You can grab a bargain each day of the long weekend, 9am to 5pm, at 1616 Broke Road, Pokolbin.

One for the diary: De Iuliis Wines will celebrate all things lamb at this year's Cork & Fork wine and butchery lunch at the winery on Saturday, August 10. From 11am to 4.30pm you can enjoy salumi, live music, a sit-down feast-style lunch, wine, and butchery workshops. And this year there is also a "pick-up" option so that you can leave the car at home. Tickets cost $150 per person (kids under 12 just $25) or $199 per person with return transfers from Newcastle. Go to dewine.com.au.

Stephanie de Sousa has had an interesting week on MasterChef Australia. The Warners Bay local experienced a food truck fire while cooking on Sunday night's team challenge and had to face an elimination on Monday night. She survived.

"Larissa and I had never worked with a gas oven before. Our pork belly wasn't crisp enough so we turned the temperature up to maximum heat - then the fat sitting in the bottom of the tray bubbled up and started spitting and it got into the gas flame and caught on fire," she told Food & Wine.

"I was like 'I've got to save the pork belly' so have opened the oven door and of course that added oxygen and made it 100 times worse. I was devastated. We were so happy with our food; we were doing so well. Gary [Mehigan] even came into the green room afterward and said he thought we had a good chance of taking out that task."

The eliminations are stressful, she says, but also educational.

"I've learned a lot in each elimination so it's actually been a blessing but, at the time, there is so much regret at having lost a task. I'm used to watching myself on television now and I'm really enjoying seeing myself evolve on the show."

Two Newcastle couples straight out of Bedrock have received the NSW Variety Bash - Spirit of the Bash award. The Flintstones (Geoff and Margaret Haren) and the Rubbles (David and Maree Jordan) this year raised $35,000 for rural children in need through Variety: the Children's Charity.

For the past seven years they have unashamedly dressed as characters from The Flintstones and frequented both the Duke of Wellington and Northumberland hotels - raising more than $100,000 for Variety in the process.

Team Flintstones began in 2012 when Margaret and Geoff purchased a fire engine that a friend had previously used on the NSW Variety Bash.

"One day I saw Margaret at the Duke selling raffle tickets for Variety and we got talking," David said. "They mentioned they were looking for team members for the NSW Variety Bash and both Maree and I just said 'yeah, absolutely'." They raise money through the hotel's weekly raffle night and specific fundraising events.

"The hotel has been incredible in supporting us as our local, and I can't say enough about licensee Tony Jackson," Geoff said. "People see the Bash and don't always realise that in addition to the car, the outfits and all the fun, there are also 51 weeks of fundraising that goes into it. But we love it and that's why we do it."

Casey Parsons, who recently sold Simply D'Vine Cafe at Nukalba, has taken on a sous chef role at Hunters Quarter under owner and head chef Brian Duncan. The experienced Duncan has worked at the Michelin-starred Dorchester and Claridge's hotels in London, and at Level 41 and The Establishment in Sydney.

Schilly Kick is taking over Franky's Lan Zhao Noodles in Carrington on June 16 for one night only. A Thai fusion pop-up menu will be served. Tickets cost $45 per person and bookings are essential: email schillykick@gmail.com. Come to think of it, is it the perfect weather to sip Franky's warm broth and slurp those handmade noodles or what?

This Sunday, June 9, Newcastle Food & Flower Markets officially launches "stage two" with the help of guest chef Jason Roberts. The new indoor cafe will be unveiled, along with a host of new market contributors. It's all happening at 1 Rural Drive, Sandgate, from 8am to 2pm.

The Naughty Dog has opened at the Oasis food court, Shop 4/55 Beaumont Street, Hamilton. There's all kinds of hot dogs, lots of mac and cheese and more.

The Central Coast is on a mission to rival Newcastle's food renaissance. Restaurateurs Rupert Noffs and Matty Bennett saw potential when they opened Frankie's Rooftop in Woy Woy after seven years in New York. They have now branched out to Hardy's Bay and opened flagship restaurant The Lucky Bee. The Bon Pavilion at Gosford has attracted a lot of attention since opening in April. Also in Gosford is Bay Road Brewing, a micro-brewery that opened earlier this year, and South End Social: an eatery, "coffee lab" and wine bar. Bar Botanica, at Erina Heights, is another new addition. And this weekend, June 8 and 9, the Central Coast's hinterland comes alive with the annual Harvest Festival. Follow event trails, visit local farmers and producers, pick your own fruit or stop by many of the event hubs set up around the region. You can also check out the Glenworth Grazing Food & Wine festival.

Bordering Spain's southern coast, Andalusia is a food-lover's paradise. Having covered the Basque and Catalonian regions, award-winning chef José Pizarro takes readers on a journey through Andalusia's most delicious dishes in his recipe book of the same name.

Many of Andalusia's dishes go back to Moorish times - or earlier - and each of the eight provinces has its own special dish. Try your hand at pork loin with pear and hazelnuts, or prawns baked in salt with mango, chilli and coriander salsa.

Andalusia is out now through Hardie Grant, RRP $49.99. Food & Wine has a copy to give away. To enter, send the word ''Andalusia'' with your name, address and number to freelunch@theherald.com.au. Entries close on Monday at 9am.