Editor's morsels

Paddy moves on

Baker Paddy Murray ran sourdough classes out in the Southern Highlands for about 10 years but he's moving on to a new chapter in his life in Tasmania. He's got his sourdough cultures all dried out and stored ready for the move. He wound up the classes about 6 months ago and is now looking for a buyer for his rural home near Bundanoon. "I've been here for 24 years and I thought hey, I've got one more journey in me," he says. "First of all I need to sell the house but it's on the market now and it's attracting people to it because it's set up for baking and cooking demonstrations so it's attracting a bit of interest. So as soon as I get that sold I'm gone." Like the Steenbergs featured in Susan Parsons' column last week, Murray has also developed a bicycle powered flour mill to make his own flour – he hopes to set it up at the Salamanca Markets in Hobart. Murray says he will miss the baking courses which he says kept him focused. And he enjoyed introducing people to the sourdough lifestyle. "I think a lot of people don't realise the commitment you need, they read about it and say that would be lovely but they need to build it into your lifestyle." Murray wasn't always a baker by trade – he was previously a social worker in Canberra specialising in drug and alcohol rehab and says he helped set up Ainslie Village in 1980 and was a Buddhist pastor at Goulburn jail before he retired. Now he's looking forward to moving down to Hobart, where he has friends. And there might be a few casual sourdough courses left in him yet.

Enlighten Night Noodle Markets

Enlighten has begun and with it the Night Noodle Markets near the lake front between Questacon and the National Portrait Gallery. The markets have come to Canberra for the first time and diners responded with overwhelming enthusiasm – there were an estimated 24,000 people on the first night on Friday and a similar number, according to organisers, on Saturday. For comparison, that's around the same number of people that turned up to the Melbourne Night Noodle Markets on their debut night in 2013, which featured more than 25 stalls. The huge turnout in Canberra obviously led to some very long queues for food at the 16 stalls on the lawns at Reconciliation Place, and that's something that should be addressed. And perhaps more Canberra restaurants will embrace the markets next year, making it bigger and better. But for a first time event, it can only improve and it's good to know that Canberra has another national event on the calendar. Plus, David Pocock seemed to enjoy it, posting an Instagram picture of the lake from the markets and calling it a cracking night.

Winewise 2015 winners

We talked last week about Adrienne and Lester Jesberg's wine appreciation course – now the winners of their Winewise championships, held in Canberra last Tuesday to Thursday, have been announced. Lester says there were two strong common factors among the medal winning wines – finesse and fruit expression. "Finesse covers balance in all wines and fineness of tannins in reds. To express fruit appropriately, grapes must be picked at the right time, freshness must be maintained and the finished wine must not be dominated by oak, barrel ferment complexity or any other input," he says. No Canberra district wines took home a prize but among the winners are the Josef Chromy 2008 vintage sparkling (best sparkling), the 2013 Richmond Grove limited released Watervale riesling (best riesling) and the 2012 Rosemount Estate Little Berry Shiraz (best shiraz).

Party at Yazzbar in Yass

The wine bar Yazzbar in Yass is celebrating its first birthday on the weekend with a mini festival day – with live music from noon to 10pm with food and wine. Owners Harvey Walsh and Penelope Carlisle opened the casual bar in 2014 to showcase the Canberra cool climate wines and Walsh says they have supported local music at the bar and wanted the birthday party to feature musicians from Yass and Canberra. The birthday, titled Yazzfest, is on Sunday, March 8, from noon to 10pm. It's $25 and tickets are available from Eventbrite. 81 Comur Street, Yass. 6226 3138.