Simon who finished third in the 2019 season of the cooking show, returned to his former stamping ground, Canberra Grammar School, this week to speak to the students, leaving them all well and truly inspired.

Simon, a graduate of the Grammar class of 2004, spoke about the Australian food culture and fighting food waste, as part of the CGS Insight speaker series.

Returning to Canberra for the first time in a decade, Simon reminisced about his fond memories of the school and finding his passion in gastronomy and food sustainability.

He told the students he was planning to open a vegan smokehouse, not because he was vegan, but because he strongly believed that if Australians learned how to make vegetables "sexy", their reliance on meat as the hero of any dish would be reduced and, so too, its environmental impact.

Simon also revealed he was spearheading a marketing campaign with a reduce food waste message .

He told the students that $8 billion of edible food was thrown into landfill every year. Thirty-five per cent of vegetables grown by farmers were binned due to them being too small or "ugly". And the supermarkets threw away a further 35 per cent of produce, he said.

Simon's presentation struck a chord with the students and he was lauded as a great role model for the school.

And while he was back in the national capital, Simon enjoyed some "unbelievably delicious" Thai-Lao street food at Zaab in Braddon.