Having problems with message search?
Note--there is a lot of news for Paul this month! I'll be sending it out in bits over the next few days. You can also keep an eye on the front page of the site.
Cat
-----------
LURCHING through 5m waves on a crayfish boat out of Port Fairy was much more adventurous than Paul Mercurio had imagined when shooting stories for his new food and travel series.
"I was quite nervous because I can't say I have sea legs," he said.
"We met at 6.30am and it was beautiful weather in the harbour. But 15 minutes out it completely changed and there was this big swell. I had to trust the operator of the boat and I felt safe most of the time, except he had to drop the cray pots right in by the breakers."
The actor and dancer, best known for the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom and as a judge on Channel 7's Dancing with the Stars series, has long held an ambition to be a TV chef. "I'm only a home cook and don't have the professional training, but I love it," Paul said.
Needless to say, he jumped at the chance to host The Food Trail, a six-part half-hour Channel 7 series in which he travels through Victoria, meeting well-known chefs and collecting and cooking regional produce.
He has been campaigning for years to host a show about his other passion, beer, and has had talks with all the free-to-air networks. So far, nothing has eventuated, but he sneaks in three recipes using beer in The Food Trail.
In the first episode, which screens on Saturday, Paul visits a Woodend brewery, where he explains the process of adding hops and tastes a few of the products. In the same episode, he visits a Hanging Rock winery, an olive farm at Kyneton, Meredith Dairy and the organic Fernleigh Farm near Bullarto. He searches for wild mushrooms near Daylesford and cooks at the Lake House boutique hotel with chef Alla Wolf-Tasker. Paul said he was "hoping like heck" the show was a success and went to a second series. He is keen to take the concept to other Australian states and overseas.
Meanwhile, he is concentrating on his gourmet beer label, Mercs Own Brewing Co, and plans to release two new brews this year -- a German-style ale and a US-style amber ale. He brews the prototypes.
"I have a small brewery system at home in the garage," he said. Friends of Paul and his wife of 18 years, Andrea, are likely to be invited to their home for a tasting.
Paul, 42, is also looking forward to the new series of Dancing with the Stars, which starts on February 21. But it is the beer and food aspect of his career that interests him the most. He said there was not enough work for most actors in Australia. To support their three daughters, Elise, 16, Emily, 14, and Erin, 10, he has worked as a builder's labourer, restaurant cook, computer salesman and ballet teacher.
"You do what you have to do," he said. "I'd like to act more, but there isn't the work. So if I can make some money out of beer and food, that's great."
--Caron James, Sunday Herald SunPaul's a dinky-di trailblazer
Cat
-----------
LURCHING through 5m waves on a crayfish boat out of Port Fairy was much more adventurous than Paul Mercurio had imagined when shooting stories for his new food and travel series.
"I was quite nervous because I can't say I have sea legs," he said.
"We met at 6.30am and it was beautiful weather in the harbour. But 15 minutes out it completely changed and there was this big swell. I had to trust the operator of the boat and I felt safe most of the time, except he had to drop the cray pots right in by the breakers."
The actor and dancer, best known for the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom and as a judge on Channel 7's Dancing with the Stars series, has long held an ambition to be a TV chef. "I'm only a home cook and don't have the professional training, but I love it," Paul said.
Needless to say, he jumped at the chance to host The Food Trail, a six-part half-hour Channel 7 series in which he travels through Victoria, meeting well-known chefs and collecting and cooking regional produce.
He has been campaigning for years to host a show about his other passion, beer, and has had talks with all the free-to-air networks. So far, nothing has eventuated, but he sneaks in three recipes using beer in The Food Trail.
In the first episode, which screens on Saturday, Paul visits a Woodend brewery, where he explains the process of adding hops and tastes a few of the products. In the same episode, he visits a Hanging Rock winery, an olive farm at Kyneton, Meredith Dairy and the organic Fernleigh Farm near Bullarto. He searches for wild mushrooms near Daylesford and cooks at the Lake House boutique hotel with chef Alla Wolf-Tasker. Paul said he was "hoping like heck" the show was a success and went to a second series. He is keen to take the concept to other Australian states and overseas.
Meanwhile, he is concentrating on his gourmet beer label, Mercs Own Brewing Co, and plans to release two new brews this year -- a German-style ale and a US-style amber ale. He brews the prototypes.
"I have a small brewery system at home in the garage," he said. Friends of Paul and his wife of 18 years, Andrea, are likely to be invited to their home for a tasting.
Paul, 42, is also looking forward to the new series of Dancing with the Stars, which starts on February 21. But it is the beer and food aspect of his career that interests him the most. He said there was not enough work for most actors in Australia. To support their three daughters, Elise, 16, Emily, 14, and Erin, 10, he has worked as a builder's labourer, restaurant cook, computer salesman and ballet teacher.
"You do what you have to do," he said. "I'd like to act more, but there isn't the work. So if I can make some money out of beer and food, that's great."
--Caron James, Sunday Herald SunPaul's a dinky-di trailblazer
Offline 
Send Email