What a wonderful inaugural Cuisine NOW we had this year. It has always been a dream of mine to develop a platform where people can share in the story of contemporary gastronomy and to see that dream come to life was very special for me. Our invited chefs – from the traditions of Michel Roux to modern French cuisine showcased by Nicolas Le Bec and Philippe Mouchel; from the passion of Tetsuya and Reine Sammut to the innovation of Cheong Liew – all assembled to create a magnificent festival.  I would like to thank them as I know they left a piece of themselves with all of us who had the privilege to share time with them in the Masterclasses, the lunches and the Gala Dinner.

I would also like to thank Paul Signorelli and his team at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf. It was a challenging program and each and every member of staff – on the floor, back of house and in the kitchen – worked hard to make Cuisine NOW the success it was. They will be opening their Gastronomia Signorelli on 3 February and I recommend you visit this new site where their passion for the best in food, wine and quality will be accessible to all.

Our sponsors were also fundamental in launching Cuisine NOW this year – my thanks to the Commonwealth Bank, Air France, Land Rover, Moet & Chandon, the Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney, The Shangri-la Hotel and All-Clad.

There were so many highlights during the 10-day festival and I would like to share some special moments with you:

Owen McNamara, our boy soprano for the Gala Dinner, took the opportunity to attend every one of the Masterclasses, sitting front row central, engaging the Chefs in their own language with his love of food. He will be a young man to watch and I hope that life will allow him to share his passion with us in his own kitchen in the future.      

Whilst some of the chefs who participated in Cuisine NOW knew each other out of the kitchen, few had ever shared the pass together. To watch them work so harmoniously during the Gala Dinner, all assisting each other with the mise en place, the food preparation and the plating, reinforced for me that we are much more than individual chefs. We all carry the common goal to share our love of good food.

I knew my friend Roland Peelman, Artistic Director of the Song Company, had written something special for the Gala Dinner. But his ensemble’s performance of the Hallelujah Chorus on the night left me speechless – as it did all of the Chefs. I hope to be able to put the footage on the website in the next few weeks to share with you his brilliance in supplanting the chefs’  names into the music in the most magical way. Bravo maestro!    

On to Cuisine NOW 2011. I am already working hard to line up international chefs to delight you next year. I encourage you to sign up to our database as I will be sharing information month by month. I want to make sure that you, the friends of the inaugural Cuisine NOW, will be at the head of the queue as we launch our program. We have learnt a lot this year and will use this knowledge to improve various components for next year’s festival. We will also enhance it with a wine segment as for me the marriage of food and wine in the Australian context represents an important gastronomic adventure.  Watch this space.              

Thank you again for your support of Cuisine NOW 2010 and we look forward to continuing this journey with you.