Fire & Flavour | Toowoomba

Get ready to experience Fire & Flavour, a celebration of red meat and craftsmanship, held alongside the 2025 Darling Downs Beef Battle and proudly sponsored by Tresidder Insurance Brokers, A Gallagher Company.

Join emcee Glenn Flood, renowned kitchen leadership expert and author of Secret Sauce: The Proven Recipe for Kitchen Leadership as he guides you through an unforgettable experience showcasing culinary excellence from paddock to plate. Enjoy a dynamic mix of industry insights and live cooking theatre featuring MLA Corporate Executive Chef Sam Burke, Master Butcher Kelly Payne, and Rob Smithson, Head of Culinary at Dnata Catering & Retail.

Explore the latest trends shaping the red meat sector, watch premium cuts expertly broken down and cooked to perfection, and savour a freshly prepared lunch that celebrates the very best of Australian beef.

INTRODUCING OUR CHEFS

Sam Burke - Corporate chef and foodservice business manager, MLA

Sam Burke is an executive chef and marketing and hospitality operations manager with more than 25 years industry experience working with premium beef, lamb, veal and goat.

Starting out as an apprentice chef Sam worked his way up the catering trade in butcher shops, corporate, leisure and sporting events including the Olympics and Rugby World Cup, before joining one of Australia’s largest commercial catering companies for 20 years.

Trading catering halls for beef and boardrooms, Sam took over the executive chef reins at Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) in 2014 and has since travelled across Australia and the globe promoting and celebrating the quality and diversity of premium Australian red meat to the wider community.

Sam’s expertise in large scale catering environments has enabled him to educate Australian Red Meat users on plate costs, product development and extracting value from the whole carcase. This included working with McDonalds Japan on new sandwich concepts using Australian red meat alongside their traditional burger offerings and enabling other quick service restaurants and retailers to present smaller primal cuts to suit the growing convenience trend.

Globally, Sam has cooked for thousands ranging from trade shows in Asia, wagyu experts in Japan, politicians, sports stars, musicians in Australia and most recently at the Queen’s Young Achievers annual celebration at the Australian High Commission in London.

Sam’s knowledge of red meat spans the entire supply chain, having worked closely alongside farmers, processors, food technology scientists, chefs, restaurant chains, retailers, CEOs and meat traders to understand and celebrate the attributes of beef and lamb to the global chef and foodservice community.

Robert Smithson - Head of Culinary, dnata

Discovering a love and passion for food at the tender age of 15. Rob started his career in a small club in norther New South Wales. Awarded the New South Wales TAFE Award of Excellence in his first year of training, this recognition drove Rob’s aspirations to work with Australia’s top chefs and laid the foundations for what has been – and continues to be – a very successful carea.

Rob returned to his home city of Sydney, taking up a position with Captain Cook Cruises – based on the infamous Sydney Harbour – catering for a fleet of 13 vessels renowned for chartering high profile corporate customers and celebrities. After many years working in the bustling hub of Sydney, and with a burning desire to take the next step in his career, Rob accepted a position with world-renowned hotel empire Hilton, working in their Brisbane hotel.

Mentored by industry leading Chef Rick Stephens, Rob displayed an exceptional level of skill and work ethic, scooping up Hilton’s High Achiever Award coupled with published articles in two industry publications. With a reputation as one of Australia’s up and coming Young Chefs, doors opened for Rob, allowing him to be mentored by many of Australia’s top Chefs, including the likes of Cheong Liew, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Jacques Reymond, Teage Ezard and Matt Moran.

Having achieved what he set out to. 2004 saw Rob take up the position of Chef/Department Manager in the commercial arm f Southern Cross University, working within the corporate Conference Facility. Catering to high profile diplomats and government figures, although very rewarding, was not challenging enough. This prompted Rob to take the next step in his expansive career, joining Dnata in 2006.

Based in Dnata catering’s Brisbane unit, Rob’s talents were quickly recognised, rising through the ranks to Senior Corporate Chef. With the company’s reputation growing to position them as Australia’s leading inflight caterer, Rob was at the helm, heading up menu presentations and airline start-ups. Showing a great aptitude, it wasn’t long before Rob was promoted to General Manager Culinary heading the Culinary and Development Team.

Having been a member of the Dnata catering family for over seventeen years, Rob now heads up the culinary division as Head of Culinary. Leading a team of ten, Rob oversees product design and selection, menu designs and culinary training, whilst also driving & overseeing the culinary innovation of the A0AC businesses.

Career Highlights & Achievements:

Mentored by industry leading chefs: Cheong Liew, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Jacques Reymond, David Pugh, Bruno Loubet, Teage Exard, Alastair Little, Darren Simpson, Guy Grossi and Matt Moran

2011: Guest mentor on MasterChef New Zealand, 2011

2012: Publish in Great Chefs of Australia

2020: Meat and Livestock Australia, Red Meat Ambassador

2021: Industry Champion 2021 Onboard Hospitality Awards

Kelly Payne - MSA Retail Training Facilitator

Never pleased with the “Status Quo” Kelly’s pursuit of Tasty Tender Beef every time has become a lifelong ambition. As the End User Training Facilitator for Meat Standards Australia Kelly has been responsible for implementing the MSA program to the End user sector of the meat Industry.

Training and licensing Hotels, Global Catering, Butchers, Wholesalers, and Independent Supermarkets have been the focus of the End User program over the past 20 years. Prior to this Kelly honed his passion for Beef and Sheep meat owning and running a boutique meat wholesale business as a young man delivering into the Brisbane retail butcher market from a family property on the Darling Downs.

Kelly also had the opportunity to prepare live cattle and long fed carcase for the Japanese market in the early 90’s for one of Australia’s Pastoral Houses. To complete the product circle Kelly implemented a new consumer brand into an independent retail and restaurant supply butchery business supplying retail customers and large restaurants across Queensland.

MEET OUR EMCEE - GLENN FLOOD

Glenn Flood is a renowned chef and kitchen leadership expert, blending industry insight and experience with a passion for empowering people. He has worked across the globe honing his craft, ranging from the ski fields of Canada to five-star hotels, corporate boardrooms, a la carte dining, and Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe. With a thirst for knowledge and a passion for watching others excel, Glenn has forged a path into management and leadership with some of the largest contract catering operations in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Throughout his career, Glenn has worked with some of the most influential figures in the global food landscape, including Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal and the team behind MasterChef Australia. His work extends to partnering with organisations to develop leadership capabilities, build succession plans and align teams for success.

Most recently, Glenn has released a book, 'Secret Sauce, A Proven Recipe for Kitchen Leadership', which dives into the 'high-stakes world of commecial kitchens', guiding kitchen leaders 'to lead with confidence, influence with integrity, and thrive under pressure'.

TSBE Member price: $90 (TSBE Members - login to receive the member price)
Non-member price: $120

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