Kitchen Cabinet

Christopher Pyne is one of the most legendary dinner companions in the Liberal Party. The problem is, Pyne can’t cook. Luckily his oldest friend and political mentor - former Howard Government minister Amanda Vanstone is a dynamo in the kitchen. Shadow Minister and Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pyne teams up with his political mentor and great friend Amanda Vanstone to discuss his start in politics. Alarmingly, this occurred at age seven, apparently after swimming in Amanda’s pool. Later, Christopher worked for Amanda, then won a South Australian seat in a memorably bloody encounter. Over lunch, Christopher talks about his early hostile relationship with John Howard, his unlikely friendship with Bronwyn Bishop, and his sense of inferiority to Jackie Kelly. He talks to Annabel about his days on the backbench, his political rivalries, and his friendship with Vanstone. Amanda Vanstone entertains with stories of her time as one of the most recognised Ministers in the Howard Government, when students burnt effigies of her as she set about implementing some of the most extreme cuts to higher education Australia has witnessed. She also tells the real story of the day John Howard sacked her.

Political commentator Annabel Crabb joins Opposition Minster for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion. Nigel cooks a chilli mud crab and a Northern Territory tasting plate. Annabel's dessert is a mango and lemon myrtle trifle. One of the best-kept secrets of the Senate, Nigel Scullion represents the Northern Territory and is the opposition’s spokesperson for Indigenous Affairs. Senator Scullion talks to Annabel about his improbable life story – from a nomadic African youth to a stint in the Canberra Scouts to living on a boat in Arnhem Land to a wild night out sans trousers in St Petersburg, to passionate local member and supporter of his indigenous constituents. A self confessed serial “wildlife botherer”, Scullion’s past is as rich and colourful as the creatures he kills and serves. Like all Territorians, Scullion is a great storyteller. Telling tales both tall and true he whisks Annabel off in his boat to a remote location that becomes both supermarket and kitchen, and confronts an angry crustacean in his bare feet. True story

The Minister for Finance Penny Wong is one tough nut to crack, but Annabel’s famed Mandarin Crème Brûlée has loosened the tongues of countless pollies over the years. Minister for Finance Penny Wong has one of the most famous poker faces in the Gillard Government. In this episode, though, as she cooks a dish of particular personal significance, Senator Wong talks about some of life’s complications; her unsuccessful attempt to save the world with Kevin Rudd at Copenhagen, for example, and her quest to preserve her own privacy despite having a private life that might as well, given current political circumstances, have neon lights all over it. Why did she have herself baptised at a youthful age? How strange was it to be the only Asian kid at her Aussie primary school? What makes her lose her temper? What is Belachan? All will be revealed…

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop crushed The Chasers’ Chas Licciardello in a staring contest. Will Annabel be able to withstand the awesome power of Julie’s coriander and prawn risotto? Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop has survived three bloody leadership battles, in turn serving Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, and Tony Abbott. So what makes this Adelaide born blue-blood - known for her famous “death stare” - tick? Bishop discusses her childhood in the Adelaide Hills as the daughter of fifth generation cherry farmers, through to her rise as a Perth based corporate lawyer whose political awakening was forged by WA Inc. Over risotto and rosé Bishop talks about her friendships across the political divide, surviving embarrassing policy gaffes, and what it takes to outlast, out run and out manoeuvre her opponents. She also confesses to some truly unusual jogging behaviour, and to having run away, as a child, to join the Brownies.

Annabel’s toughest assignment. The recently appointed Minister for Health is a fervent foodie and formidable cook. Will Annabel’s Roast Strawberry Cheesecake make the grade? Health Minister Tanya Plibersek is known for her calm poise and patience as she straddles the responsibilities of a career in politics, with being a mother of three small children. Criticised for returning to work with a newborn baby, Plibersek discusses the endless juggle for working women, her immigrant father’s work on the Snowy Mountains scheme, and what led her from political activism to politics. In a deeply personal interview Tanya also talks about the way she and her family navigated press revelations of her husband’s past involvement in heroin trafficking and his rehabilitation from a teenage prison term to become a senior public servant. In a true demonstration of multi-tasking, she accomplishes all this while assembling stuffed zucchini flowers, baked cheese and olive pastries and a superb trout pasta.

Long standing member for the seat of Lyons on the wild western Tasmanian coast, Dick Adams is also the parliament's last surviving shearer. Dick wrestles a 20kilogram salmon into a stainless steel poacher as Annabel counters with dessert Tarte Tatin. Labor backbencher Dick Adams welcomes Annabel into his historically-notorious home to talk salmon, mutton birds, cheese, wine, and custom-built cookware. A former shearer, Adams explains how he made the journey through various trades, illiterate until well into his twenties, and ultimately became a member of parliament. While a prodigiously-sized salmon simmers away on the stove, Dick shares the secrets of egg mayonnaise while recounting some of the challenges of his political career, involving his definitive clash with former leader Mark Latham over Tasmanian forestry, in which he defied his own party’s election policy.