2/1 - AUSTRALIAN MADE MEN: Featuring Vintner Rob McDonald of Girls in the Vineyard and Chef Guy Grossi of Grossi Restaurants International

Chef Guy Grossi

Join us as Slow Living Radio celebrates southern meets northern hemisphere with two Australian gents of extreme passion - internationally renowned chef Guy Grossi and award-winning vintner Rob McDonald. 

Guy Grossi is a leading Australian chef, presenter and food and media personality. He is the owner and head chef of Grossi Restaurants including esteemed international and Australian restaurants: Melbourne’s iconic Grossi Florentino, the colourful Mirka at Tolarno Hotel in St Kilda, Grossi Trattoria, Bangkok and Merchant Osteria Veneta located at  Rialto Collins Street.

Guy is frequently sought out to present his love and expertise in Italian culture and hospitality both in corporate settings and across many media platforms including international and national television and radio.

This year sees Guy star as Australia’s Iron Chef alongside chefs Neil Perry and Guillame Brahimi. He has also appeared on Australia’s most popular lifestyle and current affair programs including Postcards, Getaway, Neighbours, My Kitchen Rules, Masterchef, A Current Affair, The Morning Show, Fresh, Sunrise, The Circle and The Today Show. Guy joins Maeve O’Meara as a co-host with Italian Food Safari on SBS One this year and has also graced American television screens, on CBS in New York and Good Day Philadelphia.

He is also called upon as an industry spokesman for a range of events. Guy is a national judge of the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence awards and The Age Good Food Guide Young Chef awards. He is a dedicated Patron of Hospitality, Employment and Training (HEAT) program and is Victoria’s first Skills Ambassador; organisations which like Guy, believe in engaging youth through skills training.

A champion of presenting ‘la cucina Italiana’ in Australia, Guy was awarded the prestigious L’insegna Del Ristorante Italiano, by the president of Italy in 1996.

With his unique vibrancy and insight into food and culture, Guy is often involved in promoting tourism and hospitality. The reinstatement of the 2010 Moomba Parade saw Guy as a chef representing the ‘Melbourne is Food and Wine float’.

Guy has been the ‘face of food’ with the L’Orèal Melbourne Fashion Festival for the past three consecutive years; a fitting title as Grossi Restaurants continues to pioneer marriage between food and fashion with staff dressed by designers Leona Edmiston and Ted Baker.
 

Guy has also been engaged by the Victorian Government as Victoria’s face of food and wine during the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The expo expected to attract a record 70 million people. Guy designed menus for a series of prestigious dinners held in Guangzhou, Beijing and in the Australian Pavilion during Victoria Week, which ran from 17-21 May. Guy, a passionate advocate for Victoria’s culinary pedigree highlighted the State’s premium produce to a global stage and through cooking demonstrations for Chinese delegates.

During Melbourne’s 175^th year celebrations Guy has been recognised as a finalist for his individual contribution in raising Melbourne’s profile and continues to do so with vigour.

This year saw Guy take to the stage in his own highly acclaimed production, “In The Raw Dinner and Live Show with Guy Grossi and Luke Mangan”. Guy shared the set with long-time friend Luke to deliver this cabaret-style show in Melbourne.

This Grossi experience will be extended into the home through Guy’s premium quality product range, available at Grossi Restaurants and specific Essential Ingredient stores. His hand-crafted range will include: extra virgin olive oil, grissini, antipasto, passata, verjuice, red wine vinegar, panforte, torrone, pink salt, spice mixes, chocolates and a variety of pastas just to name a few.

Guy is also a committed philanthropist with particular consideration for sustainable practices and social responsibility. He dedicated much of his time to work with selected charities. These include: Hospitality Employment and Training (HEAT), Australian Marine Conservation Society, Starlight Children's Foundation, Ovarian Cancer and Muscular Dystrophy Association.Guy, an avid supporter of the Royal Children’s Hospital was invited to attend this year’s televised event which raised a record $14.462 million for the medical and clinical care of our children.

 

Guy is also the author of two exquisitely presented cookbooks: Guy Grossi ~ my Italian heart and Grossi Florentino ~ Secrets & Recipes, which won the Australian Food Media Book of the Year Award in 2004. Guy is currently writing two new books, due for release in the next two years. One of which he will donate 50% of his royalties to MDA.

More information about Guy and Grossi Restaurants can be found at: www.grossi.com.au

Vintner Rob McDonald

Rob McDonald and his wife Kat have been active in all aspects of the wine industry for over 20 years.  They founded Old Bridge Cellars, a high profile wine importing business in 1993, and led the way in the USA for small, hand-crafted Australian wineries. After settling with their children in Napa Valley, they founded Art Farm Wine, along with their partner Matt Stone.  Here they turned their attention to Lake County, just north of Napa and have championed the uniqueness and quality of specific vineyard sites spotted around Clear Lake.  Their Lake County wine is called the Girls in the Vineyard, producing cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc. The Art Farm Wine portfolio also includes The Messenger wines. The Messenger embraces the time honored art of blending, as ancient and revered as the written word itself.  ###

1/18 - TRUE TASTE OF WALES FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO FANCY FOOD SHOW: Featuring Tom Newman, The Celt Experience Brewery; Alison Lea-Wilson, Halon Mon Anglesey Sea Salt & Chris Swire, Collier's Powerful Welsh Cheddar

Slow Living Radio celebrated the week with a special True Taste of Wales presented at the 36th Annual Fancy Food Show in San Francisco by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.  Our guests Tom Newman, managing director and chief brewer for The Celt Experience Brewery, Alison Lea-Wilson, co-founder of  Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt and Chris Swire of Collier's Powerful Welsh Cheddar served up the cultural flavors of Wales on a platter!  Thanks to the NASFT for presenting an unparalleled confluence of international food & beverage purveyors from all parts of the globe, Slow Living Radio was privileged to bring a sumptuous sampling to our listeners around the US.

Alison Lea-Wilson

David Lea-Wilson

Halen Môn began with a saucepan of seawater on the Aga in their family kitchen. As the water boiled away and the salt crystals started to form, they knew they'd struck culinary gold. Ten years ago they started by supplying Halen Môn Sea Salt to Swain’s, their local butchers in Menai Bridge on the Isle of Anglesey. From the very beginning they wanted to be a quality oriented business and it's a commitment that has paid off.  Today their sea salt is enjoyed around the world by chefs, food lovers and even the odd US president. In the UK they supply Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Harvey Nichols, along with over 100 of the nation’s best delicatessens. Their salt can also be found in 22 countries and some of the world's top restaurants. Not bad for a family business from North Wales!

 

The Celt Experience - A brewery inspired through Celtic history to produce a range of organic ales and a hand crafted lager. The Celt Experience combines modern brewing equipment with ancient Celtic brewing methods, creating flavoursome and holistic beers. 






 



Collier's Powerful Welsh Cheddar - The ancient Celtic country of Wales famous for its beauty and musical heritage has produced superb cheeses for hundreds of years. Through the generations, Welsh families have favored cheddar for its strength, uncompromising taste, full character and depth.  During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the mountains of South Wales yielded the finest quality coal, which was exported around the world.  The men who mined this coal were called Colliers and the work they undertook, in the near darkness and extreme 
conditions, was hard and hazardous.  For these men, cheese was a staple of their diet, representing good, nutritious value with an extraordinary flavor. Now a delicious, premium award-winning cheddar produced in Wales, Collier's is made to a proprietory recipe and carefully matured to yield an incredible taste sensation!





In addition to our esteemed guests, the True Taste of Wales contingent in San Francisco also included Radnor Hills mineral water and soft drinks featuring Dutchess of Rutland Botanicals, Ty Nant Spring Water, Halo Foods and Llanllyr Water.

Our Welsh Trio
Alison Lea-Wilson, Chris Swire & Tom Newman

1/11 - ORGANICALLY UNCORKED: John Williams, Founder & Proprietor of Frog's Leap Winery

John Williams
Founder & Proprietor
Frog's Leap Winery

Join us on Tuesday, January 11, 2011, as Slow Living Radio uncorks the secrets of organic winemaking with the illustrious John Williams, founder and proprietor of Napa Valley's Frog's Leap Winery in Rutherford.... at the intersection of environmental responsibility and internationally renowned winemaking!

Frog's Leap's Historic 'Red Barn'

Frog's Leap stands tall in the heart of Rutherford, at home in its historically noted "ghost winery" Red Barn. This grand and welcoming building was built in 1884 as the Adamson Winery and renovated in 1994 as Frog's Leap's permanent home. A handsome bi-level barrel chai completes the state of the art winemaking facility. 


The Winery sits surrounded by 40 acres of organically farmed estate vineyard. Frog's Leap also owns 88 acres and farms 100 additional acres in the Rutherford appellation.  Frog's Leap was founded by the Williams family, on a spot along Mill Creek known as the Frog Farm. At the helm of Frog's Leap is John Williams, winemaker and former dairy farmer from upstate New York. John Williams grew up in Western New York and originally attended Cornell University to extend his studies as a dairyman. A fortuitous work-study program at Taylor Wine Company and a few bottles of wine later, John entered the Enology and Viticulture Masters Program at UC Davis. Following Davis, he returned to the Finger Lakes as the start-up winemaker at Glenora Wine Cellars. Taking inspiration from his first Napa Valley winemaking post in the cellars of Stag's Leap, John began making wine commercially in 1981 and named the new operation "Frog's Leap."

Frog's Leap's 1020 photovoltaic
panels on 1/2 acre of vineyard space

Through its commitment to provide on-site solar power, Frog’s Leap Winery has reinforced its belief that thoughtful ecological decisions are also good business decisions. In February of 2005, the winery essentially “flipped the switch” becoming 100% solar powered and thereby joining a growing list of concerned businesses committed to reducing the environmental impact of conventional power sources. Photovoltaic panels collect sunlight that is then converted to a clean and renewable energy source. By capturing more electric power than what is needed by the business, the photovoltaic panels have the benefit of “net metering” which allows the business to sell excess electricity back to the power company for credit and thereby becoming an energy provider. 


In keeping with its commitment to being sustainable through energy conservation and the utilization of renewal energy sources, Frog’s Leap added geothermal heating and cooling to its overall “green” energy program. With the development of the new Hospitality Center & Administrative Office, Frog’s Leap was given the opportunity to complement its existing solar energy field with geothermal energy to provide the balance of energy required to fully satisfy the needs of the entire winery and its operations.

Clean, renewable, and sustainable, geothermal energy is derived from the earth’s thermal mass. Utilizing an underground loop system, geothermal heating and cooling maintains a constant temperature of 56 to 58 degrees to elicit a very efficient exchange of energy between the building and the earth’s core.

In the winter, water circulating within the sealed underground loop system absorbs heat from the earth and carries it to the geothermal unit where it is compressed to a higher temperature to provide heat to the building. In the summer, the system reverses and expels heat from the building to the cooler environment of the earth via the loop system ultimately creating a comfortable climate in the interior of the building.



Frog's Leap presents a relaxed approach to enjoying wine. An easy hospitality and warm sense of humor is juxtaposed with a more serious sensibility when making wine. Using the best of Napa Valley's organically grown grapes and the most traditional winemaking techniques, the winemaking team strives to produce wines that deeply reflect the soils and climate from which they emanate.  Winemakers John Williams and Paula Moschetti hand-craft an annual production of almost 60,000 cases composed of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford and Zinfandel.

Frog's Leap produces some of Napa Valley's finest wines and, undoubtedly, has one of the wine world's best mottos: "Time's Fun When You're Having Flies."

1/4 - TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF IN THE NEW YEAR: Sally James, Author, Chef & Nutritionist, Dr. Carl Speizer, Director of the Napa Wellness Institute and Judi Cohen, CPCC

Slow Living Radio engaged our expert wellness panel on how to take care of yourself in the new year. With a balanced approach to physical, mental and spiritual wellness, we started the dialogue with our own Sally James, then welcomed guests Dr. Carl Speizer and Judi Cohen to the conversation. We've starting out the new year with "number one" in mind!

Sally James is an award-winning Australian chef, author, educator, television presenter and an ambassador for Australian food & wine whose books and recipes have won international acclaim for food & wine pairing, health and creativity. Sally is the author of eighteen books, including her best-selling Simply Healthy—winner of the prestigious World Cookbook Awards, Versailles, France, 1999 for Best Health Cookbook, Fresh and Healthy–Winner of the 2001 IACP International Cookbook Award in the Health category, Simply Sensational, a finalist for the IACP Award in 2003, and the Australian Heart Foundation Cookbook. She has been a guest chef and lecturer for the American Heart Association, the Culinary Institute of America, Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, COPIA, Draegar's and Publix Markets, the American Institute of Food and Wine, and Johnson & Wales Universitiesacross the United States.  James continues to do guest appearances on television and radio in the US and Canada, including a recurring guest spot on ABC television’s popular View from the Bay in San Francisco. James is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the American Institute of Wine & Food, the Food Media Club of Australia, and Slow Food USA.

Carl Speizer, M.D., M.P.H.

Judi Cohen & Dr. Carl Speizer 

Dr. Speizer, Founder and Medical Director of the Napa Wellness Institute, has incorporated twenty five years of health care experience with his vision for mind, body and spiritual wellness to create a comprehensive multidisciplinary medical program with a focus on wellness and illness prevention. After a long career practicing acute care medicine in the emergency setting, Dr. Speizer became interested in prevention, occupational medicine and employee wellness. Since 2002 he has served as the Medical Director of both, WORKHEALTH, an occupational health clinic and the employee health program at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, California. He received his bachelor of science degree in Zoology at San Diego State University, his masters degree in Public Health at UCLA and his medical degree at New York Medical College. He completed a residency program at Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Emergency and Trauma care and is board Certified. As a certified yoga instructor and provider of palliative yoga therapy, his understanding of the deep connection between health, wellness and psycho-spirituality, has been instrumental in the development of the Institutes programs.

Judi Cohen, JD, CPCC, is the founder of Warrior One, a company that consults with, mentors and coaches attorneys, physicians, entrepreneurs and other leaders to create awareness, vision and transformation. Ms. Cohen is a member of the Working Group for the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society where she is a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer and teaches at the Group's annual Retreat for Law Professionals at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. She also teaches meditation at various venues for lawyers. She is a long-time yoga practitioner and a graduate of the Spirit Rock Mindful Yoga program, an eighteen-month residential retreat program exploring the intersection of Buddhist meditation and the Hindu Yogic traditions. She is also an affiliate partner with MBV Law LLP in San Francisco and has been practicing real estate transactional law for twenty-five years. She has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of San Francisco School of Law for over a decade, where she teaches Real Estate and Contemplative Lawyering, and is a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for Contemplative Lawyering at USF  ###