The Food Sage (Rachel Lebihan) is a journalist and editor at The Australian Financial Review, and a bit of a food junkie.
In February 2011, Rachel passed a Master of Arts in Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide with distinction after three years part-time study. She learnt a lot of things during that period of her life, including that full-time work and part-time postgraduate study are not a pleasant mix!
She also learnt that she couldn’t work, study and cook from scratch every day of the week. Store bought meals and takeaway dinners found their way onto the menu. She learnt to live with it!
In November 2010, Rachel was highly commended as the Best New Writer at the annual awards of the Australian Association of Food Professionals. It inspired her to launch The Food Sage blog, a platform for thought-provoking and creative food journalism.
The views on this site are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Financial Review.
The Food Sage logo and the content and most of the photography featured on this site are owned by The Food Sage and are subject to copyright protection ©. Some photographs have been paid for, or used by explicit permission by the owner.
Hi Rachel, I really love your blog.
Katarina
Hi Katarina, Thanks for that. Feel free to pass on the link!
thank you for your inspiring blog on all aspects of food. It is a joy to read.
Rachel – congratulations on the blog! What a great thing to do in addition to your AFR role. It looks fantastic. Keep up the good work.
Kindest, Georgia
Thanks Georgia – it’s fun and keeps me out of mischief (sort of!)
Dear thefoodsage,
Congratulations on getting your MA in Gastronomy. I only know of another person who has this qualification. Studying and working is definitely not an easy task but I’m sure the rewards are beginning to show now that you’ve achieved what you set out to do. Well done.
Thanks … it certainly was hard work. Who else do you know with the qualification? It’s a small world … i met a chef in Thailand once who had studied the program a few years before me!
Hi, I recently discovered your blog through http://eatlittlebird.com/ Your writing style is very impressive. Read the first 5 posts and loved them. looking forward to reading more from your blog.
Thank you for your kind words. eatlittlebird is a particular favourite of mine, so we have something in common. Stay in touch!
It’s bliss to read really good food journalism! And the weekend wouldn’t be the same without the AFR.
Kind words, Ian. Thanks for checking out the site.
Wow! I have ambitions of doing what you already have done! After school I plan to get a masters in Gastronomy and go on to be a food writer just like you. I look forward to following your website.
Good to hear, Elliot. Keep up the good work.
I really enjoy reading this blog, keep the posts coming
Good to know. Thanks for the feedback.
Wow, great blog. So glad you found me so I could find you! Following on Twitter and looking forward to more:)
Great to make the connection. You’re blog looks great, too. I’ll be following your work.
Thank you Rachel for your entry on foraging with Diego, i have put a link on our Slow Food Perth web site after also listening to Diego on the “Off Track program on the ABC Amazing and interesting articles.
Thanks Pauline. I’ll also check out Diego on the ABC!
Hi Rachel. Love reading your blog.
As someone who also works within the media industry, and looking to engage my passion for food further, I’m interested in whether you’d recommend the Master of Arts in Gastronomy. In hindsight do you think it was worth it?
Thanks!
Hi Dean – sorry for my slow response. Unfortunately the master of gastronomy, which was offered through the University of Adelaide and Le Cordon Bleu, doesn’t exist any more. The two institutions parted ways and the course ended last year. I understand the uni now offers another food-related masters, which sounded good (can’t remember its name, sorry) – and more up-to-date than the gastronomy program — which at the end of the day wasn’t very vocationally focused. Le Cordon Bleu has partnered another university to offer a different food-related masters program – i think it’s called a masters of gastronomic tourism, which again sounded much more vocationally focussed. Let me know if you want me to hunt down more info on the programs – i’d be able to find it quite quickly.