| Born | 10 March 1969 Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia |
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Anna Gare is an Australian musician and television personality. She is one of four judges on Channel Ten's reality television program, Junior MasterChef Australia, although she is neither a formally trained chef nor trained cook.
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Anna Gare was born 10 March 1969 in Subiaco, Western Australia[1][2] and grew up in Fremantle. She attended the Lance Holt School, where as a student she ran a canteen for students and staff.
I had a friend who was a year older than me and together every Wednesday we would set up the classroom downstairs as a restaurant. We would have a three-course meal for $1. It was chicken noodle soup, chicken and salad and jelly and ice-cream for dessert.—Anna Gare[3]
She started off her career as a musician when she was twelve[4][5] she formed an all girl band with her sister, Sophie, and two friends, Jodie Bell and Lucy Lemann, called the Jam Tarts.[5][6] The band was managed by their mother, Kate Gare.[5] For ten years the Jam Tarts were a successful touring and recording band within Australia and acclaimed at international music festivals. (performed live on NBC's Today Show, at the 1987 Edinburgh Fringe Festival,[7] toured with Rik Mayall and Jonathon Richman.[8] The Jam Tarts also played as part of a larger band in combination with the Nansing Quartet (a six piece band whose members included Lucky Oceans, Adam Gare and Neale Austin). In 1986 she featured in an Australian film Pursuit of Happiness, as a 15 year old who sings in a rock band and opposes American nuclear submarines being harbored in Australian waters.[9]
Whilst Gare was in the Jam Tarts, she supplemented her rock and roll lifestyle with cooking, where she worked in various restaurants around Australia.[4][6]
In 1991 after a decade of rock and roll, it was time for a change.
At 25 I had two children and didn't feel like doing the rock and roll thing any more – even the thought of playing in a smoky pub (as they were in those days) was not on.—Anna Gare[5]
At this time, she formed a small catering business, Deluxe Catering,[6][10] in 1999, which she continued to operate until June 2007.[11]
In 1993 she had a small role in Stark, a British-Australian television miniseries, based on the bestselling novel Stark by comedian Ben Elton.[12]
Gare also began working in television. She worked on ABC’s Consuming Passions[5] as Ian Parmenter’s assistant, "preparing the dish he had prepared earlier"[10] and was also involved in recipe development and food styling for the series cook book.
In 2004 she was inducted into the Western Australian Music Industry's Hall of Fame.[13]
Following her TV experience with Parmenter, Gare went on to presenting her own cooking segment on magazine chat show called Perth at Five.[5] The program was shot live and ran weeknights for four months. Gare has also presented a documentary on Fremantle, segments on Today Tonight and cooking segments with Perth DIY show Nuts and Bolts.[4] Anna also featured in and narrated a five-part series, Chefs Christmas,[5] for The LifeStyle Channel.[4] The series features various Australian chefs and cooks, who invite viewers into their homes to share their festive entertaining 'secrets'.[14]
In 2007 Gare co-starred with chefs Ben O'Donoghue and Darren Simpson in The Best in Australia on The LifeStyle Channel.[5][10] The show is filmed in her parents home, a converted church, in North Fremantle,[6] the program was positively received and Gare has just finished shooting the second series which premiered on The LifeStyle Channel in August 2010.
Gare was nominated for 'Favourite Female Personality' at the 6th Annual ASTRA Awards in 2008.[5][15]
In late 2008 she was approached by the producers of Masterchef Australia and auditioned for the position of mentor, host or judge on the show. Gare however pulled out of the audition process deciding to spend more time with her family rather than participating in the show, which was being filmed in Sydney.[16] She has subsequently appeared as an additional judge on the first series of Junior MasterChef Australia. The series premiered on 12 September 2010.
Gare has two children and her current partner is former Australian and NBA player Luc Longley.[5][10][16][17]
Gare's sister, Sophie, is married to English comedian and author Ben Elton.[5][18]