Many regard Vic Cherikoff as a visionary due to his passion for and commitment to commercializing his selection of over two and a half dozen traditional Aboriginal food and medicinal resources as the basis of an authentic Australian industry.

He has also taken the foods and re-engineered them into more contemporary ingredients (concentrates, encapsulates, extracts, emulsions etc) ideal for the growing list of innovative manufacturers who use them and recognise the value in embracing the newest flavours from the oldest living culture on the planet.

Vic Cherikoff is also the host and Executive Producer of a new concept, television cooking show, called Dining Downunder ™, in which the many unsung heroes of the kitchens in lesser known restaurants around Australia get to showcase their under-promoted offerings. Vic and two celebrity chefs on the show put their own uniquely Australian twist on dishes inspired by the places they visit around the country.

Vic Cherikoff has written two landmark books on Australian foods; The Bushfood Handbook and Uniquely Australian, A Wild Food Cookbook. His newest and most recent book on the TV series, The Dining Downunder™ Cookbook (co-authored and co-produced with Benjamin Christie) continues the spread of his enthusiasm for indigenous foods to gardeners and professional growers, foragers and foodies, cooks and chefs and academics to exporters.

Additionally, through school and trade curricula which he has written, an authentic Australian cuisine is being taught to both qualified and apprentice chefs who are the future of a maturing and globally recognisable Australian cuisine.

He has also coordinated Australian promotions, recently in partnership with Benjamin Christie, in many international hotels in Asia and Europe and continues to use this means to spread the word on our rising food style.

The motivation and untiring commitment behind Cherikoff Food Services is Vic’s vision that both, Australians and other cultures will soon learn to seek out and appreciate those wild and unique flavours which make our unique cuisine modern and distinctive. This has provided continuing opportunities for Aboriginal communities in remote regions with involvement in supply chains, cultural promotions, social benefits and a growing pride in contributing to world food.

Authentic Australian ingredients are the one influence unifying the many food fads of contemporary, multi-cultural Australia and he sees the spread of his ingredients around the world as the natural result of a twenty-first century Spice Trade. Whereas in the past, this trade fuelled the exploration of the planet, thanks to Vic Cherikoff’s efforts, we are now in a position to explore the new and exciting flavours that this ancient continent has to offer the culinary world.

For more information or to contact Vic Cherikoff, visit www.cherikoff.net