Brisbane food queen Jan Power dies as tributes flow

Irrepressible Brisbane food queen and founder of the iconic farmers markets Jan Power has died, aged 85, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Brisbane food queen Jan Power has died.

Irrepressible food queen Jan Power is being remembered as “one of the great dames of Brisbane” after her death on the weekend.

Ms Power, who had battled Alzheimer’s disease, was 85.

Art dealer Philip Bacon, a dear friend since the late 1960s, described the founder of the iconic farmers markets as “an absolute one off”.

“She was a socialite, an entrepreneur and one of the funniest women I’ve ever met,” Mr Bacon told The Courier-Mail.

“She was just the best friend to so many people but she was terrifying too – and she always spoke her mind.

“One of the great dames of Brisbane, she threw amazing parties.”

TV chef Alastair McLeod said Ms Power, who hosted his very first cooking demonstration in the late 1990s, was indomitable and had “a great bullshit detector”.

“She would be able to qualify why every single person earned a spot at her farmers market – she loved showcasing our agrarian heroes but at the same time eschewed the shallowness of celebrity for herself,” said Mr McLeod, whose Al’FreshCo Catering was born at the markets in 2013.

QPAC chief executive John Kotzas said Ms Power was “a champion of all that she was passionate about: food, community, connection, Brisbane and the arts”.

“She didn’t do anything by halves and our city is all the better for her unrelenting drive to celebrate all that is great about Brisbane and its surrounds,” Mr Kotzas said.

“She was a mentor to many and a passionate supporter of women in leadership positions.

“Jan played a significant role in helping Brisbane outgrow its reputation as the poor cousin to Sydney and Melbourne in terms of arts, culture and the foodie scene. Jan well and truly helped put Brisbane on the map and her legacy will live on through her markets, a much-loved part of Brisbane’s lifestyle that bring connection and joy to so many.”

Ms Power’s daughter Astrid Gates said her mum was “just fascinating”.

“You never knew what she was going to do next,” said Mrs Gates, 62.

“She was fun, I don’t remember her ever being tired, she’d be up all hours.”

Jan Power, pictured at a 1950s kitchen at City Hall for the 100 stories exhibition in 1997.

Mrs Gates said the last time her mother spoke to her was a few days before her passing on August 31.

“Mum loved yellow flowers and I took her a big bunch of daffodils – she stared at me and just said, ‘marvellous’.

“She loved a bit of theatre and wanted to go out with a big bang, so she waited for Riverfire and when the entire Story Bridge went off, she drew her last breath, at 8pm.

“Mum is finally going to have a rest.”

Ms Power’s other child, former radio personality Sammy Power, tragically died in 2019 at age 55.

Jan Power, known for her razor-sharp wit, was a towering figure in the Queensland food and arts scene and a long-term contributor to The Courier-Mail.

A successful caterer and fabulous cook, her desire to link city and country led her to establish the Jan Power Farmers Markets over two decades ago. They are still running at the Powerhouse in New Farm and at Manly and Mitchelton.

Markets were more than a business to Ms Power – they were in her blood as the great-granddaughter of famous Queensland politician and philanthropist Thomas Charles (TC) Beirne, who ran market stalls in Fortitude Valley in the early 1900s.

Ms Power’s motto was: “Life is uncertain, always eat dessert first.”

Jan Power at the launch of her markets in Albion in 2013. Picture: Peter Cronin

She used to joke that her aim was “to popularise the benefits of apathy and the attractiveness of the Queensland choko; both highly underestimated.”

The flamboyant Ms Power was a huge supporter of the arts.

She served on the board of QPAC from 1991-1998 (including as chair and deputy chair) and in 1977 was appointed the first Cultural Ambassador for the City of Brisbane.

In 1996 she was declared Best Communicator of the Year by Toastmasters and won the Queensland finals of the 1995 American Chamber of Commerce best performer/presenter and was sent on a national tour in a one-woman play dressed as Dame Joan Sutherland, despite not being able to sing.

Ms Power was born Jan Bergen in Glen Innes in northern NSW on May 18, 1939, and grew up on a sheep property in Stanthorpe.

She became a nurse and later qualified as a cook at Le Cordon Bleu London.

Returning to Brisbane with her then surgeon husband, the late John Power, she became something of a socialite and always cut a striking figure at events, with her colourful outfits and shock of bright red hair.

Jan Power qualified as a cook at Le Cordon Bleu London.

But perhaps the greatest insight into the large life of Jan Power is through her own CV, snippets of which daughter Astrid has shared with The Courier-Mail.

“My best qualities are discipline, curiosity and indulgence,” Ms Power writes.

“My long lasting secret is to reinvent myself every five years and to collect and document the foibles of human nature.

”Jan is a regular on the ABC, a TV presenter and newspaper columnist. She is particularly disinterested in exercise, politics and sport.

“She proudly displays a narrow, bigoted and ill-informed attitude whenever possible. She thinks that political correctness is a government plot to replace genuine good manners and a sense of humour.”

Daughter Sammy Power, who died in 2019. Pic Annette Dew

Ms Power died peacefully in her sleep at St Vincent’s Aged Care, Kangaroo Point, on August 31.

She is survived by her daughter Astrid Gates, who runs the farmers markets with her daughters Emily, Olivia and India.

On September 16, a funeral mass will be held at St Agatha’s Church, Clayfield, led by Ms Power’s long-standing friend Fr Peter Dillon, Vicar for Administration for the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

A wake will follow at historic Newstead House.