by brandsa2018

Brilliant new batch of SA chefs rising

A new league of star chefs is making a big impression on South Australia’s dining scene. They are driving restaurant kitchens with aplomb and flair, even though many have taken the top job in kitchens for the first time, and their inventive menus are enticing a steady stream of curious diners.

Annual festival Tasting Australia has helped shine a light on this activity. In celebrating the nation’s best culinary experiences, the festival’s series of special banquets and dining events have put rising SA chefs in the spotlight, celebrating the flair and talent at work in our top restaurants.

Daniel Murphy is making a significant fine dining statement since taking over the stoves at Appellation restaurant, at The Louise resort in the Barossa, although his rise comes as no surprise to Barossa locals.

Daniel has cooked in the region at Fino Seppeltsfield, Saltram’s and was recently head chef at St Hugo Restaurant (ironically working beside executive chef Mark McNamara, who established the Appellation kitchen 12 years ago). Daniel’s first opportunity to construct his own menu has resulted in bold presentations of the finest regional fare.

Daniel Murphy of Appellation restaurant at The Louise resort in the Barossa Valley.

Max Sharrad recently moved from his head chef role at innovative pan-Asian hotspot Shobosho to now drive the stoves at Nido in Hyde Park. This new attraction, one of restaurateur Simon Kardachi’s popular suite of hip eateries, was beloved by locals through 20 years when it was called The Pot, before a recent refurbishment and change in style to an informal Italian-accented menu.

Max, who cut his teeth in the kitchen brigade at Orana, won the national Young Chef of the Year at the 2018 Appetite for Excellence Awards.

Oliver Edwards came to The Summertown Aristologist in the Adelaide Hills after leaving chic Melbourne dining den Cumulus Inc. He was inspired to dig for his own fresh vegetables on a nearby farm, then find inventive ways to present them as the primary attractions in his ever-changing Aristologist menu.

His hands-on commitment to producing all dishes from scratch extends to milling his own wheat (for house-baked sourdough bread) and corn, making cheeses, vinegars, preserves and smallgoods.

Oliver Edwards of Adelaide Hills establishment The Summertown Aristologist.

Such incisive thinking about food informs striking authenticity and integrity on the plate, capturing supreme freshness and vitality in a range of dishes that change almost weekly, in accordance with what Oliver harvests from the farm.

Tom Tilbury has made sustainability his signature, taking a serious view of the paddock-to-plate philosophy that ensures his menus at Gather @ Coriole in McLaren Vale embrace flavour from the ground up.

Foraging formed an integral part of the kitchen output at his previous restaurant – the tiny Gather Food and Wine in Robe – and has remained important to him since moving to the bountiful Coriole Vineyards estate last year. Tom’s close relationship with local farmers brings maximum freshness to his seasonal dishes.

Quentin Whittle at Herringbone is no stranger to Adelaide diners, although this is the first time that he has an ownership stake in a restaurant. He has a wealth of impressive cooking experience, from The Melting Pot, through The Stranded Store at Colonel Light Gardens, to Stone’s Throw at Norwood.

Quentin Whittle of Adelaide restaurant Herringbone.

All through this progress, Quentin delivers great generosity as he embraces many different cultures on every plate, finding delicious harmony between Middle Eastern, South-East Asian and southern European influences.

Flying under the radar of many diners is Janghoon Choi, the Korean-born chef and proprietor from +82 Pocha, a new Korean restaurant in Grenfell Street, Adelaide. Modest and highly skilled, Janghoon came to Australia in 2005 to study cookery and hotel management at Le Cordon Bleu campuses in Sydney and Adelaide.

“I want to be a cultural ambassador with my food,” he says. “Not many people know very much about Korean food apart from kimchi, but I aim to show that there is so much more to enjoy.”

The deliciousness of Janghoon’s food has caught the attention of Orana chef and Tasting Australia programming director Jock Zonfrillo, who included Janghoon in the festival’s elite Glasshouse dinners program.

“He’s a rising star,” says Jock. “He’s very talented, and as he gets more experienced, we’ll see some awesome things from him.”

Janghoon Choi of new CBD Korean restaurant +82 Pocha.

A rising generation of female chefs is also making an impression in leading Adelaide kitchen brigades and will be worth keeping an eye on as they progress.

This includes quiet achiever Hayley Goodrick, who is now head chef at SC Pannell winery restaurant at McLaren Vale, and Amelia Hussey, who has joined ambitious new North Adelaide restaurant L’Italy (which has superseded Walter Ventura’s Spaghetti Crab and Spaghetti Meatballs pop-up eateries).

Tasting Australia ambassador and Salopian Inn proprietor Karena Armstrong, respected among Adelaide’s most assured chefs and kitchen leaders, is fostering a great talent in Alisha Shurville – first employed casually as a 14-year-old student and now a permanent part of the Salopian team after having recently qualified as a chef, while scooping the award pool at trade school.

“If she stays focused,” says Karena, “I bet she will run her own restaurant one day.”

Feature image is Max Sharrad who is now driving the stoves at Nido in Hyde Park.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

From slab of stone to work of art – Maccy sculptures take shape

Talented artists are cutting, splitting, drilling and polishing tonnes of stone for the third instalment of Sculptors @ Crystal Lake in the Adelaide Hills.

The popular festival at Macclesfield’s Crystal Lake has seen nine sculptors start to transform massive slabs of SA granite and marble into sculptural works of art across nine days.

The large stone slabs were craned into position ready for the strenuous creative process, beginning last weekend and continuing until April 14.

Thousands of people will make their way to Crystal Lake Park to witness the action, as sculptors use hammers, picks, angle grinders and other tools to craft the slabs into stunning pieces, some of which will be placed in public locations across the region.

Sculptors hard at work during the early stages of a past Sculptors @ Crystal Lake.

Sculptors @ Crystal Lake is a biennial event which began in 2015 and has since become Macclesfield’s largest event, attracting a significant amount of visitors throughout the town. The main street is about one minute’s drive from Crystal Lake and also swells with visitors throughout the duration of the festival, particularly on the dedicated family day. The final stretch of the festival is spent with sculptors polishing and refining their designs.

Over the years, many of the sculptures have been installed at various public places throughout the Hills region, including at nearby Longview Vineyard, the Stirling Organic Market and Café, at Prospect Hill and in the nearby regional centre of Mt Barker.

The festival, run by the Macclesfield Community Association in conjunction with the Sculptors @ Crystal Lake committee, is fuelled mostly by volunteer effort and the passion of those in the local arts and sculpture scene.

Event co-ordinator Keryn Korr says the event has grown since its first instalment four years ago and that the 2019 festival will include some new additions.

These include sculpture workshops for school groups and the general public with skilled sculptor Evan Maker who will guide participants (aged 12 and over) through a four-hour session. A geological exhibit will showcase stone used to make the sculptures, including signature rare pink Paris Creek/Macclessfield marble, Sellicks Hill marble, Wudinna granite, Padthaway green, and Harlequin granitic gneiss.

Many of the sculptures involve intricate designs and details, creating unique pieces, some of which are to be admired in public settings.

“Geology plays an important role in providing the dimensional stone required to create the sculptures, combined with skilled sculptors who expose the stone’s hidden beauty,” says geological consultant Peter Hough, who prepared the exhibit with support from the Department for Energy and Mining.

“We want people to come to this sculpture fest and go away with a real understanding about the whole process of stone sculpting including the opportunity to attend a workshop and carve their own piece to take home”.

Keryn says Sculptors @ Crystal Lake has a positive impact on local businesses across the nine days.

“This is our third Sculptors @ Crystal Lake and it has a huge following. Macclesfield businesses get really excited and put special (discount) offers into our visitor guide,” she says. “Thousands of people attend, it’s the biggest thing for businesses and it really rocks the village of Maccy.”

The 2.7m black granite ‘Soaring Prospect’ by Ben Tolhurst from the 2017 event can be spotted at the entrance to the historic township of Prospect Hill.

Highly acclaimed sculptor and artistic director Silvio Apponyi is one of the nine sculptors taking on the huge slabs of stone alongside Barry Lincoln, Peter Syndicas, John Nelson, Timothy Spooner, Jina Lee, Quentin Gore, Robert Wuldi and Sally Wickes.

“People who come and visit the park  can watch the transition from rough stone block through to finished work,” he says. “We (sculptors) all stay down here together so we are working together, looking at what each other are making. Most of us would work in our studios, so to get together and work as friends is a really lovely experience.”

Attending symposiums around the world, Silvio has also directed the Adelaide Hills International Sculpture Symposium, while his recent stone creation of former Australian cricket captain Clem Hill stands at the entrance to Adelaide Oval.

His Spriggina floundersi from the 2017 Sculptors @ Crystal Lake is expected to be installed at the University of Adelaide in the near future.

A much-anticipated event at the 2019 Sculptors @ Crystal Lake is the carving of a giant slab of Melba’s chocolate on April 13. At the 2017 event, Silvio carved a giant chocolate bilby from a 120kg chocolate block, using a chainsaw and axe to carve the shapes, sending chocolate shards flying into the air – much to the delight of children. The chocolate carving will unfold again on the Family Day, Saturday April 13, from 3pm.

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by brandsa2018

Adelaide BioMed City’s double Dutch research

Adelaide’s impressive new hospital, the striking South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the legion of learning facilities nearby sealed the deal in attracting Dutch cardiologist Johan Verjans and Yvette van Eenennaam to the city.

It was two years ago when the talented couple was in the midst of exploring health research opportunities including in Sydney and Amsterdam, when Adelaide emerged the winner.

“Seeing the new hospital, it exemplified the ambition of a city to create change, and I think that is what helps attract people,” Johan says.

“Australia is a relatively well funded country but competitive and it’s hard to find that whole package like it is in Adelaide in other places, with liveability, ambition and world-class research.”

Both Johan and Yvette have stepped into leading health research roles for the city after arriving in Adelaide in 2017 with their two daughters aged seven and five.

Yvette Eenennaam and Johan Verjans chose SA over other states and cities to pursue their medical and health research careers.

Johan works as a cardiologist and heart health researcher at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and SAHMRI. Last year he was appointed deputy director of Medical Machine Learning at the recently established Australian Institute of Machine Learning (AIML) to apply artificial intelligence to biomedical research.

Yvette was made the first general manager of Adelaide BioMed City, one of the largest health and life sciences clusters in the southern hemisphere, after it was officially launched last year. Before joining Adelaide BioMed City, Yvette worked for large multinationals in leading roles and had a focus on organisation development, change management and expansion through partnerships.

Located on North Terrace, BioMed City is a partnership between the state’s independent, flagship health and medical research institute SAHMRI with its more than 600 medical researchers, the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and the state’s three universities.

Its mission is to be a globally recognised partnership leading the world in research, education, clinical care and population health.

“Our goal is to build impact, leverage investment and inform evidence-based healthcare and innovation in ways that could not be achieved separately,” its statement says.

Yvette saw the group’s strategic plan signed off in February and is working to make plans to further strengthen the collaboration and to jointly bid for infrastructure and research funding.

“We’re a decent sized city, but compared to the east coast it’s very competitive, we need to work together in specific domains if we want to leverage the huge potential and make a global impact in any way,” she says.

Yvette is already hosting delegations of potential investors from Singapore, Taiwan and Sweden keen to see the opportunities.

“Particularly with plans for SAHMRI 2 there is a dedicated floor space for industry and additional clinical trial space,” she says.

Inside SAHMRI.

This new building will have lab and office space for biomedical companies and educational institutions. It will also house Australia’s first proton therapy unit to provide the most technologically advanced precision radiation therapy ever seen in the southern hemisphere, delivering cancer destroying protons to the tumor site of otherwise inoperable cancers, without affecting healthy tissues.

Gaining the expertise of Johan and Yvette has been a coup for the city. Johan is also a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide and an associate investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Nanoscale Biophotonics. He is associate editor of the Netherlands Heart Journal, and author of Springer/Nature’s first book on AI in medical imaging – and recently was awarded the Ahrens Researcher Award by the Australian Heart Foundation.

Johan believes there is great interest and opportunity in using artificial intelligence (AI) to advance health care, and his push to grow this has led to the job as deputy director of Medical Machine Learning at AIML.

“We see opportunities in reducing congestion in emergency departments of hospitals, since 12% of admissions in the emergency department are for chest pain of some sort,” Johan says.

By using existing data from ECG, biomarkers and AI, it could potentially provide better feedback on the risk of that pain to an individual patient, and to see whether it is safe for them to be sent home or be admitted, he says.

“Research is exploding in the AI space and in Adelaide we have a clear advantage, with leading groups in AI at AIML and world class biomedical research at SAHMRI,” he says.

“Adelaide BioMed City has so much potential. I don’t think people in SA realise with AIML we have one of the best machine learning groups in the world on North Terrace, together with three highly ranked universities, and SAHMRI which recently made the top 40 of the world’s best research institutions. We can make a difference in one of the world’s most liveable cities.”

Industry in focus: Health

Throughout the month of April, the state’s health industry will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia’s health sector is among the best in the world, renowned for developing new and advanced technologies and research outcomes. Our health industry infrastructure is world-class, providing new pathways and job opportunities, as well as a growing potential for health tourism.

Read more health stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

Big Moo’s fame cashes in for Limestone Coast charities

An enormous pet steer has become South Australia’s most unconventional animal fundraiser with his owner using his sizeable star power to boost the coffers of local charities.

Three years ago, the 186cm-tall Big Moo was peacefully eating grass in a Glencoe paddock in the South East before an online story questioning whether he was ‘Australia’s biggest steer’ shot him to international fame.

Suddenly, owner Jo Vine and her pet steer were thrust into the spotlight, invited to appear on national television shows Today and The Project and even scoring celebrity visits from Dr Chris Brown. However, the Vines were inundated with requests from people across Australia who wanted to witness Big Moo’s sheer size for themselves.

The 186cm-tall Big Moo, a steer that has the condition gigantism, uses his star power to raise money for local charities.

“Every day we get people asking if they can come and see Moo,” Jo says.“There are big steers around, but Big Moo has something special, he just loves people. We feel like he belongs to everybody.”

An enterprising Jo devised a highly unconventional way to give Big Moo’s multitudes of fans the time they deserved, while helping support local charities. Enter the Cow Pat Lottery and Moo View days.

Big Moo’s bowel movements have become hot property in Jo’s entertaining Cow Pat Lottery, where people buy a patch of land and patiently await the outcome. A poo by Big Moo in the right patch determines the winner.

“He generally has a great sense of timing,” says Jo, with a laugh. “But last time he took three and a half hours to poop. Everyone had packed up and gone home.”

Tv personality Dr Chris Brown is one of Big Moo’s many celebrity fans. Photo: supplied.

‘Moo View’ days, where as many as 100 people pay a small fee to wander through the Glencoe paddock to grab a selfie with Big Moo for the family album, are also held a few times a year.

Through their efforts, the Vines have raised thousands of dollars for Mt Gambier’s Riding for the Disabled group, which horse-lover Jo says does valuable work for the local community.

“I wanted it to be local. I’m a horsy person and I really believe in what they do,” she says.

The Vines have also donated money towards the Heart Kids campaign by Georgie Guess, a young Mt Gambier woman with congenital heart disease.

Three years on, Big Moo’s fame shows no signs of flagging. The affable nine-year-old steer now has 2500 fans on Facebook, has spawned his own hat line and has also picked up sponsorships from animal health businesses to manage his health problems.

Caption: One of Big Moo’s many young fans gets up close and personal with the giant steer. Photo: supplied.

Big Moo’s size is due to gigantism, a condition caused by an overload of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, and his continued growth causes stress on his joints. Once Big Moo stops enjoying it, Jo said her beloved steer will be retired from public life.

“It’s all about him. He loves the attention and engaging with people but we always know when he’s done. We love him to bits and we want what’s best for him,” she says.

Don’t mention the word ‘sausages’ around Jo, who says the steer she hand-raised from a small calf will live out his life peacefully at Glencoe.

Being custodian of a famous bovine has its moments though.

A midwife at Mt Gambier Hospital, Jo says there has been more than one woman huffing and puffing on the delivery table to look up and exclaim, ‘I know you – you own Big Moo!’

“The steer is famous,” she laughs, “I’m just the midwife.”

A Moo View day, where Big Moo is the star of the show. Photo: supplied.

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Adelaide a hub of life-changing health research and investment

South Australia’s health research sector is among the best in the world, with its renowned infrastructure and applications of new and advanced technologies having a global impact.

The $3.8 billion Adelaide BioMed City in the heart of the CBD is one of the largest health and life science clusters in the southern hemisphere, combining significant infrastructure including the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, the SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), and facilities for all three of the state’s universities.

This multidisciplinary precinct located on North Terrace combines collaborative medical, research and education infrastructure that is establishing SA as a centre of excellence for healthcare research, services and products.

For the month of April, Brand South Australia is delving into the state’s health industry as part of the successful I Choose SA campaign. We’ll explore the world-leading research and technological revolutions being practiced here, as well as the life-changing achievements of our scientists and researchers.

Here at Brand SA News we’ll bring you a collection of stories outlining  leading health professionals, how Adelaide is positioning itself as an international research hub, and how the state’s health industry as a whole is impacting our economy, our future career pathways and the growing sector of health tourism.

First up, we’ll introduce you to Dutch couple Johan Verjans and Yvette van Eenennaam, two influential figures in the Adelaide BioMed City. The couple chose SA over other countries and states to raise their family, further their careers and share their expertise. Johan is a cardiologist with a key interest in the fascinating field of machine learning, while Yvette has taken up the position of Adelaide BioMed City’s inaugural general manager.

We’ll also bring you an article on I Choose SA ambassador and SA’s chief scientist Professor Caroline McMillen who will share her story on being lured back to the state after seven years in NSW and how she’s having a crucial say in matters of science, research, technology and innovation.

Professor McMillen has a distinguished career as a medical and health researcher and once stated that “SA is home to some of the world’s best scientists” whose passion for discovery and commitment to innovation is “creating new futures for communities across the globe”.

The second I Choose SA ambassador is Johan Verjans who will elaborate on why SA is the best place to pursue his career, and how Adelaide’s health research is growing in the artificial intelligence space.

Many of our highlighted professors, doctors and health professionals will carry out their daily lives in one of the most anticipated developments within the health sector is SAHMRI’s second instalment, SAHMRI 2, located within the Adelaide BioMed City and next to the original institute.

SAHMRI 2 will house the southern hemisphere’s first proton therapy unit, making a world of difference for hundreds of cancer patients and people with inoperable tumours every year.

The SAHMRI 2 design, right, next to the original SAHMRI building on North Terrace.

Housed over three floors, the cutting-edge treatment will deliver precise radiation to tumours with less risk of damaging surrounding tissue and organs. The unit will attract not only local patients, but those travelling from interstate and overseas.

Of course, our health industry developments will add to a long line of medical achievements throughout our state’s history. Over time, SA has developed world-first outcomes including the world’s first IVF triplets, born at Flinders Medical Centre in 1983.

The invention of penicillin also connects back to SA, with Adelaide born Howard Florey creating the first antibiotic that has since gone on to save an estimated 200 million lives. Florey started his medical journey at the University of Adelaide in 1916. In a small but ground-breaking achievement, Adelaide was also home to the world’s first plastic disposable hypodermic syringe, developed in 1949 by Charles Rothauser.

SA’s health industry no doubt has many more life-changing milestones on the way. Keen to learn more? Brand South Australia is hosting a health industry briefing on Tuesday, April 9, at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Guests will hear from Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade, SAHMRI executive director Steve Wesselingh and Adelaide BioMed City general manager Yvette van Eenennaam. For more information and to book tickets click here.

Industry in focus: Health

Throughout the month of April, the state’s health industry will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia’s health sector is among the best in the world, renowned for developing new and advanced technologies and research outcomes. Our health industry infrastructure is world-class, providing new pathways and job opportunities, as well as a growing potential for health tourism.

Read more health stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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Technicolor’s Mill Film recruiting globally for Adelaide studio

Technicolor’s Mill Film Adelaide studio is drawing on local and international talent to build its workforce which is expected to grow to 300 employees by the end of 2019.

The visual effects studio, comprised today of 140 employees including management and operations, is working from a temporary space in Adelaide’s west, and is anticipating a move into its permanent home within the CBD Myer centre by mid-June.

In 2018, Technicolor and its brands – MPC, MR. X, Mikros and Mill Film – worked on 40-plus titles for major studios including A Wrinkle in Time, Predator, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The New Mutants and 14 episodic projects from Mr. X including new seasons of American Gods, Carnival Rows, Narcos, A Series of Unfortunate Events and Vikings. This is in addition to its film credits related to Jungle Book, Wonder Woman and The Shape of Water.

Mill Film specifically, is focused on providing world-class visual effects for feature film and episodic production markets for major studios and streaming services. The Adelaide studio is expected to grow to 500 employees over five years.

Mill Film Adelaide’s managing director Mark Thorley says the studio is currently actively recruiting for a variety of positions in areas of animation, lighting and environment. The hiring will be a combination of established professionals in the market as well as emerging talent coming out of universities through Technicolor’s Academy.

Mill Film Adelaide’s managing director Mark Thorley.

Mark confirms that the academy has already taken on 40 graduate positions, with a second intake for the one-year paid learning and development program now under way.

“It’s pretty unique from an Australian perspective,” he says. “We pay these individuals from day one and then bring them on the floor once they’ve graduated.”

Mark moved to SA from Queensland to take up his position and says Adelaide’s lifestyle strengths played a part in the company choosing the southern state to expand the brand.

“It’s a great city, in an amazing part of the world, offering the combination of great talent and lifestyle,” he says. “Adelaide is Australia’s best kept secret. We’re thrilled to be here and business is off to a great start. I am incredibly proud of the great work we are doing and can’t wait for the final product to reach audiences everywhere.”

The announcement that Adelaide would welcome a Mill Film studio came in 2018 and was received as a game-changer by the state’s creative industries. The former Labor government also announced its backing of the project with $6 million from the Economic Investment Fund. More than a year later, Mill Film Adelaide has secured its first 12 months’ worth of work.

Mill Film is currently working on Dora The Explorer, an adaption of the popular animation series, and will announce further projects in late 2019, early 2020.

Dora The Explorer is in cinemas from August 2.

“Technicolor is always looking for locations that can offer a new talent pool of skilled VFX artists and therefore we started talking to several state governments before deciding to settle in SA,” Nathan says.

“In addition to (state and federal Post Production, Digital and Visual Effects) rebates, Adelaide offered an opportunity for expansion because of its pool of proven creative talent, access to universities to develop and nurture talent, and the infrastructure already in place for such high-end projects, inclusive of internet infrastructure to allow us to move large amounts of data around,” Nathan says.

“This combined with the lifestyle and quality of life in Adelaide makes it the perfect environment for fostering creativity.”

Nathan Wappet, Technicolor Production Services COO, says the industry is currently experiencing one of its biggest shifts, brought on by an unprecedented demand for content.

“The shift is so massive, it’s changed the definition of what a studio is, with new entrants Netflix, Hulu, Apple, and Amazon Studios setting the bar, and traditional studios announcing their own content distribution platforms,” he says.

“These changes are blurring the line between feature and episodic; short and long form, to the point where quality expectations and production values are the same for all content creators, regardless of distribution platform.

“In the midst of this shift, Technicolor, and its brands are in an unparalleled position to deliver on clients’ and project needs without compromising quality by optimising picture, sound, and visual effects services.”

A scene from ‘Gladiator’ for which Mill Film won an Oscar for visual effects.

Technicolor’s presence in SA is a boost to not only jobs in the state, but the overall local VFX industry, which already home to large VFX house Rising Sun Pictures as well as boutique studio Resin, both of which have an international reach.

Nathan says existing VFX businesses in Adelaide will benefit from Technicolor entering the market as the company often needs to outsource some of its VFX and animation work.

“These studios would be the most likely beneficiaries of any local outsourcing as well as the training and growth of a local artist and technology talent pool. It is a winning proposition for all players,” he says.

Mill Film is anticipating on being a VFX, animation and content production of excellence with hopes of mirroring the success of Technicolor’s MPC Film Montreal studio which grew to more than 1000 people in 2018.

Mill Film’s global managing director Lauren McCallum has a vision for Mill Film to be the most inclusive tier-1 studio in the world, putting talent first and embracing diversity in its work.

“Adelaide helps us achieve this by allowing us to tap in to a talent pool we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to – opening up new pathways in to the industry for even more diverse creatives,” she says.

“The demand for visual effects content has exploded in recent years and we don’t anticipate this will slow down.”

Industry in focus: Creative Industries

Throughout the month of March, the state’s creative industries will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia is home to a thriving ecosystem of creative businesses and specialists who are delivering world-class works VFX, TV and film production, app development and the VR space. Read more creative industries stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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What’s next for Anton Andreacchio and Jumpgate VR?

Bold moving images of the South Australian landscape changing over three billion years are soon appearing at the renowned Venice Biennale, and Anton Andreacchio is among the Adelaide creative team making it happen.

“It started with an exhibition in Adelaide at the Hugo Michell Gallery and everyone was so blown away in the contemporary space they suggested we submit to the Venice Biennale,” Anton says.

Now Living Rocks: A Fragment of the Universe by artists James Darling and Lesley Forwood with Anton’s Jumpgate VR, composer Paul Stanhope and the Australian String Quartet is the only Australian project this year selected as an Official Collateral Event.

The stunning installation headed to Italy centres on a shallow 30m-long pool flooding an historic Venetian building, rock-like microbial structures will emerge from the water while a 36.5m-long and 3m-tall moving image artwork towers over its sides.

James Darling & Lesley Forwood, Living Rocks: A Fragment of the Universe, 2018, Adelaide, digital video (20-minute loop), 1.5 tonnes Mallee root & 4,000 litres of water, 1612 x 464 cm; Installation view at Hugo Michell Gallery, 2018. Photo by Sam Roberts Photography.

It is yet another impressive achievement from the creative company Jumpgate VR that further adds to its growing global reputation. In 2015, Anton’s thriving business created what is believed to be a world first virtual reality symphony with the Adelaide orchestra, the performance attracting work from all over the world.

For Anton, Adelaide has been the ideal place to launch his creative businesses, with the first digital agency Convergen started in 2009 with his brother Carlo.

Since then they co-founded four other companies, virtual reality company Jumpgate VR, film production company Double Bishop, and data science consultancy GMTI Consulting. Just a few weeks ago they also started post-production company Artisan Post Group with Michael Darren.

“We are already doing some of the post-production work on The Hunting currently shooting at Adelaide Studios, and we’ve just landed our first Hollywood horror movie that is about to enter post-production,” Anton says.

As the businesses continue to grow Anton has also emerged as a leading voice promoting the state’s creative industries. He is now a board member of the SA Film Corporation Board, Adelaide Film Festival and the inaugural Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, which has supported the launch of the new SA Office of the Chief Entrepreneur.

Anton Andreacchio of Jumpgate VR is the latest I Choose SA ambassador. Photo by JKTP.

His business is also taking a lead in moving into the State Government’s ambitious Lot Fourteen hub being created at the former Royal Adelaide Hospital in the CBD to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The 7ha neighbourhood is designed to bring together start-ups, mentors, corporations, researchers and investors with creatives in a bid to nurture talent in some of the world’s fastest growing industries.

Anton’s team of 14 staff will be spread between Lot Fourteen’s Eleanor Harrald building and the current Adelaide Studios office, home of the SA Film Corporation in Glenside, “as it’s important to also be part of that industry base”.

An office in Melbourne has been closed with Anton saying it was an important space for building interstate relationships but has now served its purpose. The company is keen to remain nimble in a quickly changing world.

“It’s almost impossible to see more than six months ahead, particularly with how fast tech is changing, there was 100 years of change happening in 10 years and then that change is now happening in one year,” he says.

It’s not only the arts world where the suite of companies are rising stars. There’s a strong relationship with industry-based training organisation PEER and contracts in the sporting world after Jumpgate joined forces with the Australian Football League a few years ago.

Jumpgate VR created what is believed to be a world first virtual reality symphony with the Adelaide orchestra in 2015.

It’s cutting edge work with the game’s elite athletes to improve performance using virtual reality headsets to see replays or new game play simulations and has seen its AFL club clients swell from one to four.

Anton believes a key to building successful companies is taking “an Adelaide approach, let’s build relationships, then ask where it fits”.

“We’ve had to have a local sensitivity but a global focus, but wherever we work we like to act like we are local,” he says.

“We’ve found we have to be relationship focused and it’s not constructive to be over promising, in the entrepreneurial and tech space there’s a lot of over-promising.”

It is a consistent message from the young achiever who has a strong belief in the future of the state’s creative industries.

“I feel excited about the year ahead, we are in a great position, there is just so much to do and it’s good fun,” he says. “We are planning for our future as well as looking at what’s happening in SA and thinking this is a great time to be here, we are kind of countercyclical in SA from the rest of the country … we’re finding there’s more demand than ever.”

Anton Andreacchio is Brand South Australia’s latest I Choose SA ambassador for creative industries.

Industry in focus: Creative Industries

Throughout the month of March, the state’s creative industries will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia is home to a thriving ecosystem of creative businesses and specialists who are delivering world-class works VFX, TV and film production, app development and the VR space. Read more creative industries stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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Farmer organisation key to sustainable ag in the Mallee

Mallee Sustainable Farming (MSF) is helping farmers in South Australia’s Mallee remain optimistic as they anxiously wait for a break in the drought.

The not-for-profit organisation services an area of more than four million hectares in SA, Victoria and NSW, stretching from Balranald in NSW to Murray Bridge in SA.

Allen Buckley from Waikerie in SA’s Riverland is one of the founders of the MSF, which began nearly 22 years ago.

He was one of the first Mallee grain growers to use no-till techniques, which reduced soil erosion and significantly increased yields of crops such as wheat and barley.

No-till means crops are placed in the ground without turning over the soil and keeping the previous crop stubble standing.

The word spread about Allen’s success and other farmers in the Mallee region in SA, Victoria and NSW were eager to follow suit.

Waikerie farmer Allen Buckley was one of the founders of MSF and one of first grain growers to use no-till techniques.

Farmers in the Mallee realised they needed to be represented by a permanent organisation to help them become more sustainable.

Their determination attracted funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation and support from the CSIRO to establish MSF in 1997 and it became an incorporated body in 1998. This collaboration is still strong in 2019.

The first core sites to demonstrate no-till farming practices were established on three properties, at Waikerie on Allen’s farm and at Gol Gol and Balranald in NSW.

More than two decades later, the Mallee cropping region once seen as a dust bowl has been transformed into a lucrative grain and legume producing area.

But Allen says one thing MSF can’t control is the weather.

The 67-year-old says last year was the second driest season he knows of around the Waikerie area since the 1982 drought when SA recorded its lowest rainfall on record.

“On our property we received only 88mm of rain in 1982 and in 2018 we received just 94mm,” he says.

MSF program manager and Jabuk farmer Tanja Morgan says the organisation tries to provide Mallee farmers with the resources they need to manage tough times.

MSF program manager Tanja Morgan who has a farm at Jabuk in the southern Mallee in SA says bringing farmers together is the key to helping them through the tough times.

The organisation’s 2019 research updates, which were held at Waikerie in SA and Murrayville and Manangatang in Victoria last month, were well supported by farmers. They also featured a session on handling stress.

“We try and provide them with the resources they need and we also run a lot of field days, where we get farmers together,” Tanja says.

Growing legumes has also become a way of reducing soil erosion and increasing farmers’ viability.

“Between 2012-2016, the prices for lentils and chickpeas were strong, ” Tanja says.

Participants at a MSF Field Day at Lameroo in SA’s Mallee last year learn about spade and sow soil amelioration treatment to improve production in sandy soils.

Fourth-generation grain grower Wade Nickolls from Pinnaroo says his family has been growing legumes such as lentils since the late 1980s.

However, Wade made most of his profit last season from hay, which he exports to Asia and receives about $300 a tonne. He has also been involved in faba bean trials, which performed well despite the drought and frost.

Australia’s faba beans are presently attracting about $800 a tonne, with strong demand from the Middle East due to a global shortage.

Wade, who is 40, says the future of farming in Pinnaroo looks bright and the MSF has contributed to this.

“In Pinnaroo, the average age of farmers would be 35, which is rare, as in most places it would probably be about 60,” he adds.

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Sailing in the desert as rivers rise

For enthusiastic boaties, a lake with no water is a little like a pub with no beer, but members of the Lake Eyre Yacht Club are accustomed to the dry spells. Sometimes, it can be two years between outings, but there’s nothing like a heavy north Queensland flood to put some wind in your dusty sails.

In the outback town of Marree, where the yacht club has its headquarters, the ice cold tinnies are being cracked open – and the larger floating tinnies are being cranked into action – to toast the swelling rivers in South Australia’s thirsty desert.

Club commodore, Bob Backway, says the volume of water bringing relief to the channel country could eclipse 1991 levels.

Commodore Bob Backway, left, with Australian business icon Rear Admiral Dick Smith at the 2013 regatta at Lake Hope. Photo by Doreen Backway.

“If we get to 2m, it means that we can sail on Lake Eyre itself rather than just where the Warburton River flows in, and if the basin completely fills, you can go out sailing for a week and will need a compass to find your way back,” he says.

Established in 2000, the yacht club deemed Marree the ideal central meeting spot for 250 Australian and international members with a taste for adventure.

“Marree is the like hub of the outback, because it’s at the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks and not far from the Strzelecki Track,” Bob explains.

The clubhouse is located in a heavily renovated shed at “the Lake Eyre end of town”.

The Lake Eyre Yacht Club house. Photo by Bob Backway.

“We lifted it up and made it two-storey so that there was storage underneath for boats, and then we added a launching ramp so that it looked like a yacht club and felt like home,” Bob says. “There’s no water lapping at the bottom, but we do have photos with water all around it from when it rained and rained in 2010; it looked like the tide had come in!”

Marree Hotel manager, Joe Calvert, says the yacht club has become a town attraction.

“Their regattas really bring business to the town for sure, and we appreciate anything that gives people a reason to stay or look around a bit longer,” he says.

The club’s next regatta for both power and paddle boats will run on the Warburton River from April 16–19.

The regattas lead to an increase visitors in the town of Marree. Photo by Bob Backway.

“Normally we camp in the one spot, but this is a bit more adventurous as we’ll be sleeping under the stars at Clifton Hills and Cowarie stations – it’s more like bushwalking on a boat,” Bob says.

The concept seems almost as improbable as sailing in the desert, but anything is possible in the outback.

“It’s completely different to sailing anywhere else; for starters, you don’t have to queue for the landing ramp, but you’re sailing in wilderness and that’s why it is so beautiful,” Bob says.

“It opens up a whole new dimension to the desert, and I think the experience ends up affecting people’s philosophy on life a bit; they wind down and start to see things differently. It’s a very special place.”

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Haigh’s Easter treats in full production

Haigh’s $15 million investment in its Mile End manufacturing plant has been tested to meet Easter chocolate demand – which has taken effect since January.

The South Australian family-owned company has doubled its production capacity with the installation of Italian state-of-the-art roasting and German blending machines at its expanded Mile End plant. Haigh’s is the only large-scale operation in Australia making its own chocolate couverture from scratch, creating eight different chocolate blends to exacting family recipes – including one special milk chocolate blend for Easter eggs, containing more cocoa butter to make it thinner for running easily around egg moulds.

Each of the distinctive Haigh’s blends comprise cocoa beans from up to four different countries, and the highly efficient new Mile End plant can manufacture up to 20 different batches of chocolate each day.

“The investment in upgrading has been justified because the new operation runs so smoothly in times of peak demand,” says Haigh’s marketing manager Fiona Krawczyk.

Large dark chocolate eggs ready to be packaged for the Easter rush.

The lead into Easter is when Haigh’s unique operation is evident – not just as the only large-scale chocolate manufacturer roasting its own cocoa beans, but also for only selling through its own network of 18 Haigh’s retails stores across Australia.

This whole careful process starts with stringent selection of superior cocoa beans from UTZ certified sustainable farms in Ecuador, Ghana, Venezuela and Grenada. And because Haigh’s aims to only use certified beans, it is encouraging the owners of a plantation in Papua New Guinea, whose beans have formed an integral part of Haigh’s blends for 60 years, to also obtain certification.

This remains important because Haigh’s has made its chocolate from scratch since the company began in 1915, and the volume of beans it uses is substantial – about 10,000kg roasted each week, with its storage warehouse laden with about 1000 tonne of beans.

Individual parcels of beans are roasted at 116C for about 40 minutes, then crushed so the cocoa nibs can be separated from husks (which are recycled for garden mulch). Nibs are ground into a thick, rather gritty paste and mixed with sugar (plus milk powder for milk chocolate).

A Haigh’s employee pans through chocolate.

The resulting slurry is rolled and aerated in a giant, heated churn for a 10-hour conching process, to remove excess moisture, caramelise milk powder and develop flavours. Cocoa butter is added to make a smooth, viscous paste, which is pumped into 10 holding tanks (four for dark chocolate blends, three for milk chocolate, and three single origin blends), from which 20 tonnes of chocolate get transported by tanker each week to Haigh’s chocolate shaping factory at Parkside.

“The Parkside factory is where the magic happens, transforming molten chocolate into the familiar shapes that are so popular,” says Haigh’s new products co-ordinator Robert Fowler, a 30-year employee responsible for creating some of the company’s most beloved individual chocolates, including salted caramel, through to the more daring mango and chilli centre.

While these are standouts among 250 varieties of chocolates produced by Haigh’s, Easter focuses on a different production output, with the first chocolate bilbies and eggs wrapped in tinfoil from early January.

Marking chocolate by hand is a finicky process.

Haigh’s trademark Easter bilbies have introduced a proud Australian tone to the season, and signal an important production milestone for the company. Bilby shapes were the first polycarbonate moulds introduced at Haigh’s 26 years ago that replaced traditional tin moulds.

Hollow Easter chocolate shapes are created when these moulds are attached to a spinning machine filled with molten chocolate as it rotates, then cooled to set the shape. They are then wrapped individually by up to 30 staff, deftly snipping ribbed tinfoil for an elegant finish.

Haigh’s is particularly fussy about its metal foils, choosing a different suite of colours each year, with this year’s being mint, raspberry, gold and mauve (no Easter colour range has ever been repeated). Haigh’s even purchased a rare tinfoil ribbing machine from an Italian manufacturer last year to ensure its preferred foil crimping process.

The Haigh’s ‘Egg-strodinary’ package.

Haigh’s will present new product this Easter, including multi-coloured sugared almonds, which have been modified after several years of trials before being put into full production.

Haigh’s largest chocolate egg weighs an imposing 600g, and the season’s final eggs have been wrapped as late as Easter Thursday.

Easter is such a busy time that it even affects Haigh’s most popular item, Chocolate Speckles. This unique product is made differently to rival choc buttons that are rolled in sugar sprinkles, because Haigh’s drops large dollops of chocolate into trays filled with multi-coloured nonpareils (manufactured by Dollar Sweets in Melbourne). It’s labor-intensive and requires strenuous cleaning of conveyor belts and other work surfaces before another type of chocolates can be produced.

Therefore, speckles production is accelerated through summer before ceasing during January for a three-month focus on Easter chocolate production – which ensures that Haigh’s still produces about 14 million speckles each year.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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