Your MCs for Variety of Chefs
John X
John has enjoyed an extensive career in corporate entertainment, stage, radio, and television in his home state of Tasmania for over 30 years for a variety of companies and organisations - including Variety!
On the mainland stage, John has most recently been playing COWARDLY LION in the Australian touring production of WIZARD OF OZ and has previously appeared as Stewpot in Opera Australia’s South Pacific, Dick Woollnough/Dee Anthony in The Boy From OZ for The Production Co., Mitch in The Threepenny Opera for Malthouse and STC, Spider/Lord Savage in Jeckyll & Hyde for TML in Korea, Mr. Braithwaite in BILLY ELLIOT The Musical for Universal/Working Title, and Pumbaa in The Lion King for Disney Theatrical Productions in Perth, Melbourne and Shanghai.
His Television credits include Bay of Fires (ABC), Tailings (SBS), ROSEHAVEN (ABC), The Kettering Incident (Foxtel), Winners and Losers (7 Network), Tricky Business (Nine Network), Dance Academy (ABC), City Homicide (7 Network) and John Safran's Race Relations (ABC). His Film credits include Ancestry Road (Dark Epic), A Journey Through Time with Anthony (Zhou Xun), Macbeth 1040 AD (Dark Oak), The Sound Of One Hand Clapping (Artist Services) and Back From The Dead (Pocket Money Productions) and his voice can be heard in the films Legend of the Guardians, AUSTRALIA, Daybreakers, Mao’s Last Dancer, Two Fists One Heart, in mini-series for CLEO, False Witness, Scorched, and on TV shows Wild Boys, Rescue Special Ops and Slide.
In 2006 John was nominated for a Mo Award for his role as Pumbaa in The Lion King. John is a Public School Ambassador, an Australia Day Ambassador, a finalist in 2015 Tasmanian Australian of the year, a co-founder/producer and board member of Hobart independent actor’s company Blue Cow Theatre, Big Monkey Théâtre, Legends of Revue and Bawdy Pantos, and a broadcaster on ABC local radio. John is also the former Artistic director of the Australian Musical Theatre Festival.
John frequently performs with Tasmania's answer to the Rat Pack, without hair, CROON.
As a producer of musical theatre, John began his career in the early 90s with a production of Camelot at Hobart’s Theatre Royal. Since then he has produced over 20 musicals with Gilbert and Sullivan Society, X,Wellington Wellington, X and the Theatre Royal Management Board and in 2018 with John X Presents, record-breaking WE WILL ROCK YOU at Hobart’s Theatre Royal that enjoyed a 99% capacity.
Most recently John X Presents produced Tasmania’s first fully professional commercial musical theatre production Richard O’Brien’s ROCKY HORROR SHOW in October/November 2021 breaking all Tasmanian musical theatre records.
Currently, John is in pre-production for ANNIE The Hit Broadway Musical at Théâtre Royal Hobart in October, Big Monkey Theatre’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND and Shakespeare in the Gardens 12th NIGHT in Jan 2025.
Chef Paul Foreman
Paul’s love of cooking began at the ripe old age of nine, with delight at his first magical creation using a sour, sweet Granny Smith apple, cinnamon, sultanas and buttery, flakey puff pastry.
A chef, consultant, and a caterer with over 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Paul’s first formative cooking experience was at Prospect House, where he learnt about the importance of the relationships with growers.
After a few years in WA working at large fine dining establishments, Paul returned to Tasmania to become Head Chef at Gondwana, in a heritage cottage in Battery Point, where he received much recoginition for his menu.
The confidence to experiment, fail and then succeed became his mantra, as fortune favours the bold.
Paul then moved to head up newly established Marque IV, a highlight of his career, receiving much state and national acclaim.
Throughout his career, Paul has cooked alongside greats such as Tetsuya Wakuda, and held the first of the Savour Tasmania dinners hosting Michelin star chefs such as Shane Osborn.
Recently Paul started his own food truck business, Black Box Kitchen and delved into food theatre with his good friend, John X, forming Chef and the Showman.
Presently, Paul is in charge of all things food for the Great Lakes Hotel in the Central Highlands.
For Paul, good food is all about technique, consistency, passion, confidence and of course, the produce.
