HERVÉ AUGUSTIN

The nephew of the founder of Laurent Perrier
and a member of the family of Champagne de
Castellane, Hervé Augustin moved from his
executive role at Bollinger to become CEO at Champagne Ayala when the house was
acquired by Société Jacques Bollinger in 2005.

MARK BEST

Stints in some of Europe’s finest kitchens
fuelled Mark Best’s passion to open Marque,
his own gastro temple in Sydney. His much
applauded and awarded restaurant is French
in philosophy and attitude, but not constrained by anyone’s interpretation of what ‘French’ means.

MARTIN BOSLEY

Martin is chef and co-owner of Martin Bosley’s
on Wellington’s picturesque harbourfront, a restaurant with an enviable reputation for stunning seafood which was named New
Zealand Cuisine magazine Restaurant of the
Year – Supreme Winner in 2007.

NICK FARR

Nick Farr is a dab hand with Chardonnay,
Shiraz and Pinot Noir and along with his own
Farr Rising label, produced at the Farr family
property in the Geelong region, he makes
wines for leading restaurants in Melbourne
and Sydney and consults to Merricks Creek.

BRETT GRAHAM

Brett Graham’s career has taken him from
Newcastle to Sydney’s Banc and on to London
where in 2005, after three years at The Square,
he opened The Ledbury. In only his first job as
head chef he earned The Ledbury a Michelin
star and the 2006 Tatler Restaurant of the Year award.

SIMON HILL

An experienced restaurateur and a state
finalist in 2001 in the prestigious Vin de
Champagne award, Simon Hill opened the much awarded Isis in Brisbane’s Fortitude
Valley just over a decade ago. Last year he
added a second string to his bow with Bar Alto at the Powerhouse.

STEFANO MANFREDI

Italian-born Stefano Manfredi has opened and operated several restaurants in Sydney,
co-authored two books, written for numerous publications and developed a successful coffee brand. His latest restaurant, Bells at Killcare, is located in the coastal town of Killcare north of Sydney.

PATRICK MATERMAN

Based at Marlborough in New Zealand, Patrick
Materman leads a team of four winemakers and oversees Montana’s South Island winemaking at the Brancott Winery. He also has established his own Sauvignon Blanc vineyard in the Awatere Valley.

DEAN MERLO

The solicitor turned bean baron has helped
a generation of Queenslanders learn how to
appreciate good coffee. Dean’s Merlo Coffee
business now has four torrefaziones, eight
shops, and supplies to wholesale customers
across the state and in Sydney and Melbourne.

ANDREW PHILLPOT

Andrew Phillpot has brought his experience
in food and wine matching to George Calombaris’s The Press Club, putting together
a wine list with an unrivalled and still expanding selection of Hellenic wines.

MICHEL RICHARD

A pioneer of French-California cuisine in the
US, Michel Richard is the creative force behind
Citrus at Social in Los Angeles, Citronelle in Northern California, and his flagship Citronelle In Washington DC, lauded as “one of the world’s most exciting restaurants” by Condé Nast Traveller. In 2007 he was chosen by the James Beard Foundation as the year’s Outstanding Chef, and this year has earned himself a nomination for James Beard Best New Restaurant 2008 with his new venture, Central Michel Richard.

IAIN RIGGS

Iain Riggs’s skills as a winemaker revolutionised Brokenwood Wines, taking it
from a small hobby winery into the national
and international arena. Known as one of this country’s Shiraz specialists, he is also an
accomplished wine judge.

PETER BOURNE

Known simply as 'The Wine Man', Peter Bourne is a wine writer, judge, educator, consultant and an ambassador for good food, good wine and a good time.

GEORGE CALOMBARIS

A star on the Melbourne food scene, George
Calombaris gives the Greek cooking of his
youth a modern edge at his restaurant The
Press Club. He won Chef of the Year and the
restaurant was named Best New Restaurant
in Victoria at The Age Good Food Guide Awards 2008.

FRANK CAMORRA

Spanish-born chef Frank Camorra came to
Australia when he was five and then returned
to his homeland in 2000 to learn more about
both modern and traditional Spanish cuisine.
He shares his discoveries at his popular and
awarded restaurant MoVida in Melbourne, and
his cookbook of the same name.

ROLLO CRITTENDEN

Rollo has returned to the family’s Crittenden
Estate vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula
which he helped plant 25 years ago, bringing
with him a wealth of experience gained in
Australia, Italy and the US. He also runs his own Latitude 38 contract winemaking business.

PAOLO DE MARCHI

The fourth-generation of De Marchi winemakers, Paolo and his family run Isole e Olena in the heart of Chianti Classico. He is one of Tuscany's acknowledged masters, and one of the modern breed of internationally aware winemakers who travels and tastes widely.

JAMES HALLIDAY

James Halliday is widely recognised as
Australia’s leading wine industry identity. He is a senior judge at competitions in Australia and abroad, is a wine columnist, a consultant to Coldstream Hills and has written or co-authored more than sixty books on wine.

DAVID HUNTER

David Hunter is executive chef at The Golden Door Health Retreat Queensland, where guests benefit from his three decades of experience in hospitality and his mantra that sacrificing fat doesn't mean compromising flavour.

JULIE LEFLAlVE

Julie Leflaive is 200% involved in Olivier
Leflaive Wines and manages the vineyards in
Burgundy. With her husband, Jean Soubeyrand, she is expanding her knowledge of the family business with further study at the Beaune Viticulture and Oenology School in readiness for when she will take charge of the company.

BRUNO LOUBET

Since the Bordeaux-raised, Michelin-starred
chef moved to Queensland in 2002, diners
have enjoyed Bruno’s elegant cuisine at his
own restaurant Bruno’s Tables, at Berardo’s at
Noosa, and now Baguette in Brisbane, where
he is executive chef.

STEVE LUBIANA

Steve Lubiana is a fifth-generation
winemaker who searched Australia before
choosing Tasmania to establish his cool
climate vineyard. He is well known for
exploring innovative methods to produce
his hand-crafted wines.

LYNDEY MILAN

Lyndey Milan is an energetic multi-award-winning communicator, author, teacher,
presenter and consultant on all things
gastronomic. Until recently food director of The Australian Women’s Weekly, she is co-host of Fresh with The Australian Women’s Weekly, daily on the 9 Network and appears on Mornings with Kerri-Anne every Thursday.

SANDRO MOSELE

The general manager and winemaker for
Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate Wines,
Sandro Mosele has established himself as a force on the Mornington Peninsula, and
earned a cult following for his Kooyong single
vineyard series Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

LUKE NGUYEN

Luke Nguyen prides himself on the authentic
Vietnamese cuisine he serves at his Red Lantern restaurant in Sydney, twice-awarded the city’s best Asian. His Secrets of the Red Lantern cookbook, co-written with sister Pauline, is reaching audiences across Europe after being translated into Dutch and French.

XAVIER PELLICER

Having trained and worked in Michelin-starred
establishments across Europe, including
Restaurante Arzak, Xavier Pellicer has now
earned two stars of his own with his exciting
and original cuisine at Restaurant Abac in
Barcelona. It was the only Spanish restaurant
to go up a star in the 2008 Michelin Guide.

JASON PEPPLER

Brisbane born and proud of it, Jason Peppler’s
love for classic European food and techniques
and the experience he gained at London’s
Connaught Hotel has found expression at
celebrated fine diner Isis, which he now
co-owns, along with a second venture Bar Alto.

RORY SMITH

Rory Smith has brought his years of wine
industry experience here and overseas to a
job many would envy – tasting and buying
extraordinary wines and bringing them to
Queensland tables through wholesale business Bouchon Wines.

THOMAS SCHNETZLER

Trained in Switzerland as a patissier and
confiseur, Thomas Schnetzler now shares his
passion for chocolate with chefs and culinary
students in Australia as the Maître Chocolatier
for Lindt of Switzerland.

JANE STRODE

Trained at Sydney’s Rockpool, where she
worked under renowned pastry chef Lorraine
Godsmark, Jane strode is half of the team
behind the successful Bistrode in Sydney and
the book Two’s Cooking. She also produces her own range of fine foods, Kitchen Sync.

JEREMY STRODE

British-born Jeremy Strode’s culinary
journey has taken him from teenage weekend
dishwasher to chef at Michelin-starred
restaurants in England and France, to Pomme
in Melbourne and finally to Bistrode, which he
opened with wife Jane in 2005.

WILLIAM WOOD

Chef William Wood is the creative talent
behind Barossa-based Carême Pastry. Before
spending his days elbow deep in flour and
butter he worked in the kitchens of the Barossa’s Maggie Beer, Adelaide’s Cheong Liew and Brisbane’s Philip Johnson.