Chef Sam Gowing

30/10/2026

The ultimate destination for wellness is happiness, and what better way to get there than a bunch of besties in a Sena Rituals sauna with expert hot stuff fan master , followed by a refreshing ocean frolic with pods of dolphins in glorious Bunker Bay.
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A very special time spent in paradise with cheers, peers and industrial-strength visionaries including .
Thank you Spa Girl Kris Spa & Wellness Magazine: Beauty | Wellness | Lifestyle for all you do to keep our industry authentic, and the benchmark elevated.
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Such a joy to be a part of the trophy haul with the Gwinganna Retreat & Spa team, and a long overdue, side-splitting giggle with ol’ mate Nat Kringoudis cofounder of Best Wellness Product award-winning
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Wonderful to reunite with industry friends especially Subtle Energies and to celebrate the founding Legend award-winning Farida Irani.
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Because sometimes, the best wellness prescription is good people, a little heat, a lot of salt water and the kind of happiness that money simply can’t buy.

28/10/2026

Winner, winner, organic chicken dinner.

This one’s for the sole traders, the rule-breakers, the taste-makers, the entrepreneurial nutters, the trailblazers, the palate ticklers, the risk-takers and the deal-makers.

Best Wellness Cuisine — Asia Pacific Spa & Wellness Awards 2026

Spa Girl Kris
Spa & Wellness Magazine: Beauty | Wellness | Lifestyle

28/10/2026

Gwinganna Retreat & Spa is coming to Brisbane for one day only.

The Longevity Lounge is an immersive 2.5-hour experience exploring what genuinely supports a longer, healthier and more fulfilling life. Join Dr Karen Coates, Duncan McDonald and Manish Mallas for evidence-led insights, practical mindfulness, beautiful grazing and curated wellness experiences overlooking the Brisbane skyline.

Sunday, 8 November at The Grove Rooftop.
Tickets are $79.

Limited places available.

Book your session now! via the link below


https://www.gwinganna.com/pages/longevity-lounge

26/10/2026

What a privilege to be part of this special day at Mate & Matt's Cudgen Road Farms.

Despite the extreme flooding and torrential rain, this incredible family opened their doors and their hearts, sharing their story, their passion for sweet potatoes and the realities of farming on the Cudgen plateau. It was a beautiful reminder of the people, resilience and hard work behind the food we eat.

A heartfelt thank you to Mate N Matt’s for welcoming us so generously, and to Savour The Tweed for bringing this wonderful festival to life for the past three years.

And to Normie, Chef Dan and Tania — thank you for the extraordinary hard work, commitment and teamwork, particularly in such challenging flood conditions. It certainly wasn’t business as usual, and I couldn’t have done it without you. Months of planning, recipe development, mobile kitchen infrastructure - and a few sleepless nights - were well worth the successful outcome.

Great food, good people and a community that shows up, whatever the weather.

Photos Sally Singh

25/10/2026

21/10/2026

An honour to be a part of Entwined - a major photographic exhibition by Rob Palmer Photography – winner of the prestigious National Photographic Portrait Prize in 2020.

The launch of Savour The Tweed tonight, so many wonderful friends, chefs, producers, growers, distillers - we won’t let a little bit of rain dampen our enthusiasm!

18/10/2026

Another epic Everest at Royal Randwick!
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As guests of our wonderful friends ATC Chairman Tim Hale and his gloriously gorgeous wife Catherine Hale, we celebrated the 10th running of the world’s richest turf race. What a finish — Tempted toppled the mighty Ka Ying Rising!
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Normie’s still wondering what all the fuss is about - last year he was mobbed by a stable of young blokes, losing him amongst the crowd!
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Me? Racing is in my blood. I was just six or seven when my dad took me around Victoria’s racetracks, scouting fillies and colts for our Toolern Vale stud farm.
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Back then, the bookies happily accepted my 50-cent bets, knowing full well that I lived and breathed horses, studied form and bloodlines like other kids devoured Harry Potter.
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And so Australian racing ascends to The Everest, a tremendous achievement for the ATC. Add sensational dining in the Royal Randwick Ballroom, fabulous fashion with a touch of blue, wonderful company, old friends and new, and the thrill of race day, even backed a few winners along the way!

With 52,110 race goers singing Sweet Caroline at the top of their lungs — it’s another unforgettable Everest.

15/10/2026

The future of food isn’t just about what’s on our plate. It’s about understanding the person sitting in front of it.

After more than 40 years working across kitchens, nutrition, culinary education and wellness, I’ve seen our relationship with food evolve considerably. We’ve moved from counting calories towards understanding food quality, gut health, metabolic health and the complex relationship between what we eat and how we feel.

Now, another fascinating frontier is emerging: the intersection of nutritional genomics, epigenetics, personalised nutrition and artificial intelligence.

How nutritional science, personalisation and technology are changing the way we think about food — and why the human touch still matters.
SUBSTACK:

How nutritional science, personalisation and technology are changing the way we think about food — and why the human touch still matters.

11/10/2026

Sweet potato recipe testing for our event with Savour The Tweed showcasing local farm produce from Mate N Matt’s Cudgen Farm.

10/10/2026

My first love

This is the dessert that ignited my love of cooking. My first attempt was in my mother’s house in Melbourne when I was about six. It was the 1970s, a time when brown rice, soybeans, apricot chicken were practically de rigueur in every self-respecting, tie-dyed household.

Rather perfect for the era, don't you think? But I was far more interested in the sweet stuff!

Armed with an old gas oven, a mysterious instruction to leave the door ajar (whatever did that mean?), an endless wait and a rather generous dose of cochineal, voilà! A hot pink, flat disc of sweet, crunchy meringue.

Oops indeed!

It may not have looked much like a pavlova, but I’ve never forgotten it. That little pink disaster was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with food, and a reminder that some of our happiest kitchen memories begin with getting it gloriously wrong.

And here I am, fifty-four years later, still in love with the magic of the kitchen. Funny how one little pink disaster can turn into a lifetime of cooking, creating and feeding people.

Tell me, what was your first kitchen disaster? I’d love to hear it!

www.chefsamgowing.com/pavlova