Advisory Board
OUR ADVISORY BOARD
DIRECTOR OF CULINARY OPERATIONS AND FOOD & BEVERAGE, THE LANDMARK MANDARIN ORIENTAL, HONG KONG
Richard Ekkebus
President of Food Made Good HK. Being born and raised in the south west of Holland in the seaside Fisherman’s village of Vlissingen; a village that is positioned below sea level; Richard’s understanding of the rising sea levels is ingrained in his upbringing. Listening to stories of his grandparents about the floods and extensive loss of life, the proximity to the sea gave him many other life lessons and was confronted from an early age towards the impacts of pollution and over fishing. “Over the years growing up my values towards planet protection were instilled by my hippy mum. We ate more vegetables than meat and fish and segregated waste; basic principles that set the compass towards a more sustainable living and direction in my life and that of my own family.”
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FLOW FARM & SANCTUARY
Justine Kwok
Vice President of Food Made Good HK. Justine’s love affair with fruits and vegetables blossomed when she founded Flow Farm & Sanctuary, an eco-educational farm and animal sanctuary in Zhongshan, the Greater Bay Area.
Flow Farm cultivates over 150 varieties of organic herbs, fruits and vegetables, as well as a home for rescued farm animals including pigs, ponies, turkeys and rabbits.
Flow also offers visitors the full farm-to-table experience, from plucking fresh, juicy tomatoes off the vines to enjoying a wholesome plant-based feast in the field.
CONSERVATION IMPACT DIRECTOR, ASIA PACIFIC AT WWF
Alistair Monument
As Conservation Impact Director for WWF in Asia Pacific, Alistair works with regional and national teams to build impactful initiatives that deliver bigger conservation outcomes for WWF in the region.
Alistair previously led WWF’s Global Forest Practice, overseeing strategy, projects and initiatives in more than 60 countries worldwide. Alistair has also been Asia Pacific Director at the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and was the founding Director of Accreditation Services International (ASI), FSC’s accreditation agency.
He is a qualified forester and auditor with 25 years of experience in over 40 countries.
CHEF, ARCANE & CORNERSTONE
Shane Osborn
Born and bred in Perth, Shane became the very first Australian head chef to lead a restaurant to attain Michelin star status at the tender age of 29. During his tenure as head chef and joint-owner at Pied à Terre, London, Shane attained their second Michelin star in January 2003. Now based in Hong Kong, Shane enjoys Michelin status at his fine dining establishment, Arcane, and has recently opened his second restaurant, Cornerstone, which offers a quality approach to casual dining. Shane has received numerous accolades, most recently being a finalist on Netflix’s first-ever world-class cooking competition, ‘The Final Table’, in 2018.
THE HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Daisy Tam
Daisy Tam is an Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University where she teaches and does research on ethical food practices and urban food systems. Her engagement with food began in London where she did her PhD in Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths. She has worked in Borough Market as part of her field research, where she learned from fellow traders about the production, distribution, consumption and disposal of food. Since returning to Hong Kong, Daisy has taken the question to the level of the city and is driven to search for a more ethical, equitable and sustainable model of food system.
As part of her latest research, she received international funding to develop Breadline – a web application that facilitates food rescue.
Foodworks
GLOBAL DIRECTOR, PRODUCT & EXPERIENCE, AESOP
Reeta McGinn
A digital native with over 15 years experience launching products, channels and digital transformation in retail. Leading cross country, multi-disciplined teams to meet both customer and business needs – focusing on e-commerce, digital product design, omnichannel customer experience and optimisation.
Experienced in international retail, having lived in US, Europe, Asia & Australia, working for leading retailers across 18 markets to date including, the Dairy Farm Group Asia (Mannings, Guardian), Hanes Brands Australia (Bonds, Sheridan), Stella McCartney, Kering Group, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, Mothercare, Boots, Otto, Helly Hansen, New Look, Kurt Geiger, Unilever, T-Mobile USA, Alaska Airlines and Samsung.
CULINARY DIRECTOR, MIRAMAR GROUP HONG KONG
Sheldon Fonseca
Sheldon Fonseca is the Culinary Director for Miramar Group Hong Kong, overseeing The Mira and The Miramoon.
Sheldon began his culinary career at Langham Hotel in 1997 after mastering his formal training in London. It was the start of a learning path that has taken him to all parts of Europe, and later to the far east.
Sheldon started working for the Connaught Hotel in London under the management of Gordon Ramsay Restaurants. This was followed by opening Murano by Angela Hartnett to critical acclaim and achieving a Michelin star within 4 months of opening. This was followed by numerous prestigious positions including Executive Sous Chef at the Dorchester Collection’s Mayfair hotel and other international roles in Asia, before joining Miramar Group.
PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTOR OF INTERNATIONAL CUISINE, INTERNATIONAL CULINARY INSTITUTE, VTC
Suzanne Storms
Suzanne is an Assistant Professor and Programme Leader, in the Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts and Management, of the Faculty of Management and Hospitality, at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) in Hong Kong
Throughout her career, she has held multiple positions in private clubs and well-known hotels around the world, including The American Club Hong Kong, Fairmont Hotels, MGM Mirage, Le Meridien, and Jumeirah.
Suzanne has been teaching culinary arts for more than 8 years including American, European, French, Italian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cuisines.
FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WWF HONG KONG
Peter Cornthwaite
It was peter’s privilege to lead WWF the city‘s leading conservation organization for the past five years. We must all redouble our efforts and recognise the urgency needed to address climate change and decarbonisation, resource management, and build a robust circular economy, and sustainable city living.
Our planet in just 50 years has seen an unprecedented loss of species and habitats and we need to RETHINK and RESET what we are doing. Peter believes that everyone needs a New deal for Nature and People with countries setting robust new targets in the Convention on Biodiversity. Drawing on the Paris Agreement in 2015 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals actions are needed on the ground to protect at least 30% of natural landscapes and seascapes by 2030, targets that must for our species very survival be delivered by the countries coming together on this at the CBD COP14 Kunming, China.
Peter also acknowledges the importance of restoring wetlands and protecting the amazing Biodiversity of the Mai Po Ramsar site and Deep Bay with its importance along the East Asia Australasian Flyway. Marine spatial planning is needed across the waters of southwest Lantau and the Greater Bay, protecting the iconic Chinese White Dolphin.
COACH AND MANAGER, HONG KONG CULINARY NATIONAL TEAM
Anita Cheng
Anita Cheng is the coach and manager of the Hong Kong Culinary National Team, a culinary consultant for government projects & strategies, design & management culinary competitions, and for new start-up restaurants or those that required remodeling.
She is a seasoned professional that has the privilege of working with Western, Pastry, and Chinese Cuisine chefs. She is a culinary curator on innovative Western and Chinese cross-over concepts and menus that redefined the Taste of East Meets West at the international culinary challenge platforms. She is well regarded by the industry as a go-to person for solutions and partnerships.