Dinner with Tom Colicchio on Monday November 1st

Attention all Top Chef fans, Craft Chef/Owner Tom Colicchio will be in town on Monday November 1st and you are invited to join him for dinner at the LA branch of Craft. Colicchio recently returned from a trip to South Australia and apparently the voyage inspired him as he will create a five course tasting menu for the evening featuring local Australian delicacies, including rock lobster tails. No word yet on whether the menu will include kangaroo or emu.

The dinner will focus on some of the great wine producers of South Australia and each course will be paired with a wine from the region. Colicchio will also be dishing about his vacation including swimming with bluefin tuna and exploring Kangaroo Island. Expect some tales about his Top Chef television experiences and the challenges and adventures of running a growing restaurant empire.

This intimate dinner is $250 per person all inclusive. The reception begins at 6:30 pm and the dinner at 7 pm. Reservations can be made by emailing Anna Morini at amorini@craftlosangeles.com

You should have had plenty of time to recover from your Halloween merriment by Monday evening, so be there or be square. And no, I won't save any kangaroo jerky for you if you can't make it.

Craft Los Angeles: 10100 Constellation Blvd, Century City. (310) 279-4180.

Cheese of the Week: Roaring Forties Blue

Roaring Forties Blue Cheese is from the King Island Dairy, which is located on King Island, a small island (with an area smaller than that of the city of Los Angeles) South of Melbourne and North of Tasmania, in Australia's Bass Strait.

This cheese is not named for the decade, but for the fiercely strong westerly winds which bear down on the island which lies along the 40 degrees South latitude and caused many shipwrecks over the years. (Calling all treasure hunters!) It is a medium creamy rind-less blue cheese in the Roquefort style made from cow's milk exclusively from cows who graze on the island's lush vegetation. The cheese has a slight nuttiness in the taste and some nice salty tangy flavor. It is more creamy than crumbly and is matured in rounds in a thick blue wax coating, the effects of which may contribute to its sweetness.

Roaring Forties has won several awards including the 2006 Championship at the 78th Annual British Empire Cheese Show in Ontario, Canada. It is available locally at Surfas for $17.00 per pound and also via mail order.