Get in touch
Come and talk to us about your vision and we will get to work to bring your ideas to life in ways you can’t imagine.
The Team
MARK JANKEL
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mark is the exponent and driving force of The Food Initiative’s primary objective - to deliver edible emotion in every bite. Mark’s creativity and imagination bring our events to life in new and inventive ways and his love of people ensures that every client is treated with absolute love, care and attention. Mark’s approach to cooking is defined by flavour and quality of ingredients paired with a talent to present food with simple refinement and style.
LILY IMSCHOOT
HEAD OF EVENTS
It is impossible to come across a more passionate, detailed, meticulous, dedicated, hard working, lovely, empathetic and funny foodie event machine. Lily pours her heart and soul into everything she does, she loves people and is ridiculously passionate about food and sustainability. Lily is like a fusion reactor supplying the energy in the team that drives us to excel in everything we do, we love Lily.
CHARLOTTE HUMPHREY
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Charlotte has become part of the family over the last two years. She is a total perfectionist when it comes to the planning and execution of our events. Charlotte pours years of experience, love and passion into every event - it is such a pleasure to watch her work. Together with Lily she makes a rock solid duo - you genuinely couldn’t find a more meticulous and uncompromising pair.
GARRETT O’BRIEN
EXEC CHEF
Garrett and Mark have worked together and been great friends for the last fifteen years. Their food philosophies are very much aligned: they strive for culinary perfection using quality ingredients with immense care and attention to deliver elegant, refined and simple dishes. Garrett’s calm aura and wise approach drives the team and gives them the environment in which to deliver perfectly executed food at every event.
JOHN MADDEN
HEAD CHEF
John has worked for the last seven years with Mark, in which time he headed up Mark’s prep kitchen for five years and has become a great friend. John’s meticulous and thoughtful approach to cooking ensures that every element of every dish is perfectly executed - he is immense. Not only is John an exceptional chef but he is such a lovely guy who unites the team and creates a friendly and relaxed vibe in the kitchen.
BRANDON THERON
ACCOUNTS
We are lucky to have an accountant who is such a foodie - we usually spend more time talking about our latest event and the food we served than the numbers, but that is the way we like it. With more than fifteen years of accountancy and bookkeeping experience Brandon has streamlined the process with the latest tech, and he makes an awesome vegan brownie!
Darren Hobbs
FRONT OF HOUSE STAFFING PARTNER
Darren is professionalism and attention to detail personified, his relentless drive to plan and execute extraordinary events is paired with twenty years of experience in the top echelon of the global event world. We have become family and work closely with Darren and his awesome team at Splendid to select the perfect front of house team for every event.
Work With Us
Our people are the biggest part of what we do, helping to translate our clients ideas and always going above and beyond to make sure our guests have an extraordinary experience. It’s what makes us different.
Being part of the The Food Initiative family requires creativity, charm, confidence and a natural instinct to strive for excellence in every part of your work. You’ll be working on unique and incredible events that you will be very proud to be a part of.
If you are professional, committed, creative and driven to deliver incredible events then we’d love to hear from you.