Meg Jessup

My name is Meg Jessup, I’m a third year apprentice chef studying through TasTAFE and working at Country Club Tasmania. I am extremely humbled to be invited as a guest chef to the Scallop Fiesta this year, and am looking forward to sharing my passion for cooking with the North-East community.

I was born and raised in Scottsdale, so this invitation hits particularly close to home for me. By sixteen I knew I wanted to be a chef, and spent the last two years of school committing to attainting my qualifications.

I started my apprenticeship with CCT in 2023, and have done my best to soak up all the knowledge of the chefs around me and learn from their skills.

In 2024, I had the honour of participating in the Nestle Golden Chefs Hat competition for young chefs around Australia and New Zealand. I was lucky enough to win the Tasmanian regionals, and spent 5 days in Melbourne exploring the modern Australian food scene, tasting inspiring dishes and making industry connections with many incredibly talented chefs. While the pressure was intense, the outcomes for participating in opportunities like cooking competitions are amazing for personal growth.

Experiences such as Golden Chefs have begun to shape the way I think about my own food, and being inspired to create unique dishes of my own.

I am very excited to be a part of the Scallop Fiesta this year, and hope I can bring something unique to my demonstration. This will be my first time doing a live cooking demo, so hopefully the nerves turn into nervous energy! I am just so grateful to be recognised by the community I grew up with and look forward to sharing my growth with everyone.

Michael Norton

Originally from Southeastern Queensland, Michael Norton qualified as a chef in 1999. After relocating to Hobart in 2002, he spent the next two and a half decades working through various facets of the Tasmanian hospitality industry. This career allowed for his skills to be utilised and honed across a broad range of settings, including hotels, pubs, guest houses, casual and fine dining restaurants, as well as large-scale catering and festival operations.

Since 2009, Michael has shifted his focus toward mentoring the next generation of chefs. This commitment to training included almost a decade as the Head of Commercial Cookery at Industrylink. In 2018, he joined the teaching staff at TasTAFE, where he continues to work with both apprentices entering the trade and full-time students. His involvement in the industry also extends to a leadership role as the Director of the Tasmanian chapter of the Australian Culinary Federation, in which role he facilitates the local heats for national culinary competitions and regional industry events.

Currently, Michael is balancing teaching responsibilities with preparations for competing as part of the Culinary Team representing Australia at the 2026 Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup. This undertaking allows for a deep dive into the technical details of Modern Australian cuisine, and includes consideration of Australian styles and indigenous foods on a world stage, along with logistics and sustainability.