Great Southern Taste Western Australia, TASTE Food Festival Chefs

Guest Chefs involved in Taste Great Southern 2008

Anna Gare
Image from the "Lifestyle Channel" program "The Best in Australia"	Anna's passion for cooking began when she could reach the top of the kitchen bench. At the age of 8 and half she took charge of her school canteen one day a week, providing a 3-course meal for a dollar. When she was 12 and three quarters, desperately wanting to be 13, she formed an all girl band with her sister and two friends called the "Jam Tarts". For ten years the Jam Tarts were a successful touring and recording band within Australia and acclaimed at international music festivals. While Anna was in the Jam Tarts, she supplemented her rock and roll lifestyle by cooking. It was here she honed her talents in various restaurants around Australia. After a decade of rock & roll, it was time for a change. Her life had always revolved around food & delighting others with her gastronomical gift, so she decided to start charging for her efforts and formed a small catering business. Deluxe catering became one of Perth’s most successful catering companies, in fact so successful that she recently decided to put it on ice to follow some of her other culinary interests- including television cooking. Anna first worked in Television behind the scenes on ABCs cooking program – Consuming Passions with Ian Parmenter. She was his right hand assistant on the show, preparing the dish "he prepared earlier" and was also involved in recipe development and food styling for the series cook book. Following her TV experience with Ian, Anna then presented her own cooking segments on Channel Seven Networks locally produced shows; Perth at Five- A magazine chat show, shot live and ran for 4 months, 5 nights a week. “Anna’s Kitchen” was a 5 minute cooking segment with Basil Zemplas and guest celebrities. Nuts & Bolts- 12 part DIY series with Anna cooking in the home whilst renovating. Fremantle Documentary- Hosting a One hour special on Freo . Most recently Anna co-starred with celebrity chefs Ben O’Donoghue & Darren Simpson in an eight part series called The Best in Australia which has just recently screened on the Lifestyle channel. “The Best” has received rave reviews and top ratings so the Trio will be back to film another series early next year.
Russell Blaikie
	Russell Blaikie is a country boy at heart. Brought up in his parents Dairy and Sheep farm at Cowaramup, his childhood years were infused with the concept of seasonality. His family would pick peaches, apricots and plums from the kitchen garden ONLY when they were at optimum ripeness, the milk from cows feeding on spring pastures was just that much richer on the morning cereal (still warm from the milk-shed) and fresh plucked eggs were a standard in home-baked cakes and family breakfasts. Russell trained in Perth and at the legendary Dorchester Hotel in London’s Park Lane, where he cooked for the Queen (and Arnold Swarzenegger!). He co-owned and operated No 44 King Street in Perth in its heyday, and now is Chef, partner and General Manager of Highgate’s Must Winebar. Must has won many awards including Gold Plates for Best New Restaurant and Best Wine list in WA, as well as the Gourmet Traveler award for Australia’s Finest Winelist. Blaikie rates some of his most rewarding cooking experiences as being invited to cook for the Gourmet Traveler National Restaurant Awards Event, and cooking traditional Russian Easter specialities for his family. He cooks French Bistro Food “Food from the heart to feed the soul, it’s not rich, however it is rich in tradition”…and we’ll say that he utilizes the freshest seasonal produce Blaikie can lay his hands on.
Jerry Fraser
	'Shucking an oyster with Jerry Fraser is the sort of experience that could make a woman blush' It’s all to do with the delicate way he prises open the rough shell to reveal a perfect, plump, succulent oyster. It’s the way he turns what could be an awkward, ungainly and somewhat dangerous task into a sensuous, highly dramatic piece of drama. Caressing the rock while he slices the sharp knife into the opening, he then makes eye contact while offering the morsel. 'I love the pleasure on people’s faces when they eat them,” he said. “It’s like taking that first plunge into the ocean. It’s clean, pristine, fresh. They taste the brine first, then they get the textures and flavours.' Perth oyster lovers can gather to indulge while watching the master shucker deliver what has been sadly lacking in dining in the city – a live oyster. Or maybe just a drink or a chat with Jerry, who says he offers the role of therapist, raconteur, listener and entertainer. 'It’s a bit like being a hairdresser really,' he says. 'Only I have to be a marine biologist as well. ' (Gail Williams-Sunday Times) As yet not well known in Western Australia, the profession of the Oysterman has a tradition and a mystique all its own. Shucking, by the way, is removing the oyster’s shell. And Jerry is no stranger to the art of ‘shucking’. Jerry believes the booming demand for fresh food will create something of a renaissance in oyster consumption. There is simply no comparison with eating an oyster immediately after it has been shucked. (Tim Macknay-Scoop) An energetic and enthusiastic man, Jerry Fraser’s growing popularity as an oyster shucker comes as no real surprise. He has built up a database of clients that would make any PR manager envious. (Julie-anne Sprague-Gusto)
Jane Cornes
	Jane Cornes is one of Perth's most respected food writers. She is WA correspondent for Gourmet Traveller magazine and the weekly restaurant critic for Post Newspapers. Jane lives in Bayswater with her two cats, herb garden and ten year-old daughter, not necessarily in that order
Sophie Zalokar
	Sophie Zalokar was born and raised in the Barossa Valley and trained as a chef with internationally recognized cook, author and food manufacturer Maggie Beer and subsequently went on to travel and cook around the world. Establishing herself in Western Australia in 1990, Sophie was sous chef at the Oriel Brasserie for 2 years from which she continued with tertiary studies in Visual Arts at Edith Cowan University and held part-time position as a cooking teacher at Ogilvie & Co Fine Food Merchants. Further cooking experience with Lamont’s Winery & Restaurant and Lamont’s Food & Wine preceded two children and a partnership with her husband in their cabinet making business Western Timber Craft. Following this, Sophie consulted to the Fremantle Arts Centre, redeveloping the Café and other food related events within the centre’s programs. At the beginning of 2005, Sophie and her family moved to Pemberton in the south west of Western Australia, purchasing a chalet accommodation business with plans to redevelop the business to include culinary tourism related activities and products. Sophie has written for The Western Review, Homes & Living Magazine, The West Australian, contributed to “Maggie’s Table” and “Verjuice” by Maggie Beer, Spice Magazine and had her first book “PicNic – Outdoor Feasts in the Australian Landscape” published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press in 2002. With interests in various artistic mediums, Sophie continues her life of creative pursuits, where food including primary produce, literature, art and music are at the very heart of her endeavours.
Food Authors
Pauline Nguyen
	Secrets of the Red Lantern Genre: Cooking / Memoir Release Date: October 2007 Previous Titles: N/A Book: Secrets of the Red Lantern is a bittersweet family saga in which treasured recipes form the threads that bind members together for life. It is a moving memoir and a dazzling collection of sumptuous Vietnamese recipes, complete with beautiful food, location and personal photography. Quote: ‘…it is a deeply personal, often heart-wrenching tale of inter-generational conflict, expectations and compromise, illustrated in lavish intimacy with family photographs and memorabilia.’ Joanna Savill, Sydney Morning Herald Author: Pauline Nguyen, along with recipe writers Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen, are the proprietors of the respected Sydney restaurant, Red Lantern. They hold in their hearts and heads the Nguyen’s family’s amazing stories and food secrets.
Stephen Downes
	Paris on a Plate: A Gastronomic Diary Genre: Food / Memoir Release Date: Nov 2006 Previous Title: To Die For: 100 Food experiences to have before you die Book: Stephen Downes, food critic and author travels to the city of lights and Michelin stars to test France’s legendary reputation for fine dining. His exhaustive knowledge, dry humour and fervour for fine food make Stephen’s diary a delicious, although sometimes unsavoury, read. This is an informative and useful guide to the quality and variety of food available in Paris. Quote: ‘His descriptions of the food make the senses tingle…the book is that best kind of read: entertaining and informative’ Bookseller + Publisher Author: Stephen Downes is one of Australia’s foremost food critics and authors whose professional career spans three decades. He has reviewed and written about food for many newspapers and magazines. His history of Australian restaurants and cooking Advanced Australian Fare won Outstanding Food Book of the Year at the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Murdoch Books published To Die For by Stephen Downes in 2005 and this book won the Best Food Literature Book (English – Rest of the World category) in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Clothilde Dusoulier
	Chocolate & Zucchini Genre: Cooking & Travel Release Date: October 2007 Book: Clotilde Dusoulier is a twenty-seven-year-old Parisian who adores sharing her love of all things food-related – recipes, inspirations, restaurant experiences, and above all the pleasure of cooking with the fresh ingredients found in her local Montmartre shops. But her infatuation with food was born not in her mother’s Parisian kitchen, but in San Francisco, where she moved after college and discovered a new world of tastes. When she returned to her beloved France, her culinary exploits inspired her popular and critically acclaimed blog, ChocolateandZucchini.com. In her first book, Dusoulier provides a glimpse into the life of a young Parisian as she savours all that the city has to offer and shares her cooking philosophy in the form of more than 75 recipes that call for healthy ingredients (such as zucchini) and more indulgent tastes (such as chocolate). Chocolate & Zucchini is the book for anyone who has journeyed to Paris and can still recall the delicious flavours and aromas – or for those of us who only dream about them. Quote: ‘It is real escapist, drool-on-your-keyboard stuff as Dusoulier drifts around Paris on a waft of sugar-scented air…Great photography and inspiring recipes’ The Guardian Author: Clotilde Dusoulier trained as a software engineer and spent two years in the US before returning to Paris. In 2003, she began her blog, chocolateandzucchini.com. She recently gave up her job to become a full-time food writer. Website/Links: chocolateandzucchini.com