Profile

George’s first memory of wishing to be a cook was at the age of nine when he won a competition in a fancy dress party dressed as a cook in competition aboard a ship crossing the date line. So started a lifelong love of all things associated with the chefs’ hat that has contributed to an unfinished career of over 58 years in the industry.

Apprentice, cook, chef de partie, executive chef, cookery teacher, commercial cookery educational manager, owner operator of a 5 star “Foodie” B&B and a hospitality consultant have all contributed to a sparkling and dynamic career. During which he has been responsible for the training of some 28,000 people in cookery and hospitality programs, authored a number of books and videos, directed many salon culinaires including; The Director World Championships in Commercial Cookery and personally won over 18 salon culinaire medals including gold at the Culinary Olympics.

Over his career he has experienced huge changes in the way cooks and chefs have been trained, seen tremendous changes in styles of food presentation. “However, the biggest change that I have experienced would have to be on the plate. Who can be so lucky to have enjoyed a career in an era of the greatest changes in global cuisine? Who can be lucky to both love cookery and had a lifelong job, which is in fact their hobby”.

George has experienced the most unbelievable revolution the world has ever seen in food preparation. A career that spans from the closing stages of the philosophy of the classical kitchen and the utter worship of all things stated in the bible of a “Le Repertoire de La Cuisine” or “Larousse Gastronomic”. He has enjoyed all the fads and fashion in-between, to the current freedom of expression, artistic license, with menus that draw upon many food cultures, the contemporary fusion and molecular gastronomy.

Past Contributions:

• Past Member World Association Chefs Societies Education committee
• Past President and foundation member Australian Guild of Professional Cooks (Now Culinary Federation Victoria)
• Member Fish names committee
• Over 25 years judging across every state and national culinary competition including: Primary National Culinary Judge and Chairman “Australian Chef of the year”   and many international competitions including The Skill Olympics  

Currently owns and webmasters four highly popular chef related websites:

•     Auschef.com Competition website for cooks and chefs
•     Salonculinaire.com includes an online museum and many interests’ for commercial cooks and chefs
•     Certifiedchef.com  A online process for external verification of qualifications
•     Chefpedia.org  Online dictionary/wiki for cooks  and chefs with hundreds of articles

More Recent Achievements:

• Convened a chefs committee and developed the “Australian Culinary Code of Practices” for commercial chefs
• Wrote the rules and developed a certified chefs program that encourages professional chefs to be assessed
• Published “AM I CHEF?” 2014. (Describes the skills attitude knowledge and experience to be a professional chef)

Awards and acknowledgements

• Gold Medalist: Culinary Olympics – 1980
• National Awards: A.F.M.A. – “For Contribution to the Hospitality Industry” – 1983
• Awarded Churchill Fellowship 1988
• National Awards: N.A.F.E.S. – “For Excellence a as a Hospitality Educator” – 1994
• Black Hat Recipient: Australian Culinary Federation – Victoria -2001
• Pioneer Member: Les Toques Blanches – 2004
• Life Member: Australian Culinary Federation – 2005
• National Award of excellence F.S.A.A. – 2010
• Training Kitchen named after George Wagga  Wagga ( Mt Austin High School. NSW)
• Training Bar and Beverage studies facility named after George – (Chisholm Tafe)
• Eighteen Culinary Medals in National and International competition including Gold from the Culinary Olympics

Philosophy

His favorite saying are:

“Whatever one can dream; one can do. All you need to do is begin it.

“Cooking, as a career is an amazing contradiction, a good cook knows that they can never reach perfection, but is constantly driven to try to do so. And that is as it should be and I love it”.