Thanks A Million: Aussie chef praised for helping to feed those in need during COVID-19

Brisbane chef Michael Gurney has kept his apron on and is working hard to help feed those in need across Queensland.

Michael Gurney has been a chef for more than 30 years.

But the most satisfying was 2020, when he worked with food relief charity FareShare to help feed those in need due to COVID-19.

The Brisbane chef was nominated in the Thanks A Million campaign by his mate Daniel Reid, who called his one-time neighbour a “bloody legend.”

FareShare began in Melbourne almost 20 years ago, when a pastry chef started using leftover ingredients to make meals for the homeless.

It now distributes meals to hundreds of frontline charities supporting people in crisis in Queensland and Victoria.

Michael Gurney, Production Chef at FareShare, Morningside. Picture: Richard Walker

Mr Gurney joined the charity in 2018 after the restaurant he was working at was sold.

In Brisbane, FareShare operates out of an old serum laboratory in Morningside that ironically used to produce vaccines.

Repurposed as a commercial kitchen, it is the largest raw-to-cook kitchen in the southern hemisphere.

“Before COVID-19 we were producing around 25,000 to 30,000 meals a week,” Mr Gurney said. “But once COVID-19 hit, they were putting out between 55,000 and 60,000.

“And then we lost our volunteers due to the strict COVID-19 restrictions, so it was a challenging time.

“There was a huge demand for meals in 2020; first there were the floods around Cairns in Northern Queensland, then bushfires in Northern NSW and Central Queensland, and then to top it all off, COVID-19 hit. It meant that a lot of people were in need of help for the first time in their lives.”

Michael Gurney joined the charity in 2018 after the restaurant he was working at was sold. Picture: Richard Walker

FareShare works in conjunction with Foodbank Queensland, which distributes the meals to more than 250 relief charities in the state.

On top of that, FareShare identified needy Indigenous communities in places like Goondiwindi, St George and Dirranbandi in Western Queensland.

FareShare is also helped with chef retention by the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH), which is owned by Woolworths.

“The money I earn here is not as much as I used to earn,” Mr Gurney said. “But you can’t compare the job satisfaction I have now. I work with such a diverse group of people; our volunteers include lawyers, plumbers and university students. And we’re a tight bunch.”

Get your free Thanks A Million postcard in today’s paper to send a worthy recipient – it’s postage paid.

To nominate someone and say thanks, go to thanksamillion.net.au and they could receive a $200 Woolworths Gift Card.

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