Tobie Puttock heads circular Moving Feast Kitchen
Celebrated chef, author and sustainability advocate Tobie Puttock has officially joined the Moving Feast Kitchen (MFK) at the Purpose Precinct! The MFK, led by STREAT, is all about reimagining Melbourne’s food systems — and with Tobie on board as Innovation Chef, things are really heating up.
If you’ve followed Tobie’s journey — from working alongside Jamie Oliver to championing ethical food practices and mentoring young chefs from all walks of life — this move makes perfect sense. His passion for sustainability, zero-waste cooking and food education is exactly what the Moving Feast Kitchen is all about.
“Food has the power to bring people together, to nourish, and to create lasting change,” says Tobie. “The Moving Feast model – circular, inclusive, community-driven – is exactly the kind of space where I want to cook, teach and collaborate.”
So, what exactly is Moving Feast and why does it have a kitchen? Just in case you need a refresher: it’s a network of brilliant social enterprises that came together at the start of the pandemic to help build a fairer, more connected and regenerative food system in Victoria.
Today, that vision lives on in the Moving Feast Kitchen, where we take perfectly good but unsold produce from the market — think overripe or undersold fruit and veg — and turn it into long-life products that are shelf-stable. In doing so, we’re rescuing that produce from landfill. It is close to zero-waste as well, which means we try to use every last bit of everything — even turning onion skins into a flavour-packed salt mix!
With Tobie building on the great work done by chefs Chris Locke and Fernando Minervini, we’re gearing up for an exciting line-up of cooking classes, events, retail products and other initiatives soon to be announced!
But what Tobie and the MFK team are doing isn’t just a one-off. It’s part of a bigger movement to shift and reshape our food systems. As Matt Elliott, CEO of Queen Victoria Market, puts it:
“We’re expanding our commitment to innovation and community impact at Queen Victoria Market, and the work happening through the Purpose Precinct is central to this.”
He also highlighted how Tobie’s involvement will build on the incredible work already being done by the STREAT crew on-site — including our café, pantry, and the retail sites of the precinct which hosts a wide range of products from over 80 Victorian social enterprises.
As an initiative that directly embraces circular economy principles, the MFK is now part of the City of Melbourne’s new North and West Melbourne Circular Economy Precinct which will support local retail, hospitality and grocery businesses to implement circular solutions.
Councillor Andrew Rowse, the City of Melbourne portfolio head for Innovation and Education, who sees the broader Purpose Precinct as a home for bold solutions to climate and social challenges to be continuously tested and tested to scale.
“The Moving Feast is more science lab than kitchen, and this exciting collaboration will take the public on a hands-on journey to rethink our relationship with our food supply chain, and inspire us to rise to the challenge of not just cooking up ideas, but engineering impact” said Councillor Rowse.
If you’re passionate about fairer food, strong communities, and a better future for all, there’s so much to look forward to at the Purpose Precinct.
Follow along @purposeprecinct (@movingfeastvic) to stay up to date with Tobie’s adventures in the kitchen, upcoming classes, and all the delicious things we’re cooking up. Or book into one of our kitchen classes here.
