Matthew Evans

“I’m super excited to be headed back to Ballarat, and this time for the renowned Begonia Festival where we can talk soil, gardening, growing and of course, the rare begonia’s that Ballarat is so well known for.”

Matthew Evans is a food writer, farmer, television broadcaster and chef.

Based in Southern Tasmania, Matthew lives and works on Fat Pig Farm, a mixed holding where he tends a garden, makes cider, fattens the namesake pigs and tries to entice milk from two full cream dairy cows. Matthew's personal farming journey has been the focus of six series of Gourmet Farmer on SBS, and he's presented two documentaries, For The Love of Meat, and What's The Catch.

Matthew is the author of over a dozen books on food, including the authoritative ethical meat manifesto On Eating Meat, and his latest cookbook The Commons.

He's an advocate for open, fair, accountable food and farming systems, and has pushed for honest labelling so we can all enjoy sustainable seafood.

His latest book SOIL is a hymn to the remarkable, and underappreciated bit of Earth that gifts us life. It's a swashbuckling tale of soil that arms us all with the knowledge and respect to care about its health.

Matthew Evans speaks passionately about the myriad ways that food and farming can frame the future, including food security, soil health and the sequestration of carbon through regenerative methods.

His farming choices are underpinned by a drive for high ethical standards for the land, for the animals, and for the community that drives it all.

Fat Pig Farm regularly hosts education programs teaching ways to make farming more sustainable, ethical, productive and conscious.

Catch Matthew on the Begonia Stage at 10:45am and 2:00pm Sunday 8th March; and at 1:30pm on Monday 9th March.

Topic 1: Soil, the worlds most underrated superhero
Topic 2: Living with the Seasons
Topic 3: What your food ate