Special Guests

The Organic Expo & Green Show would like to extend a warm welcome to renowned chefs Kylie Kwong, Tobie Puttock, Simon Lawson & Samantha Gowing who will cook up a storm and tantalise your tastebuds and also introduce gardening gurus Jerry Coleby-Williams & 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

Kylie Kwong was born into a third generation Australian-Chinese family, in Sydney. She learnt the fundamentals of Cantonese cooking at her mother’s side, and then went on to hone her skills with several of Australia’s most respected chefs. After working at some of Sydney’s finest restaurants – Rockpool, Wockpool and Restaurant Manfredi – Kylie realised her dream of pouring her heart and soul into her own restaurant, billy kwong, in Sydney’s Surry Hills. Kylie Kwong: Heart and Soul was published by Penguin Viking/ABC Books in October 2003 to coincide with her first TV series which screened in Australia and around the world. Her first cookbook Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories, was published by Penguin. Simple Chinese Cooking, Kylie’s new cookbook for Lantern Imprint of Penguin Books was published in March 2006, and the accompanying television series, premiered on the Lifestyle Channel in January, 2006. Simple Chinese Cooking is sold throughout the USA and UK and the television series airs internationally on the Travel and Discovery Channel. Kylie’s fourth book, ‘My China’ was published in October 2007. An accompanying television series currently airs on the Lifestyle Channel.

Kylie is an avid supporter of all things pertaining to ‘sustainability’ serving only; organic and biodynamic produce in her restaurant. Kylie is the ambassador for the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, and is a spokesperson for the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

For Kylie, food is both a way of life in the present and a link with the past and her family heritage – especially her extraordinary great – grandfather Kwong Sue Duk, who was lured to Australia from his ancestral village in China by the promise of gold. As she says ‘...by sharing the experiences of my family, I hope to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture, particularly...within Australia, and to express my pride in my Chinese heritage’.

Tobie Puttock

International award winning chef Tobie Puttock began his career working in Melbourne’s ‘Caffe e Cucina’ before travelling to the picturesque Lake Como in Italy to work for ‘Hotel Florence’. After many years of perfecting his Italian language and 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.

Returning to Australia in 1999 Tobie set up his own restaurant ‘Termini’ in Melbourne which went on to win 'Best Italian Restaurant 2002' by the Young Australian Achiever Awards. But it wasn’t long before his old mate Jamie had a bigger challenge for him and so it was in 2001 Tobie returned to the UK to become Head Chef of the first Fifteen Restaurant, a venture that teaches under-privileged young people how to become Chefs. Tobie seized the opportunity and was instrumental in helping 'Fifteen' - London achieve its status as ‘Tatler's-Restaurant of the Year' in 2003.

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 continues Jamie and the Fifteen Foundations work by each year giving 15-20 under privileged Australian youths the chance to become qualified Chefs.

Since his return home, Tobie’s honest but light-hearted approach and passion for topics such as organics, sustainability, seasonality, ethical eating and children’s health, has seen him in high demand as a guest on some of Australia’s favourite programs; ‘9am with Dave and Kim’, ‘Good Morning Australia’ and ‘Ready Steady Cook’ and at all Australia’s major food events such as the ‘Good Food Show’s’, ‘Organic Expo’ ‘Great Barrier Feast’ and ‘Gluten Free Expo’.

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, his monthly column for Delicious magazine and a 6 month maternity cover stint as Food Editor for Sunday Life - the last 5 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 2010 he continues to write for Delicious Magazine, whilst working on his 3rd book with Penguin and developing his latest TV programming idea.

Tobie lives in Melbourne with his wife Georgia.

Simon Lawson

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 life long passion for food.

Executive Chef, Simon Lawson has worked in some of 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 is realizing his dream to open his first restaurant with his two sisters. Agape is Sydney’s first and largest organic Spelt Pizza Restaurant and Bar serving spelt pizza and tapas.

Proudly supporting Australian farmers using the best Bio-Dynamic, Certified Organic, Sustainable and Natural produce. Simon champion’s the cause for social justice and believes that sustainability is also about educating others in how to look our planet. Passionate about good food, organic produce and sustainability, he believes that organic food is better for you, tastes better and is better for the world we live in.

Samantha Gowing

Having being fed canned soybeans and boarding school food it is no wonder that therapeutic chef Samantha Gowing embarked on a culinary journey as a child in Melbourne during the gastronomic boom of the 1970s. Developing her passion for Asian cuisine through language and travel.

Samantha enjoyed a long career in hospitality in her hometown of Melbourne where she founded her unique food and health business in 1990, had regular weekly radio shows on 3AK and Kiss FM, and has run her celebrated organic cooking school in Australia, Bali and Sri Lanka ever since.

With over 25 years experience in business Samantha, formerly an award-winning restaurateur, learnt her most recent business lessons working in private practice as a therapeutic chef and clinical nutritionist, and at premiere retreats such as Gwinganna in Queensland. Samantha is in demand nationally and internationally for her organic cooking classes, corporate cooking demonstrations, kitchen keynote seminars and public speaking.

Event highlights for 2010 include a seven-night luxury Women’s luxury surf spa retreat in Bali, guest chef for the Nourish program at Gwinganna Gold Coast, a Women’s Retreat at Gaia Retreat Byron Bay in June. In October Samantha will return to Bali to host special literary events at the Ubud Writers Festival before returning to Sri Lanka in to host a six-night organic wellness spa retreat at the stunning boutique hotel Kahanda Kanda in Galle.

Sam currently lives in Byron Bay where she enjoys the amazing surf and is delighted to be in the process of creating her dynamic spa and surf cuisine and motivational mentoring programs for private consultations, organic luxury spa retreats or corporate health incentives.

OUR GARDENING GURUS

Jerry Coleby-Williams

"Jerry Coleby-Williams Dip. Hort. (Kew), RHS, NEBSM, MAIH is a freelance curator, broadcaster, organic gardener, a Queensland Conservation Executive member, a Director of the Seed Savers’ Foundation, the Horticultural Editor of the ABC’s ‘Organic Gardener’ magazine, a patron of the Householder’s Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE Inc.), patron of the Queensland Early Childhood Sustainability Network, a co-founder of ‘Bellis’, Brisbane’s award-winning sustainable house and garden, and a presenter on ABC TV’s ‘Gardening Australia’ show".

Costa Georgiadis

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!

OUR ORGANIC SKINCARE EXPERT

Carla Oates

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!