Telina Menzies came to my attention through her Instagram stories and posts. She posts photos and stories about food and the great people who surround her and her two French bulldogs. You can tell from her posts that she loves what she does and has a heart for the hospitality industry and the mental health of those who work within it. You can also tell from her posts that she is a down to earth no-nonsense person and when I got in touch to ask whether she’d like to be part of Conversation with a chef and we had a chat over the phone, I immediately felt like I’d made a new friend. Then I started reading more about Telina and she really just gets more and more impressive. For a start, she has won multiple awards for her cooking including Chef of the Year, Apprentice of the Year and Nestle Golden Chef’s Hat. She is Executive chef for the Australian Venue Co. group and oversees 30 venues. She is an ambassador for Fonterra’s Proud to be a Chef program and is currently overseeing Meals for Hospo, an initiative that sees hundreds of meals delivered to hospitality staff every week. While she’s proud of these achievements, and rightly so, what drives her now is mentoring the next generation; inspiring them and ensuring that the industry is in good hands.