Next on the Menu

Brodee Myers-Cooke simply has us hanging off her every delicious, tasty word in this episode. As Editor and Chief at taste.com.au, Brodee served us up the latest trends, meal ideas and top picks just in time for Christmas. Brodee knows everything there is to know about what makes Australians come back for seconds and she’s extremely generous with offering up her perspective and insight. From air fryer pork crackling to the ‘new kale’ to what keeps shoppers up at night, this episode covers it all.

Brodee is the Editor and Chief of taste.com.au and bestrecipes.com.au - Australia’s most successful brands. Brodee has successfully launched several sub-brands, including taste.com.au's health platform.  Brodee has received numerous accolades such as Brand of the Year in 2019 for taste.com and Journalist / Producer of the Year in  2016 at the B&T Women in Media Awards.

Professor David Hughes aka. Dr Food, is well established as being completely in the know when it comes to global trends in food, meat and the retail sector. Couple that with his enthusiasm and passion, this conversation is incredibly entertaining, thought-provoking and sets the scene for what’s coming next in the retail meat category.

Dr David Hughes is a Professor of Food Marketing at Imperial College London, and the Royal Agricultural University in the UK. David is a renowned speaker who has a constantly evolving and informed view on global food industry developments. He helps organisations understand the commercial implications of change in their industry and how they might respond to combat threats and embrace opportunities. David has lived and worked all over the world and has extensive experience as an international advisory board member with food companies and financial service organizations on three continents. David’s views are frequently sought by media and those within the industry.

Bernie Brookes has had an incredible career and brings a cumulation of experience in retail, agriculture and innovation to his current role as Chair of Agriculture Innovation Australia. In this episode of Next on the Menu, Bernie shares the latest innovative projects he has his eye on, how the Australian pork sector could leverage those projects and his views on how we can add further value within the pork supply chain.

Bernie Brookes has substantial board and executive experience across retail, agriculture, data and technology companies. He was CEO of MYER for nine years, and held numerous senior roles in buying and marketing for Woolworths before that including leading the charge on the Fresh Food People campaign back in the day. In more recent times, Bernie has served as a non-executive director for the Dairy Industry Association as well as Ingham’s, and is the current Chair of embedded tracing technology company, Dotz.tech. Bernie has received many awards over the years, including Food Week Retail Executive of the Year, National Retail Association Food Industry Executive of the Year, Food Week Buyer of the Year, and the Sir Charles McGrath Award from the Australian Marketing Institute for his significant lifetime contribution to marketing.

Diana Rodgers is on a mission to bring balance into the universal debates consumers, media and policy-makers are having about sustainable and healthy food systems.  Which is why Diana has launched the Global Food Justice Alliance (from her HQ in Boston, USA) to advocate for the right of all people to choose nutrient-dense foods such as meat, which are critical for nutritious, environmentally sustainable, and equitable food systems that can sustain both human life and the planet. In this episode, Diana talks specifically about pork and how our Australian pork sector can leverage the work she’s championing across the globe.

Last year we met Kiwi futurist, Melissa Clark-Reynolds for the first time and she blew us away with her articulate insights and predictions around what was in store for the global meat industry and more specifically, the Australian pork sector. Since our initial conversation with Melissa generated the highest amount of listens in 2020, we jumped at the chance to speak with her again for the first episode of Season 2. Kicking off Season 2 with a bang, Melissa once again delivered us plenty of hard-hitting, punchy take-aways that our producers absolutely need to hear. From COVID key learnings influencing ASF vaccine development to why consumers are concerned about ‘healthy farmers’ to how ‘zoom vanity’ translates into opportunity for Aussie pig producers to pig milk cheese... it’s all covered within this episode. To top it off, Melissa’s passion and energy is completely contagious so we’re certain you’ll be positively encouraged about the future of our sector.

About Melissa Clark-Reynolds

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Well, we made it! A season wrapped and with the end of 2020 in our sights – what a year it’s been! In this special Christmas episode of Next on the Menu we have a chat to Charlotte Gilbert, General Manager Meat at Coles to find out more about their approaches to the pork category, sustainability and alternative proteins.

After this our co-hosts, Andrew ‘Billy’ Baxter and Mitch Edwards, recap season one and share the key outtakes from each episode. If you haven’t tuned in yet, or missed some episodes, we’d encourage you to give this section a listen, as Billy and Mitch give you a little inspiration as to what episodes may be the most relevant to you – just in time for those New Year road-trips or, if you’re restricted, for listening while relaxing on the beach! Have a Merry Christmas and thanks for your support this year.

Phil Morle is a Partner at the CSIRO's venture capital fund - Main Sequence Ventures. They invest in deep tech founders who are building unimaginable new companies with a strong connection to research. Prior to this, Phil was the founder of Australia’s first Silicon Valley style incubator, Pollenizer. Here, Phil played an instrumental role in developing the startup ecosystem across Asia Pacific and advised some of the world’s biggest organisations on practical ways to deliver new growth and the cultural change that is required to get there. Phil shares the latest on Australia's alternative protein developments and where he believes the future of agriculture is heading.

Not only is Dilhan F. Fernando responsible for the success of the world’s most renowned tea company, Dilmah Tea, Dilhan has huge aspirations for himself and the organisation in the sustainability and social license space. Dilhan is the son of Dilmah founder, Merrill J. Fernando, and while he continues his father’s work with Dilmah, he also is trustee of the Merrill J Fernando Foundation, Sri Lanka’s largest private humanitarian organisation. Dilhan shares with us the importance of legacy, corporate responsibility, ethics and transparency – all significant and relevant to the wider Australian agricultural sector. Scattered with food for thought and uplifting words from Dilhan, this episode aims to evoke sparks of change in how we think about business today.

In this episode we speak to Tony Lowings, Global CEO of a universal family favourite - fast food giant, KFC. Whilst extremely busy managing the $26 billion business that comprises more than 24,000 restaurants in over 147 countries, Tony generously sat down with us to share his thoughts on the future of food. Tony provides insight on the innovation culture at KFC, his predictions for what’s coming next and what he believes sets pork apart. Whilst host Mitch Edwards pushes for Kentucky Fried ‘Pork’ and the best kept secret in history – the Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices recipe – our co-hosts both use this opportunity to extract insights from an incredible thought leader. Do not miss this episode.

APL has a new strategic five-year plan with a bold and audacious ambition – to make Australian pork the nation's preferred protein and sustainably add $1 billion to farm gate value by 2025. In this episode, Mitch and Billy chat with CEO Margo Andrae to understand the direction and vision for Australian pork and the progressive culture and values she is building at APL. They talk through the actions, the goals and how the organisation will work collaboratively to ensure Australian pork remains affordable for shoppers, safe for workers, responsible to the planet, considerate of the animals, nutritious for consumers and viable for our producers.