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Sydney Morning Herald
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Where the cheese was: The real story behind Australia's foul-mouthed polymath
Peter Russell-Clarke, the neckerchief-clad larrikin who became an unexpected fixture in Australian lounge rooms and taught a generation how to cook long before MasterChef, has died aged 89. Russell-Clarke was the unruliest of media pioneers – a bona fide polymath whose flair for cooking was matched only by his biting political cartoons and a sharp tongue that went gloriously rogue in a now-legendary bloopers reel, long before the internet invented 'going viral'. With a trademark beret, stained smock, and a tea towel thrown over one shoulder, he was never just a cook. He was a storyteller. A painter. A provocateur. A genuine original. The sort who could poach an egg and puncture a prime minister's ego in the same five-minute segment. A familiar face on television throughout the 1980s and early '90s, Russell-Clarke fronted more than 900 episodes of Come and Get It on the ABC. He showed generations of Australians how to toast herbs and cook chops on residual heat, and became inextricably linked with dairy marketing via a single immortal phrase: 'Where's the cheese?' Yet, to reduce his life to a catchcry would be like calling Michelangelo a ceiling painter. Russell-Clarke was nothing less than a renaissance man with an Australian accent and a foul mouth. He was a culinary educator, but also a talented illustrator, prolific writer, advertising guru, political cartoonist, restaurateur and satirist. He was also a wine blender and a UN food ambassador. A man who once painted Dreamtime stories with Aboriginal elders in Far North Queensland and later cooked a jubilee dinner for the then Prince Charles. Born in Ballarat in 1935, Russell-Clarke's early life was marked by instability. His father, a defrocked Anglican minister, and his dressmaker mother, sent him to a Catholic boarding school in Bowral, NSW, 'to get back at the Anglicans', but didn't bother paying the fees. His childhood, shaped by alcohol-affected parents and stints in foster care, was anything but linear. At one point, he lived with a Chinese-Australian family who taught him to cook banquet-style meals and introduced him to Eastern flavours. He would later claim these early culinary lessons formed the backbone of his intuitive, nose-first approach to food. It is difficult to know whether all his tales were true or had added garnish. He briefly lived on Melbourne's streets, scrounging behind Bourke Street institutions like Florentino. Even then, his standards were high. He once said he'd written a letter to the chef, complaining that a discarded fish had freezer burn. 'I'm buggered if I know how long I existed like that, but it was a while. Good times, it made you lose weight!' he recalled in an interview years later. That mix of refinement and irreverence would become his signature. By his late teens, Russell-Clarke was working as a junior artist for one of Australia's top advertising agencies. His job, initially, was fetching lunches. But soon he was freelancing as an illustrator and food consultant – two disciplines he would blend with great success. He went on to become political cartoonist for the Melbourne Herald, where he drew the comic strip Ben Bowyang and skewered public figures with glee and accuracy. Loading At the same time, he began illustrating for Shell, Mobil, Ford, and even Boeing – work that would take him across the globe and into the homes of corporate high-flyers. But it was food, that always kept calling him back. Russell-Clarke ran one of Melbourne's most popular restaurants, a no‑name, no‑menu venue in Carlton, often booked out 18 months in advance. Again, Charles came calling and, reportedly, he told him to 'bugger off' because he was fully booked. 'I cooked a Silver Jubilee dinner for him and the only reason they chose me is that they knew they could get away with not paying for the meal,' he once said. 'The place was well ahead of its time, like a modern pop‑up. You just came and got whatever there was. It's just too hard if someone orders off the menu.' He wrote, illustrated, or ghostwrote 35 books – including 25 cookbooks and an encyclopaedia of food. He was also, at various times, food editor for New Idea, Woman's Day, The Age, and The Daily Mirror. For 27 years, he was the face of the Australian Dairy Corporation and the Egg Board, starring in TV commercials he often wrote and directed himself. Those of a certain age will remember him best as the five-minute man on ABC. Come and Get It, which aired just before The Goodies or Inspector Gadget, delivered succinct recipes in an unmistakable Russell-Clarke tone: warm, matey, occasionally bemused. 'G'day!' he'd begin, and off he'd go – chatting about burnt herbs or properly cooking tomatoes ('you release a perfume') before wrapping up with 'you beaut!' and a cheeky grin. Behind the scenes, he was anything but tame. The infamous blooper reel – first passed around on email and then eventually YouTube – revealed a man unafraid to unleash torrents of profanity, frustration, and wit. The contrast between the polished, public Russell-Clarke and the mercurial off-air version only deepened public affection. Even in his later years, battered by health challenges – a heart attack, stroke, and cancer diagnosis – Russell-Clarke's energy remained fierce. Living with his wife of six decades, Jan, in Tooborac, north of Melbourne, he still cooked, still painted, and still spoke with vision-impaired cooking enthusiasts about low-heat techniques. He insisted that blindness needn't be a barrier to kitchen excellence – 'It should make you a better cook,' he said. 'You do it gently, and slowly. Like making love.' That gentleness wasn't always evident in his professional life. He could be abrasive, outrageous and contradictory. But there was wisdom in the way he treated food. A lamb chop deserved your attention. Herbs were to be toasted and respected. Food, for Russell-Clarke, was not just sustenance but story, art, politics, and theatre. 'There was nearly a war over Brussels sprouts, but the King of Brussels saved the day by telling the King of England how to cook them properly,' he once told a young reporter. 'I don't know if that story's true or not, but it sounds good.' His art reflected that same narrative sensibility. He painted for commercial clients, for federal commissions, for himself. He exhibited widely around Australia and internationally, owning his own Soho Galleries on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula and completing a 10-storey mural series for a Lygon Street building – from rabbits underground to pigeons in the sky. His cello paintings, inspired by musical theatre pieces he composed, portrayed instruments as people: sinuous, playful, human. In 2004, the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra requested a self-portrait for one of its exhibitions. He obliged with a piece that was part man, part mirth. After losing his home in a devastating fire while overseas, Russell-Clarke did what he always did – started again. Fifty paintings were destroyed. Four finished books went up in smoke. He said it was a blessing. 'The first book I've rewritten is much better,' he shrugged. 'I'm singing and dancing.' He famously called himself a 'ratbag,' a label friends, fans and colleagues endorsed with affection. He poked fun at TV chefs who embarrassed contestants, he mocked advertisers who softened his language, and he laughed when strangers asked him, decades later, 'Where's the cheese?' Russell-Clarke didn't suffer fools, food snobs, or faddish TV formats. When asked to relaunch Come and Get It, he declined after a young producer told him they'd need to modernise the format. 'I told her to stick it and hung up,' he said flatly. He was married to Jan, a former dancer and his best mate of more than 65 years. 'Without her, I'd be a bit buggered,' he said. 'She does all the bookwork; otherwise I'd be in jail.' They had two children – Peter Jr, who for decades was a senior Apple designer in the US, and Wendy, a choreographer – and three grandchildren. When asked recently how he'd like to be remembered, Russell-Clarke, ever the storyteller had one final punchline ready: 'Having a gravestone with your name on it is bullshit. Who gives a stuff whether you lived or died, really? You don't need to be read about on a piece of stone.' 'I won't have a funeral. I'll probably jump off the West Gate Bridge with a candle up my bottom!' He lived as he cooked: with flair, feeling, and zero fear. He will be remembered not just as a chef, not just as a cartoonist, but as an Australian original whose voice – booming, bellowing, or softly humming over a stove – echoed far beyond the kitchen.
The Age
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Where the cheese was: The real story behind Australia's foul-mouthed polymath
Peter Russell-Clarke, the neckerchief-clad larrikin who became an unexpected fixture in Australian lounge rooms and taught a generation how to cook long before MasterChef, has died aged 89. Russell-Clarke was the unruliest of media pioneers – a bona fide polymath whose flair for cooking was matched only by his biting political cartoons and a sharp tongue that went gloriously rogue in a now-legendary bloopers reel, long before the internet invented 'going viral'. With a trademark beret, stained smock, and a tea towel thrown over one shoulder, he was never just a cook. He was a storyteller. A painter. A provocateur. A genuine original. The sort who could poach an egg and puncture a prime minister's ego in the same five-minute segment. A familiar face on television throughout the 1980s and early '90s, Russell-Clarke fronted more than 900 episodes of Come and Get It on the ABC. He showed generations of Australians how to toast herbs and cook chops on residual heat, and became inextricably linked with dairy marketing via a single immortal phrase: 'Where's the cheese?' Yet, to reduce his life to a catchcry would be like calling Michelangelo a ceiling painter. Russell-Clarke was nothing less than a renaissance man with an Australian accent and a foul mouth. He was a culinary educator, but also a talented illustrator, prolific writer, advertising guru, political cartoonist, restaurateur and satirist. He was also a wine blender and a UN food ambassador. A man who once painted Dreamtime stories with Aboriginal elders in Far North Queensland and later cooked a jubilee dinner for the then Prince Charles. Born in Ballarat in 1935, Russell-Clarke's early life was marked by instability. His father, a defrocked Anglican minister, and his dressmaker mother, sent him to a Catholic boarding school in Bowral, NSW, 'to get back at the Anglicans', but didn't bother paying the fees. His childhood, shaped by alcohol-affected parents and stints in foster care, was anything but linear. At one point, he lived with a Chinese-Australian family who taught him to cook banquet-style meals and introduced him to Eastern flavours. He would later claim these early culinary lessons formed the backbone of his intuitive, nose-first approach to food. It is difficult to know whether all his tales were true or had added garnish. He briefly lived on Melbourne's streets, scrounging behind Bourke Street institutions like Florentino. Even then, his standards were high. He once said he'd written a letter to the chef, complaining that a discarded fish had freezer burn. 'I'm buggered if I know how long I existed like that, but it was a while. Good times, it made you lose weight!' he recalled in an interview years later. That mix of refinement and irreverence would become his signature. By his late teens, Russell-Clarke was working as a junior artist for one of Australia's top advertising agencies. His job, initially, was fetching lunches. But soon he was freelancing as an illustrator and food consultant – two disciplines he would blend with great success. He went on to become political cartoonist for the Melbourne Herald, where he drew the comic strip Ben Bowyang and skewered public figures with glee and accuracy. Loading At the same time, he began illustrating for Shell, Mobil, Ford, and even Boeing – work that would take him across the globe and into the homes of corporate high-flyers. But it was food, that always kept calling him back. Russell-Clarke ran one of Melbourne's most popular restaurants, a no‑name, no‑menu venue in Carlton, often booked out 18 months in advance. Again, Charles came calling and, reportedly, he told him to 'bugger off' because he was fully booked. 'I cooked a Silver Jubilee dinner for him and the only reason they chose me is that they knew they could get away with not paying for the meal,' he once said. 'The place was well ahead of its time, like a modern pop‑up. You just came and got whatever there was. It's just too hard if someone orders off the menu.' He wrote, illustrated, or ghostwrote 35 books – including 25 cookbooks and an encyclopaedia of food. He was also, at various times, food editor for New Idea, Woman's Day, The Age, and The Daily Mirror. For 27 years, he was the face of the Australian Dairy Corporation and the Egg Board, starring in TV commercials he often wrote and directed himself. Those of a certain age will remember him best as the five-minute man on ABC. Come and Get It, which aired just before The Goodies or Inspector Gadget, delivered succinct recipes in an unmistakable Russell-Clarke tone: warm, matey, occasionally bemused. 'G'day!' he'd begin, and off he'd go – chatting about burnt herbs or properly cooking tomatoes ('you release a perfume') before wrapping up with 'you beaut!' and a cheeky grin. Behind the scenes, he was anything but tame. The infamous blooper reel – first passed around on email and then eventually YouTube – revealed a man unafraid to unleash torrents of profanity, frustration, and wit. The contrast between the polished, public Russell-Clarke and the mercurial off-air version only deepened public affection. Even in his later years, battered by health challenges – a heart attack, stroke, and cancer diagnosis – Russell-Clarke's energy remained fierce. Living with his wife of six decades, Jan, in Tooborac, north of Melbourne, he still cooked, still painted, and still spoke with vision-impaired cooking enthusiasts about low-heat techniques. He insisted that blindness needn't be a barrier to kitchen excellence – 'It should make you a better cook,' he said. 'You do it gently, and slowly. Like making love.' That gentleness wasn't always evident in his professional life. He could be abrasive, outrageous and contradictory. But there was wisdom in the way he treated food. A lamb chop deserved your attention. Herbs were to be toasted and respected. Food, for Russell-Clarke, was not just sustenance but story, art, politics, and theatre. 'There was nearly a war over Brussels sprouts, but the King of Brussels saved the day by telling the King of England how to cook them properly,' he once told a young reporter. 'I don't know if that story's true or not, but it sounds good.' His art reflected that same narrative sensibility. He painted for commercial clients, for federal commissions, for himself. He exhibited widely around Australia and internationally, owning his own Soho Galleries on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula and completing a 10-storey mural series for a Lygon Street building – from rabbits underground to pigeons in the sky. His cello paintings, inspired by musical theatre pieces he composed, portrayed instruments as people: sinuous, playful, human. In 2004, the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra requested a self-portrait for one of its exhibitions. He obliged with a piece that was part man, part mirth. After losing his home in a devastating fire while overseas, Russell-Clarke did what he always did – started again. Fifty paintings were destroyed. Four finished books went up in smoke. He said it was a blessing. 'The first book I've rewritten is much better,' he shrugged. 'I'm singing and dancing.' He famously called himself a 'ratbag,' a label friends, fans and colleagues endorsed with affection. He poked fun at TV chefs who embarrassed contestants, he mocked advertisers who softened his language, and he laughed when strangers asked him, decades later, 'Where's the cheese?' Russell-Clarke didn't suffer fools, food snobs, or faddish TV formats. When asked to relaunch Come and Get It, he declined after a young producer told him they'd need to modernise the format. 'I told her to stick it and hung up,' he said flatly. He was married to Jan, a former dancer and his best mate of more than 65 years. 'Without her, I'd be a bit buggered,' he said. 'She does all the bookwork; otherwise I'd be in jail.' They had two children – Peter Jr, who for decades was a senior Apple designer in the US, and Wendy, a choreographer – and three grandchildren. When asked recently how he'd like to be remembered, Russell-Clarke, ever the storyteller had one final punchline ready: 'Having a gravestone with your name on it is bullshit. Who gives a stuff whether you lived or died, really? You don't need to be read about on a piece of stone.' 'I won't have a funeral. I'll probably jump off the West Gate Bridge with a candle up my bottom!' He lived as he cooked: with flair, feeling, and zero fear. He will be remembered not just as a chef, not just as a cartoonist, but as an Australian original whose voice – booming, bellowing, or softly humming over a stove – echoed far beyond the kitchen.
Hamilton Spectator
11-06-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Port Moody food truck company ordered to fork over unpaid wages to former cook
A Port Moody food truck company must pay more than $2,100 in wages and penalties to a former cook after the B.C. Employment Standards Tribunal dismissed its appeal, ruling there was no legal basis to offset the debt with so-called 'advance payments.' In a decision released April 17, tribunal member Alysha Bennett upheld a July 2024 determination that BC Taco Restaurant Group Ltd. violated several sections of the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and must pay former employee Abel David Sanchez Florentino for unpaid earnings, including overtime, vacation pay, and statutory holiday wages. The company, which operates two taco trucks in Port Moody, had appealed the decision on two grounds: first, a breach of the principles of natural justice; and second, that new evidence – specifically, receipts showing advance payments – were not properly considered. But Bennett found neither argument convincing. 'The receipts simply record payments purportedly made by . . . BC Taco to the Employee. The receipts do not authorize a deduction from the employee's wages. They assign nothing. In fact, it is questionable whether the receipts reveal a credit obligation on behalf of the employee at all,' Bennet stated. At the centre of the appeal were three receipts BC Taco claimed it loaned to Florentino in 2021, totalling $6,552. The company argued these payments were advances on future wages and should reduce the amount of unpaid wages owed. But Florentino denied ever receiving the money and claimed the receipts were fake. He told the ESA investigators that BC Taco owner, Carlos de Ibarrola, forced him and other workers to sign the receipts during a 2021 Service Canada investigation. If he didn't, de Ibarrola threatened to report him to immigration authorities, and said both he and the company would suffer consequences, according to Florentino. Florentino also said he never received these payments, he was never given copies of the receipts and that BC Taco never treated the amounts as loans – until after he filed his complaint in 2023. Ruling stands Following the original investigation, the director of employment standards issued a ruling requiring BC Taco to pay Florentino $2,181.34 in wages and interest and levied two administrative penalties. The determination found discrepancies between Florentino's wage statements and his timesheets – some periods showed overpayments, others showed underpayments. However, the director concluded that under the ESA, employers may not unilaterally deduct overpayments to balance out shortfalls in later pay periods. The same logic, the tribunal found, applied to BC Taco's claimed advance payments. 'Where an employer gives an employee an advance on wages, the employer is not permitted to unilaterally deduct or withhold from future wages,' said Bennett, unless the employee has signed a clear written agreement. The receipts provided by BC Taco did not meet that legal threshold. The tribunal questioned whether the receipts demonstrated a loan obligation at all. 'There is no evidence that the employee agreed, in writing or otherwise, to allow BC Taco to deduct the advance payments from his future wages,' Bennett stated. BC Taco also argued the director had failed to properly consider its evidence, amounting to a breach of natural justice. But the tribunal found the company had ample opportunity to respond to the allegations and was given full access to the investigation file, including a chance to correct or supplement the record. The tribunal noted all submissions – including the disputed receipts – were reviewed in the initial ruling. 'There is no evidence before me that would cast doubt on the adjudicating delegate's neutrality in the matter,' Bennett stated. Finally, the tribunal rejected BC Taco's claim that the receipts constituted 'new evidence' unavailable during the initial process. The records had, in fact, been submitted and considered during the original investigation and appeared in the final report. Even if they had been new, Bennett ruled they lacked sufficient 'probative value' to alter the outcome. The appeal was dismissed with the tribunal ruling it had no reasonable chance of success. BC Taco must now pay the full amount owing, plus any additional interest accrued since the original order. The decision closes the door on BC Taco's attempt to reverse the wage order. If the company wants to pursue reimbursement for the alleged advances, Bennett noted, it must do so through other legal avenues – such as civil court. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
☕️🥐 FC Breakfast: Dybala's move, Arthur Fils shines, Madrid want CR7 back 👀
A banner that doesn't go unnoticed in Madrid 👀 In search of a new challenge, CR7 is being courted all over the world. This Thursday, a banner appeared right in front of the Merengue club's training center. "Florentino, bring us Ronaldo back!" What do you think, is CR7's return to Madrid a good or bad idea? Dybala excels at chess ♟ Kingsley Coman, Mohamed Salah, N'Golo Kanté... Chess is all the rage among football players. During his vacation, Paulo Dybala was spotted in New York playing against an amateur player in the street. Guess who won! Arthur Fils already fired up for the C1 🔥 After an incredible match in the second round of Roland Garros, the French tennis player woke up the PSG supporters present at the Porte d'Auteuil. The essentials from yesterday 🍿 - Champions League: Top scorers 2024-25 before the final Advertisement - F1 stars support PSG for the final - PSG - Inter: Good news for Luis Enrique before the final TV Schedule 📺 8:00 PM: Al Ittihad - Al Qadsiah (Canal+ Sport 360) 9:10 PM: France (F) - Switzerland (F) (France 3) This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here. 📸 Alessandro Sabattini - 2025 Getty Images
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ancelotti gets emotional as he says goodbye to Real Madrid – ‘An honour and a pleasure'
Ancelotti gets emotional as he says goodbye to Real Madrid – 'An honour and a pleasure' Carlo Ancelotti received a heartfelt send-off at the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid paid tribute to their most successful manager in what was his final game in charge. Just before the match against Real Sociedad, the north stand unveiled a giant banner featuring the Italian coach framed by a laurel wreath, with the words: 'Gracias, Carletto.' Advertisement After the match, the tribute continued with a special video being played on the Bernabeu scorecards while fans cheered the Italian. Ancelotti walked to the centre of the pitch and addressed the supporters, saying (h/t 'It has been an honour and a pleasure to coach this club, this team. I want to thank, first of all, my dear president Florentino. It has been fantastic to coach this group of players of extraordinary quality. It has been fantastic to share all these moments with you.' Fans paid tribute to Ancelotti. (Photo by) Continuing, he added: 'It has been extraordinary to live this story with you. It has been an extraordinary story because no one can forget Karim's three goals against PSG, Rodrygo's two goals against City, Luka's pass against Chelsea, or Joselu's two goals. Advertisement 'I also cannot forget a single day I have spent here. I will finish with a 'Hala Madrid y nada más!' I love you all very much.' Emotional interview Ancelotti then gave an emotional farewell interview to Real Madrid TV following the victory over Real Sociedad and the moving tribute he received at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Italian coach, who has won more titles than any other manager in the club's history, shared his reflections on his time with Real Madrid. 'I feel very happy and proud. It has been an extraordinary period. We cannot forget anyone who has been part of this. It will be an unforgettable memory,' he said. Advertisement 'I leave with the affection of the people, with the pride of having coached a great club for a long time, and as a Real Madrid fan.' Talking about what Real Madrid meant to him, Ancelotti said: 'A home, a family, because that is what it has been for the past six years. 'We have had a great time, not only because of the titles, but also because of the atmosphere we managed to create with the club and the president. 'Real Madrid is a different kind of family from other clubs, because you feel that family spirit everywhere – in the stadium, in Valdebebas… I have had a great time.' Ancelotti says goodbye. (Photo by) Discussing the success he achieved at the club across his two spells as manager, the Italian remarked: Advertisement 'There has been a good connection between the club, the players, and myself. The club has had extraordinary players. Real Madrid will continue to have extraordinary players.' Finally, touching on the emotional tribute he received and how the entire day has been for him, Ancelotti stated: 'It is a day full of strong emotions. When you win a Champions League, you do not feel this kind of emotion. This is a very powerful feeling. I am very happy and I leave feeling very fulfilled. 'It has been an honour and a pleasure to be part of this family and to enter the history of this club; that was the goal from day one and I have achieved it.'
