Chefs are renowned for putting in long hours, but right now Luke Mangan is taking that to a whole new level..
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This week the Glass and Salt chef blazed such an action-packed trail through the city's social stratosphere and busied himself in so many places we wondered if he had a couple of lookalikes.
“It’s been a big week,” Mangan told S, as he prepared to board a flight to Singapore.
The Mangan marathon began with the star-studded 60th birthday party of his good mate Richard Wilkins at Sokyo Lounge at The Star. There was no cooking to be done but plenty of vigorous mingling with the likes of Kylie, Delta Goodrem and a flock of TV faces. “It was a great party for a truly great guy,” says Mangan. “He has such a distinguished TV history and you could see everyone’s genuine affection for him.
“It was lovely to catch up with Kylie – I’ve cooked for her in the past, both privately and at Glass.”
Just hours later, Mangan was busy preparing a chocolate-infused dinner for 600 guests at the lavish charity Chocolate Ball at the Hilton. While his pal Jamie Durie MC'ed the glam event in aid of FSHD muscular dystrophy, Mangan and his team whipped up three courses of decadent dishes including confit of salmon and waldorf salad with white chocolate salt. The diners must have been happy – they dug deep and raised $700,000 for the cause.
Next, the chef joined a judging panel of fellow culinary luminaries to select the winner and runners up in the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence competition for young chefs. The judges, including Peter Gilmore, Lyndey Milan, Guy Grossi, David Thompson and Anthony Musarra, spent the best part of a day interviewing and tasting creations from seven national finalists.
Mangan, who nine years ago co-founded the competition for chefs, waiters and restaurateurs aged under 30, was dazzled by the young talent on display. “We glimpsed some future stars there, no doubt,” he says. “We saw some great skill and talent in some very young people – aged 24, 25 years.”
The winners of all categories will be announced at a ceremony on 11 August.
Afterwards, Mangan flew off once more – probably fuelled by his own momentum - to Singapore to work on yet another project. He already has two restaurants there and can’t yet confirm if he’s about to rustle up a third.
It’s a lot easier playing on-screen besties when you’ve bonded in real life, so going to work every day on the set of Network Ten’s Wonderland is a pleasure for co-stars Jessica Tovey and Brooke Satchwell.
The two actors told S they first bonded at the auditions for season one of the popular drama set in a Sydney apartment block. “We had already hit it off, so when we both got roles it was double the good news,” says Satchwell, who plays uptight lawyer Grace in the show.
The pair even took a trip together during a filming break and if you look carefully at the photos on the shelf in Grace’s on-screen apartment, you’ll see a snap of the pair clowning around on their girlie holiday.
Says Tovey, who plays PR princess Dani in Wonderland: “Our characters have a sisterly relationship and it comes pretty easily.”
S caught up with the girls during a sneak peak at the Wonderland set and a preview of season two, which promises more ups and downs, laughs and romance for the four couples sharing the Wonderland apartment block, which is based on a real building in Coogee.
The show’s ensemble cast also includes Aussie television favourites Martin Sacks, Les Hill, Michael Dorman, Tracy Mann, Peter Phelps, Ben Mingay, Tim Ross, Emma Lung and Glenn McMillan.
Model Tanya Linney swaps catwalk for canvas
After 15 years of being the girl in the picture, former model Tanya Linney is now the person painting it – and that’s where she prefers to be.
Linney once graced the covers of the world’s top glossy magazines, and worked in Paris, New York and Berlin. She was a regular face in Dolly and CLEO and known for her swimwear shoots.
But when she swapped the catwalk and champagne for canvases and a boho artist’s life in Sydney, it felt right.
“I’d always known there was something more I wanted to do,” Linney told S, as she prepared for the opening of her latest exhibition,Tales of Tempt, this Friday.
Linney’s modeling past informs her work with themes of female idealisation, sexuality and consumerism. “I don’t judge, but I explore,” she says. “My journey as a model, working inside the machine, gave me an authentic insight into the world of exterior self-image.”
Linney, 37, who has a five-year-old daughter, Luella Luna, believes it’s important for women to discuss body image. “Art is a platform where I feel comfortable exploring that,” she says. “For young girls today there are so many anxieties and insecurities.”
Tales of Tempt is Linney’s fourth solo exhibition but her first after a two-year hiatus, during which she emerged from a marriage break-up. “I’ve seen the light,” she laughs.
Now the single mum is delighted to see her own daughter’s creative genes emerging. "I don’t want to push anything on her, but she does love to look at things and she knows what she likes,” says Linney.
Art already runs in the family. Linney’s father is Alan Linney, one of Australia’s best-known jewelers. “I always loved to watch him draw and sketch,” she says.
And she’s set on doing plenty more drawing herself. “I’m already planning my next show,” she says. “Art is becoming quite obsessive – and I’m going with that!”
Tales of Tempt, featuring 18 pieces in paint, charcoal, oil, collage and enamel, is at China Heights Gallery, Surry Hills, from 4 – 10 July
Dr Katrina Warren's border control
If you go down to the Hills today, you’ll find Dr Katrina Warren surrounded by hundreds of her beloved border collies.
The TV vet, a devotee of the lovable breed, has taken her affection to hilarious extremes by assembling the biggest gathering of border collies in Australia – in fact, the biggest known border collie bash in the world.
Warren’s first Border Collie Fun Day a year ago attracted 1000 people and their pets from all over Australia to celebrate the breed and raise money for Sydney University’s border collie cancer research. It proved so popular that she’s repeating it, this time with a race to find Australia’s fastest border collie.
“Border collies will race against the clock in a 50-metre time trial,” Warren told S. “Then the fastest three dogs will race again for first, second and third place. They’re a speedy breed – it should be an exhilarating sight!”
The dogs will be performing for a huge crowd, Warren expects. “We’re expecting even more than last year, with many people travelling in groups from QLD, VIC and SA, united by their passion for the breed.”
Last year Warren and her army of four-legged mates broke the world record for the most dogs in a professional photo shoot, with 503 of the 800 or so border collies attending the Fun Day massed in one frame.
“It was insane!” she laughs. “There were border collies everywhere you looked. It took about 45 minutes just to line them up.”
The annual furry shenanigans are inspired by Warren’s lifelong connection to the breed, and her famous TV sidekick, Toby the Wonderdog, who passed away four years ago.
“Border Collies have always been my favourite breed,” she says. “It was my childhood dream to own one. They have brains and beauty and are extremely versatile. My beautiful chocolate border collie, Toby, was with me for 14 years and organising this day is a way for me to keep his spirit alive.
“I regularly have people come up to me and tell me that Toby inspired them to get the dog they currently have.”
Border Collie Fun Day is from 11am to 3pm today at the dog arena at Castle Hill Showground. Entertainment includes displays of agility, frisbee, sheep herding an more from talented border collies. All ages are welcome and it’s free to enter, but Warren asks that all dogs attending must be border collies. Canine prejudice? Perhaps – but it’s all for a good cause.
