Jul 1, 2025
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Japan
seen from Türkiye
seen from Ireland
seen from Malaysia
seen from Singapore
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Ireland
seen from United Kingdom
seen from France
seen from United States
ROB LOCKE
ROB LOCKE
ROB LOCKE
ROB LOCKE
Rob Locke of Sydney based food media production company Food Wine Dine, is the man behind many of the most mouthwatering images of Pepe Saya products, and an invaluable member of the Pepe Saya family (not just because he’s the only one who can reach things on the top shelf either). Pepe’s trained writer monkey - Bliss Boaden - had a chat with him about food, social media and life hacks for foodies.
BB: How long have you and Pepe Saya been working together? RL: I’ve been working with Pepe since 2011 when we made a short film about Pepe Saya butter for a series I was doing with Virgin Australia. Since then we have worked on a lot of stuff together and it's been fantastic to see the success and growth of the little butter company that could. Pepe is the great connector and I have met so many fantastic people through him such as Alex Olsson from Olsson's Salt, Chairman John Fairley from Country Valley Milk , Merna from Dessertmakers, Mike McEnearney from Kitchen By Mike and No.1 Bent St, Nick Gorman from Yarra Valley Caviar, John Susman from Fishtales and so many more great producers and chefs. The common thing that all these people have in common is that they are best in class and I think that is reflected in the Pepe Saya products.
BB: Speaking of Pepe Saya products, what is your favourite and how do you enjoy it? RL: I’m a traditionalist. Pepe Saya Salted Butter on a wedge of Mike McEnearney’s bread from Kitchen By Mike.
BB: You take amazing foodie snaps and vids for your clients. What are the 3 pieces of equipment /technology you use the most for your work? RL: Mostly my iPhone…and the iPhone and also an iPhone.
BB: What advice would you give small businesses to help create effective social media? RL: Tell your story. If you can show people what you are doing and what you can offer them they are engaged. Telling the story with great images and videos helps a lot too.
BB: You’re a pro at Instagram. Do you have any hacks you’d like to share? RL: Use keyboard shortcuts to store your hashtags.
BB: Social media is a tricky nut to crack for most brands. Where do you stand on Twitter vs Facebook vs Instagram in terms of what business should be investing their marketing budget in? RL: Invest it in good content...without that, it doesn't matter how much you spend on advertising and marketing, it's probably not going to work.
BB: Finally, what do you think the next big thing in Australian food will be? RL: 2 things. 1. Producers as the rock stars of food. Without them we are nothing.
2. Hopefully certain government organisations having faith in the chefs we have here, the producers we have here and the level of dining options we have in Australia at all levels (not just at the high end). I'm a strong believer that this trend of importing overseas chefs to open restaurants for short periods to educate us and the world about Australian food is wrong. We have enough great people in this country who can do that very well. I can't imagine a French or US government agency paying a lot of money to an overseas chef to come and do the same in their country. If we build the profile of our producers, chefs, restaurants and food destinations on a national and worldwide basis, that is something far more valuable for us in the long run, rather than filling the pockets of others who leave us with not much more than pretty Instagram photos when they depart.
You can follow Rob on instagram @foodwinedine and make sure you check out his website with snappy short films about all types of interesting local and international food producers www.foodwinedine.com
As the temperature drops, chefs await one very special ingredient. But finally the wait is over, as the Australian winter truffle season kicks-off. From mid-June through to September, Duncan Garvey of Perigord Truffles, gets his hands dirty, digging-up truffles from Tasmania to New South Wales. While chefs pander over the 'black-gold', Duncan is determined to show-off how easy it is to use truffles at home. In the ultimate collaboration, Duncan has joined forces with Pierre Issa of Pepe Saya butter. Truffles and butter? Now we're talking! Fresh truffle shavings are mixed through Pierre's hand-churned, cultured butter. Made from 100% Australian cream from Country Valley Dairy in Picton, Pepe Saya butter is cultured over a two-week period, churned and then shaped by hand. From steak to sourdough, Pepe Saya Perigord Truffle butter is the perfect introduction to home-cooks who are keen to have their first taste of truffles, as well as true truffle aficionados.
The video attached was produced by Rob Locke, you can check out his food videos at http://vimeo.com/channels/glimpseentertainment