Maggie Beer AO is not just an Australian food icon, she’s an essential ingredient in any discussion about food and flavour.

In 1973, Maggie and her husband Colin settled in the Barossa Valley in South Australia.  It was Colin’s vision to enable them to leave Sydney, where Maggie was from, with the intention to breed pheasants.  Colin won a Churchill Fellowship to study game bird breeding in the U.K, Europe and America which led to the concept of opening a Farmshop on the property on their return in 1979, selling direct to the public with Maggie cooking the pheasants and quail to share how special they were.  It only took a year before the Farmshop morphed into the Pheasant Farm Restaurant which went on to become part of Australian food history.

In 1991, the restaurant was awarded the Rémy Martin Cognac – Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year Award; the highest accolade of the Industry.  The restaurant was a resounding success and only closed its doors late in 1993 at the height of its fame due to Maggie’s burn out.

In 1996, Maggie Beer Products was created, with the opening of the Export Production Kitchen in Tanunda where this exciting and popular food brand was born.

Twenty-three years later in 2019, Maggie and Colin sold the whole of Maggie Beer Products to an ASX group called Long Table.  Maggie continues to be connected to the business as an Ambassador and Board Member to what is now called Maggie Beer Holdings.

The Pheasant Farm in Nuriootpa, SA, comprising Maggie’s Farmshop, The Eatery, vineyards, olive orchard, fruit orchard, and Maggie’s B&B Orchard House are still owned and operated by the family.

Maggie has often said she “owes so much to the Barossa; the beauty of the region, the richness of its produce, the belonging, and the sense of community, with such a collective pride in this special part of the world”. During this long and exciting journey, with so much hard work a necessity, there have been many wonderful experiences and Maggie proclaims, “if she had never moved to the Barossa with her husband Colin to pursue his dream, she would never have been given such a life full of possibilities”.

MAGGIE BEER FOUNDATION

Of all the highlights of Maggie’s career, it was being named Senior Australian of the Year in 2010 that led her on a new pathway. After giving a keynote speech at an Annual Conference of Aged Care Homes, Maggie visited many Homes and saw in so many a desperate need for change in the food and dining experience in the aged sector.

In April 2014 Maggie established the Maggie Beer Foundation with a Board of Industry Leaders, Professors, and Health Advisors, all with the belief that beautiful food that gives pleasure and goodness is the key to wellbeing of residents in Aged Care. Maggie feels it is our responsibility as a society to ensure health, happiness, and quality of life for every older Australian.

From the outset, the Foundation’s strategy has been to advocate, educate, facilitate research, and share the latest knowledge and skills required with the Cooks and Chefs who are able to do so much to change the lives of the residents in their care.

Maggie, with her Foundation, has conducted educational Masterclasses for Cooks and Chefs Australia wide and since the first in 2015 have influenced over 350 cooks and chefs, and 160 CEO’s and Managers.

In 2019 the Foundation was awarded a grant to film education modules specifically for the most important skills required for cooks in Aged Care and these are available from the Foundation website. In 2023 the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care is funding further education and training. Maggie says, “The Maggie Beer Foundation is the most important work I have undertaken, and it will be for the rest of my life”.