Straight To The Source

Celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge shares his journey from Dublin to Australia, building award-winning restaurants, television, family, mental health and the future of hospitality.

People think they know Colin Fassnidge. The TV chef. The Irish larrikin. The straight-talker.

But behind the television career is a chef who built his reputation the hard way, through Michelin-star kitchens, iconic restaurants, financial pressure, family lif...

After more than two decades in hospitality, Amelia Birch has built a business that reflects exactly what she believes in.

Amelia is the founder of Famelia, Australia’s only wine bar and bottle shop dedicated exclusively to championing women winemakers and women-led wine businesses. But her journey to Famelia was far from straightforward.

In this episode of Straight To The Source, Amelia joins Lucy Allon to share how losing he...

In this episode of Straight To The Source, Tawnya Bahr is joined by professional game harvester Rob Gallina, founder of Australian Bush Harvest, and chef, hunter and founder of Bush River Kitchen, John Ralley.

Together they unpack one of the biggest developments in Australia's wild food industry: the approval of Australia's first mobile game meat processing facility, creating a fully traceable, ethical and sustainable supply chain ...

Chef Anna Polyviou doesn't do anything by halves. In this episode of Straight To The Source, host Tawnya Bahr sits down with the bold, unapologetic pastry chef behind Anna's Mess, the dessert that captures exactly who she is.

Anna opens up about her wild start as a hungover, almost-fired apprentice at Hotel Sofitel, and how a pastry competition (which she lost) changed the entire trajectory of her career. From there, she went on to...

What does it take to quit the comfort of Sydney's eastern suburbs, pack a single bag, and talk your way into one of the world's best restaurants, without speaking the language? For Remy Davis, it just takes curiosity, the right contacts, and a willingness to scrub stairs with a metal scourer until you've earned your spot at the fire.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Tawnya, Remy traces his journey from shucking oysters at Ott...

What does it look like when fifth-generation farming meets modern food entrepreneurship? For Sue Heward of Singing Magpie Produce in Monash, South Australia, it looks like sun-dried Smyrna quinces, semi-dried black and white figs, vine-ripened Shiraz grapes dried on the vine, and artisan gift boxes that tell the full story of the Riverland.

In this rich, grounded conversation recorded on the Heward family orchard, Tawnya Bahr sits ...

What happens when a little girl collecting bush fruits in outback New South Wales, not knowing she was poor, just knowing she was rich in country, grows up to launch the first-ever Australian Native Food Festival and win the most prestigious trailblazer award in the industry? You get Sharon Winsor.

In this extraordinary conversation, Sharon joins Tawnya Bahr to tell her story with radical honesty: the stillbirth that cracked her op...

In this episode of Straight To The Source, Lucy Allon sits down with one of Australia's most respected drinks voices, Mike Bennie. A journalist, wine judge, educator, and co-founder of P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants, Mike has spent decades tasting, writing about and championing Australian drinks culture.

From emerging wine trends and changing consumer habits to the rapid growth of the non-alcoholic category, Mike shares his unique...

After more than a decade at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Chef Alex Prichard is trading Bondi for Berry with the launch of Sara Dining & Garden, a produce-driven restaurant grounded in farming, sustainability and regional hospitality on the NSW South Coast.

In this conversation, Lucy Allon sits down with Alex to discuss the realities of opening a farm-led dining destination in today’s economic climate, why chefs need a de...

In this episode, Tawnya Bahr talks with Amber Doig, an impressive chef and quiet achiever about ego, culinary instinct, seaweed, and why attitude will always beat talent. 

Amber Doig left Christchurch at 17 for Australia. Twenty-something years later, she's worked alongside Alex Stupack, Chef and Co-Owner of the Empellón restaurant group based in New York City, and is now quietly reshaping how Sydney eats Mexican food.

This is...

How do you compete in a Chef of the Year culinary competition when you can't taste a single thing on the plate? For chef Naomi Lowry, the answer is muscle memory, decades of instinct, and an industry that showed up for her in ways she never expected.

In this candid conversation, Naomi joins Tawnya and Lucy to trace a career built on anything but a straight line, from a pub kitchen in the UK to Sydney's finest restaurants, a breast ...

Some kids find trouble. Simon Sandall was very, very good at it. He starts on the streets of Rugby, England, where he was, by his own cheerful admission, heading nowhere fast. What pulled him back? Food. And forty-one years, a few broken noses, a life-threatening health crisis, and one extraordinary Valentine's Day later, he's the Executive Chef and Owner of Boronia Kitchen, cooking on his own terms, and loving every minute of it.&...

Today, we’re going straight to the source of extra virgin olive oil. Host Tawnya Bahr sits down with two experts who know Australian extra virgin olive oil inside and out: Dr Joanna McMillan, a leading nutrition scientist, and Tom Hitchcock, Executive Chef at the iconic Spirit House.

From the science of polyphenols and why “extra virgin” matters, to bold culinary moves like wok frying and olive oil sorbet, Joanna ...

If you think fibre is boring, this episode might just change your mind.

Dr Joanna McMillan, one of Australia’s leading nutrition scientists and dietitians, is on a mission to make fibre sexy again. With her new book The Fibre Factor, she unpacks why this overlooked ingredient and nutrient is key to gut health, heart health and overall wellbeing, and yes, it helps us all have a good bathroom experience! 

In this episode o...

Chef Jerry Mai: Turning Up the Heat on Heritage

If bold, punchy and unapologetic food is your preference, this episode delivers.

Born in Vietnam, Chef Jerry Mai grew up surrounded by a mother’s love expressed through food. It was an upbringing in which food became more than something to cook; it evolved into identity, culture, and memory.

Chef Jerry Mai did not simply inherit recipes. A new expression of those traditions cont...

What do you do when you’re left with 200 litres of cream? If you’re Pierre Issa, better known as Pepe Saya, you churn it into cultured butter. 

Pepe’s first batch back in 2009 was, in his own words, “dreadful”. But instead of walking away, he kept churning. Seventeen years later, Pepe Saya butter is served in top restaurants, stocked in premium retailers, flown business class on Qantas, and is now...

After six transformative years cooking in Los Angeles, chef Monty Koludrovic has returned to Australia. 

In recently announced news, he will spearhead a highly anticipated new steakhouse at Crown Melbourne, celebrating the very best of the Australian meat industry, from provenance and producers to exceptional cuts and craftsmanship.

Now back on home soil, he shares what it’s like adjusting to life down under again, and w...

Chef and restaurateur Somer Sivrioğlu has always cooked between cultures, and right now, he’s doing it louder than ever. From opening Hamsi Taverna at the iconic Sydney Fish Market to judging 200 episodes a year on MasterChef Turkey, Somer is redefining what modern Turkish cuisine looks like across continents.

In this episode, we unpack:

• The vision behind Hamsi and bringing Aegean seafood culture to Sy...

If you have flown recently, chances are you have eaten a meal designed by Rob Smithson.

As Head of Culinary at dnata Catering and Retail, Rob leads menu development and culinary performance across one of the world’s largest airline catering businesses. In Australia alone, dnata produces 54 million meals each year and services 250,000 flights across domestic, international and private aviation.

In this episode, we go behind th...