Industry Day

Hospo leaders have their hands full. Balancing the books. Recruiting and retaining staff. Being chief magic-makers in an industry that can test even the most dedicated.

Tasting Australia’s Industry Day returns to continue the conversations that matter right now. Join host Prof. John Carty of Adelaide University for panel discussions, keynote speakers, lunch and networking.

Be there for a full day of discussion. Here’s what we have planned: 

Morning snack: coffee and pastries provided by The Mariott

Morning panel: People, Development & Culture with Caitlin Baker, Hannah Green, Alice Tremayne and Kat Bont.

Baker – based at Canberra favourite Such and Such – was named 2025 SMH Good Food Guide Sommelier of the Year for her deep knowledge, support of independent producers and focus on making wine accessible. 

Green, meanwhile, leads hatted Melbourne’s Etta and its Lygon Street neighbour Daphne. She earned the 2024 Good Food Guide Service Excellence Award, and is known for her intuition and deft touch amid turbulent times.

Sydney is home to Tremayne, restaurant manager of beloved Hungarian-Australian restaurant Corner 75 and a specialist in the kind of warm, understated service guests crave.

Australian-born Bont has spent more than a decade working in hospitality across Japan, Scandinavia and now the UK – proving instrumental to the rise of Punk Royale.

Morning keynote speaker: André Hueston Mack

André Hueston Mack is an award winning sommelier, winemaker and hospitality entrepreneur renowned for reshaping contemporary wine culture. A former sommelier at The French Laundry and Per Se, he founded Maison Noir Wines, hosts Bon Appétit’s hit wine series, collaborates with global brands and co runs & Sons Hospitality Group in Brooklyn with his wife Phoebe Damrosch.

Lunch provided by: Please Send Noods

Keynote speaker: Lee Kelly

Kelly is a chartered accountant with more than 15 years’ experience in public practice. He is the founding partner of financial firm Pangea Advisory and has built a reputation for establishing strong relationships with clients and providing tailored solutions to meet their needs. Kelly’s strengths include leveraging technology to help clients streamline their business processes.

Afternoon panel: Creative Growth with Michelle Buxton, Pauly Vandenbergh and Jessica Ducrou

The multi-talented Buxton founded The Garden of Unearthly Delights as part of Adelaide Fringe. It began in 2000 with a single Spiegeltent and has grown to become Australia’s most dynamic outdoor festival precinct, hosting more than 750,000 visitors each year.

Vandenbergh is a Wirangu and Kokatha man, cultural educator, entrepreneur and changemaker. His life’s work is grounded in a single belief: that when Aboriginal young people are connected to identity, culture and opportunity they can transform their future – and ours.

Ducrou is an advisor to Tasting Australia and an influential figure in the Australian music industry, known for co-founding Secret Sounds and spearheading festivals like Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival and Harvest Rock. Her latest venture is Black Peach, a touring partnership in collaboration with Untitled Group, which aims to bring more world-class international artists to Australian audiences.  

Keynote speaker: Mindy Woods

Woods, a proud Bundjalung woman and chef-owner of the celebrated Karkalla on Country, is based in Byron Bay. She was named a Champion of Change at the latest World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards – recognition of her work to share culture, land and history through food. 

Networking drinks

INCLUSIONS –

• Join host Prof. John Carty of Adelaide University for panel discussions, keynote speakers, lunch and networking.
• Morning snack
• Lunch provided
• Networking drinks

MORE INFORMATION –

• Age 18+ event
• Caters to vegetarian, vegan, coeliac, pescatarian, shellfish / seafood allergy dietary requirements on request*

*For more information, refer to our Ticketed Event FAQ's. For any other requirements please contact the organiser of this event prior to purchasing.

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