Sustainable restaurateur, TEDx speaker, botanical artist and designer Joost Bakker will headline at this year’s Destination Food conference to be held in Bundaberg.
Bakker will deliver a keynote presentation titled ‘The Future of Food’ that will explore his latest work, including the second phase of his Greenhouse by Joost project in Melbourne’s Federation Square when the event is held on Monday, 2 August.
The Greenhouse project is a self-sustaining, closed loop, two-bedroom home that shelters, feeds, and provides energy for its inhabitants. It has been called ‘a blueprint for the homes of the future’.
The first two residents of the Greenhouse were Chefs Matt Stone and Jo Barrett.
The pair moved into the Greenhouse full-time in late 2020.
The goal was to grow, harvest and cook food sourced exclusively from the building in quantities large enough to sustain two people for three months.
Bakker will discuss the outcomes and lessons from the latest Greenhouse project, and how this knowledge can be applied to food tourism initiatives in the future.
Learn more about Bakker’s other sustainable urban food and shelter projects here.
“I am so excited that Joost is joining the speaker line-up,” Destination Food founder and program curator Holly Galbraith said.
“He has been designing and operating carbon neutral venues for decades – long before it became fashionable.
“Joost’s thinking is totally future-focused and his creative ideas are exactly the kind of thing Australian operators need to learn from and embrace if we’re going to stay competitive with other top tier food destinations.”
Bakker joins a large line-up of Australian food tourism experts including Steve Rosa, Group Manager Tourism and Economic Development, Destination Southern Highlands, Anne Moroney and Chef Mark McNamara, Regional Development Australia, Barossa, Dr Najmeh Hassanli from the University Technology, Sydney and Eric Pateman from Edible Canada.
The event welcomes back food writer Barbara Sweeney to her role as MC.
In a bonus for conference delegates, Destination Food will host a Taste of Bundaberg farm tour and artisan lunch the day prior to the conference.
This educational tour will allow delegates to meet local food tourism operators and experience the destination’s delights firsthand.
“The Bundaberg Region is one of Australia’s biggest culinary regions and we are proud to be hosting Destination Food and welcoming the nation’s food tourism industry to the region in August this year”, Katherine Reid, CEO of Bundaberg Tourism said.
“As the region is striving towards ECO Destination certification with Ecotourism Australia, and focused on designing a sustainable tourism future, we are really looking forward to welcoming Joost into the region for Destination Food in Bundaberg!
“And we are so grateful for the support of Bundaberg Regional Council and a Federal Government grant to enable this national conference to be hosted here in Bundaberg.”
