Speaker Peter Howard

Peter Howard is one of Australia’s best known food and wine commentators, appearing regularly on television, broadcasting on radio, writing for magazines and newspapers and advising industry and government organisations on hospitality and tourism issues.  He is one of the most  highly sort after personalities on the speaker’s circuit.

For 15 years his national television segments, regular radio interviews and articles in magazines and newspapers have kept Australian audiences informed of the latest trends in food and wine. His extensive public appearances, both in Australia and overseas,  have sharpened his communication skills which have led him to become one of Australia’s most sought after media and presentation skills trainers.

The foundation of his success is his professional background in hospitality.  He is experienced in hotel and restaurant management (having run his own catering business and two restaurants in the 70s and 80s) and was a lecturer at the prestigious Ryde Catering College, Sydney, from 1979 to 1988.  He wrote his first textbook - The Professional Waiter - while studying for his degree in education.  This went on to become the highest selling Australian textbook on waiting.

Peter has a passionate interest in all things edible! This encourages him to search out new developments in food and wine which he then presents in his weekly appearances on the National 9 Network’s ‘Today Show’ (where he is Food Editor) and at cooking classes and demonstrations.

He is also committed to promoting excellence in all aspects of Australia’s food and wine industries.  In May 1996 he convened the first Culinary Tourism Advisory Committee to make recommendations to Tourism New South Wales on how to best use food and wine in tourism promotions.

Peter has worked in the USA, Japan and the United Kingdom both independently and as a representative and consultant to major food manufacturers and wine producers. 

While President of the Food Media Club of Australia he oversaw the bi-annual Food Forum which highlighted the quality and diversity of regional Australian cuisine, and introduced the organisation’s annual Food Writers’ Awards.

Peter works closely with the hospitality industry as an adviser, coordinator and presenter, to help lift Australia’s food and wine profile. 

In the past three years, he has:
 prepared a cocktail party for Australian wines in Verona, as part of the Vin Italy wine exhibition
 presented two one-day cooking and wine tasting classes for Good Housekeeping Institute Magazine in the UK
 organised and cooked a luncheon highlighting Australian food styles and wines at an up-market resort in St Mellions, (UK)
 designed the menu for the Australia Day celebrations at the St Pierre, New York’s famous Fifth Avenue hotel and restaurant
 launched the new rices for the Ricegrowers Cooperative in Australia and New Zealand
 orchestrated the regional cooking component at Wine Australia ‘96 and ‘98.
 chaired the Regional Cooking Competition at the inaugural Tasting Australia ‘97 and subsequently went on to become the Eastern Seaboard Coordinator for Tasting Australia ‘99. 
 filmed the Australian lamb promotion for the Australian Meat & Livestock Corporation in New York

Peter Howard is an Associate of the Catering Institute of Australia and past President of the National Board of the Australian Culinary Foundation.  He has been a President and a Committee member of the Food Media Club Australia. Peter chairs the Industry Reference Board for Australian Contemporary Cuisine at the Ryde Catering College and, for the past five years, has been the Chairman of Judges for the Awards for Excellence for the Restaurant and Caterers Industry Association, NS.W.  Peter Howard is currently the Co-Chairman of the Awards for Excellence for the Restaurant & Caterers Association nationally.

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