MasterChef Australia contestant Simon Toohey was a huge hit when he took part in the online Festive Vegan & Plant Powered Show which was held in November 2020 to great success. Now the charmingly urbane and popular chef is back for The Plant Powered Show which takes place at the end of May as both a physical event as well as online.
While Toohey will not be in South Africa to participate in-person at the show, which is being held in the Cape Town International Convention Centre, he will headline the online element of the event which will allow visitors from other parts of South Africa, the African continent and the rest of the world to join in.
Born and raised in Canberra, Australia 33 years ago, Toohey excelled in sports, drawing, photography and woodwork. After graduating, he worked in various cocktail bars and completed a TAFE course in Hospitality Management, graduating with an Advanced Diploma before completing a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management from the University of Canberra in 2009.
In 2012 Toohey bought a one-way ticket to the UK where he lived for five years, and it was while working in London as a bar manager that he won the titles of Best Cocktail Menu and Best High-Volume Cocktail Bar at the 'Tales of the Cocktail Awards' which was held in New Orleans. In a city where 10 000 bartenders descend for the annual conference, taking home the two coveted prizes in the global competition was recognition worth celebrating. But after four years of late-nights, hard-partying and long hours started taking their toll, Toohey called it quits and made his way to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he embraced his long-held passion for food, enrolling for a Masters in Gastronomy from Queen Margaret University, learning about food sovereignty and sustainability, alongside indigenous farming and medicinal spices.
Returning home in 2017, Toohey settled in Melbourne with girlfriend, and now fiancé, Georgia, and planned his next move in the world of food. That came with his participation in season 11 of MasterChef Australia in which he delighted viewers, both at home and in South Africa, with his vegan creations and use of seasonal vegetables. Placing third, Toohey went on to appear in season 12 - also known as MasterChef Australia: Back to Win - which featured former high-achieving contestants from the past eleven series returning for another chance at the title of MasterChef and a R3 million prize.
Although Toohey didn't win, he has been incredibly busy since and he hasn’t let the pandemic slow him down at all.
Not only has he been filming a television series, now in its third season, but he has also been working on his first cook book, was selected as global ambassador for Dilmah Tea and 1589 Hotels and has been chosen as the ambassador for Melbourne’s Wine & Cheese Fest.
Then there’s the Sustainable Earth Network, a YouTube channel which he co-founded, that focuses on using whole ingredients and fighting food waste. See https://www.youtube.com/c/
Having grown up with a dad who worked for the Cattle Council of Australia, Toohey wants to change the way people think about food and put more of an emphasis on vegetables rather than meat to reduce waste.
“It’s about advertising great food, farmers that get their hands dirty and growing produce that’s important to us; celebrating great vegetables and flavours people have forgotten about.
“If I can change people’s mindset, then we’re doing a good job, and then we can look at minimising food waste,” he says.
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