Sandy has a remarkable background in food and history that takes her from the professional kitchen to the academic library, from Australia to France and back again.

With a personal culinary library of over 5000 books, including collector’s items ranging from ancient food documents to rare and sought after books, Sandy is a true mixture of ‘foodie’ and academic.

With a Ph.D. in French gastronomic history, Sandy is currently working on a French culinary dictionary, which is soon to be released. In the past, she served as the consulting editor for the award-winning book ‘France, A Culinary Journey’.

A million miles away from the world of books and academia, Sandy is also an experienced restaurateur and chef. At home in Noosa, Sandy is well known for being the owner and head chef at The Blue Dog Café. Her first restaurant ‘Terry’s’ in her hometown of Melbourne is now known as ‘Lynch’s’.

Fluent in French, German and conversational in Italian, Sandy has a passion for all things French. While studying patisserie and chocolate-making at the highly respected culinary academy Lenotre outside Paris, she worked closely with the award-winning master French chef, Joel Bellouet. In fact, on many of Joel’s cooking visits to Australia, Sandy served as his assistant.

Sandy shares her knowledge and skills too. She was featured at the first Melbourne Master Class where she presented a session in chocolate and wine pairing. These days, Sandy passes on her know how through the written word.

An insatiable traveler, she has meticulously journalized every one of her many culinary journeys along with her exquisite photography.

You can read Sandy’s contributing articles on the Kate McGhie web site. If you have any food history questions, Sandy Michell is the person to ask. You can email Sandy your questions at sandy@katemcghie.com.au.