Following a career in advertising, I have been working as a publicist specialising in food, particularly fine dining and lifestyle brands for the last five years.  My father was a chef and from the land so my passion for quality produce was installed in me from a young age, something I took for granted at the time.  Obviously this is not the case in today’s society and having read about Slow Food Kitchen Gardens, I contact Slow Foods with the view to getting involved in some capacity.

I began by helping generate publicity for Carlo Petrini’s visit to Australia and am now working on the Raw Milk Campaign which I hope will work towards changing the current legislation and allow raw milk cheese produce to be produced here.

I strongly believe that with the current global warming issues, we need a return to good, clean and fair practices for our survival.

Josette has worked for over 10 years in hotels and restaurants in Sydney, Brisbane and Vancouver, Canada.  She is currently the NSW BDM for Phillippa’s Bakery as well as the food buyer and cooking school assistant at Accoutrement in Sydney.

Josette became a member of Slow Food Sydney in order to meet others passionate about food and its roots.  Shortly after, she joined the committee to assist with the kitchen garden project at St Carmels in Waterloo.

Working in the hospitality and advertising industries over the last 10 years as an events and marketing director has given me a great love and knowledge of food.  Food is such a vital part of our day to day living, that we should be encouraging all people, young and old to appreciate where it comes from, who produces it and the passion our boutique producers have for their product.

It would be wonderful to see Slow Food Sydney continue expanding upon its established practices for raising awareness and appreciation of food through its community gardens and support of local producers.

Marco Cocurullo’s award winning entrepreneurial skills catapulted him to the top of his game at an early age.  Drawing from his ten years management experience in the tourism and hospitality industries he set up his first business in 2004 with the development of an online booking engine for accommodation in Sorrento, Italy. Marco is the co-founder of The Coffee Gang and also works as Assistant Resident Manager at the Somerset Darling Harbour.

Marco was raised in the heart of the Amalfi coast, regularly spending time in the country’s coffee capital of Napoli surrounded by one of the world’s finest coffee and cuisine.  Grandson of Pasquale Cocurullo, Italy’s leading Barista of the 1950’s, Marco’s passion for exquisite coffee runs through all aspects of his life.

He joined the Sydney Slow Food Committee with the intent of assisting the association in promoting the importance of local produce, especially amongst the younger generations.  Marco hopes to spread his passion and share his learning of quality food and organic produce through his involvement in Slow Food Sydney.

Having always had a interest in eating (!) and cooking, Alexis also developed an interest in the bioscience behind food and health when came to feeding her young family.  It came as no surprise that, as a late career change, she embarked on a degree in Functional Nutrition.

Alexis was strongly drawn to the Slow Food philosophy and way of life as she believes reconnecting people with good quality, local and organic produce will also help steer them away from fast food and back to their kitchens where they will rediscover the pure pleasure of tasty and healthy meals.

Alexis feels that educating community on the link between food and farming is essential to our and our planets wellbeing and vitality.