Scenic Rim Eat Local Month launched its inaugural Young Scenic Rim Eat Local Month Food Ambassador last month, Tamborine Mountain local Alby Pieper.
Alby is the Sous Chef at award-winning Blume Restaurant in Boonah and was selected as the first ever 2026 Young Scenic Rim Food Ambassador.
The Young Scenic Rim Food Ambassador Program is an initiative designed to mentor and inspire the next generation of chefs, connecting emerging culinary talent with the region’s growers and food storytellers.
During Eat Local Month, Alby worked alongside the region’s established Food Ambassadors and learnt directly from the producers and chefs while building lasting connections across the Scenic Rim food community.
Already part of the Blume kitchen under acclaimed chef and Regional Food Ambassador Jack Stuart, Alby represents the next generation of chefs shaping the region’s culinary future.
“I nominated Alby because every once and a while you get a truly passionate and dedicated young chef through your kitchen, who has a lot of potential,” said Blume owner and chef Jack Stuart.
“He has a high and creative skillset and a real yearning for knowledge. We are truly excited for him to have this role for the next 12 months.”
Originally from Tamborine Mountain, Alby spent 15 years growing up in the Scenic Rim before beginning his career in a Mexican food truck, a role he took on ‘just as a job’, before discovering a deeper passion for food that led him to pursue hospitality full-time.
Alby brings a deep respect for Australian produce and a strong connection to local farmers, inspired in part by his grandmother, a farmer in the UK.
‘My nan still tells me I do things wrong,’ he laughs, ‘but she’s been one of my biggest mentors,’ Alby shared.
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