Stefano De Pieri
A gondola on the Murray.
Profile
Stefano de Pieri was born in Treviso, near Venice, and followed his brother, Sergio, to Australia in 1974 at the age of nineteen.
Stefano De Pieri’s passion for food translates into his corporate performances – he is a warm, entertaining and uplifting speaker
Current work
Stefano returned to cooking and fulfilled a great dream by opening his own restaurant. Stefano’s, located in the Mildura Grand Hotel, has won great acclaim from the time it opened, and is one of only four Victorian country eating establishments to be awarded three hats in The Age Good Food Guide Awards.
Previous experience
Politics: Stefano became actively involved in politics at both local and State levels. He joined the staff of Nuovo Paese, an Italian fortnightly newspaper, and became the newspaper’s editor in 1978. However, in the early 1980s he chose to pursue his latent passion for cooking and eventually joined the kitchen of Melbourne chef Raymond Fenech.
In 1984, Stefano returned to politics, joining the Department of Ethnic Affairs in Victoria. There he worked on immigration policy and later became a ministerial advisor working for Victorian premiers John Cain and Joan Kirner. After an attempt to enter Victorian parliament in 1991, Stefano resigned from his position.
Author: Stefano has published three cookery books, two of which were attached to the ABC television series A Gondola on the Murray.
Awards: He has been awarded an adjunct professorship in architecture at RMIT and an adjunct professorship in the humanities at La Trobe University.
Feedback
Stefano De Pieri was an excellent speaker. He spoke from the heart, was passionate about his business and his local community, challenged the audience and ran his presentation in a conversational manner which was both informative and funny.
