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Geoff Scott
Chef owner – Vinnies Restaurant
 Geoff Scott began his career by studying London City & Guilds professional cookery in Auckland, New Zealand. He trained at the Regent Hotel and twice represented New Zealand as a junior on the culinary world stage.
In London he trained under Albert Roux at Le Gavroche, was pastry chef for Nico Ladenis at Chez Nico then worked in Milan at the three star Michelin restaurant ‘Gualtiero Marchesi’. Geoff then studied in Provence (Le Clos de la Violette), Paris with Michel Rostang and finally in Monte-Carlo for Alain Ducasse at the Michelin three starred ‘Le Loius XV’, Hotel de Paris.
His recent roles have included Executive Chef at the Hilton Hotel, White restaurant in Auckland and is currently the New Zealand based international business class consultant chef for Air New Zealand.
He was invited to present at the 2006 Hilton Brisbane Masterclass Weekend where he demonstrated signature dishes from his restaurant, Vinnies. Geoff is a council member of the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation and somehow also manages to find time to play trumpet with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra.
As the new owner and chef of the landmark, 50 seat Auckland restaurant, Vinnies, Geoff creates food with clean simplistic flavours that speak for themselves and is passionate about cooking with quality local produce. He has completed a major refurbishment of the restaurant, established now for 19 years by creating a ‘contemporary colonial’ décor and show casing works by New Zealand artists.
He is the father of two small boys, Sam & Oliver, whilst his wife Jane, is the hardworking one behind the scenes!
www.vinnies.co.nz
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John is one of our core teaching team. He has cooked extensively throughout Australasia and Europe and owned several restaurants in Auckland. A regular judge at professional culinary competitions, John's first cook book ' Fast Fish, Fancy Fish' was published in 1994. At home, John is dad to Sam 15, George 11 and John Jnr 7 and in his spare time loves to surf at his favourite spots, Mangawhai, Te Arai and Piha. He is a passionate rugby supporter and avid swimmer. John's attitude toward cooking is to 'keep it simple'... he is a passionate chef with a natural flair for teaching, his classes are great fun and he always shares his trade secrets..jpg)
Mark has over 25 years experience in hospitality. He is a senior judge for New Zealand chef competitions and you will love his freestyle approach to cooking. As a passionate teacher Mark focuses on seasonal produce combining flavour, presentation and visual appeal. His classes are a lot of fun and guests always come away incredibly inspired. Mark’s enthusiasm for flavour and presentation is key and he loves the interaction with guests attending his classes. One of Mark’s career highlights was hosting a talkback radio show in Australia. The show was titled "Fine food down under", was interactive and often live from the kitchen. It was run in conjunction with weekly newspaper editorials of the same name. Mark has been published in numerous magazines, Gourmet Traveller, Australian Fare and Condé Nast. Another of Mark’s passions is the great outdoors, his favourite area is Auckland’s West coast with its rugged unspoilt beauty; where he lives on a lifestyle block in the Waitakere Ranges with his wife Kirsty. He is currently working on his second cook book. 
Petra's classes are informative and fun and she gives us a fresh approach to seafood cookery. A trained nutritionist, Petra qualified as a chef in 1989 and since then she has literally worked her way around the world soaking up the flavours of each country she spent time in.
After completing his classical professional chef training, multi award winning chef Steve decided that travel was on the cards, which led him to Australia and then on to Japan. After soaking up the nuances of Japanese cuisine for 6 years he returned to NZ and since then he has lead the kitchens at The Hunting Lodge, Hotel du Vin, Sileni Estate, the Spencer on Byron Hotel and Nosh Gourmet. He has just formed his company 'foodcreationz' which specialises in catering for private dinner parties, cocktail parties, boardroom catering and menu consultancy.
There was no clear winner in this category last year but this time we can confidently name Gion as the best Japanese restaurant in this city. Located on Parnell Rd, Gion is chic but not overly flash — perfect for a quiet night out. Gion nods towards tradition but ups the ante with signature dishes such as fresh Pacific oysters and squid prepared three ways (tempura, grilled and sashimied) that owe more to sensibilities from the wider Pacific Rim. Chef Akira Kugue is creative but marries presentation and blends of flavours well. Gion is simply ravishing. 
Annabel, New Zealand’s most loved food writer has 6 fantastic cook books to her credit. 
Peta is a respected and prolific New Zealand chef, author and broadcaster, who now builds on the culinary travel experience with her gastronomic adventures in th South of France, Marrakesh & Rajashtan. As the flamboyant host of television program ’Taste New Zealand’ and 'NZ House and Garden' Peta’s role takes her around the world in search of new and inspiring cuisines. 
Jenny Yee A food design and nutrition consultant with over 16 years of experience in the food industry, enjoys fishing and her record to date is a line caught 6kg snapper, measuring half her height! An award-winning food features writer, she shares her expert knowledge of Asian ingredients and cuisines at cooking schools and is a regular guest on national television and radio programmes. She has published two books, Discovering Asian Ingredients and Chow Down & Chill Out: Fast Asian Recipes For Busy People, with Random House. Her venture Culinary Journeys offers gourmet tours of regional New Zealand and Vietnam to local and international travellers.