#one more time for Paul and Prue in the back… they have LIVES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND BAKE BECAUSE THEY ENJOY IT

[theoptimisticdaydreamer]

PSA to Paul and Prue

Sincerely,

President of Flavor-over-Finesse Club

a.k.a don’t you dare make one more bloody comment about the finish of a bake or so help me……

[eatvangelist]

Kuredu Resort - Sangu Very Much

Like all good things, I’m sad to say the magical Maldivian vacation had to end, and I have been home for a few days now.  Earlier today I finally braved my lifelong arch-nemesis, the scale.  I knew going into our confrontation today to expect the worst, but I was surprised to find that instead of gaining the ten pounds I felt I added, the reality was more like three.  Not sure how that is possible given the handful of chefs catering to my every culinary whim, four meals per day, at Kuredu Resort.  

I had never stayed at a resort prior to this trip, so I didn’t really have any expectations about how good the food would be.  My companion and I were informed that we were on the all-inclusive plan, plus we were staying at the more exclusive Sangu Water Villa at the far end of the island, so we were free to dine at any of the buffet restaurants on the island and get half-price discounts at the three a la carte restaurants on the resort.  We never made it to any of the a la carte restaurants, as we were more than satisfied with the buffet options.  While we did try the different buffet restaurants on the island, ultimately we were happiest at Sangu Restaurant.   

The buffet restaurants are actually all similar, but there are slight differences.  The most obvious is the ambiance - Sangu is adults-only so the vibe is definitely more sophisticated compared to lively Koamas restaurant, which is located near the resort’s main area and also next to the children’s playground.  Throughout the buffet restaurants, there is a nightly dinner theme that completely cycles through bi-weekly, as most guests don’t stay for more than two weeks.  At Sangu, there was an outdoor grill - I didn’t notice one at the other restaurants though I’m sure they had grilled foods there, too, if not a grilling station.  During my stay, I eagerly looked forward to see what was cooked there to fit the theme.  The best theme night was “Out of the Blue,” which was seafood, and the chef at the outdoor grill did an amazing job.  I ate a ridiculous amount of lobster that night, not to mention some amberjack and the best grilled calamari I’ve ever had. By then, I had already gotten to know to the chefs at Sangu (and they me) so it was almost comical how they kept adding lobster onto my plate because they knew I’d finish it all.  This leads to the biggest differentiator for me on the buffet restaurants - service.

As I mentioned, the staff at Sangu really gets to know their guests, which explains the exceptional service we experienced.  Guests are assigned a dedicated server for their whole stay.  Our dedicated server happened to take vacation leave a few days before our departure, but he was serving us up to an hour prior to his vacation. Even after he left, someone else we were already used to interacting with took over for him.  In general, be it the chefs or the wait staff, we felt we got to know everyone at Sangu.  They also put up with some of our unique requests (high maintenance confession time)...  For instance, during the Indian theme night, they put out proper masala chai.  The chef adds sugar to your preferred sweetness level into a silver cup, adds a couple ladles of chai, swishes it all into another silver cup, and then back and forth a few times before serving in a mug for you.  Until this trip, I haven’t really been much of a breakfast person - at home a large coffee or chai latte is enough to get me through to lunch.  So the morning after Indian night, we asked if they happened to have any masala chai left or if they can make us a cup,but we were informed they don’t keep leftovers and only make masala chai every two weeks for Indian night.  One of our chefs heard how much we liked the chai and made us each a cup, and not only for that morning but for every morning for the remainder of our stay.  Another example was when my friend picked up a coconut that randomly fell near us and took it to one of the chefs and requested he open it for us.  The chef obliged and then gave us an educational lesson on why there was so little water in the coconut (it was an old coconut) and how if we want one that holds more water we should be picking the green ones in the trees (but seriously, don’t climb Kuredu’s trees if you go visit).

So as I just stated above, I’ve never really been much of a breakfast person, but it’s hard to not go to Sangu for breakfast each morning when you get to dine on the beach.  In addition, the grill turns into a American pancake/Belgium waffle/French toast bar - and the chef can also make variations such as crepes and Swedish pancake if so desired.  What I liked though was seeing if there was a special egg dish.  I was perfectly happy with the ubiquitous made-to-order omelets at pretty much every single buffet restaurant in the world, but some mornings there would be a featured egg dish, such as the Sri Lankan Egg Hopper (pictured above).  Our chef friends explained to me that Madivian cuisine is heavily influenced by, if not a direct crossover from, India and Sri Lanka.  Between the culinary lessons and the gorgeous views, it’s hard not to get excited about breakfast.  I will say that O Restaurant and Bar have a great view, too, as they sit above the water so you see nothing but the ocean.  I still give the edge to Sangu, however, as I much prefer the full beach view - sand, waves, and all.  

Sangu Restaurant is also where the wine cellar is located.  So a couple things to note - the Maldives is an Islamic country, so alcohol is illegal.  On resorts (Kuredu as well as others), however, alcohol is permitted on the premises.  To be a sommelier, you must be able to drink or taste the wines you are purchasing and recommending.  As such, the sommelier at Kuredu has been brought in from India and been working there for two years.  He is responsible for picking the over one thousand different bottles for the wine cellar, which accommodates all the restaurants, including the a la carte ones.  Friday evenings, the sommelier hosts a small group for wine tastings on the Sangu beach.  This is not covered in the all-inclusive plan, but it’s a nominal fee of $25 per person for five or six wines.  The set up is quite beautiful and the sommelier picks wines based on the group’s preferences.  I think for my group, most of us preferred red, so he selected two whites and three reds for us to try.  At the end of our tasting, someone piped in a desire for prosecco, which became our sixth.  I didn’t care for the whites but one of the cheapest wines we tried, the Pata Negra tempranillo, was one the one I liked most, followed by the Mercurey Premier Cru, which most others seemed to prefer instead.  That is what I really enjoy most about wine tasting - meeting others and discussing what we taste and our preferences, as every palette is different.

I have probably already lost all the casual readers by now, but in case anyone is still with me, let me just say I can still ramble on about the food at Kuredu but will wrap up by adding that their desserts were on point.  First of all, there are healthy options like a proper fruit cart (next to the grilling station), where a chef would prepare any fruit you select for you.  I must say I had the most amazing papayas, dragonfruits, and mangoes there.  Most nights at the fruit cart, there was also homemade ice cream.  For something more elaborate and indulgent, there is a full on dessert table indoors, usually tied to the nightly theme, and all done quite well.  For instance, we had a Sunday Roast, and the chefs baked proper Victorian sponge cakes and Bakewell tarts, among many other options, that would make Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry, and Prue Leith all happy.

As a side note, I did mention four meals per day at the start of this post, and up to now I have really focused only on breakfast and dinner (and the wine tasting), so you might be wondering about the other two meals.  Lunch was a lighter version of dinner - just without the fun theme.  It was heavier than breakfast and we were usually so full still that we often ended up skipping lunch.  Occasionally we would get peckish before dinnertime, so to tie ourselves over we would go to one of the bars.   Every afternoon every bar on the island provided sandwiches, cookies or pastries, and tea.  There really is no opportunity to go hungry or thirsty at Kuredu.  While the location is a paradise, being pampered and indulged by the staff at Kuredu solidifies this.  I honestly don’t know how I’ve been able to function these past few days without that team taking care of me like they did all last week.  Here’s hoping I can go back again there soon.

Kuredu Resort & Spa, Maldives Lhaviyani Atoll, Republic of Maldives Phone: +960 662-0337

[ablessingofwickedness]

Sunday Times Bake Off Interview

Click on over here to read the article! But if you can’t get through the paywall ...

On your marks... Meet the new Bake Off team

For many Bake Off fans, last year’s shock departure from the BBC was bad enough — but things reached boiling point when three much-loved presenters quit. Has the (nearly) new team got the magic ingredients to rise again?

Francesca Angelini

The Sunday Times, August 6 2017, 12:01am

Beneath a blazing sun, before an immense Berkshire country house, stands a plump white tent strung with crisp bunting. Within, a handful of bakers are furiously beating sugar, flour and eggs, surrounded by fridges in pastel hues. Outside, an elderly terrier lollops beneath an ancient beech tree. The land of The Great British Bake Off is as comforting and familiar, as green and pleasant, as they come.

And then the idyll breaks. Noel Fielding wafts across the luminous lawn, a gangly tangle of gold boots, drainpipes and black locks. Sandi Toksvig, Fielding’s co-presenter, emerges from her dressing-room trailer, its entrance dotted with small gnome figures. And there’s Prue Leith, billowing over to a camera, hair on end. At which point, someone might as well have daubed pictures of Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins and Mary Berry onto the marquee’s side, so large is the elephant in the tent.

Even if you were living under a muffin tin last autumn, the din from the Bake Off hysteria will have reached you. So attached are we to this slice of Arcadia that the announcement that the show was moving from its 8pm slot on BBC1 to Channel 4 quickly became the nation’s most burning issue. Sorry, Brexit who?

After seven series, Bake Off had become the BBC’s prized diamond, pulling in record-breaking viewing figures of up to 15m. But the BBC insisted on classifying the show as “factual” rather than “entertainment”, which meant they couldn’t pay the production company — and therefore its presenters — what its colossal TV hit deserved. When Channel 4 offered a reported £75m for three series (considerably more than the £15m the BBC is believed to have offered), Love Productions jumped ship.

Only the talent didn’t follow. Bake Off’s beloved presenters, Mel and Sue, quickly announced they wouldn’t be “going with the dough”. Berry also told Love Productions where to shove it, citing loyalty to the BBC. It was only her blue-eyed co-judge, Hollywood, who chose to stay put. In the eyes of his outraged detractors, he might as well have taken a blowtorch to Berry’s victoria sponge.

BAKE OFF BY NUMBERS

180kg flour throughout the series

1,800 eggs

20 litres double cream

85kg butter

150kg sugar

Ten months later, the icing has settled. Paul and Mary has become Paul and Leith, which has a better ring to it, and Mel and Sue have been replaced by another waggish and cacklesome duo, Fielding and Toksvig. To make up for ad breaks, the show will be 75 minutes long; it’s not yet decided what time it will be transmitted, but children’s bedtimes must be a consideration. Other than this, Love Productions insists, nothing has changed. The format, the tent, the weather, the good-naturedness, the “On your marks, get set, bake” opener, the eggs, the chocolate, the essences, are all exactly as they were.

The question is, does this new foursome have the chemistry for the most successful modern TV series to carry on rising like an expertly whipped soufflé?

I visit the set in late June, on the hottest day of the year, and filming is in its early stages. I sit down with Paul Hollywood, Leith, Fielding and Toksvig in a hefty, high-ceilinged room of Welford Park, the stately home whose grounds have hosted the Bake Off set for the previous four series. A fan whirrs noisily beside a table heaving with chocolate bars. Outside, a former Gurkha patrols a footpath and two security guards with binoculars are trying to escape the sun. How are you all getting along, I ask casually, as Leith puts away her laptop.

“The relationship started off passionate, and now it’s gone cold,” Fielding chortles from deep within a fusty sofa.

“Yes, there was a lot of lust at the beginning,” Toksvig nods, deadpan.

And for the next 30 seconds, the pair can’t stop tittering, so I turn to Hollywood, who is disconcertingly shuffling a pack of cards. What has he been doing to get to know his new friends?

The usual, he says, dinner and beers down the pub after filming. And they’ve been reading each other’s books, he says.

“I’m reading a novel by Sandi about the Boer War that is simply marvellous,” says Leith, opening her eyes emphatically when she reaches “marvellous”.

“And I’ve just got a book of Noel’s, actually,” says Hollywood. Only he can’t remember its title.

“It’s a book of my art,” Fielding says softly.

“Brilliant,” Hollywood quips.

“It’s OK for you Paul, it’s pictures,” Leith chips in, which prompts more guffaws. In all the previous Bake Off series, the permatanned Hollywood was the star who came in for the most delicious mockings. Evidently nothing’s changed — though Hollywood is quick to point out that he gives Fielding as good as he gets. What do they wind each other up about?

“Mainly how different our skin tones are: I’m alive, and he’s not.”

“I sleep in a coffin, he sleeps in a bed,” nods Fielding, who on closer inspection is decidedly the whitest man I’ve seen. He eventually stops cackling to reflect a little harder. “We do all get on, which is odd, as you couldn’t have put more unlikely people together.”

“Yes, it’s a dysfunctional family, but it works,” says Hollywood.

Measured on laughs per second, that is clearly the case. They’re a hoot to interview, finishing off each other’s thoughts, launching into amusing and detailed anecdotes of evenings in the pub, throwing in sharp gags with the ease of people who have spent many long hours together.

Famously, though, Hollywood was very close to his previous Bake Off family. Berry would even offer to do his ironing after they’d had dinner together. Mel and Sue, too, had a soft spot for the cocky master baker. He says he still speaks to them all and bats away the question by claiming he’d “miss them even if they were on Bake Off”, since he didn’t see them at other times of the year outside of filming.

It’s nine months since Hollywood was bashed, in an especially nasty fashion, for staying with Bake Off and he still seems baffled by the response. In his eyes, all he did was remain loyal to the programme that had plucked him from obscurity after his bakery business had dissolved with debts, and thereby launched his stonking career. “Bake Off is where I belong. They gave me an opportunity in 2009 and I grabbed at it with both hands. I love Bake Off, it’s where my home is,” he explains, fixing me with an intense stare.

Hollywood is believed to have been paid, on average, less than £70,000 for each of the seven series he did for the BBC. Even if his pay did rise in recent series, it still didn’t put him anywhere near the BBC’s big earners such as Chris Evans, who last month was revealed to earn more than £2.2m. But the moolah, Hollywood claims, was not a factor. “You don’t get money for telly, you get money selling books. Money wasn’t the issue. I just want my job, I love it.” He is not openly bitter, but I’m pretty certain his mission is to make what he terms “the next chapter” of Bake Off even more honkingly successful than the first.

Of all the new appointments, Fielding’s was the least obvious. He made his name as part of the comedy act the Mighty Boosh, whose weird, psychedelic, surreal series, which ran late night on BBC2 in the mid-Noughties, was everything that mainstream Bake Off is not. His solo stand-up is equally absurdist and esoteric. He has previously admitted to snorting all kinds of things. He likes to wear drag. He can’t bake. But proving just how far the Bake Off tentacles reach, he has, he says, been obsessed with the show since series one, and would often watch it and think to himself that Mel, a friend, had the best job. “It’s the ultimate float TV. You chill out, have a cup of tea, try some buns … It’s not stressful.”

Critics have suggested that Fielding would be asked to rein it in. Actually, he says he is being encouraged to be himself. “Though I haven’t come in and tried to do what I do on my own shows. Bake Off has a very specific tone and I respect that. You have to come in and not knock the boat.”

And, for all his sweary wildness, he comes across as the most warm-hearted of the pack. He chatters, often at length, about how brilliant the bakers are, how impressed he is by their creations, and openly declares that he can’t help develop favourites.

Waiflike, he doesn’t strike me as a man partial to cake. And he hasn’t, it turns out, been eating many buns. “Sugar is a powerful thing, I get more work when I’m thinner. So I can’t put on weight. No one likes a tubby gut, is what I’m saying,” he laughs, looking towards Hollywood, who shrugs.

Toksvig, the Danish-British presenter of QI, is a more natural Bake Off fit. For a start, she can bake — the Danes know a thing or two about pastry — and she has the safe humour required of a family-show presenter.

“Sandi had never seen Bake Off,” Fielding says impishly.

“Shush,” she retorts.

“You lied to me, you said you’d seen every one,” says Hollywood with mock outrage. Toksvig remains silent.

What was your favourite episode, I ask.

“The one where they make cake? I don’t watch a lot of television, I’m more of a reader,” she laughs, throwing her hands up. In any case, she didn’t think it was a good idea to watch back through the series because “you wouldn’t want to be trying to emulate someone else’s brilliance”. Indeed, watching Matt Le Blanc and Chris Evans being shoved into cardboard Top Gear cutouts of Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson does not make for compelling television.

In many respects, Channel 4 is banking on the show’s tried-and-tested format being its key ingredient, rather than its personalities. The fact that it thrives in 25 countries suggests they are onto something. “Format is king,” Hollywood says. No one, however, expects Channel 4 to come close to the BBC’s record-breaking viewing figures: where 15m tuned in to see Candice Brown win last year. Channel 4’s most popular show, Gogglebox, gets 5m at most.

How this slightly cheesy, joyfully warm, village fete of a TV series became the country’s most successful show is still being mulled over. For Leith, Bake Off’s attraction is straightforward. “People love competition and everyone loves cake,” she explains, in her rather clipped tone. “Even if you don’t allow yourself to eat much cake, you still like drooling over it … and it’s not out to humiliate anyone.” The former Great British Menu judge has perhaps the hardest role, stepping into national treasure Berry’s vivid judging pumps. Known for brazenly speaking her mind, she is sharp, witty and most definitely not a soft touch. Her catchphrase is “it’s not worth the calories” — though, despite being a healthy-food campaigner, she doesn’t see an issue with obese Britain being fed more cake. “I really thought twice about accepting Bake Off. I’ve spent my life campaigning about children learning to cook and healthy meals in schools, but I reasoned that, actually, baking is the best way to get people into general cooking. And that’s what we need the nation to do: to get interested in the kitchen.”

I suggest that this might not be the most feminist view, that making cakes narrows women’s horizons rather than broadens them. She doesn’t buy it. In fact, it makes her “quite cross”. “That whole attitude,” she shakes her head. “You know, there was a high mistress at [the leading private school] St Paul’s for girls, and I said to her once that the girls should learn to cook. And she said, ‘Over my dead body. My girls are going to be brain surgeons and astrophysicists. I tell them never to do anything domestic.’ And I thought, what kind of life are they going to have? If they grow up with that idea, then they are going to be cut off from some of the great pleasures of life.”

If the show’s popularity is anything to go by, Leith is spot-on: watching bakers whip up gingerbread houses, milk buns and scones gives its viewers untold pleasures. And every year, the standards reach new heights. This year is no different. Blown away by previously unheard-of flavour pairings and clever concoctions, Hollywood has given out more handshakes than ever before.

It must, however, be tough for a show that has grown so big that a binned baked alaska can become an item on Newsnight, and whose contestants can go on to win book deals, TV shows and newspaper columns, to maintain its gentle appeal. Surely it attracts more cut-throat sorts? “No, it attracts good bakers. You can’t say, ‘I’m in it for the money.’ You’ve got to be a brilliant baker first,” Hollywood says fiercely.

Bake Off stands out for its lack of gimmickry, emotional backstories and the sex factor. It’s the antithesis to Love Island

And an in-it-to-win-it attitude isn’t likely to get a baker very far. Bake Off’s currency is generosity of spirit and collaborative encouragement. It stands out for its lack of gimmickry, emotional backstories and sex factor, the antithesis to Love Island. Its best contestants will fall over a boiling saucepan of sugar to help each other out.

“It’s astonishing. They really are devoted to each other,” Leith says.

And then the electricity goes — stately homes, eh? — and we emerge from the porch to see the home’s owner tootling off under a sunhat to bottle-feed some lambs. The cameras stop rolling and flour-strewn bakers run out of the sweaty tent and tumble onto the grass, hugging each other and patting the terrier. For all the furore of last autumn, the happy magic still seems to be here in spades. The Great British Bake Off is coming soon to Channel 4

[mfmagazine]

Lisa Burke

Article by Lauren Weigle

Photo by Kravetz PR

Lisa Burke brings Lisa Blue to the runway… and to the ocean waves, particularly the whales. We all try to do our part little by little in order to better the planet and wildlife around us, but Lisa Burke takes it to another level with her efforts to preserve the whales. With her fashionable swimsuits, Lisa is able to raise both awareness and funds for today’s ocean animals. She is a true whale activist and visionary who believes in using her creative talents for the greater good. Incorporating tribal influences mixed with metallic hues, jewel tones, and pops of color, Lisa Blue rocks the bathing beauty world with terrific force.

So, tell me all about your most recent fashion show for Miami’s Swimwear Fashion Week. There was so much great use of color and unique patterns. How did you come up with so many creative patterns to incorporate in your lines?

Every year I travel to Bali to surf and design. It is there that I connect with my creative spirit and start to channel my ideas. Plus, I am strongly and passionately inspired by our Australian Aboriginal culture. Once again, I have been inspired by a stunning Australian Aboriginal dot painting. The artist, Rosie Miller, is from the Whale tribe (Mirning tribe) in South Australia and is a strong supporter of the Lisa Blue campaign which is to help towards marine life conservation. I have created three very different tribal prints for the new collection ranging from an earthy tribal print to a glamorous gold-flecked version. My passion for the whales is also the inspiration behind the Galactic stories for the 2012 collection. In mythology it is said that the whales and dolphins came from the stars and their magic stems from other worlds. As I have swum up close and personal to whales and dolphins I have experienced their power, which is beyond words. The Galactic theme ties in with this mythology. Metallic gold and silver panels on matte black, smoky grey, and a deep, vibrant purple depict the Galactic theme in intricate sci-fi looking cuts with gold and silver studs to add an edgy but glamorous touch to the Galactic Warrior. In addition to these themes I was inspired by a photo of a peacock feather. I turned this photo into a painting which is literally a burst of bright colors. I mixed these suites with metallic gold, making the bikinis reversible. Here you get 2 sets for the price of one.

So, Galactic motifs were basically the overall theme for the collection?

There were a couple of themes in the show: The dazzling, intriguing Galactic Themes, which also included a stunning print of blues, turquoise, and purples inspired by a channeled painting of an extraterrestrial angel by whale activist and visionary artist Jean Luc Bozzoli. The Aboriginal tribal theme offered an array of colors ranging from the glamorous gold foiled version to a very feminine silk like mix of purples and warm colors. And, the outstanding 'Showbird' which is true to its title lights up the stage like a peacock dancing.

Out of all the looks amidst your themes, what would you say was your “statement piece” or most revered outfit on the runway?

My favorite is the Galactic Princess, black with gold paneled, one-piece that opened the show. This is the ultimate in glamour and, having a center zip allows the wearer the choice to reveal a little bit of cleavage, adding a sexy look if preferred.

Okay, let’s focus more on the brand itself. I understand you started your swimwear line to help preserve marine life, particularly whale life. Tell me how you became so motivated by this cause and what made you decide to become so dedicated.

Several years ago I went to Tonga with the sole purpose to swim with humpback whales. During this time I came face to face with a mother and her baby whale. The baby approached me and looked directly into my eyes. Only a foot away from me I stared back into to those ancient looking eyes of a new born whale and made a promise that I would do what I could to help protect them. As I was a keen surfer and lived in a bikini, I was often designing bikinis. Then one day whilst I was out in the ocean on my surf board it came to me to put my two passions together: 'save the whales' and ' bikini designs'… So was born my label Lisa Blue, which donates a full quarter of the profits to helping protect the whales and dolphins. As well as donating money, I am able to use fashion as the perfect medium to spread the message to the world to take care of the gentle giants of the ocean whose future is seriously at stake.

Can you tell me a little more about the Whale Conservation Society and your connection with them?

The Australian Whale Conservation Society (AWCS) is a cetacean conservation organization formed in the late 1970s, when Australia was still a whaling nation. Today, with Australia among the most vocal nations promoting whale conservation in the international community, the AWCS continues its advocacy for the permanent cessation of commercial whaling and the farce that it scientific permit whaling. The AWCS works towards whale protection and conservation in Australia, promoting public education about cetacean issues, cetacean research, and responsible, well-managed whale watching. I have a wonderful relationship with Paul Hodda, the founder of the AWCS. He keeps me informed of the whale politics and is like a mentor to me. I am honored to know souls like Paul who dedicate their lives to helping preserve our earth.

How did you decide that creating swimwear was how you wanted to help as a whale activist?

I saw a need for fashionable bikinis for surfer girls since the typical surf brands seemed rather limited in style. It was my wish to bring glamour to the waves. Whilst initially my swimwear business idea was derived from my perception of a gap in the market for ocean girls, I then expanded my project to create swimwear for all types of girls, including taking my beach look from day to night. Hence, I created Lisa Blue whereby I could fulfill my wish to use the platform of fashion to speak up about the plight of the whales and donate 25% of the profit to marine conservation. At first, I was like a baby crossing a busy, several lane highway. I made it to the other side with sheer determination, hard long hours of work, and attaining a fabulous team.

Tell me about your new bracelet, specifically dedicated to whale conservation, besides it being extremely adorable of course…

I wanted to create a product that could be sold to help raise funds for the AWCS and in doing so draw attention to the plight of the whales. It was actually my wonderful PR lady Prue Healey from Mint Partners, Australia who suggested the bracelet. I loved that idea and so designed and created the whale tail bracelet. I was delighted to see how responsive the general public was as the first shipment of bracelets sold out immediately. People love to purchase something pretty with a good cause behind it.

Absolutely. So, tell me more about Lisa the surfer…

Well, actually surfing has been one of my greatest passions for several years. I was a late starter in my mid 30's and as soon as I got my first wave, was totally addicted. Surfing is a way to be really close to nature, to feel free and peaceful. Out in the blue, I get to swim with dolphins and sometimes even whales. These days I work a lot and am more on the land than I want to be. But, I am driven by my cause and am dedicated to the running of Lisa Blue and such are the sacrifices of life. I particularly love my trips to Bali where I make sure I surf most days and often come up with designs out on the surf board. Plus, I live in the coastal town Byron Bay with the beach being a minute walk from my house and so I can catch a wave straight out my back door. And, when the waves are big (big for me is 10 foot), I get such a thrill and in that moment when I am riding the wave. I feel like I can do almost anything if I set my mind to it.

I love Byron Bay. It’s gorgeous. When I went to Australia, it was actually my first stop on the trip. Okay, let’s talk about your target customer a little. Who is wearing Lisa Blue?

Offering a variety of gorgeous styles, Lisa Blue epitomizes femininity. With designs ranging from striking, authentic Australian Aboriginal-style prints to hot, sexy Renaissance art to edgy and elegant pieces such as the Galactic stories using metallic panels and studs…Lisa Blue compliments all. Lisa Blue offers such a wide mix of cuts and designs ranging from bikinis designed to stay on in 15 foot waves to stunning glamorous pieces sure to turn heads at a pool party or worn with a pair of pants out in the evening. Lisa Blue is for the young at heart and the modern girl who is not afraid to show her beauty to the world and cares to make a difference.

So what kind of materials are you most drawn to for your collections and which ones do you try to steer clear of?

I love using the best of Lycra, which we get mainly from Italy and I prefer our trims to be metallic or wooden where possible as opposed to plastic, which means creating a swimsuit that is top quality and durable.

When it comes to fashion design in general, what do you think are the three most essential things to possess or keep in mind?

Whilst keeping an eye on trends is an important part of the process, I think it is important to trust one's own intuition and have fun being creative. Pieces that have come from the magical creative force that is within us all, always seem to have that special 'it' factor. It cannot be mathematically forced, but is part of the flow of the universe. And, having a supportive team to work with is also of utmost importance. My girls add to the recipe and together we manifest a well thought out range that will appeal to all.

[theoptimisticdaydreamer]

Let me start off by saying I will always love Bake Off. It is the best baking show out there because of the cozy vibes and the way the bakers support one another. In Bake Off, competition itself isn’t the priority and the bakers restore a little of your faith in the goodness of humanity.

However, the start of this season signaled to me that it continues to move away from its bread and butter and is trying to mold itself into something it isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, it has been on this track for a couple seasons now but I thought they would stop and readjust but they haven’t. This show was built on regular good hearted people. They didn’t have fancy jobs, they weren’t rolling in money, and they baked to feed the people around them and as a love language. What they baked during Bake Off was rough around the edges in presentation because that was the point. Nobody in their daily lives had the time to bother about the superficial appearance of their food as they juggled work and other responsibilities. As a bonus, there were baking history lessons to learn the ancient origins of modern everyday staples as it set itself further apart from hyper-competitive professional baking shows as a show for and about the regular working class person. Bake Off marketed itself as being down-to-earth and firmly rooted in community; celebrating people who went ignored by its competitors. And it found great success!

It doesn’t seem like Bake Off is for these salt of the earth bakers anymore. What is the value of hyper-realistic edible art for someone who grabs a few precious hours every week to bake in between working full time and trying to pay the bills?! What is the purpose of making an uncommon cake without a recipe?! What is the point of requiring equipment and techniques to succeed that cost a lot of money to acquire?! These challenges get more and more outlandish and the bakers are given less and less time AND FOR WHAT?! So that Paul and Prue can have the smuggest grins on their faces as they watch people struggle?!

People watch Bake Off because it isn’t Iron Chef or Sugar Rush. The appeal of this show is that they are not professional bakers so stop designing professional level challenges with professional level standards.

Stop consistently emphasizing finesse and appearance.

This show’s appeal was cemented years ago in the good old days and it remains because people are clinging to the few scraps of similarities left. This show is being destroyed while it acts as a vehicle for Paul and Prue’s ego trips.

Enough already. Stop before it’s too late and go back to your roots.

Please.