Brand Muster Challenge Judges

Fiona Simson lives and works with her family on "The Plantation", a 5500ha mixed farming and grazing property near Premer NSW on the western edge of the Liverpool Plains.

 

With tertiary business education and skills, Fiona’s passion for local food production and the growth and sustainability of rural and regional Australia led to a career in local government as an elected Councillor in Liverpool Plains Shire Council and her appointment to the NSW Farmers Executive Council in 2008. In 2011, she became the first woman President of the Association retaining that position for a full four year term.  Fiona consistently lobbies for policy reform at all levels of government to provide certainty and sustainability for rural and regional Australia and the farming industry.

 

Passionate about the power of a unified voice for agriculture, Fiona also believes in its role in a strong and vibrant future for regional Australia.

 

Fiona was appointed as a Director of the National Farmers' Federation in 2011, Vice President in 2014, and is now President. Fiona also sits on the Board of NRMA (NSW), the Australian Made Campaign Ltd, and the Australian Farmers Fighting Fund.

Ben Stockwin is CEO of the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA), the lead body for food and fibre education in Australian schools. Ben is passionate about supporting teachers to educate young people about food and fibre production.

 

Ben has many years in education including seven as a classroom teacher and eight as a school principal in Queensland and Tasmania. Ben is also aboard member of the Australian Beef Industry Foundation, a former member of the executive of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders and President of Surfing Tasmania.

​

"It was very clear from all the entries that I judged the wonderful impact that this resource has had on all the students’ understanding and valuing of, not only Australia’s primary industries sector generally, but the Liverpool Plains specifically."

​

"I could see through the entries that there were great notions of connectedness between city and country; [and] great examples of how they perceive primary producers as custodians of this valuable area for us, as well as the vast array of resources and produce that this area produces."

An international branding specialist with 20+ years’ experience, Jeremy has worked with some of the world’s most successful brands across America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Driven by a single-minded idea that brand must always come before product or service, Jeremy founded Passport in 2005.

 

Since then he has immersed himself in the branding of clients such as Coca Cola, Melbourne Football Club, RJ Reynolds and Nestle; forming a creative army of fellow mad geniuses in Australia and California to continue to spread the mantra of ‘brand-first’ design. When he’s not rallying the troops, Jeremy keeps the artistic juices flowing by painting and potting, fueled by coffee from his café, The Common Room.

Josephine Perry descends from restaurant royalty with her father Neil Perry being one of Australia’s most famous chefs and restaurateurs.  Her life, from very early on, was spent following him around his iconic restaurant – Rockpool - in the Rocks where they lived, folding napkins from the age of 5, taking reservations when she was 12 and working as a cashier on busy Saturday nights in her early teens.

​

In a natural progression, when she was old enough (14 years), she started working after school on Fridays and weekends at Spice Temple in Sydney.  Starting out with polishing cutlery she was under the guidance of the highly experienced manager and started to learn the art of good service – something that seemed to come naturally to her.

​

At the age of 16, Josephine left school and started working full time front of house at Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney.  Within a very short time she was hosting and training the newcomers.   She went on to open, alongside her Dad, a number of new ventures that included:  Spice Temple Sydney & Melbourne, The Waiting Room Melbourne, Rockpool Bar & Grill in Perth and Rockpool 1989 Sydney. Then more recently the first Burger Project in World Square, Sydney where she became Manager.

​

In August 2015, at the age of 21, Josephine opened the doors to her own restaurant – Missy French.  A 115 seat French Bistro with Head Chef - Chris Benedet – joining her from Rockpool. Quite an accomplishment for one so young.

​

What’s next one may ask ….watch out there will definitely be more to come.

Christine Manfield is one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs - a curious cook, a perfectionist inspired by the culinary melting pot of global flavours and textures, and a writer whose successful, award winning books – Dessert Divas, Tasting India, Fire, Spice, Stir, Paramount Cooking and Paramount Desserts have spiced up the lives of keen cooks everywhere.

 

Her latest book A Personal Guide to India and Bhutan, published in October 2015 is an invaluable and comprehensive travel guide for both countries listing her personal recommendations of where to sleep and eat, what to eat and essential tips, offering a deeper meaning to the travel experience.

 

As one of Australia’s leading culinary ambassadors, her professional culinary life as restaurateur culminated in three groundbreaking, award winning restaurants: Paramount in Sydney 1993 to 2000, East@West in London 2003 to 2005 and Universal 2007 to 2013. She continues to collaborate with chefs and industry colleagues hosting pop up events in Australia and overseas.

 

A love of spices and an understanding of the home cook's need for authentically flavoured simple sustaining food led Christine to develop the Christine Manfield Spice Collection range of spice pastes and condiments widely available at retail stores throughout Australia.

 

An inveterate traveller, Christine continues to broaden her global interests hosting bespoke gastronomic tours to exotic destinations including India, Spain, Morocco, Bhutan, France, SE Asia and Tasmania.