Reeson will be doing a cooking demonstration at around 2.30pm on Saturday in the stage area at the River Festival.

Reeson, the irrepressible star of Alive and Cooking, whose effervescent and down to earth personality, brings unrivalled fun to the kitchen and inspires with his uncanny knack of bringing together scrumptious cuisine and everyday simplicity.

He has produced a staggering amount of television, more than 800 episodes.

Extremely passionate about his cooking, James loves to use     fresh quality ingredients.

He has an energetic and inspirational style that will encourage any home chef and is sure to have the same effect at Saturday’s river festival.

His passion to create delicious dishes really is contagious.

Reeson had his first foray into the food industry as a 15-year-old.

A  summer stint in a French restaurant in his hometown of Bristol,  England, sealed his fate for a  culinary career. “…exotic flavours, soaring heat and a frantic pace…I was hooked!”

James gained his qualifications, then took off for travel adventures  and to hone his skills across Europe.

He worked in restaurants on the Champs-Elysees, St Tropez,  Cannes, Rome and all over the Mediterranean on private yachts.

A colourful career enjoyed with on occasion, cooking for royalty, dignitaries and politicians.

Despite dabbling in a variety of other careers, as a stunt man, model and motorcycle courier, James always returned to his first passion of food.

Upon setting foot on Australian turf, James knew he had found his Nirvana and soon became an Australian citizen.

“Australia felt like home...amazing people, excellent produce and awesome surf!” he said.

James then built and ran his own cafe bistro and catering company in Melbourne.

This is where he was discovered by the ABC and given his first series, ‘The Occasional Cook’.

With over 35 years of culinary experience and the last 10 years as a prominent celebrity chef, his work spans various media publications, radio and TV appearances and live demonstrations.

Alive and cooking is James’ third cooking program.

He has starred in “James Can Cook” and “The Occasional Cook” airing on the ABC and BBC worldwide network.

Currently James is about to start filming a ninth series of the successful “Alive and Cooking” which features on the WIN network, Channel 10 (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane Adelaide and Perth), and Imparja and in many overseas countries.

James currently lives in Wollongong with his wife Josie and two young children, Dylan and Mia.

“My philosophy is to make cooking approachable for everyone, with the end result in mind, the family table. I want to encourage everyone to get in the kitchen with family and friends, have fun, celebrate and share a feast,” he said.

Series eight of Alive and Cooking is currently airing, with James taking food from the garden to the kitchen, from the ocean to the plate.

Filmed on location at some of the country’s top food and wine regions as well as in James’ kitchen, he prepares a feast of delicious dishes for the occasional cook and cooking expert.