MEET ANDREW

South Australian born Andrew Fielke is a talented, award-winning chef with many years of international experience, working in Switzerland, Austria and London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel.

On returning to Australia in the mid 80′s, his imagination and interest in Australia’s largely overlooked native food resources was sparked by the discovery of a fledgling distribution company selling “wild foods”. Since then Andrew’s creative energy has focused on devising exciting dishes and pioneering a new direction for a “creative native Australian cuisine”.

He continues refining his craft using amazing 40,000-year-old ingredients together with conventional foods to create truly special dishes, utilising the unique textures and stunning flavours of nutritious nuts, seeds, fruits and herbs like Bunya Nut, Lemon Myrtle and Quandong – foods savoured by the Australian Aborigines over the millennium.

1992 saw the opening of the first Red Ochre Restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia, featuring consistently superb, innovative cuisine, wines and ambience. The restaurant attracted exceptional international exposure and many awards including the “Australian National Tourism Award” for restaurants in 1996. Cairns Red Ochre (Far North Queensland) opened in 1994 and Alice Springs (Northern Territory) in 1997.

Andrew works increasingly as a consultant with a number of food manufacturers developing fabulous new retail and food service products.

Some are manufactured under his label: other projects use conventional or Australian ingredients, expanding client’s product offerings. He also consults to assorted food industry bodies, wineries, restaurants and government departments.

Andrew is also a founding committee member and interim Chairman of an Australian Native Food Industry body, due for incorporation in 2006.

Andrew has also presented 33 food and wine segments on the Nexus program broadcast initially through greater Asia. The segments are “produce-driven” with stylish recipes with an emphasis on food and wine matching. He periodically appears on national TV cooking programs and the “lifestyle” channel for Foxtel.

Life after restaurants has allowed a love of golf that has seen him develop ProChef Golf Tours and Events incorporating superb Australian Cuisines and wines into golf events and tours.

Andrew resides in Adelaide with his wife Kaye and three school-aged children.