GEOFF JANSZ

"I am passionate about self supplying and the quality of the initial product."

On his farm in Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Geoff Jansz grows a large variety of fruit and vegetables. Using his own produce, Geoff can pursue his philosophy of cooking with fresh seasonal ingredients to produce healthy and delicious meals. According to Geoff, food is not just about eating, but is a wonderful way of bringing people together and enjoying the pleasures that food can bring.

Cooking is something that everybody can enjoy and Geoff inspires his audience to discover its joys and rewards. He encourages people to start with the best ingredients, whether that means growing your own produce at whatever level you can, or whether it's in pots, or a small garden patch, or just talking to your local suppliers to make sure you're getting the best quality produce available.

Geoff shares this philosophy as host of Channel Nine's What's Cooking, Australia's only national cooking programme, broadcast daily in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and as the food presenter on both Burke's Backyard.

Until recently, Geoff was a regular contributor to the magazine Australian Gourmet Traveller, writing articles which profiled the best produce Australia has to offer as well as discussing our local food industries. He now contributes monthly to House and Garden.

Geoff has recently begun holding cooking classes at his property in the Southern Highlands of NSW. This allows him to draw small groups of food lovers into his most private world to share what he has learned and be filled with the same passion and dedication that drives him.

Geoff's entry into the food industry began when he was a university student studying pharmacy. He cooked and experimented with food for other students and visited restaurants whenever possible to watch chefs work and to sample results.

His interest in food and cooking became something of an addiction rather than a passing fancy, so he took the quantum leap into the food industry and opened a restaurant in Picton, NSW.

Geoff was then able to develop his ideas about the cultivation of a wide range of food including vegetables, duck, squab and guinea fowl. He experimented with taste sensations, dipping into his extensive vegetable garden and nurturing his free range ducks and his carefully fed game. This home grown approach attracted many diners to his restaurant, all keen to sample food which was not only at its freshest, but which reflected the area in which it was grown.

Now, with over 1,000 episodes of the What's Cooking national television program to his credit, Geoff has lost none of his fervour in his quest for the freshest ingredients for his culinary creations.

Geoff has written three books, Taking the Freshest Approach, Favourite Recipes and Geoff Jansz Desserts.