Mark Olive joins the weekly g

Celebrated Indigenous chef and cultural ambassador Mark Olive, has joined G Fuel Productions TV program, the weekly g.

Known for his work on television’s The Outback Cafe and the book published alongside this, Mark, known as “the Black Olive”, is pleased to be able to bring his unique take on food to the weekly g. He hopes to mix his considerable talent as a chef, with contemporary Indigenous cuisine and chefs from around Australia who can marry their talent and cuisines to Mark’s.
“I think the modern flavours of contemporary Indigenous cuisine are unknown to many” says Olive, “it’s not about chucking a lump of roo on the barbie and calling it Indigenous cuisine,” he says

Executive Producers of the weekly g, Serena Ryan and Kirk Goodsell, are excited to have Mark Olive as part of their new team, with the program going into production for Season One in March.

Ryan states “the weekly g is all about lifestyle, and whilst it is targeted at a gay and lesbian audience, it will appeal to a very broad audience.

“With our focus on family, lifestyle, food, travel and relationships, we felt Mark was the perfect fit for the weekly g, especially as an openly gay Indigenous man. His talent and skill in front of the camera will certainly add to the diverse mix we have in our new production.”

Kirk Goodsell adds:

“We learnt a lot from our pilot episode and have spent considerable time developing our new ‘on air’ team to make it a more realistic mix of the gay and lesbian community. The pressure is off Serena and I as presenters, allowing us to develop the program, the scripts and the new on air talent. We know that the weekly g will appeal to a very wide demographic and whilst it is tailored for a gay market, there is so much in the program that will appeal to a broader audience. Having Mark as part of that mix is very exciting.”

Mark Olive is Australia’s first high profile Indigenous chef. Hailing from the Bundjalung people near Wollongong in NSW, Mark has been a Melbourne man for 12 years and has worked with Tourism Australia in promoting the culinary wonders of Indigenous cuisine. Taking part in a world tour in 2007 with Tourism Australia’s Indigenous Roadshow, he travelled to Toronto, London, Milan, Paris, Utrecht and Berlin and hosted dinners to critical acclaim in Munich, Toronto and Berlin, shattering the myths that exist around Australia’s cuisine of the “meat pie and beer” widely held internationally.

The weekly g is soon to commence filming its first four episodes with the hope of airing on Australian TV later in the year.
“The program has gay, lesbian, heterosexual and now Indigenous presenters, exploring the everyday lives of gay and lesbian Australians, as well as profiling some of the those people that contribute so much to our community,” says Serena Ryan.

Kooki PR has been engaged to manage the media and publicity for the weekly g.
“We felt it was time to bring an agency into the mix to assist us with our media and publicity, and Kooki PR is the perfect fit for the weekly g,” says Goodsell.
“They combine energy, fun and diversity with results, which mirrors the philosophy of the weekly g.”