A Matter of Taste

Carmen, Meredith's niece, breezes into Pearl Bay. She is a free spirit who is quick to tell her aunt not only that she is pregnant but also facing criminal charges for obtaining goods by deception - after dining gratis in restaurants in exchange for reviews. The chefs involved arrive in town and their patronising views on Pearl Bay's provincial culinary standards are lost on no-one.

In her efforts to be the mother of her planned 'new life', Laura takes cooking lessons from Dan, but her first attempt to impress the family is thwarted when the family cat, assumed dead and buried, makes an unexpected return.

Miranda, inspired by Carmen's broad-minded and freethinking philosophy, resolves to return to the city and her father. She leaves school to work in Diver's cafe as a means of financing herself. Laura is dismayed at her daughter's refusal to listen to her and confides in Dan. Desperate for Miranda to understand her, Laura lets slip a painful truth.