Colin Campbell OAM

Colin Campbell is one of ABC TVs Gardening Australia presenters in Queensland. Colin's qualifications in horticulture, marketing and journalism, have been the springboard for his career as a gardening media personality.

Not only does Colin currently appear on ABC television and write for the Gardening Australia magazine, he also provides a regular weekly column for Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper and until just recently hosted a popular gardening talkback program on 4BC. He retired from that at the end of last year after doing the program for almost 29 years.

Colin has been actively involved in conducting training workshops around Australia, spoken at numerous seminars and has joined judging panels for a number of gardening competitions.
He also has a horticultural consultancy based in Brisbane, Colin was founding president for the Queensland State Council of Australian Institute of Horticulture, as well as founding member for the Horticultural Media Association Queensland. He has received a number of prestigious awards including the OAM for services to horticulture and the horticultural media.

Visit: www.colincampbellsgarden.com.au

Ross McKinnon AM

Ross McKinnon is the Curator-in-Charge of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at suburban
Mt Coot-tha. Internationally regarded as amongst the world’s leading sub-tropical Botanic Gardens and Brisbane’s second largest tourist attraction featuring significant plant collections including the world's largest representative collection of Australian native rainforest trees.

Ross has a weekly gardening column, has hosted various television and radio gardening programs and is a Patron, Life or Honorary Member of 28 horticultural organisations.

In 1993, Ross was awarded the inaugural “Brisbane City Council Employee of the Year Award”; is a retired State Chairman and National Board Member of “Australia’s Open Garden Scheme”.

In 1994 he was nominated as a “Fellow” of the Linnaean Society – London.

In 1993,1998, 2003 & 2008 Ross was appointed Chairman of the “Council, Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens” and on Australia Day 1999, he was awarded “The Order of Australia”, “For Outstanding Services To Horticulture”.

In 2005 Ross received an Inaugural Vitae Lampada (The Burning Torch of Life) Medal, for his “Consultant Role to the Queensland Poisons Information Centre to Paediatricians within the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health based at the Royal Children’s Hospital and to Doctors in the broader worlds of medicine in Queensland”.

Phil Dudman – Garden2Kitchen

Phil Dudman is a gardening talkback radio host on the ABC Local Radio network, TV presenter, gardening author for ABC books and a regular contributor to popular gardening magazines. He is also a passionate advocate for organic gardening and the ‘grow your own’ movement.

Visit: www.phildudman.com

Phil also presents garden2kitchen with fabulous foodie Julie Ray. It’s a live performance that celebrates the joy of growing your own food and preparing delicious meals using the freshest of seasonal produce. ‘Let’s step out into the garden to see what’s on the menu’. Together, they have taken their special brand of performance to corporate events and food and garden expos right across the country.

Phil’s latest project is Landshare Australia, an online network that connects people who want to grow food with those who have land to share. Landshare is a huge success in the
UK and is destined to enjoy the same level of support when

The website is launched nationally in February 2011. www.landshareaustralia.com.au

Dominique Rizzo— a chef with soul

Dominique Rizzo is a Brisbane-based Sicilian–Australian chef with a passion for natural, health-giving wholefoods. She has over fifteen years experience as a chef, including seven years as head chef and partner at Mondo Organics restaurant that also offers catering and a cooking school in Brisbane's West End.
Dominique’s food education business, Pure Food Cooking, aims to inspire others to cook with fresh, seasonal and local produce to improve health and vitality.
Pure Food Cooking incorporates cooking classes, hosting corporate events and private presentations, regional food demonstrations; recipe development, food styling and editorials for magazines and publications.
Dominique also works as an ambassador for selected companies with product endorsements, creating product-specific recipes and all media product promotion. She has 10 years experience in television and media appearances with a long-standing role on Channel 10’s Ready, Steady, Cook, as well as regular guest spots on The Circle, Kerrie-Anne and regular national radio segments.
Dominique’s first cook book, “My Taste of Sicily” was launched in 2011 and showcases a beautiful collection of delicious family friendly traditional and Sicilian inspired recipes. It demonstrates again, her passion for fresh healthy cooking and her Sicilian heritage. Dominique’s unique  “Pure Sicilian Food, Wine and Cooking Tours” also launched in 2011 will take attendees on an amazing cooking and eating experience through the island of Sicily where they will experience first hand, the specialties of this amazing land.

For further information on any of her services, visit her website at: www.dominiquerizzo.com

Julie Ray – Garden2Kitchen

Julie Ray is a food writer and stylist who lives in Byron Bay, NSW. Julie contributes to cookbooks and magazines around the country and presents at the world-renowned Sydney Seafood School.

Phil Dudman and Julie have a regular harvest feature in ABC Organic Gardener magazine and they entertain and educate people across the country at garden expos, field days and country shows presenting Garden2Kitchen where they encourage home gardening and cooking using seasonal crops and local produce. Julie’s philosophy is “grow your food, know your food, love your food”.

Julie also shares a monthly radio spot with Phil Dudman, on Good Gardening on ABC radio NSW where they discuss seasonal food and cooking.

Visit: www.julieray.com.au

Matilda Scarfe  - Gourmet Afrika

Matilda Scarfe was born in South Africa, and migrated to Australia in 1983, after meeting Ray (a Kiwi!) on a visit in 1982. She is a trained beauty therapist, but her love for cooking prompted her to open a restaurant when they moved to Maleny in 1992. The restaurant, “e’afrika” served traditional South African fare, and soon became well-known for the delicious meals in the custom built ‘rondawel’ (round house).

By popular request of her customers, Matilda started cooking her sauces, chutneys, marinades and spices under the label Figtree Cottage. They proved to be very popular, and were distributed all over Australia.

In 2001 it all became too much, and she sold the restaurant, as well as the products, to retire. Her retirement lasted exactly two months!

Matilda re-invented her products under the label Gourmet Afrika, and is as busy as ever, creating new products and distributing Australia-wide. Matilda also holds regular cooking classes, and each year, takes groups of avid foodies to South Africa for Gourmet Cooking Safaris.

www.malenyqueensland.com/gourmetafrika

Michael Jenkins – Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa Noosa

From leaning out of the kitchen window of an old Scottish castle to pluck blueberries from the bush, to trudging around the fertile farms of Northern New South Wales for exotic fruits, the new executive chef at Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa, Michael Jenkins, is passionate about his food. 

Heading up View on Little Hastings Restaurant & Bar, which is Outrigger’s signature restaurant, one of Michael’s core focuses is to run View more as an intimate restaurant rather than standard restaurants found in hotels and resorts.   

Having owned and operated a 100-seat a-la-carte restaurant in Coolangatta for the past three years, Michael built a strong and loyal following among diners for his imaginative, yet simple dishes where seasonal ingredients and produce were the heroes.

But it was the calling of Noosa’s abundant produce and the opportunity of heading up the food and beverage operations of a 5-star resort that enticed him north.

“The Sunshine Coast is blessed with some amazing local produce and seafood and while I’m still getting to know the region and meet all the growers and producers, I’m really loving what I’ve found so far,” Michael said.

A firm believer in keeping food uncomplicated, where the produce is the star, Michael’s menu at View features one of his signature dishes - chilled mud crab with crispy pork belly, coriander, mint, palm sugar and lime caramel - a dish that he has been turning out throughout his career, which includes working in 5-star boutique hotels in some of the country’s finest growing regions.  

Visit:  www.outrigger.com.au

Aki Kitabatake – Ninderry Manor

Aki Kitabatake and his wife Miyuki, run Ninderry Manor, a very popular B&B in the picturesque hinterland between Yandina and Coolum.

Aki studied French cuisine in Paris during the late 60s to early 70s, before working as a chef in Copenhagen for two years. He then moved to Australia where he co-founded and operated the Eco-Tours travel agencies to Port Stephens for 17 years, through which he was awarded several tourism awards. An avid supporter of conservation, Aki also founded the Port Stephens Dolphins and Wildlife Federation and planted 28,000 gum trees in the Saltash area of Port Stephens to develop a wildlife sanctuary, a project he continues to this day.

For a lifestyle change, Aki and Miyuki moved to the Sunshine Coast and in 2003, opened Ninderry Manor, a 4.5-star bed and breakfast. Ninderry Manor is renowned for its unique Japanese and French breakfast and dinner menus as well as the tuition it offers guests in traditional Japanese cooking, tea ceremonies and Oriental calligraphy.

www.ninderrymanor.com.au

Dezley Hughes – Twig & Grace

Dezley Hughes, owner of Twig & Grace is an artistic florist who has been supplying beautiful flowers to her clients for the past 12 years.  She has an extensive background in the industry having owned and operated florist shop in NSW for 10 years before setting up in the glorious Noosa hinterland.

Her amazing floral art skills were sought after so much in the southern states, that she was invited to exhibit at Melbourne’s prestigious International Flower Show.

Specialising in colour, texture and style, Twig & Grace provides unique fresh arrangements for all celebrations and special occasions.  In addition to Dezley’s specialised floral creations, Twig & Grace also offers a beautiful and eclectic range homewares and decorator pieces, together with brilliant coffee and snacks.  

Visit: www.twigandgrace.com