The Banquet

Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov is the Head Chef of Fervor. Yoda established Fervor to give back to his community by connecting people to local ingredients. Many of these have been marginalised because of food inequalities. Passionate about sustainability, First Nations rights and local excellence, Yoda has trained many young chefs in the pleasures and challenges of high end cooking, thinking through production and taste along the way. Although he has experience in the world’s best restaurants including time at Amuse (Perth), Noma (Copenhagen), DOM (Sao Paulo), and Pujol (Mexico City), Yoda loves the coastline of Noongar Country, especially near Kinjarling in the Great Southern, and can often be found in the water, his second home.

Tom Daniel is a second generation Swan Valley winemaker, establishing the Chouette brand in 2018 out of the run-down Susannah Brook family winery and vineyard, beneath the ancient owl stone Boyay Gogomat on the overlooking escarpment. With a view to highlight modern Swan Valley wine and focus on natural balance with high drinkability, the old vineyards of the Swan provide a rich cultural base for depth of flavour & style. Tom looks to continue to connect old & new though the lens of tasty wine, food & table.

Chouette is modern Swan Valley wine. It calls on Perth folk to drink hyper-local, with a style that leans into a drinkability the climate demands, while shining a light back on the old vine personality of the heartland of Western Australia’s first wine region, in Whadjuk country. The wines are made with deep respect to both recent and ancient cultural memory of the Swan, while pushing boundaries and driving change for a bright Swan Valley future, and continuing to tell the stories of the growers and personalities of the old vineyards. 

Nic Peterkin comes from Margaret River winemaking royalty. So, it’s hardly surprising that he entered the wine industry. His parents are Mike Peterkin of Pierro, and Shelley Cullen, of the great Cullen dynasty, and his grandparents Kevin and Di Cullen. And it is no surprise that when it comes to making wines, he does it his way. He does it differently. It’s in his DNA.

Nic Peterkin was born with pedigree winemaking blood in his veins, but his own ingenuity and hard work have got him to where L.A.S. Vino is today. Nic has consistently produced wines that push boundaries and show a penchant for his calculated, out-of-the-box style of thinking. Whether it is alternate fermentation vessels, wildly extended time on skins, experimental processes (fermenting grapes in sea water, or using the yeast of native flora, for example).

Nic throws himself at wine with freshness and a vivacity and a curiosity that is catching. To say that the wines are expressive, and individual is true, but it doesn’t quite tell the whole story. These wines have a tendency to extract unexpected descriptors, flavours and experiences from the writer, and the drinker, all the while portraying a classicism and accuracy of site that make them so brilliant.

Fervor is a roving dining experience. It welcomes you to beautiful locations to share in world class cuisine with a sense of intimacy and generosity. Established in 2013 by Head Chef Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov and his partner Stephne Pronk, Fervor is based in the Margaret River region on Wadandi Country in Western Australia. Known for the quality of its produce and local wine, this country is one bounded by white sand beaches and karri forests. From here, Fervor travels to many other places and has hosted events in Kakadu, Kununurra, Esperance, and further afield in Melbourne, Singapore, South Africa and New York. We extend a hand of friendship to all who are interested and share our love of country through the best food and culinary experience on offer.

Jet Kye Chong is an award-winning Perth-based composer, percussionist and researcher. His compositions have been performed throughout Australia, Asia, Canada and the USA. As a percussionist, Chong won the Malaysia Percussion Festival Performance Prize with his own work 'Rev 3', and is a two-time winner of the People’s Choice Award for the Vose Memorial Concerto Prize. 

He has produced 5-star award-winning FRINGEWORLD shows in 2022 and 2023, toured nationally with the Momentum Ensemble, and internationally as Principal Percussion with the Australian Youth Orchestra, recorded works of Myburgh for Australian and UK labels, and recorded with Australian Baroque for ABC Classic.

Izzy McDonald is a WA writer, director and political advocate. Izzy graduated from UWA with a degree in English and Cultural Studies in 2015, the same year she co-founded the award winning independent theatre company Rorschach Beast and directed the company’s premiere show Girl in the Wood. GITW won Fringe World’s Best Emerging Artist and the Melbourne Fringe Ready to Tour Award. That year she also participated in the Australian Theatre for Young People’s National Studio for young writers. 

Her piece Dive was performed in Sydney and published by Currency Press. The following year she wrote, produced and performed in Bus Boy which went on to win Fringe World’s coveted Martin Sims award, the Theatre award, the Best Emerging Artist award and went on to tour internationally to Brighton Fringe. In 2020 Izzy wrote and co-directed French Over in the State Theatre courtyard, being nominated for the Theatre Award that year. Most recently she directed SIT! Or I'll Make You Sit as a part of the Blue Rooms 2022 program winning TBLT Members Choice Winner and PAWA Outstanding Direction of an Independent Production) In 2022 she completed her Honors in Performance Making at WAAPA. 2024 Izzy has completed her residency at PICA for her new project in development Diving for Dust and is continuing to develop this project.