Applications for Churchill Fellowships are opening 1 March 2023

Food production info session with guest host Paul West

To inspire your application for the 2023 Churchill Fellowship round, you’re invited to attend online live information sessions throughout February 2023, including with hosts Jay Laga’aia, Nova Perris, Leigh Radford and Paul West.

You will hear from Churchill Fellows who working in a range of areas, and you can register for any session. It is not essential that you attend a session that aligns with your proposed Fellowship topic.

If you’re interested in a Churchill Fellowship, you should attend at least one of these live sessions to hear more about the Churchill Fellowship journey, gain helpful advice on how to apply, as well as engage in a live Q&A.

​Registrations are essential, so secure your spot at one or more of these sessions in February 2023 and start thinking about your Churchill Fellowship application now. Applications will open on 1 March 2023 on our website.

​Food production – with guest host Paul West

In this session join host Paul West and Churchill Fellows Gina Dal Santo and Cameron Matthews as they share their Fellowship experiences, impart insights on their fascinating projects and motivate you with what they have achieved since returning to Australia. You will also be able to engage in a live Q&A and gain helpful advice on how to apply.

​Meet our host for this session

Paul West, ​Celebrity Chef, ABC broadcaster and author. Paul West advocates for real food, sustainable agriculture, community and regional living. A trained chef and popular media personality, he is the former host of A River Cottage Australia and has a regular slot on ABC radio.

​Meet our speakers for this session

​Gina Dal Santo is a cheese enthusiast who’s made a career out of bringing that passion to others. A founding cheesemaker and lecturer at The Artisan Cheese Making Academy Australia (ACMAA), which operates as part of TAFE SA, Gina received the Dairy Industry Association Manufacturing Scholarship in 2011 and was a finalist for the VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year Award at the Australian Training Awards, which recognises excellence and initiative in training, a focus on learner needs, and a commitment to VET teaching and learning.

​Gina was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2015 to develop a national centre for cheese education creating a paddock-to-plate Artisan Cheese Industry.

​Cameron Matthews is passionate about creating a blueprint for the Food Service Industry to improve sustainability across key areas including sourcing, society, environment and chefs’ mental health. He has held the title of Executive Chef for a range of iconic restaurants including Brisbane’s Siggi’s Restaurant and Lurleen’s, Sirromet Winery, Mount Cotton. In November 2020 Cameron followed his dream and opened his own restaurant – Winston – a chef in residency pop-up held within the iconic Wasabi restaurant space in Noosa. And in late 2021 he opened newly established Hazelwood Estate’s The Paddock Restaurant.

​Cameron was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2016 to research and develop improved sustainability practices for high end restaurants and food outlets.

​Applying for a Churchill Fellowship

​​A Churchill Fellowship is a life-changing opportunity to travel overseas to explore a topic or an issue you are passionate about. We encourage applications from all sectors of the community and in any field or topic of interest.