My Middle Eastern invitation to mix it up with Macy Gray was to celebrate the opening of The Pearl, Qatar, a 500 billion dollar purpose built island oasis off the coast of the Arabian state. The 1800 strong mega rich guest list swilled my cocktails all night in Doha, Qatar.

“Qatar has come a long way since I opened the very first liquor licensed bar their in 2001… It’s all gearing up for the soccer world cup 2020” “Since this will be the biggest party Qatar has ever had with alcohol, I’m proud to continue to develop beverage culture in this exciting part of the world.”

I’ll will be attending the NYC Food and Wine Festival Sep 29 – Oct 2. The parties continue at the San Diego Gourmet Experience on October 8-9. C’mon America! Let’s get your cocktail on!

So, the big man himself asked me to star as his opening act for sixteen dates across the USA to launch his new book Guy Fieri Food. I’ve stepped up to the plate — I’ll be mixing up a storm and putting a few members of the audience through their paces while I get you charged up for the big smoking gun. You can check out the tour dates here. See you all soon.

As a drinks man, I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world, mixing drinks for all sorts of people. It’s provided me with a really good living, but until recently, I hadn’t had much time to explore my love of food — other than swapping cocktails and wine for kitchen secrets from some of the world’s best chefs!

So, I made a few phone calls, packed my bags and camera, and set off on my own culinary adventure to discover my farming childhood roots and the food I grew up with; I like to call it the Green Food Generation. This is the story of a generation of people who embrace it.

I’ve posted the first 7 episodes of my Green Food Generation series on Youtube. Just click on any episode to check it out! And hey, I’d love to know what you think, so be sure to leave a comment while you’re there!

Episode 1: Woody revisits his farming roots in New Zealand with his Dad
Episode 2: Woody talks sustainable winemaking with Adrew and Lisa Margan
Episode 3: An unforgettable day of food, beer and wine with Stefano di Pieri
Episode 4: Woody visits Paul Stafford at Spice Island Cooking School on Phillip Island
Episode 5: Woody meets Miccal Cummins, one of Australia’s top caterers
Episode 6: Dave Campbell of the Hungry Duck invites Woody on a country adventure
Episode 7: Woody enjoys the simple things in life with chef Stefano Manfredi

You’re such a multi-talented person! Do you have any specialties?
You could say I’m a bit of an all-rounder! I’ve done a lot of different jobs in a wide range of restaurants, from starting in the pastry section at the fine dining Berowra Waters Inn twenty years ago, running the more casual Hardy’s Bay RSL bistro, to doing stints at the modern Asian Sailors Thai and Longrain.

What do you like eating?
I like to eat just about everything! I’ll try anything once — the most adventurous thing I’ve probably eaten was bull’s testicles, at the Symposium of Gastronomy in Orange NSW. It was part of a feast offered by some wonderful local chefs and it’s not something you often get the chance to try, so I just had to do it. If I remember correctly, they were crumbed and fried, a bit like brains — crispy on the outside and not chewy at all. I don’t think they were that bad, actually!

What makes Bell’s so special?
I’m sure people will come and try it once. But we keep them coming with sparklingly fresh produce handled in a professional and skilfully Italian way. It’s simple, nourishing food. But the most attractive element’s the whole experience we create here. I think restaurants are site-specific, and we’re developing flavours and dishes, as well as an atmosphere and service that’s specific to Bells at Killcare.

What are the challenges of cooking in the Italian way, with seasonal ingredients, and reconciling the traditions you learnt from your mother and grandmother with new cooking techniques?
That’s always been the challenge for me. Considering new techniques and methods and reconciling them with my roots! I try to present my family’s traditional cooking in a modern restaurant situation – which is a challenge anyway, because where we come from in Italy the produce is completely different! Take gnocchi for example, back in Italy they’d use potatoes that were consistently the same. Here in Australia – even the same variety of potatoes might come one week from Tasmania and the next week from Victoria. So the produce is always different! My mother would always make it by eye, judging it by texture and consistency, not following a recipe. And that’s what I try to do. I think that’s the most valuable lesson I ever learnt from her. To cook by feel, not by a recipe.

So you really are a “back to basics” kind of guy?
Absolutely! I love the simple things that lead the rest of the meal. Like bread: think sandwich, or soup, or braised dish. Or puff pastry that leads to tart, pie, pâté en croute or apple tarte tatin. I love older style cooking. Making terrines, pâtés, braised dishes, offal and pastries.

What foods wouldn’t you eat and why?
McDonald’s. Ethical and economic reasons aside, it’s just not good food. The money would be better spent on a box of vegetables.

If you had your own food/travel show, what would you call it, and why?
I’d call it “What the Farmer Said” because it all comes down to a story. Every ingredient’s got a story, and the farmer is the best person to tell it. I deal with fifteen farmers every week, and when I collect food, I hear such amazing stories every day. Stories about the weather and how it affects their crops, stories about how hard they work to raise the food we eat, what they go through to get it to us. If we think chefs work hard, you should look at farmers – they’re doing 70 to 80 hours a week!

Describe your last meal on earth. What would it be, and who would you share it with?
A Sunday meal with the family. In winter it’d be a roast, definitely. A pork roast – a leg or shoulder – with crisp crackling and lots of roast vegetables – potatoes, onions, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and cauliflower in white sauce. And in summer, probably a barbecue. On the barbeque would be good sausages and rissoles, sirloin steaks and marinated chicken. I’d wash it down with a good Margaret River cab sav.

You have a real rapport with your suppliers. Is this important to you and your local approach to your food?
Nigel: Yeah, definitely. Initially, it was about creating a culture more in tune with what’s available locally and naturally with the seasons. The true flavour and texture of many of our everyday foods have been compromised by mass-market production techniques. Buying local and smaller production brings real flavour and texture back to our dishes, ultimately delivering a better culinary experience for our diners – and us. There’s nothing better than the heady aroma of herbs plucked from just outside the kitchen door or the piquant mist of lime oil pressed from our own thriving trees.

Does this mean you’ll go anywhere for good supplies, or are food miles a factor?
Peter: We source a majority of our supplies locally. Supporting smaller producers that care about their produce, picked at the right time and used within its natural life span. We do not, however, settle for inferior produce for the sake of food mile ‘brownie points.’Besides the fact that the produce is better, fresher and more rewarding, I was trying to find a way of simplifying the style of food we did at Courtney’s. This started with the idea to buy direct from farmers, which meant buying locally. When I started to look, there was so much available in the Sydney basin that I was able to support the farmers by passing on the money to them directly, and not third-hand with commissions. Sustainability is important to me and I get great enjoyment from taking my kids to suppliers’ farms, or just growing things at home. Teaching them about the cycle of planting, harvesting and giving back to the ground with composting.

How did your love affair with food begin?
Growing up in a very large and diverse family, where several different languages were spoken, coming together to feast and share and laugh made food a great middle ground. My Australian grandmother from country Victoria was a wonderful woman and an amazing cook — one of my earliest memories was “helping” her bake bread, although I reckon I was more of a hindrance than a help! [laughs] But I loved being in the kitchen and helping her bake — it was just the most wonderful thing ever, and inspired me to keep cooking and eating.

Did you eat traditional Tongan cuisine? What were some of the delicacies and specialties you remember best?
We did, all on the floor together and with our hands! I loved special occasions, where an enormous feast would be laid out on banana leaves under a long thatched pavilion. It included whole spit roasted pigs and Lu Bulu corned beef baked with coconut cream while wrapped in native spinach leaves; along with sweet potatoes, yams and garden vegetables cooked in an underground oven called a Umu. I really loved Ota’i, raw fish dish cured with lime juice, coconut and onion and boiled whole mud crabs served from the shell and spread throughout the feast. You could say I got my start in catering helping out at family feasts!

Who’s been the greatest culinary influence on you?
Oh, definitely Simon, by far. He taught me how to cook right from the start, and he’s continued to be a good friend and great mentor. I’ve learnt so much from so many great chefs, but none greater than Simon. And my mum!

How has South Australia’s food culture changed since you donned the toque?
[laughs] Heaps! My mum Violet’s Filipino and she cooks with great ingredients like fish sauce, fish paste, dried and pickled fish — stuff my friends growing up would never go near, let alone try. Now, of course, they can’t get enough of them. I remember how hard it was getting that stuff growing up, and now, wandering the markets, it’s fantastic to see so many shopping bags filled with interesting and exotic ingredients, or seeing all the Asian restaurants in Gouger Street (Adelaide’s famed “eat street” and gateway to Chinatown, just around the corner from the Adelaide Central Markets) so full and buzzing. It’s just wonderful to see how adventurous people are with the things they’ll try, and how that changes what they cook and enjoy at home. There’s a whole new generation of young cooks who enjoy so much more variety and choice than we ever did, and more than that, it’s through enjoying what other people and cultures enjoy that you can come closer to understanding them, and each other. Multiculturalism hasn’t just enriched Australian cuisine, it’s enriched Australian society. And we’re all much better fed and tolerant for it, I hope!

After travelling so widely, what made you come back to Australia?
Well, with all the wonderful experience we got from working with some of the world’s best chefs in some of the world’s most exciting places, we wanted to start our own place. So, after an eighteen month search, in 2004, we finally found the place that would become The Book Kitchen. Bringing together our three loves – books, coffee and food – even we were surprised by how well it took off! We were even named as one of the “Top Ten Places to Eat in the World” by the influential critic Irene Verbene of The Los Angeles Times.

Why did you trade such a successful place for Berry?
We weren’t actually looking to give up The Book Kitchen. We just wanted to have a country restaurant to complement the city place. Hungry Duck did really well from day one, and I love being here a lot more. I’m close to the produce I like to use, we can watch things grow, and we’ve become part of a wonderful community. So when we got an offer on The Book Kitchen, we accepted, and we haven’t looked back.

How did Selah start?
Sam: After working in some of the world’s best restaurants, including a fabulous time at Quay, I was itching to use some of the ideas and experience I’d gained from working in fine dining to start my own — and in 2003, Selah kicked off!

Did you always want to own your own restaurant?
Sam: No, not really! I’d owned a café, which had been fun before I sold up to go travelling, but I realised how much I really love hospitality and being my own boss, growing and managing a team. What else could I do? [laughs]

How did you meet?
Sam: After my old chef left, I advertised and up rolled Gavin. We got along really well – I really liked his style and personal manner and we shared the same passions for sophisticated bistro food, lovingly prepared with good green food. We’ve never looked back! Gavin: I was attracted to Selah because it was refined and stylish, while still being warm, inviting and intimate. I was particularly drawn to it because of Sam’s food-focused philosophy – that the quality of the produce was so important. I’m really grateful that he’s given me the opportunity to refine my cooking style while still offering the flexibility to source the best locally-sourced, ethically and sustainably produced green food.

When Will Young bought Campos Coffee in Newtown, it turned over seven kilos of coffee a week. Now it’s an impressive 120 kilos and growing by the day. Born in Bermuda, a tiny island in the Caribbean, you could say Will was born into the hospitality industry. A popular tourist and holiday destination, Will practically grew up in restaurants and hotels.

www.campos.com.au

Bill Parianos is affectionately known by many as ‘Perennially ristretto wired’. For him, there’s nothing finer than experiencing the sensory elements of coffee – the taste, feel and smell of freshly roasted beans. “I love turning a bland, lifeless seed into an aromatic sensory indulgence,” Bill says.

www.billsbeans.com.au

When Ofra met Renzo in Beijing in 1999, it was a chance meeting between strangers from opposite ends of the earth. Ofra was born in Israel and has a clear thinking business mind. She is undoubtedly the organised one and keeps Renzo in step. Renzo, born in Peru, successfully worked for large coffee machine companies in Australia and China, but is more interested in cracking jokes and telling a good story. They do say opposites attract.

http://www.dibartoli.com.au

Janice must have been in a good mood that day back in 2003. She and her husband Greg met in Byron Bay for a holiday, and when Greg was off riding his bike with mates, she somehow ended up buying a farm! All of a sudden, out of a whim, they were now working from home on the estate with Janice running her promotional gifts company, and Greg maintaining an 18,000 coffee tree estate.

www.hillsofbyron.com.au

Single Origin Roasters was born out of a symbiotic relationship between two good friends – Gavin Folden, the visionary and dreamer who knows more about coffee than most — and Dion Cohen, the business brain behind the operation. Coupled with the loving support of two beautiful wives, Martine Folden and Emma Cohen, they had the energy to bring a fresh new vision to the café scene and wholesale coffee market. Foresight, a small amount of start-up cash and loads of hard work proved a winning combination. Just as important to Single Origin is Mark Newman, the quiet achiever. He does most of the roasting and prefers to let the coffee do the talking. Mark worked for various coffee companies and cafés over the years before joining Single Origin as a barista, where he worked behind the espresso machine for a couple of years before moving over to roasting.

www.singleorigin.com.au

Scottie Callaghan was destined to work in the café industry because, for as long as he can remember, he has appreciated the importance of flavour. When he was young, Scottie would cook a lot for his family of nine – “Mum used to make porridge in the morning before we all got up, but some mornings I beat her to it and made the porridge for everyone. Some might think I was sucking up, but I honestly just loved cooking and still do.”

www.scottiecallaghan.com

Boundless energy and enthusiasm surrounds Brokenwood’s Winemaker. Born in New Zealand, PJ was an early convert to the magic of vines; he started pruning in 1981, aged 13, at Vilagrad Winery in Waikato, New Zealand and hasn’t stopped since!

As a winemaker PJ’s philosophy has been the need to constantly challenge himself and search for new techniques in winemaking styles. Hence, after graduating from Roseworthy University of Adelaide, PJ enjoyed a global education by working in famous wine regions throughout the world. He joined Brokenwood in 1999 and hasn’t looked back, now happily settled in the Hunter Valley and enjoying Brokenwood’s company policy of ‘making great wine and having fun’. Beneath this guys rugged rock star-like exterior lies the heart of a dedicated winemaker who enjoys the simple pleasures in life. PJ is always on the lookout for a good wave and will never turn down a game of “bung cricket”.

www.brokenwood.com.au

Mark was born in Sydney, and enjoyed his job as a Psychologist. However, he’d always had a yearning for big open spaces with big trees. Wine had captured his imagination – and winemakers worked in big open spaces! So, Mark used his guile to slip away from work to pursue his growing interest in winemaking; this led to the purchase of the boutique Tamburlaine Winery in the Hunter Valley. “From little things big things grow…” and being a practical kind of guy, Mark began to question modern farming methods, reasoning that “little things” will grow “bigger” and better out of naturally fertile soils. Mark is a passionate advocate of organic farming practices, and the proof is in the “organic pudding” – he and Tamburlaine share the accolades of ‘Hunter Vigneron of the Year’, ‘NSW Tourism Winery of the Year’, ‘Hunter Small Business of the Year’, ‘Australia Post NSW Small Business: Innovation and Technology Award’, and received a huge wooden-carved egrit trophy for the ‘Environmental Achievement Award 2003, Hunter Region’.

www.tamberlain.com.au

Andrew Margan was born into the wine industry and raised in the Hunter Valley. While the other kids dreamt of growing up to be Policemen or Firemen, Andrew’s dream was to be a Hunter Valley winegrower. Although he completed two degrees (Agricultural and Environmental Science), his most important learning came via a ‘hands-on’ apprenticeship at Tyrrell’s Wines under the late great Murray Tyrrell. Andrew then hightailed it to Europe, where he worked as a ‘flying winemaker’ throughout France, Hungary and ex-Soviet Moldova. Although – at times – the work was “hellish” (Moldova in particular), it was another influential experience that prepared Andrew for the massive undertaking of going out on his own. Nowadays, any chance to hit the surf while keeping one eye on the proverbial wine ball, sort of sums up Andrew.

www.margan.com

It wasn’t long before Allister realised that his life’s dream of becoming a professional tennis player was no match for his love of good food and wine! Rather than drowning his sorrows, Allister embraced his passion by teaming up with his brother Cameron, who decided to leave his career in corporate finance. Together, the two came home to continue the legacy of their parent’s winery. Allister works in the cellar and spreads the Elderton word abroad with Cameron. Cameron also manages the day to day running of the business (that is to say when he’s not busy trying to convince his mates that multiple vodka shots are a good idea!) The success of Elderton Wines is not only a tribute to a great family effort, but to the brothers’ pride in the business and the region. The two are fast becoming an unstoppable force within the Australian wine industry.

www.eldertonwines.com.au

At school, the vocational guidance advisor told Rob Gibson that he would either make a great geologist or a great vet. As Rob puts, he chose geology over sticking his hand up a cow’s ass! And so, ‘Gibbo’ set about his winemaking career from the ground up. After studying Geology in Melbourne, his interest was sparked during a 1974 working holiday at Penfolds in New Zealand. Through the three decades of experience that followed with the Australian wine industry’s elite, Rob formulated new viticulture projects and systems that were aimed at producing the very best Shiraz and Merlot. He set up the Technical Viticulture Department in 1992 and launched his consultancy business, ‘Gibson’s Winegrowing Service’, in 1998. At nearly 2 metres tall, Rob’s jolly demeanour and magnetic personality have infected his entire family; they all work alongside him at the winery! He really is one of the Barossa Valley’s most captivating characters.

www.gibsonwines.com.au

For Brian Lynn, aka Prof, wine is just a good drink; “we need to learn to just drink wine for the fun of it and stop being so bloody serious about it!” In 1968, he decided to plant a vineyard on his family’s property, which had originally been used for Merino wool production. From those first six acres of Shiraz grew the impressive 150 acres that continues to thrive on the Majella property. Brian and his brother Tony now own the vineyard and have been working together ever since. Brian is ‘the noisy one’ and is usually spotted around the Majella offices sporting jeans and a t-shirt and playing his beloved tin whistle. As a self-confessed food junkie, his recipe for success can be coaxed out by close mates over a bottle of Sparking Shiraz and a good curry!

www.majellawines.com.au

Inspired by his father Paddy’s life-long passion for winemaking, Tim Preston followed in his footsteps and became an award-winning winemaker himself, co- founding Mills Reef with his father in 1989. It didn’t take long for their winery to become one of New Zealand’s most lauded — and for them to become one of its most celebrated winemaking teams.

www.millsreef.co.nz

After a series of “undrinkable fermentation experiments” while he was at school, and graduating with a Doctorate in Earth Sciences and Chemistry, Alan Limmer found himself in Hawke’s Bay managing an analytical chemistry facility with links to the fledgling wine industry. It wasn’t long before he wanted to make wine too – which led to seven long years without a holiday – and including the odd cyclone! – working at the lab during the day and planting and building the winery at night.

www.stonecroft.co.nz