BRENDA FAWDON
So, who is Brenda Fawdon? I am a real food advocate, a cookbook author and, now, a food blogger. Developing recipes and teaching people to just eat real food and cook using seasonal, locally grown produce is my life’s work. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Until last year, I was a restaurateur. I opened my first restaurant in Brisbane when I was 21, in 1982. In May 2015 I sold my last restaurant, Mondo Organics, which I co-founded in 2000 — the first licensed organic restaurant in Australia.
At Mondo, we ran a popular cooking school and, apart from our loyal customers and staff, it is teaching I miss most. This is why I am building Real Food School: a place to continue to encourage people to just eat real food, and to share my food knowledge and recipes. I aim to inspire and empower people to make everyday meals using seasonal whole food.
Just eating real food begins with quality produce, and we are fortunate to live in a place where the rich red soil is perfect for growing fruit and veg. We live on a mountain — Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland. We have a small block on the eastern escarpment with a gobsmacking view of the valley below to the skyline of the spreading Gold Coast city, and further, the deep blue ocean and light blue sky. Every Sunday we buy our weekly real food haul from our local organic growers’ market, which we supplement with vegies grown at home.
My first real food cookbook, Wholehearted Food, was published in 2013. Find it here … My second cookbook, Eat Local: Food, Farming and Conversation in the Scenic Rim, co-authored with my partner Christine Sharp, is due for release in May 2016. Find it here …
Wishing you a very warm welcome to my online kitchen, which I hope will inspire you to just eat real food. One day, I hope to see you in person – at an offline class, workshop or event. Stay tuned …
Brenda
CHRISTINE SHARP
And who is Christine Sharp? I am a writer, illustrator, editor, book designer, photographer and, now, kitchen hand. I’ve teamed up with Brenda to bring you Real Food School. I am the one most often styling and taking photos, as well as editing posts. I may even throw in an illustration or two.
I share Brenda’s love of real food. I’ve been buying my food from organic farmers’ markets for nearly twenty years, and, these days, living on Tamborine Mountain, we also grow our vegies at home in our cosy kitchen garden.
As well as co-authoring, photographing, designing and editing Eat Local: Food, Farming and Conversation in the Scenic Rim, and working on Brenda’s first cookbook, Wholehearted Food, I write and illustrate picture books. You can read about my books over on my website: www.christinesharp.com.
I hope you enjoy Real Food School. Brenda is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to food, and she is a passionate, gifted and generous teacher and presenter. From Brenda I’ve learned cooking techniques and kitchen skills that have changed my life in the kitchen forever. Besides the joy of sharing information with readers, I am looking forward to continuing my real-food education as we build and grow Real Food School.
Chris
