Somebody recently asked me how we decide on stories for Swill. It’s a far more difficult question to answer than it should be. Probably because every issue really has its own personality. And this time around, we nicked a femoral artery, letting the stories spill out with more freedom than we allowed with the first two.

We jump from the coast of India to the back of Federal to hang out with Australian music powerhouse, Tex Perkins, and his herd of donkeys. Australian national treasure Peter Russell-Clarke opens up about his early life in foster care and turning a then-prince Charles away from his restaurant in the 70s.

Richard Cooke explores the life of Giorgio de Chirico, the Roman artist who caused Yves Tanguy to become a painter after he glimpsed Child’s Skull through a bus window. Leading American pizzaiolo Joe Beddia takes us on a tour of his hometown of Philadelphia, and David Matthews drills down on mangoes with Natoora founder, Franco Fubini.

Chef Annie Smithers introduces us to her tiny Trentham restaurant, Du Fermier. Greek-Aussie chef Ella Mittas writes about her eye-opening journey through the kitchens of Turkey, and we discover how Rob McGlade, a ginger-haired Irishman living in Scotland delivering poetry readings about sieving wine through his teeth, caught the attention of satirist David Sedaris.

Flip to the centrefold to discover the juicy mouthful that is the ham, egg, and chip sandwich at London sandwich shop, Max’s. Of course, every issue needs a love story, and this one is brought to you by the world’s most dedicated barflies who write about the first bar they ever loved.

There’s even breakfast laksa, as part of a delicious, glorious morning mess of recipes cooked with joy by Rosheen Kaul. We hope you love it.

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