Well, 6 weeks ago I was stood on stage at the Sydney Art Gallery, where the Best Jobs winners were announced, in front of a host of TV cameras and news crews,

with my new Taste Master apron hanging proudly around my neck, clutching my giant Western Australia salt and pepper grinders and thanking WA, Tourism Australia and pretty much everybody for making me the new Taste Master of Western Australia.

Since that surreal moment I’ve been back at home in Brighton, preparing for the trip and returning to some sort of normality, with the whole experience seeming like a weird crazy dream. That was until Australia phoned a couple of days ago… “Hi Rich, your visa’s nearly through. When do you want to fly out?!” So 6 months after sending in my application video it’s all about to actually happen. The last couple of days I’ve been frantically packing and organising for the big trip. I’ve had a brief teaser of my first months’ itinerary, and now I fully understand why it’s called The Best Jobs in the World. Talk about a good start to September, I’ll be heading to Australia’s North West for some mud crabbing, pearl harvesting, fishing and foraging in the Kimberley, and then tasting my way around the bountiful flavours of Broome.

So WA, here I come!

I’m really looking forward to meeting you all, embarking on new adventures and exploring WA, starting with Perth next Sunday… I’m hitting the ground running (literally!) and I’ve just registered for the City to Surf 12 km run.

Running shoes: Check
Blister cream: Check

Hope my jet lag’s subsided.

See you all very soon!