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March 1, 2026

Gold Medals, MasterChef and Terroir: Inside the World of Kirsten Tibballs

Gold Medals, MasterChef and Terroir: Inside the World of Kirsten Tibballs
Gold Medals, MasterChef and Terroir: Inside the World of Kirsten Tibballs
Sensing Up, with Valérie Henbest
Gold Medals, MasterChef and Terroir: Inside the World of Kirsten Tibballs
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Season 4
  • Show Notes
Valerie Henbest talks with chocolate royalty, Kirsten Tibballs, about her path from teenage apprentice to gold-medal-winning pastry champion and MasterChef Australia favourite.
They unpack the pressure of live competitions, the making of The Chocolate Queen TV series and how terroir, fermentation and farming shape the future of chocolate.

Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School

In 2002, Tibballs founded Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School. Tibballs cited the local Australian market as "lagging" compared to the European market and so wanted to open an institution that offered the resources for Australian pastry chefs who could not afford to travel to Europe. As the owner and director of Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School, Tibballs runs the business. The school teaches a variety of classes on chocolate and patisserie.

In 2013, Kirsten Tibballs expanded the Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School by launching an online platform featuring video tutorials designed for a global audience.[6] By 2024, the Savour platform hosts a comprehensive library of over 550 online classes.

Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School has hosted numerous world renowned, industry-leading guest chefs who have conducted both hands-on and online classes.
https://savourschool.com.au/about/

The Chocolate Queen Television Show

The Chocolate Queen, a show aimed at home bakers, features accessible recipes along with innovative chocolate tips and techniques. The series, hosted by Kirsten Tibballs, premiered in 2018 and was broadcast both in Australia and internationally. Its success led to four additional seasons and the show was broadcast across 89 countries.
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/the-chocolate-queen

Cookbooks

Kirsten Tibballs has authored three cookbooks. In 2012, she self-published Chocolate to Savour, which won the Best Photography Cookbook of 2012 award from Gourmand in the UK. In 2016, Tibballs released her second cookbook, Chocolate. In 2023, her third book, Chocolate All Day, was published.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Chocolate-All-Day-Recipes-indulgence/dp/1922616885

Sensing Up, with Valérie Henbest

A wine, cheese and food podcast hosted by Valérie Henbest, Chevalier of the National Order of
Agricultural Merit. Sharpen your tastebuds, fine-tune your eardrums and listen with all five senses.

Join Valérie to explore the stories, the producers and craft behind exceptional food and wine, from the Good Food & Wine Show to conversations with winemakers, cheesemakers and chefs shaping Australia's food scene.

Valérie is the founder of Smelly Cheese Co., importing and curating cheese from small producers around the world from her home at Adelaide Central Market. Sensing Up features luxury food recommendations and practical wine and cheese pairing that you can recreate at home.
Sensing Up - a podcast of 'ideas worth tasting'.

Shop: https://smellycheese.co • Instagram: https://instagram.com/smellycheeseco • Facebook:
https://facebook.com/SmellyCheeseCo

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