ABC TV’s The Cook and the Chef and Jigsaw Media Solutions Sumptuous magazine and television will contest an important industry category at the Premier’s Food Awards 2007.

They have been named finalists in the Rural Solutions SA Services to Industry Award, with the winner to be announced at the awards night on Friday, November 16 at the Adelaide Convention Centre hosted by Premier Mike Rann.

Since it first aired at the beginning of 2006 ABC Television’s The Cook and the Chef with Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant has taken South Australian regional produce to Australia and to the world. Each week over 700,000 viewers watch the program either on ABC TV or ABC2.

The program is a celebration of South Australian food producers and their produce. Maggie Beer has built her reputation around South Australian regional cuisine as both gourmet producer and cook and Simon Bryant is the Executive Chef at the Adelaide Hilton, a hotel with a strong commitment to regional cuisine.

Simon and Maggie share a common core food philosophy which is essentially the “paddock to plate” philosophy. They both believe that whenever possible we should use food that is in season, that is local (or at least hasn’t had to travel far) and is of the best possible quality.

But they approach cooking from completely different angles. Maggie is the intuitive country cook who had the “audacity “ to go down the path of a food career without any formal training, while Chef Simon’s approach is disciplined and scientific based on formal chef training.

This second year of production has seen 4 DVDs produced, a web site averaging over 100,000 hits per week, and a surge in International sales.

Sumptuous magazine and television represents the seasons of food and wine showcasing the best assets of the State to a national and international audience, establishing SA as the food capital of Australia.

It is the only state based and dedicated food and wine magazine in the country. Its foundations are based on profiling to a broad national and international audience everything about the South Australian food industry, from a consumer’s viewpoint.

Through editorial stories, recipes, photography and advertising South Australian food producers are offered a medium through which to raise awareness of their product and the story behind their produce.

The magazine is the first to promote premium SA food from every region to the consumer market in a highly inspirational and accessible format.

Sumptuous Television compliments Sumptuous magazine. Airing on Channel 9 on Sunday afternoons, during its season it takes the stories of South Australian food to a television audience of over 60,000 viewers each week. Series three will go to air in March 2008.

General Manager, Rural Solutions SA Michy Kris said growth is what the food industry is about.
“Rural Solutions SA plan to continue working with the food industry to grow business and a strong future for South Australia,” said Mr Kris.

“With initiatives like “The Chef and Cook” and “Sumptuous”, we believe they provide strong support to achieving the State Food Plan objectives”.