14 / 20 How we score American $$ $$ Ripe persimmon? Burnt mandarin? Jetstar orange? While I’m not sure which term best describes the otherworldly colour of the late- afternoon sky I spy through the curtains, I’m sure that this early October lightshow is something I want to capture in high megapixels on my digital camera. I dash outside and snap away, then notice tiny particles floating in the air like lazy snowflakes. When I clock that the grey stuff is ash, I feel my eyebrows arch in shock.
On cue, the acrid stench of smoke lights up my olfactory nerves, summoning Ghosts of Summer past. Fearing the worst, I scan the day’s WAToday live blog and social media for reports of a major bushfire. I’m relieved to find none.
Perhaps the soot and smoke were by-products of a controlled burn or a small blaze that local firefighters quickly got on top of. Whatever the case, I chalk up the experience as a timely reminder of the awesome power of fire. A few hours later while dining at Fremantle restaurant Cassia, I get another insight into mankind’s relationship with fire, although this time around the lesson feels a little more optimistic.
Opened in July, this 80-seat restaurant leans hard into the culture surrounding “Australian barbecue” (the phrase makes multiple appearances on Cassia’s website and press releases). Its layout has been designed so that the open kitchen and its custom-built grill are the first things guests see when they enter. Cooks regularly turn to thei.