Conference Secretariat: Conferences & Events Ltd. Email NZGFW@confer.co.nz  With Thanks to our Sponsors Dinner and Award sponsors Speakers Lyndey Milan Lyndey Milan is one of Australia’s most recognised food, wine and lifestyle personalities with a career spanning over 25 years across most TV and radio networks and publishing houses.  Her forté is presenting seemingly complicated ideas in an easy, straight-forward and entertaining manner. In September 2011 Lyndey won The Vittoria Legend Award at the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food Guide 2012 awards and she was named as a state finalist in the Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award category of the Telstra Business Women's Awards. Lyndey is a director of Sydney Studio Kitchen, a purpose-built TV studio and post- production facility in Artarmon that features customised, interchangeable components and equipment, crew and other services for hire. It is also the headquarters of Lyndey’s new production company, Naked Flame Productions which produced Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece, a series she co-hosted with her late son, Blair on a tour of the Peloponnese, the historic heart of Greece, seeking culinary delights and adventure.  Lyndey is a popular weekly guest on Kerri-Anne on Nine and was previously co–host of Fresh for over eight years. Lyndey contributes to Selector magazine, a quarterly publication for food and wine enthusiasts after over ten years at ACP including as Food Director of The Australian Women’s Weekly. She has published seven popular books including Lyndey Milan, the Best Collection, Just Add Spice (co-authored with Ian Hemphill) and Balance, Matching Food and Wine, What Works and Why (with Colin Corney) which won Best Food and Wine Writing at the 2006 Australian Food Media Awards. As well as media appearances, books and her production company, Lyndey runs a consultancy business that includes public speaking, appearances, cooking classes and demonstrations, food and wine appreciation classes and advising food and wine clients – in fact anything to do with food, wine, agriculture and lifestyle.  She is much in demand at the Sydney Seafood School, various food and wine shows and festivals, masterclasses and as a facilitator, debater, food judge and MC. Her unflagging energy sees her as a Board member and Councillor of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. She is the newly elected Chair of the Sydney Royal Wine Show and was formerly founding Chair of the Fine Food Committee – a committee that judges thousands of Australian products in many categories. She is past President of the Australian Association of Food Professionals (formerly Food Media Club Australia), Wine Communicators Australia (formerly Wine Press Club), and sat on the Tourism NSW Food and Wine Advisory Committee for a decade.  She is an Ambassador for both Australia Day and the Breast Cancer Network Australia, judges for many industry organisations and works voluntarily for various charities including as co-Founder and Patron of Tasting Success, a mentoring program for female chefs. Danette Olsen Danette Olsen is Group Manager Aquaculture and Biotechnology at the Cawthron Institute based in Nelson. She has a MSc in marine biology and has worked at the Institute for last 7 years.  While Danette does not undertake research herself, she has the privilege of working with some of New Zealand’s leading aquaculture scientists. The Cawthron Institute is a not-for-profit independent research organisation that provides research based solutions to aquatic based industries and managers of aquatic environments.  The Aquaculture and Biotechnology Group is made up of 35 research scientists and technicians who undertake research to support the economic and sustainable development of the aquaculture industry.  Cornerstone research programmes are the Cultured Shellfish programme – which supports selective breeding programmes for commercially important shellfish, the Seafood Safety programme which supports the development of tools to ensure the safety of New Zealand’s seafood exports and an Environmental Tools programme that develops molecular tools for the detection of harmful organisms in our aquatic ecosystems and growing waters.  The research team is based the Institute’s Halifax Street site and out at the Cawthron Aquaculture Park at the Glen.  The Cawthron Aquaculture Park is a specialised research facility for undertaking aquaculture research.  It houses the aquaculture scientists employed by Cawthron, as well as seafood companies undertaking their own research.  It also houses a specialised tertiary education facility operated by the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. Rachel Taulelei Rachel Taulelei is the founder of Yellow Brick Road, a company demonstrably invested in New Zealand’s food culture. A born and bred Wellingtonian, Rachel established Yellow Brick Road following eight years in the US with NZTE as Trade Commissioner and North American Regional Manager, Food and Beverages. With Martin Bosley, Rachel is co-founder of Wellington’s City Market.  She chairs the Wellington on a Plate Advisory Board, is a Director of Grow Wellingotn and an Associate Director of Wakatu Incorporation. In 2009, following in the footsteps of Chef Peter Gordon, Rachel was bestowed with the New Zealand Restaurant Association’s Innovator Award. In 2010 she was a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Awards, and the winner of Emerging Gold, Wellington Gold Awards. Rōpata Taylor Rōpata is an Executive for Wakatū Incorporation and is the General Manager of the Manaaki Sector.    He was formerly a secondary school teacher at Nelson College and is a graduate of the University of Otago.    He has a keen interest in the natural environment and is the past Chair of the Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board.  Since 2005 he has been on the board of the Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve.   Also a keen supporter of the arts, Rōpata is a Trustee of the Nelson Sculpture Trust – with a focus on commissioning large public sculpture for the wider Nelson region.  He is the Chair of the Nelson City Council Arts Advisory Panel.   Rōpata is a Trustee of the Ngāti Rārua Atiawa Iwi Trust and Te Āwhina Marae – both based in Motueka.     In 2006 Rōpata  joined the board of the Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency.  He continues to be involved in resource management, tribal governance, social distribution and political advocacy.  He has spoken widely at national and international events on the Maori economy, the history of the Nelson region and indigenous development.  Check out the Wakatu Incorporation website: www.wakatu.org CANTERBURY TALES Three leading food lights of the Christchurch culinary scene will share their experiences of the past year. This promises to be a highlight of our programme on Friday and of interest to everyone, whether a food writer or a food-interested friend.   Jonny Schwass  Jonny Schwass takes a no-nonsense approach to cooking which has made him a big hit in the world of cuisine, overseas and at home. During his 20 years of working in the hospitality industry, Jonny has cooked in various different restaurants, hotels and private homes in America, Australia and New Zealand.  The uniqueness of Jonny’s cooking comes from his firm belief in well chosen ingredients and simply prepared food. Success hasn’t come easy to the cook. There were many hurdles to cross in his life, a major one was cancer. Jonny was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in June of 2000 and spent the next year on heavy treatments of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. All was not lost, as at this time Jonny met his future bride, Alex. He describes the time as a real awakening and it has developed him into the man he is today. After his treatment Jonny moved to Melbourne to pursue his career in cookery. Working in hotels he soon realised that cooking in restaurants was his forte. After two years away from home he moved back to take on his next challenge, Restaurant Schwass. Jonny Schwass opened the doors of Restaurant Schwass on 28 September 2007, a day Jonny will remember as the first event the restaurant managed was catering his wedding.  Restaurant Schwass has become a major success in a short span of time.  The restaurant went on to receive local, national and international recognition and was a three time finalist in Cusine Restaurant of the Year. The restaurant was destroyed in the earthquake on February 22 2011. Jonny has retained all his senior staff and continues to support them and their families as they rebuild the restaurants future.  More success followed as, even without a restaurant, Jonny was named Cuisine Restaurant Personality of the Year 2011 for his community based work. Recently his greatest achievemnt is becoming a father for the first time to a beautuful baby girl, Roma. Jonny’s philosophies about cooking and life have helped Jonny become a success. As a Chef Jonny believes that it is his responsibility to use the finest produce, his cooking is about the beauty of well chosen ingredients and simply prepared food. Jonny has one passion and that is food, he pours everything he has into his cooking. For Jonny food is the only thing that enlightens all senses. He believes food elevates our mood. It makes us better people. Food is more than energy, food is life. Tina Duncan Creative Director White Tie Catering Tina has been living and breathing food and entertaining since she was a child; perfect batches of scones at age seven and dinner parties at age 12.  Tina and her sisters spent weekends concocting lavish dinner parties - now her passion is her career.  Owner and Creative Director of White Tie Catering, she is highly regarded as a food stylist and in demand as a guest chef at the country’s cooking schools.  Tina was also a founding director of Savour New Zealand, a prestigious culinary event.   She is food editor of Simply You Living magazine and is a regular contributor on Newstalk ZB’s Kerre’s Café with Kerre Woodham.   Tina’s own boutique cooking school, Deux Tartes and her online blog give her much-needed forums in which she shares and indulges in all things culinary. Most importantly, Tina’s discerning and creative eye dictates White Tie’s quality control and standards.   With this finger on the pulse of industry developments and standards,  Tina ensures White Tie Catering’s levels of excellence are the highest.   Richard Till,  Richard Till is a South Islander, born 1959, he grew up in Christchurch and Dunedin. Liked metalwork and woodwork at school. Developed an interest in food by watching his mother deal with everyday meals, ‘filling the tins’ and being a hostess for ‘important’ people. Worked as a set builder and painter for several years in Christchurch and Wellington where he also worked nights in restaurants, first as a waiter, then as ‘the cook’. After having read American Gourmet restaurant reviews for six straight years, in 1988 he opened restaurants in Christchurch. He left the hospitality industry in 1999 and now works at the Dept of Theatre and Film Studies at Canterbury University. Since 2002 he has performed the comic cooking shows ‘Just Dick it’ and ‘Dick Does Dinner’ and has made two series of Kiwi Kitchen for TVNZ. He has fronted a major advertising campaign for Countdown supermarkets since 2009 and writes for The Sunday Star Times. Alongside these activities he actively engages in community food events large and small the length and breadth of the country.