latest project
“My Friend Bazza”
Food, fun, and a little chaos is always on the menu with my friend Bazza!
.png "Bazza")
Bazza, a cheeky, junk-food-loving wombat, and his best mate Pepperoni lead the team alongside Coder and Millie on messy, hilarious adventures to solve food mysteries and uncover the succulent secrets of eating well.
My Friend Bazza is a 2D-animated series for children aged 5-8, designed for the “bridge” audience and family co-viewing. It delivers fun, character-driven storytelling while introducing children to the foundations of food literacy at a pivotal stage in their development. Sitting at the intersection of science, storytelling, and wellbeing, the series aims to empower children to build meaningful and joyful relationships with food, encouraging them to slow down, look more closely, taste deeply, and connect with theworld that nourishes them. Blending humour, adventure, and heart, My Friend Bazza reframes food as more than fuel. It becomes a pathway to health, connection, community, and overall well-being.
Current development stage: Late development
Target audience: 5-8year olds
Meet the Snack Pack
Bazza Junk-food-loving Aussie wombat!
Bazza is our lovable, fast-food craving wombat whose impulsive choices fuel the team’s funniest disasters. With his laid-back charm, lack of self-control, and unpredictable “zoomies”, Bazza is chaos on four legs. At 2'2", Bazza is a relentlessly cute furball packing six feet of completely unearned confidence. Though endlessly curious, mischievous, and prone to the occasional smelly slip-up, his sharp wit makes him impossible not to love. Alongside his inseparable best friend Pepperoni, the pair operates as a modern-day Scooby and Shaggy, confidently blundering from one chaotic mess to the next. Despite his fast-food cravings, Bazza surprises with flashes of wisdom and heart, proving every misadventure is a step toward learning.
Pepperoni (aka. “Pepper”) Sweetest, cheekiest troublemaker
Pepperoni, “Pepper,” for short, is a lively Aussie kid with a cheeky streak a mile wide. Mischievous and always ready with a prank, Pepper thrives on chaos, often pulling the Snack Pack off track and into trouble. Best buddies with Bazza, the pair are the show’s silly duo, echoing Shaggy and Scooby with their junk-food cravings and slapstick disasters. Though his bad habits and shortcuts cause endless mayhem, Pepper’s charm makes him hard not to love. With Mary V.’s guidance, he slowly learns that good food can be fun, sustainable, and smarter than fast food.
Millie Sporty, fast and fearless
With her love for netball, skateboarding, and anything that keeps her moving, Millie is the team’s energetic powerhouse. She brings a hands-on, physical approach to solving problems, whether sprinting, climbing, or cycling at top speed to save the day. While her athletic confidence shines, Millie secretly struggles with academics, often feeling out of her depth next to Coder’s smarts. Yet her determination, teamwork, and “Mission Impossible” style stunts make her a vital part of every adventure. Millie shows kids that everyone has different strengths, and that determination can be just as powerful as brainpower.
Coder The Snack Pack’s Brainiac!
Coda is a brilliant kid, and he knows it. His passion for facts, farming, and food science are enhanced by his impressive technical abilities. Thriving on research, problem-solving, and gadget building, Coda has fast become the group’s tech expert, often with something up his sleeve that’ll save the day. However, his genius is sharply undercut by his physical shortcomings. Not quite grown into his lanky body, Coda’s confidence is often cut down by his own clumsy mishaps, often finding himself in socially awkward situations. Over the series, Coder helps the audience learn that knowledge is power, teamwork matters, and sometimes the smallest ideas can save the day!
creators Statement
“My Friend Bazza,” where food, fun, and a little chaos is always on the menu, stems from a deep love of the land, my childhood on our family farm and the profound connection that I had with my father, a true farmer! It wasn’t a conscious choice, but an immersion into the very essence of eating well and off the land - principles woven into the fabric of my upbringing. This connection fuels my vision for this animated children’s TV series bubbling with authenticity, quirkiness, and heart.
This isn’t just a nostalgic dream; it’s a vision also shaped by my work as a specialist outdoor educator and founder/coordinator of the ‘Slow Food Snail Kids’ program. Witnessing how connecting children to the origins of their food sparks curiosity, joy, and understanding has reinforced my commitment to fostering food literacy.
Presenting the program at the Slow Food International Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy, in 2022 and 2024 underscored the global relevance of this Mission. My journey, though seemingly meandering, has consistently led me to this point. My foundation in medical science and clinical embryology instilled a deep understanding of health and wellbeing at a cellular level, while my transition to outdoor education revealed the transformative power of nature and experiential learning. Nearing completion of my HDR Masters in Science, my research - ‘Slow Food, not fast food: Qualitative process evaluation of the Slow Food Snail Kids Education primary schoolchildren’, provides an invaluable lens into children’s perspectives on food, ensuring the series is authentic and credible.
I believe this project can empower children to make informed, nourishing food choices. ‘My Friend Bazza’ will be a vibrant, emotional, and playful journey, connecting kids with local farmers, their communities, and the very source of their nourishment - inspiring a lasting and delicious change.
- Di Seels, Slow Food Snail Kids Program Coordinator
I believe this project can empower children to make informed, nourishing food choices. ‘My Friend Bazza’ will be a vibrant, emotional, and playful journey, connecting kids with local farmers, their communities, and the very source of their nourishment - inspiring a lasting and delicious change.
- Di Seels, Slow Food Snail Kids Program Coordinator
My Friend Bazza blends humour, food literacy and heart — helping children form joyful, lasting connections with real food.