Chef Cheong Liew
Chairman of judging panel

Malaysian born Cheong Liew is internationally recognised for his skill in creating an amazing blend of eastern and western cuisine.

His fusion of Asian culture, Australian ingredients and classical French technique has made his name synonymous with cookery at the crossroads.

His cuisine is about understanding and appreciating the flavours from different countries and then cooking it from the heart, as is illustrated in his internationally famous creation of “Four Dances of the Sea” which symbolises each stage of Cheong’s culinary journey; homage to his childhood in Malaysia (spiced prawn); his first job at a Greek restaurant (octopus); a tribute to a Japanese friend who taught him how to pickle fish (soused snook) through to the Regency Hotel School where he developed calamari with black-ink noodles

Chef Tim Pak Poy

Tim Pak Poy began training under renowned Adelaide Chef Cheong Liew in 1983.  Pak Poy left to work with leading Sydney restaurateur Anders Ousback in 1986. Then in 1994, after visiting the great European kitchens and dining rooms, studying perfumery in Paris and wine in Burgundy, Pak Poy returned to buy the iconic Sydney restaurant ‘Claude’s’.

The Sydney Morning Herald 1996 Good Food Guide awarded him with the inaugural “Restaurant of the Year Award” and an unprecedented score of 19/20 in only the second year after he took over the mantle.

In 2000 Tim Pak Poy and Cheong Liew were invited to represent Australia at the internationally acclaimed Slow Food event 'Salerno del Gusto' held in Turin, Italy. Their session, exploring the unique expression of Australian cuisine, was sold out months in advance.

Tim has one every major Australian culinary accolade and was named the 2004 Restaurateur of the Year by the Restaurant & Catering Association

Tim Pak Poy’s latest signature restaurant, The Wharf Restaurant, focuses on casual Sydney dining in a unique heritage timber finger wharf. The harbour-side dining room showcases Sydney Theatre Company and spectacular views of Luna Park and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Chef Emmanuel Stroobant
With a varied career - commencing in Belgium at the age of 16 - and a thirst for adventure, Chef Stroobant has lived in Australia, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Having opened a number of very successful restaurants and clinching several awards such as ‘Chef of the Year 2002 and 2006’, Stroobant has moved on to writing two cook books, ‘Cuisine Unplugged’ and ‘Vine Dining – White’. In addition, to this, he also has his own TV series titled, ‘Chef in Black’ and just last year opened his forth outlet in Singapore, named Archangel.

Amy Beh
Celebrity chef, food columnist, cookbook author and culinary consultant

Celebrity chef, food columnist, cookbook author and culinary consultant to many multinational companies, Amy has carried a lifetime passion for good food and easy cooking with everyday ingredients.  In spite of her 40-odd years in perfecting her cooking skills and pursuing excellence, she continues to expand her culinary portfolio of activities, including holding cooking demonstrations in aid of charity.

Amy is the author of three very popular cookbooks, At Home With Amy Beh 1, At Home With Amy Beh 2 and At Home With Amy Beh 3.  More volumes are being planned.  She has a regular weekly column in the STAR newspaper as well as in the STAR Online Cyberkuali.  She has appeared in cooking series on television and gone on road shows. 

In recognition of her skills, talent and experience, she has been invited on many occasions to sit on the distinguished Judging Panel of International Culinary Competitions, including Culinaire Malaysia and Penang’s Battle of the Chefs.  She is also in the Judging Panel of the Prestigious Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards.  She has twice (2001 and 2005) gone under the auspices of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) as the Malaysian Food Ambassador.   She is also one of  the Judging Panel of the Best of the Best Culinary Competition Hong Kong in 2005.

Amy dedicates her culinary success to her family, relatives and friends who have in one way or another, contributed their own secret recipes to good home-cooked meals.  The art of cooking to Amy is to be able to use common ingredients in easy ways that taste the same as in “grandma’s kitchen”.

Chef Johari Edrus
The President of the Chefs Association of Malaysia

Johari Edrus is the General Manager of R&D at Ayamas Restaurant & Retail, of Ayamas Food Corporation Bhd. He is the President of the Chef Association of Malaysia and the Confererie de la Chaine des Rotisseures for the Chef Rotisseur Catering Institute of Australia (CIA). The 49 year old has a long, international history in hospitality and comes with a wealth of knowledge about the industry, from both a corporate and a culinary point of view. His academic qualifications include a Diploma in Chef Training from UiTM. He has worked for a varied range of organisations in many countries including the Hilton Petaling Jaya Hilton as Sous Chef, the Hotel Royal in Geneva as Chef de Partie, the Bahnhoff Buffet in Zurich as Chef Trainee and the Malaysian Airline System (MAS) as Commis Butcher.

Johari Edrus has been on a number of panels as a judge including Salon Culinaire Malaysia, Young Chef for Nestle, Majlis Lembaga Vokesnal (MLVK) and Salon Gastronomic in Penang. He is has also appeared on a number of television programs including Raja Masak and Nasi Goreng Flora on TV3, and Gempak Chef on RTM.

In his spare time Johari Edrus has generated the ideas and contributed towards the success of a number of events which have been recorded in the Malaysia Book of Record (MBR) including the longest cream bun at 2.43 meters (2002), the longest frying Koew Teow for 50 hours non-stop (2003) and the longest cooking of Roti Jala for 60 hours non-stop (2005).

Jeremy D.C. Diamond
President, International Wine and Food Society, Kuala Lumpur

A true bon vivant and lover of both food and wine. Jeremy has lived in Malaysia for over 44 years during which time he has developed a real appreciation of the wide variety of cuisine available in the country.

He has been an active member of the International Wine & Food Society, Kuala Lumpur for some decades and is its current President. In addition, he is a member of the Compagnie des Mousquetaires d'Armagnac - a group of discerning cuisine loving individuals."

Julie Wong, The Star
Joined The Star daily newspaper in 1991 and worked at various desks including city, features and the main subbing desk before being appointed Editor of the media group’s food and wine lifestyle magazine, Flavours, in 1999, and has been with the magazine since.

Passionate about the promotion of good food and products, and the preservation of heritage cuisines, she has collaborated with the State Chinese Association of Penang to produce the cookbook, Nonya Flavours – A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine, which was on the bestsellers’ list for several months after its release in December 2003. Two other books are produced and edited by her – Famous Street Food of Penang (2006) and The Star Guide to Malaysian Street Food (2007),which was nominated forBest Food Guide in the Le Cordon Bleu World Media Awards. She also wrote the Malaysian chapter of the new Inside the South-east Asian Kitchen (2007)book commissioned by ASEAN. 

Julie has judged at various national and international cooking and wine competitions, including the Chaine de Rotisserie’s Best Commis Rotisseur (2005), MLA’s Butchers Challenge (2005), Classic Fine Food’s Culinary Grand Prix (2004), the MLA Culinary Black Box (2007), Culinaire Malaysia (2007) and the Vinitaly International Wine Competition (2005) in Verona.