Organic Expo & Green Show International

The Organic Expo & Green Show would like to extend a warm welcome to renowned chef Kylie Kwong who will cook up a storm and tantalise your taste buds and also introduce gardening guru Costa Georgiadis who will help green your gardens. Please see their BIOs below and check out our demonstration stage timetables for their session times closer to the show.

Special Guest BIOS:

OUR RENOWNED CHEFS

Kylie Kwong

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Kylie Kwong is well known as the proprietor of the celebrated Billy Kwong restaurant in inner-city Sydney, and as a passionate advocate of sustainable food and ethical eating. Her restaurant uses only locally grown, organic and biodynamic produce, and was the first carbon-neutral restaurant in New South Wales. A long-time supporter of the Slow Food movement and its aims, Kylie runs a stall at Eveleigh Farmers’ Market in Sydney and helps to nurture the next generation of cooks through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation. She is also currently developing a range of fair trade kitchenware in conjunction with Oxfam. Kylie is the author of five books – It Tastes Better, My China, Simple Chinese Cooking, Heart and Soul and Recipes and Stories – and presenter of three television series that have aired internationally.

Tobie Puttock - Sponsored by Woolworth's

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International award winning chef Tobie Puttock began his career working in Melbourne’s ‘Caffe e Cucina’ before travelling to picturesque Lake Como in Italy to work for ‘Hotel Florence’.  After many years of perfecting the Italian language and his culinary skills Tobie found himself on English shores where he began working at the world famous ‘River Café’.  It was here he worked with and became great friends with Jamie Oliver.

In 2005 Tobie returned home to Australia to make his own dream a reality and in September 2006 Australia’s first Fifteen Restaurant and Foundation opened in Melbourne. Here Tobie continued Jamie and the Fifteen Foundations work by each year giving 15-20 under privileged Australian youths the chance to become qualified Chefs. 

With his Channel 10 hit series ‘Jamie’s Kitchen – Australia’ in 2006 and Lifestyle FOOD TV series ‘Tobie and Matt - Europe and Asia’ in 2008, the launch of his two best selling cook books ‘Daily Italian’ in 2006 and ‘Italian Local’ in August 2008 and his latest book ‘Cook Like an Italian’ launched in late 2010, his monthly column for Delicious magazine and a 6 month maternity cover stint as Food Editor for Sunday Life - the last 6 years has seen Tobie and his wild head of hair fast become one of Australia’s most well known and loved celebrity chefs.

Far from slowing down in 2011 he has excitingly begun his next challenge.  The Fifteen Foundation will change its name and training structure to bring more of Melbourne’s top restaurants under its apprenticeship umbrella.  This will allow the newly named foundation, ‘Stepping Stone’ the ability to help a higher number of Melbourne based disadvantaged young people currently experiencing difficulty securing long term employment.  

With a new Foundation comes a new restaurant that will open its doors late January 2011.  With a locally sourced, seasonal, rustic Italian menu and a laid back cosy atmosphere, ‘The Kitchen’s Cat’ will embody everything that is Tobie Puttock. 

Tobie lives in Melbourne with his wife Georgia and his 4 cats.

Visit: http://www.tobieputtock.com

Teresa Cutter

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Teresa Cutter “The healthy chef” is one of Australia’s leading authorities on healthy cooking. A qualified chef with over 20 years experience, fitness trainer and studies in nutrition, Teresa has combined her knowledge on food, diet and exercise to specialize in developing healthy recipes for people who love food, who love to eat and who have made a conscious decision to maximize their health and well-being. The healthy chef is not about deprivation, it’s a realistic approach to healthy eating that will last a lifetime. Teresa has written four healthy cookbooks ( bite me, the anti-ageing cookbook, fit food and her latest release is called “The 80/20 diet”. She is now working on her 5th with Murdoch Books which is due to be released 2012. She contributes to Women’s Health magazine, Shape magazine, men’s fitness magazine, fitness first, ultra fit and house + garden magazine. Teresa is the executive chef and creator of the healthy chef café in Sydney’s northern beaches. Teresa is scouting locations for Healthy chef 2 in the Eastern suburbs in Sydney and has recently launched her healthy catering arm as well as bringing out her own range of functional foods for health and well-being. Teresa’s hobbies are kickboxing, submission wrestling, cooking, running and road cycling.

Click Here to get a taste of Teresa cooking up a storm !

Simon Lawson 

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Simon is Executive Chef at Agapé, Sydney's largest Certified Organic licensed Restaurant and Bar serving tapas, spelt pizza , mains and dessert. Certified by the Organic Food Chain (OFC) and proudly supporting Australian farmers using the best Certified Organic, Sustainable and Natural produce.

Simon Lawson first started cooking at a very early age in his Grandmother’s kitchen. He used to sit on the kitchen bench and help her wash rice, this was where he started a lifelong passion for food. He has a great ability for marrying flavours and creating dishes which are delicious and nutritious. He has worked in Sydney’s top restaurants. Previously, Head Chef at Nove Cucina Restaurant in Woolloomooloo. Pursuing his passion for organic and sustainable food, in 2006 he headed the family business supplying pre-prepared soups, meals and spelt breads to cafes and delis throughout Australia. After cooking professionally for over fifteen years, he has realised his dream of opening his first restaurant with his sister, designer and entrepreneur Lyn Yu.

See the full story of Agape' and luxe menu offerings here

Holly Davis

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Holly Davis teaches inspiring Wholefood cooking classes, coaches individuals on dietary change and caters extraordinary events. She was born in Britain; in time for breakfast! She is an advocate for the attainment of great health through the use of organic wholefoods and sustainable life practices. She says, “For me choosing organic products is a matter of priority. I choose organic produce to benefit the health of all those I feed, as an act of care and respect for the producers and for the healing of the crust of the earth I live upon. I am willing to pay the price now, to avoid paying the price later, and if that means there will be no overseas travel this year, or less gifts under the tree, so be it.” Holly’s cookbook “Nourish” adorns all the best kitchens in Australia, Britain and the USA. Nourish has helped make wholefood a desirable option.

For more information on Holly, her classes or her book just click here 

OUR GARDENING GURU'S

Costa Georgiadis

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Costa Georgiadis was born in Sydney and grew up in Bondi. His love of plants, gardens and growing things stems from his Greek immigrant grandparents - from an early age he spent endless hours in their backyard at Randwick, which was literally a market garden. Picking, cleaning, preparing and eating the home grown produce in traditional family recipes sowed the seeds of his passion for ecology and organics. Costa initially studied languages in an Arts Degree before finding his true calling and transferring to the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree at the University of NSW. Costa’s final year thesis titled Green Cities of the Future: Ecology, Sustainability, Awareness and Responsibility for the Enrichment of Human Settlements™ was the road map upon which Costa moved out into the world. Upon graduation, Costa set off for Europe where he began his long awaited dream of travelling the world. Settling in Austria and Prague as his base for 6 years, Costa found work in the landscape industry working for a Vienna based company specialising in eco swimming ponds and rooftop gardens. On returning to Australia he then worked as project manager for Sydney based landscape architects Urban Landscape Projects. He also undertook additional studies in Freshwater Aquaculture at Armidale TAFE, and Catchment Management at Macquarie University. Costa currently runs his own landscape business where his passion for water harvesting, organic food production and self-sustainability is reflected in his hands-on and up front working relationship with his clients. All of Costa’s achievements in the past and goals for the future reflect his passion for life: from the life of the soil to the life of the plants that grow in it and the vitality and abundance that they bring as food to be shared as a cultural gathering at the table. He loves the details of life!

Jerry Coleby-Williams

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Jerry Coleby-Williams is an Australian conservationist, horticulturalist and plant curator. He has been a presenter on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia since 1999 He is the director of the Seedsavers Network and an Executive Member of the Queensland Conservation Council. Coleby-Williams was born in London. He first trained with the Royal Horticultural Society before going on to study a Diploma in Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.He then worked in a variety of horticultural positions around London in the private and public sector. In 1992 he emigrated to Australia, following his ongoing passion for West Australian wildflowers. This led to his work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney as Senior Horticultural Supervisor for Displays and Connections. In this position he researched and designed the Garden's Rare and Threatened Plants Garden which in 1999 received an award of excellence from the Australian Institute of Horticulture. In 2003 he moved to Brisbane, Queensland in order to establish a sustainable house and garden. This house – “Bellis” - provides a model for ways in which urban Western citizens can reduce their ecological footprint, and adapt to climate change and peak oil. Coleby-Williams is extensively involved in publishing about gardening in Australia. He is the horticultural editor of Organic Gardener magazine. He was also the consultant for content and one of the writers of the book, Gardening Australia - Flora: the gardener's bible, which is Australia’s largest illustrated plant dictionary. Jerry Coleby-Williams is best known for his contribution to environmentalism. His model of sustainable horticulture provides a bridge between conservation and horticulture. In 2009 he won the Australian Savewater Awards for the Built Environment Category. He is also noted for his discovery of a new plant species, the Harlequin Bell (Darwinia polychroma), which is an endangered species from Western Australia.

OUR ORGANIC SKINCARE EXPERT

Carla Oates

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Carla Oates, (AKA The Beauty Chef) , Author and Ambassador for the BFA (Biological Farmers Of Australia) in Organic Body Care, is a pioneer in her field. Over the last decade she has written hundreds of articles for a variety of publications on the numerous benefits of Organic Skincare. For over five years, her coveted beauty chef column for The Sunday Telegraph, reached hundreds of thousands of readers throughout Australia, teaching both men and women how to look after their skin kindly and safely without harmful chemicals. Her first book Feeding Your Skin, was published in 2004, by Lantern books, an imprint of Penguin. It has sold over 12,000 copies and has gone into its third re-print and was recently published in the UK through Vermillion, an imprint of Random House. Carla is a regular beauty columnist for both Wellbeing Magazine and G magazine and is about to start writing her second book on organic beauty. She recently compiled the Wellbeing Beauty Book, available in Newsagencies today. Carla runs regular Beauty Chef workshops in Sydney teaching women how to make a variety of cleansers, moisturizers, masks for their own skin, using beautiful, fresh ingredients found in their garden and kitchen. Carla’s passion for formulating skincare comes from her love for the natural world and natural ingredients: plants, herbs, oils and essential oils. “Once you experience the rejuvenating benefits and delightful aromas of natural, organic skincare, its difficult to use anything else”. Her years of research in this area has led her to become a highly sought after consultant in formulating organic skincare. She consults to people on organic formulations, and has worked on a number of projects designing creams and natural fragrances, including creating essential oil blends for a fragrance for Elle Macpherson. While Carla is passionate about teaching women how to make their own skincare, she understands that not everybody has the time or inclination to do so. So we are very excited to be launching Carla’s eponymous brand Carla Oates Beauty at the Organic Expo this year. Unlike the bulk of skincare brands on the market, Carla’s makes her own unique extracts and her products are handmade in small batches to offer her customers truly holistic, organic skincare. Carla is passionate about the organic industry and helping to educate people on how to live sustainably, including on how to maintain a fresh, sustainable beauty routine!