Learning On The Jobs Running A Small Food Business.

This week Robbie sat down with the newly-appointed head chef of Restaurant Lûmé and San Pellegrino 2018 Asia Pacific Young Chef of the Year winner, John Rivera. Robbie and John worked together at Rockpool Bar and Grill Melbourne where John first started his professional career, initially on the restaurant floor before moving into the kitchen. John talks about his career so far, gives his thoughts on where the restaurant scene and culture is heading, as well as sharing his experiences in the San Pellegrino competition. http://www.restaurantlume.com

This week Robbie talks to the guys from Rooftop Honey all about bees and their importance, what a vital part bees play in the ecosystem as well as the amazing honey they produce. We all need to be taking more care of our bees and helping them out where we can, because without these guys we are going hungry to say the least. www.rooftophoney.com.au

This week Robbie talks to Chef Matt Wilkinson about his career. Matt really breaks it down and goes through the ups and downs, and shares some great advice he has picked up on the way. He also brings up some great points for discussion, like what do chefs do after 45 years old? Link to web sites: https://mrwilkinsons.com.au Everyone's social media: https://www.instagram.com/mrwilkinsons/ https://www.instagram.com/robbiebell8/ https://www.instagram.com/cookingthebookspod/ https://www.instagram.com/citylarder/

This week Robbie talks to the guys from The Good Seed Kefir about Gut Health, the importance of gut health and what you can do to improve your gut health. They also laugh about some of the things you do at the beginning of starting a small business. https://www.thegoodseedkefir.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/thegoodseedkefir/?hl=en

This week on Cooking the Books we have Daniel Wilson, former chef/owner of Huxtable and co-owner of Huxtaburger, and he now also runs his own consultancy company. We talk about his time in America, his love of growing in his own garden as well as some tips if you're thinking of opening your own restaurant. www.danielwilson.co

This week on Cooking the Books we have Andrew Murch, Head Sommelier at Pt Leo Estate on the Mornington Peninsula. Andy started his career as a designer in London but his love for food, wine and socialising took him way from the job he was very good at, and led him to follow his passion. We talk about wine and touch on a few things that may come in handy for you all when buying wine. www.ptleoestate.com.au

This week Robbie talks John Ger from 'Tamarind Tree Gourmet Sauces'. John has been cooking for nearly 40 years in Bombay, London and Melbourne. He also owned 3 of his own restaurants before moving on to start his Indian sauce range. They talk pop-ups, food history and, as always, John's journey. www.tamarindtree.com.au

This week Robbie catches up with an old friend, Hugh Allen, who is currently work at Noma in Copenhagen. They first met when Hugh was 15 and doing his apprenticeship at Rockpool Bar & Grill, and Hugh then went on to work at Vue de Monde, Noma Sydney and Noma Mexico. It's a real insight into what it's like to work in one of the world's most forward-thinking, elite restaurants.

This week Robbie talks cheese with one of Australia's finest cheesemongers. Olivia explains what cheese is and how it came about, which cheeses are a must-try and some tips when purchasing cheese. www.harperandblohm.com

This week on Cooking the Books we have Rebecca Bell, co-owner of City Larder. Rebecca breaks down one route you can take to get a food product to market, as well as talking about her early pursuit to become a sommelier, and being the first Front of House stagière at The Fat Duck Restaurant. If you're thinking about starting a food wholesale business or pursuing a wine career and are not sure how to go about it, this hopefully will be very beneficial.

In this week's Cooking the Books we have one of Australia's finest chefs, Sam Aisbett. Sam won a michelin star and got into the Asian Top 50 Restaurants within the first two and half years of being open. He is a man of integrity, one of the good guys, he is humble and always keeps it real.

This week on Cooking the Books we have Micheal James, the co-owner of Tivoli Road Bakery alongside his wife, Pippa James. Micheal is thought of as one of the greatest bakers of his generation. He speaks about how he got started in baking, how it's all about the quality of the products you buy, and the effect that factory farming is having on our health.

In this episode Julie talks about how baking brought her relief through some really difficult times, and how she began her Instagram feed which then lead on to a book deal. It's a great story that I feel is just getting started and one that really shows that patience, persistence and hard work do pay off.

This week on Cooking the Books we have Shaun Hurrell; the creator of Barrio Comida, the mexican pop-up soon to have a fixed residency in Durham, England. Shaun talks about setting up his business through his pop-up, as well as how a fried egg changed his view on cooking, and the internal fight he has picking excellence and consistency.

In this episode, Tom talks about representing Australia in Ireland as part of the 6 man butchers team, where they picked up awards for their sausages and for being the most hygienic team. We also discuss where he thinks butchery is heading and where ready-to-eat meals fit into that story, as well as customer service and quality of produce.

First of all I've got to apologise for the audio quality - we recorded this at the City Larder Kitchen where all the noisy fridges and stainless steel did us no favours. Please try and get over that. Lesson learnt, my bad. In this episode Zac explains how Rockpool dry age there beef, he also talks about sustainability and what that means to him and Rockpool, as well as some great tips on managing a big team.

In this episode, Heath talks about how he and his business partners built there brewery by hand and saved $350k in the process. He also explains how it all started with a walk with the dog to now setting up brew pubs in India.

In this episode, Adam talks about working in some of Europe's top kitchens and breaks them down to explain how they operate so differently. He also talks about moving out of the city down to Mornington, where he is starting to build some great relationships with some outstanding suppliers.

In this very first episode, we meet the head butcher at City Larder where he talks about working in all different sides of the food business, to then return back to one of his big loves; butchery.