Before Tim Murray co-founded the edgy fraud-busting equity and macro research house, J Capital, and before he made headlines as the Labor candidate for the NSW seat of Wentworth, he could lay claim to another notable role: introducing China to the cooking of Jamie Oliver.

Murray helped set up a media company that published the leading cooking magazine in China and the bestselling cookbook series. It was illegal for a foreigner to be publishing in China, but others were doing it too, and eventually the business was acquired by Swiss group Ringier, so Murray headed its China operations.