along with another of his dad’s rules: “You don’t have to like it – but you DO have to try it!” His participation in Consider The Sauce is fabbo, and his tastes are growing and developing accordingly.

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We can be contacted at kenny cts blog (all wun word) @ gmail dot com

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Kenny Weir

Journalist. Editor. Sub-editor. Writer. Researcher. Project manager. Mentor.

A multi-skilled writer, editor, sub-editor, researcher and blogger with the ability to problem solve, work to tight deadlines and work independently or in a team

• Proven ability to write high-quality copy in short timeframes
• Excellent editing, proofreading and layout skills, including expertise in writing captions and headings
• Excellent organisational and project management skills
• Ability to quickly master new technologies
• Reliable and totally committed to obligations and responsibilities
• Energetic, focused and task-oriented worker.

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Employment History

Freelance journalist & editor                                                                                                    2008 – current

Blogger, food writer, restaurant reviewer

2010 – current

considerthesauce.net is devoted to the celebration of the rich, diverse and mostly unheralded food culture of Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Sunday Herald Sun

During my 17-year career at the Sunday Herald Sun, Australia’s leading Sunday newspaper, I held numerous roles. I was a full-time staff member, however as is typical on a weekly publication, many roles overlapped. This accounts for the timeframes appearing to overlap in my employment history as follows.

Sub-editor (General and Sport), Sunday Herald Sun 1991 – 2008

Achievements:

• Assessed, rewrote, merged and edited copy from editorial staff, world-wide sources and from numerous press agencies (eg. AAP, Reuters) under extreme deadline pressure
• Chose stories and photographs, decided which page they would appear on and how they would be placed on the page, and then created snappy layouts both manually and on computer
• Created eye-catching headlines, introductions and captions
• Contributed to re-positioning the newspaper, the circulation doubling during my tenure.

Editor, CD Reviews, Sunday Herald 1998 – 2007

Produced a weekly page of CD reviews, covering every spectrum of music.

Achievements:

• Expanded the newspaper’s CD section to provide the most comprehensive coverage of new CD releases in Australia
• Liaised with artist agents and publicists to secure exclusive interviews
• Planned the section to ensure major new releases were featured at the optimum time
• Expanded coverage of fringe and independent artists, especially from Melbourne
• Fostered a collegiate atmosphere amongst the reviewers and mentored new reviewers.

Entertainment Editor, Sunday Herald Sun 1998 – 2005

Combining great entertainment stories from Melbourne, Australia and around the world to create an expanded and highly-respected entertainment section.

Achievements:

• Planned and decided editorial themes for the section, sometimes up to a year ahead, to coincide with release dates for films, albums and concert tours
• Commissioned features and photographs, deciding who would write the story and the story budget, and liaised with journalists and clients throughout the process
• Worked with clients and in-house promotion teams on promotions in the section that would raise the newspaper’s circulation
• Secured media sponsorship for the Melbourne Jazz Festival, which included lobbying high-level stakeholders
• Forged strong relationships with film companies, promoters and record companies, large and small, and many other commercial organisations, to improve the reputation of the section and secure exclusives
• Encouraged staff members to contribute to the section, thus minimising contributor costs, and encouraged and mentored young journalists from other publications.
• Wrote many hundreds of features, cover stories, reviews and news stories.

Chief Sports Sub-editor, Sunday Herald Sun 1991 – 1998

A challenging role involving massive coverage of AFL and other sports, under extreme deadline pressure given the timing of sporting events.

Achievements:

• Controlled the flow of copy from the writers attending sporting events from around the world, including all over Australia, to make sure it was cut and processed to the right shape and space to fit the section
• Ensured numerous tight deadlines were met
• Produced the newspaper’s coverage of several AFL seasons and finals series
• Managed the sports section with limited staff resources.

Presenter, Radio PBS 106.7 FM                                                                                                               1989 – 2009

As well as writing and editing, I have an interest in jazz and roots music and have produced and presented a jazz program on PBS for more than 20 years. I currently present The Pearls from 11am-1pm on Sundays.

Achievements:

• Expanded coverage of Melbourne and Australian jazz performers
• Expanded the audience to include younger listeners.

Previous newspaper experience

As well as the above positions, I also sub-edited at numerous other publications including The Age, The Herald, The Dominion (NZ), The Evening Post (NZ), The Gisborne Herald (NZ) and The Otago Daily Times (NZ).

Education

Kings High School, Dunedin, New Zealand

Journalism Cadetship, Otago Daily Times, Dunedin, New Zealand

Numerous in-house professional development courses, including:

• Project management
• Operational methods
• Contemporary business practices
• Human resource and team management
• Relationship development
• Sponsorship management

Technical Expertise

Highly skilled in:

• Cyber Page/News newspaper production system
• Radio panel operations
• Computer-based research

Referees

Sam Elam, Director, Media Manoeuvres

Tel: 9561 6000

Alan Howe, Executive Editor, Herald Sun

Tel: 9292 2000

Grant Payne, Chief of Staff, Geelong Advertiser

Tel: 0418 375 949