NEWS >> FOODIES - PEOPLE IN FOOD
New Years honours list includes some famous foodies
Date: 1 Jan 2012
Former restauranteur, television chef and author, Father Des Britten was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community, after stepping down from the Wellington City Mission's top role in July after 18 years' service.
Sir Des was previously the Anglican vicar of St Barnabas Church in Roseneath, and before that ran the renowned Wellington restaurant The Coachman for 28 years.
A passionate chef, he hosted two television cookery shows in the 1970s and wrote a number of cookbooks, earning him a place in the New Zealand Chefs Hall of Fame.
His work with the mission dates back to his days as a restaurateur, when he would bring in meals on the weekends "to keep it open and to keep them warm and fed".
"It used to come from the restaurant, and I can assure you it wasn't all the leftovers thrown in and boiled up in a pot. They were fed French vichyssoise, which was on the menu, or French onion soup, which used to take us hours to make."
More at NZ Herald.
Three years heading the New Zealand Food Safety Authority has earned Greytown man Andrew McKenzie the Queen's Service Order in the New Year's honour for services to the state.
Dr McKenzie, who worked as chief executive of NZFSA from 2007 to 2010, started life in the food safety industry as a vet at a meatworks before moving on to bigger and better things such as serving as the chairman of the Meat and Hygiene Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and chairing the World Organisation for Animal Health's Animal Production Food Safety Group.
His biggest achievement while working at NZFSA was negotiating trade deals with Europe.
"I sorted out some quite big trade deals with Europe, which had a major influence on the international standard for meat hygiene," Dr McKenzie said. "A lot of countries put up technical barriers in trade and that's what I've spent my career fighting."
More at Wairarapa Times Age
Award-winning businesswoman, investor, icecream empire and boutique hotel owner Diane Foreman was honoured with a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business.
She employs more than 4000 people in 29 countries through her various businesses. Her Emerald Group has interests in executive recruitment through Emergent, icecream through New Zealand Natural and other brands such as Kapiti, Chateau Premium Heavenly Treats, Killinchy Gold and Lite Licks; hospitality through the boutique Emerald Inn at Auckland.
In 2009 she was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, judged a "natural entrepreneur who is astute, tireless, deliberate and planned in her approach".
New Zealand Natural now has over 850 outlets worldwide.
More at www.stuff.co.nz.
