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I didn’t go to school.  Correction. I did, for a short time and I hated it. I never really dealt well with the need to ‘’box’’ or ‘’format’’ what a school boy should be and besides, I was way out of the mould anyway.  I was a good boy, great with numbers but disliked Maths due to the teacher who took an instant disliking to me. I was also great at sport and could have gone professional, but in those days if you didn’t gain good results academically, opportunities elsewhere were just closed off. So I went off in the direction of the only thing I felt truly comfortable with – cooking.  Having watched my mother lovingly preparing food for my family for so many years, I decided to leave school and pursue life as an apprentice chef.

People couldn’t believe that Sohani and I had never been to NYC. Everyone we encountered said “it is my favourite city in the world”, "there is no other city like it” and ”you would love it!" So finally, after a long, gruelling flight with my children and in-laws, Sohani and I set off on a trip of a lifetime –  a city that we fell in love with instantly, a city so unique but familiar at the same time!

While deliberating about our end of year blog and how we can best summarise a year of great highs, even greater lows, frustrations and moments of elation we took a look at what inspired us to write each blog this year. What we found was that through it all, we have 6 core business values which have all been testing through the year that was 2015.

Is it just us or is anyone else becoming respectfully annoyed with the Australia food media? Brave, or maybe stupid to go there but worth discussing we think...

I’ve read of several business partnerships ending in not such pleasant circumstances lately and it makes me wonder what the ultimate fall out will be for those businesses as well as the innocent staff and suppliers inevitably wrapped up in it. 

Coming into my 24th year as a Frenchman living in this beautiful country, I have enjoyed immensely witnessing the changing culture – particularly in cookery and even more prominently, in the Australian palate.

I recently read the fabulous article celebrating Tetsuya Wakuda’s Lifetime Achievement Award by Franz Scheurer in one of my favourite online newsletters - Australian Gourmet Pages. It moved me to pen my own tribute to a ground breaking, game changing chef that has remained humble despite all the accolades he has received over his career spanning more than 30 years.

I recently had the great honour of being invited to the NSW Australian of the Year Awards at the MCA. As a Frenchman who arrived here little more than two decades ago, with a lot of enthusiasm and not much else, it was a proud moment to find myself in such distinguished company.  I met business owners and entrepreneurs from all sectors. They all have incredible stories, admirable success and a hunger to make a difference. I felt humbled to be amongst them...