Both of my parents were excellent home cooks and their enthusiasm for food definitely shaped me.

I was always encouraged to enjoy good food, get excited about trying new things and appreciate the sustenance and nutrition that came with eating well.

I didn't eat in a lot of restaurants as a child but always enjoyed a great variety of tasty nourishing food at home.

Home-grown fruit and veges were usually involved, often with farm-killed meat from family friends, and always cooked with lots of love.

I might've "helped" my mother occasionally but I didn't cook much until my late teens so my formative food memories are more about eating than cooking.

One great memory is picking a big iceberg lettuce with my grandfather from his garden, rinsing it under the tap and eating the whole thing, sprinkling liberally with a salt shaker, savouring it leaf by leaf.

It was my first lesson in the magic of seasoning and I still think of that crunchy, juicy, savoury sensation as the taste of summer.

Rather than focus on a "signature dish" I'm more excited about developing new things, adapting with the seasons and embracing new lessons and ideas.

Essentially my favourite thing to cook is whatever is good right now. By that I mean great quality produce at the peak of its season is all the inspiration you can ask for. Thankfully, we have that in abundance here in Orange.

Our region having four very distinct seasons is a blessing. It compels us as cooks to keep things fresh and always evolving, but also firmly grounded in our community and our connection to the earth.

A meal simply feels more meaningful when it's made from fresh seasonal local produce and I also really enjoy anticipating the next season's possibilities.

Besides that I really enjoy elevating more humble ingredients into something spectacular.

The way I see it anyone can open a tin of caviar, steam a lobster or grill an expensive steak. Those things are all delicious as a treat but I get much more excited about creating something special out of less heralded produce.

Secondary cuts of meat or offal, root vegetables, pulses and grains, wild foraged weeds and the like are usually the basis of the meals I find most satisfying to cook and to eat.

I love hospitality and always like to see what other people are doing so I spend a bit of time enjoying cafes, bars and restaurants.

There's a young generation of hospitality professionals in Orange that are driving the scene in a great direction and it's exciting to see how much the industry has evolved in the past few years.

I've always been sports mad and played a bit of rugby and cricket growing up in New Zealand.

Weekends off are as rare as hen's teeth in the restaurant world so apart from occasionally hacking my way around Duntryleague Golf Course I get my sporting fix as a spectator now.

We have so many things going for us. Australia has many great wine and food regions but our location and climate make us unique.

The rich volcanic soils yield wonderful produce and our elevated position enables our wineries to turn out a standard of cool climate styles that other parts of the country can't match.

Top quality beer and cider supplement the wine while artisans complement our foodstuffs with prized goods such as specialty cured meats, hand-crafted miso, extra virgin olive oil, and locally made cheeses.

Orange F.O.O.D Week in autumn creates a terrific buzz for both locals and visitors and offers a huge range of unique food-based events that leave a lasting impression.

Orange now has a good number of well-run venues that take full advantage of this, offering terrific dining experiences that showcase our region's produce.

A growing number of accommodation options including beautiful AirBnB's and boutique hotels have visitors immediately planning return trips.

There is plenty to do between meals, with scenic drives to our lovely satellite towns, picturesque cycling tracks, great golf courses, and the recently redeveloped Orange Regional Gallery is a true jewel in the crown.

Orange has almost everything I'd want from a larger city but without the drawbacks. Alongside the culinary scene there is an emerging cultural heartbeat driven by a younger generation that is exciting to see develop. Talented people in art, film and music bring a vibrant energy to our town.

I've spent years working in Sydney restaurants where at the end of a night I'd ring an answering machine to place my orders for the next day. Getting out of town to visit growers was a rarity.

Here I can actually get to know my suppliers and learn so much more about what they do and where my produce comes from.

Now visiting suppliers is part of my weekly routine and many of them have become good friends.

For a chef, that connection between the dish I serve onto a plate, and the soil and people that it came from is priceless.