Marieke's Story
Marieke’s Story
Marieke was born in Australia to European parents, is widely-read, an inveterate traveller since the age of 17, and at ease across countries, cultures and age groups.
Academic (Fine Arts) beginnings segued into the culinary world where Marieke is a highly regarded chef, educator, consultant, public speaker and occasional writer. She has been both a pioneer in Food/Wine Tourism and an ambassador for creating a distinctive Australian identity in the evolution of our gastronomic culture.
Marieke co-established and operated Howqua Dale Gourmet Retreat - an exceptional hospitality destination experience in the Howqua Valley near Mt. Buller, and over 30 years, cemented its outstanding reputation for superb cuisine and innovative cooking schools.
In 1990, Marieke also co-founded and conducted an international niche-market Travel Company (Gourmet Tours of Australia) so that her passion for human experiences and cultural connections could open doors to world class journeys, enabling guests to see the world differently, and always in superior comfort.
In the last 15 years, she has researched, designed and escorted tours to India, Portugal, Paris, France, Ireland, Turkey, China and Bali, as well as to the Australian wine regions.
Change always comes bearing gifts.
Having relinquished the beloved gourmet retreat, Marieke has now found the time and space to renew her energies, passions and personal interests to develop her new travel company Art of Living , assuring you, the guest of personalised service, enthusiasm, attention to detail, exotic destinations, gastronomic delights, fun and adventure.
Currently, she is planning research for tours to Morocco, and to the some of the greatest sites of Mahayana Buddhist civilization and architecture outside India: Borobudur in central Java, Angkor Wat in northern Cambodia, Luang Prabang, on the Mekong River in Laos, and Bagan and Yangon in Myanmar and also a culinary investigation of Japan.
In addition she has designed new tours to regions in India such as Gujarat and the Rann of Kutch, along roads less travelled and to Northern Spain, exploring their avant garde design innovation across all aspects of their culture.
Marieke still finds time to teach occasional cooking classes, cooks special private dinners for groups of friends and consults to the hospitality industry as a food adviser.
She reads avidly and when time permits indulges in movies.
Marieke's favourite dining experiences
Last year it was Andrew McConnell's Three One Two in Drummond Street, Melbourne. This year its is Andrew's Cumulus for the to die for canelle, that fiendishly difficult to make Bordeaux pastry and freshly squeezed blood orange juice and exceptional coffee. And the endearing, don't want the meal to end, Cutler + Co where finally he and Pascale have created an expansive space to incorporate all their ideals about design, comfort, hospitality, and thoroughly intelligent cooking. Such an authentic restaurant serving exceedingly clever, audaciously simple, beautifully crafted food without pretension, using often unusual and always seasonal produce; with a great wine list and lovely and very knowledgeable service that never fails to please. An iconic Melbourne restaurant run by a great chef with whom I had the privilege to work with over several years.
The pork was exceptional, a plump pillow of exceptionally melting meat beneath a stained glass window shard of crackling. The pimientos padrones completley redolent of early mornings at Spanish markets downing a glass of Tempranillo with these divine Gallician peppers. The shared tastes of the day's entrées a winning way to sample the breadtth, scope and seduction from the kitchen.
Books
The most anticpated title this year is William Dalrymple’s Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India. Blessed by a serendipitous encounter and impromptu lunch with Dalrymple post the Jaipur Lit Festival, William spoke of his new book as a departure from history, rather a “travel” book that explores through lives lived on the fringe (a Jain Nun, a temple prostitute….) how traditional forms of spiritual life collide with modernity and rapidly changing India.
NEW TRAVEL BOOKS
A young friend with a dual passion for wine and sustainable environments recently located to London and has landed a lucky job at a refreshingly independent innovative publishing house. Founded in 2003 by Barbara Schwepcke with encouragement from the late, great writer and exasperated professor, WG Sebald, Haus publishing from the start specialised in quality non-fiction and produced amongst others a series of short biographies.
3 years ago they added a list of literary travel writing, the Armchair Traveller, which brought it critical acclaim and so far have published 29 of an anticipated 80 books around the world. More recently Haus has expanded into fiction and a special interest in Arabic literature.
There is something so very alluring about small books that fit so nicely in the hand, pack so easily into a handbag and are so gorgeously produced in lovely cream paper with an appealing layout but are rich in ideas. (To wit, Penguin’s pocket philosophy series and Melbourne University’s Little Books on Big Themes series).
Of the Armchair Traveller series I have so far loved Spain Body and Soul written by a Dutchman who came to live in Madrid, whose appreciation for Spanish spiritedness and food shines in the memories, eating anecdotes and recipes; found Hidden Bhutan endearing for its deep empathy with such a rapidly changing culture, humorous insight into the peculiarities of its people and capacity for truly adventurous trekking; and I look forward to the much praised Mumbai to Mecca by the prestigious writer Ilija Trojanow who also authored Along the Ganges (voted one of the best travel books of all time by Condé Nast Traveller).
In all, a praiseworthy, charming and highly recommended series for people researching a new destination, wanting to recall memories of a beloved place already visited or simply for those readers who do not want to vacate the comfort of their chair to be intelligently engaged have their inquisitiveness aroused or to discover a perfect antidote to the style of travel writing enshrined by rough or lonely.
Haus have a vibrant web page and books can be ordered on line.
Marieke's Favourite Mags are those you cannot board a long-haul flight without:
Harper's Monthly Magazine (published out of the US since 1850) brilliantly scrutinises current affairs and events;
The New Yorker (published since 1925) is densely intelligent and wise;
Vanity Fair for its irresistible chronicling of contemporary culture;
The Monthly (published out of Melbourne by Morry Schwartz since 2005) is Australia's only national magazine with an independent voice on politics, society and the arts that is intelligent, inquisitive and witty. It doesn't dumb down or suck up.
Marieke's favourite Web sites:
Words without Borders: a dangerously spellbinding site (you may get lost there) that gives access to a vast scope of stories, poems and essays translated into English from truly international literature, rarely found on booksellers shelves.
Paris Notes: an authoritative, informed independent site on all things Parisienne; with brilliant links to museums, dining, maps, latest events, accommodation and rentals that will considerably enhance any visit to the "City of Lights". Found a great apartment to rent in the Marais quarter in June via this site.
Slow TV: A free internet TV channel delivering interviews, debates, conversations and public lectures about Australia's key political, social and cultural issues
Favourite cities: Paris and Istanbul. New York has just been added!
Marieke does not leave home or board a plane without:
A 1 litre water bottle that is filled immediately on boarding
Aesop's Ginger Flight Therapy roll-on
Traveller's Friend Citrus Extract in case of a troubled tummy
Portable Altec Lansing speakers for ipod
Natural Indian incense or scented travel candle
A large pashmina shawl bought in the bazaars of Jodhpur
"No-Jet-Lag", a New Zealand homeopathic jet lag prevention that really works
When at home, Marieke
starts her day with a warm citron pressé
does at least an hour of yoga practice
takes an afternoon walk along wild windswept sand dunes
cooks simple delectable meals from organic vegetables and has just planted her vegetable garden with broadbeans, red pak choy, amaranth, globe artichokes, mustard greens, french radishes, broccoli romesco, 4 varietes of roquette, dill and coriander, and is searching for a curry leaf tree, Murraya koenigii.
For winter she is addicted to homemade gomasio made with roasted wakame.
She has also become impatient with old fashioned composting and is now mooting a replacement system: either a worm farm or the much applauded Bokashi composting system that relies on a special brew of friendly microbes for the rapid fermentation of food waste.
For a wider list of personal recommendations, creative discoveries, musings, findings, tastes go to>
"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live, and love". Leo Buscaglia