Épisodes

  • Mike Bennie: The Future of Australian Drinks, Wine Trends & What Every Australian Should Be Drinking

    Mike Bennie: The Future of Australian Drinks, Wine Trends & What Every Australian Should Be Drinking
    Jun 3 2026
    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 perspective on where the drinks industry is heading and why Australia continues to be one of the world's most innovative beverage producers. They also taste chef-turned-winemaker Matt Stone’s first vintage Pinot Noir. Plus, Mike reveals the Australian drinks every wine lover should know about right now, including the local sparkling wines, Grenache producers and Mediterranean varieties he believes are genuinely competing with the world's best. What You'll Hear in This Episode Inside the life of a professional wine critic: From tasting up to 30 wines before breakfast to judging, writing, travelling and staying on top of a constantly evolving global drinks industry. Why Australians are drinking less but drinking better: Mike's perspective on changing consumer habits and why today's drinkers are becoming more selective, more adventurous and increasingly focused on quality over quantity. What makes Australian drinkers unique: Why Australians have developed a deep understanding of wine regions, a willingness to experiment and a refreshing lack of rules when it comes to what they drink. The role of festivals in shaping food and drink culture: How events like Vivid Fire Kitchen and regional food festivals are creating stronger connections between producers, hospitality businesses and consumers. Tasting Matt Stone's first Pinot Noir: Mike shares his thoughts on the inaugural Wines by Matt Stone Pinot Noir and explains why the wine reflects a commitment to finesse, balance and fine winemaking. Why chefs often make great winemakers: The parallels between cooking and winemaking and how some of Australia's most respected chefs have developed a deep passion for wine. The permanent rise of low and no alcohol drinks: Why non alcoholic beverages have moved far beyond trend status and become a permanent part of Australia's hospitality landscape. How the best restaurants approach non alcoholic pairings: Why some of the most exciting drinks innovation is happening outside traditional wine programs, with sommeliers and chefs creating sophisticated alcohol free experiences. Australian pioneers changing the non alcoholic category: The impact of brands like Aaron Trotman’s NON and Heaps Normal, and the producers helping reshape how Australians think about drinking. Global drinks trends Australia should be watching: What Mike is seeing overseas, from wellness beverages and functional drinks to the growing influence of legalised cannabis on alcohol consumption in the United States. Why wine packaging needs a rethink: Mike's candid views on why wine remains tied to outdated formats and how packaging innovation could help the industry better connect with modern consumers. Australian sparkling wine versus Champagne: Why Mike believes Australia's best sparkling wines are genuinely competing with, and in many cases outperforming, some of Champagne's biggest producers. The rise of Australian Grenache: Why Grenache has become one of Australia's most exciting wine categories and how old vine vineyards are helping produce wines that stand alongside the world's best. The Mediterranean grape varieties thriving in Australia: How varieties like Vermentino, Greco and Nero d'Avola are proving better suited to Australia's climate, cuisine and modern drinking culture. The next chapter for craft beer: Why beer drinkers are moving beyond heavily hopped styles and becoming more interested in provenance, farming practices and where ingredients come from. Going straight to the source of drinks: How concepts like provenance, sustainability and producer connection are becoming increasingly important across wine, beer, spirits and non alcoholic beverages. The future of Australian drinks culture: Mike's vision for a more inclusive, collaborative and less gatekept drinks industry that embraces changing consumer habits while continuing to champion innovation. Why hospitality needs broader drinks education: How breaking down the silos between wine, beer, spirits and non alcoholic drinks could create a more knowledgeable and adaptable next generation of hospitality professionals. What the next five years could look like: Mike's predictions for Australian hospitality, from lower alcohol consumption and evolving consumer values to a greater focus on ingredient quality, transparency and sustainability. Follow Mike Bennie, and, P&V Wine & Liquor Merchants: @mikebennie101 @pnvmerchants Watch our short film, Pork To Fork, Grain to Glass, of our Straight To The Source trip taking Mike Bennie & Nik Hill to Voyager Craft Malt & ...
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    43 min
  • From Bondi to Berry: Chef Alex Prichard’s Next Chapter with Sara Dining & Garden

    From Bondi to Berry: Chef Alex Prichard’s Next Chapter with Sara Dining & Garden
    May 27 2026
    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 deeper connection to producers and how regional Australia is reshaping the future of hospitality. Alex’s career has taken him through some of Australia’s most respected kitchens, including Momofuku Seiobo, Sake and The Cut, before becoming Head Chef at Icebergs at just 24 years old. Now, with Sara Dining & Garden, he’s entering a new chapter focused on immersive dining experiences, seasonality and creating a stronger connection between food, land and community. From five-hour daily commutes and failed melon crops to Michelin in Australia and the pressures facing restaurants right now, Alex shares an honest perspective on what it takes to build a modern hospitality business. What You’ll Hear in This Episode Leaving Icebergs after more than a decade Why Alex decided it was finally time to step away from one of Australia’s most iconic restaurants and pursue his long held dream of opening a regional farm to table venueThe road from Bondi to Berry How commuting five hours a day from the South Coast to Icebergs reinforced both his love for the restaurant and his desire to build a life closer to family and communityThe vision behind Sara Dining & Garden The story behind the partnership with Linnaeus Collection and the creation of a destination dining experience built around accommodation, produce, wellness and hospitalityBuilding a restaurant around the land How Alex and his team spent the past 12 months experimenting with crops, understanding the property and learning what can realistically be grown at scale Pretty gardens vs ugly gardens Why designing a working farm that also functions as luxury accommodation required balancing operational efficiency with aestheticsThe harsh realities of farming What happened when Alex attempted to grow melons at scale and how weather, mould and seasonality has reshaped his approach to menu planningWhy 100% local isn’t always realistic Alex’s honest perspective on sourcing, commercial realities and why supporting great Australian producers sometimes means looking beyond your immediate regionAustralian produce and luxury dining Why regional diners shouldn’t have to miss out on exceptional Australian seafood and produce simply because they’re outside major citiesWhy every chef should grow something How harvesting ingredients yourself changes your understanding of waste, labour, value and respect for producersThe rise of regional dining in Australia Why more chefs are leaving major cities and how hospitality migration is reshaping dining destinations across regional New South WalesRethinking the restaurant experience How Alex wants Sara to feel more like visiting someone’s home than dining in a traditional restaurant, with guests encouraged to explore the farm and settle into the experienceThe business realities facing hospitality The pressures of labour costs, shrinking margins, rising produce prices and why restaurants now need a genuine point of difference to surviveSolving regional hospitality challenges How Sara is approaching transport, non-alcoholic drinks and local engagement to create a sustainable regional dining modelMichelin, Australia and staying authentic Alex’s thoughts on Michelin arriving in Australia and why he hopes Australian restaurants never lose their relaxed, egalitarian style of hospitalityThe importance of knowing your producers Why understanding the people behind ingredients matters just as much as the ingredients themselves, and how those relationships shape the way Alex cooksThe future of Australian hospitality Alex’s hopes for the next generation of regional restaurants, young chefs and a more produce-connected dining culture across Australia Follow Alex Prichard, Sara Dining & Garden, and, Linnaeus Collection: @alexsprichard @saradiningandkitchen@linnaeuscollection About Straight To The Source Straight To The Source brings you closer to the chefs, producers, growers and makers across the entire food chain, the people shaping where food is headed and why it matters. Hosted by food experts Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon. Follow, rate and review Straight To The Source to help more people discover the stories shaping Australia’s food and hospitality industry. You can find us: Straight To The Source Food Podcast: https://lnk.to/jBCTBEStraight To The Source Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/straight_to_the_source/ Straight To The Source Website: http://straighttothesource.com.au Tawnya Bahr LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr/ Instagram: @tawnyabahr Email: tbahr@...
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    40 min
  • From Christchurch to Australia: Chef Amber Doig on New York Humility, and Mexican Food Done Right

    From Christchurch to Australia: Chef Amber Doig on New York Humility, and Mexican Food Done Right
    May 20 2026
    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 isn't a rags-to-riches story. It's a story about showing up, getting humbled in a New York kitchen, and realising that where you're from: your mum's single-parent cooking, your Māori heritage, your Pacific roots, is exactly what makes your food worth eating. What You'll Hear in This Episode Food as family Amber grew up surrounded by professional cooking: her mother trained as a chef as a teenager, cooked through her pregnancy, and had Amber in restaurant kitchens by the age of 10, what she calls "young work experience, AKA free labour"Rejected but undeterred When Christchurch's hospitality school turned her away over English and Maths requirements, Amber packed up and moved to Sydney at 17 to start her apprenticeship on her own termsLearning the trade in Sydney From a Rozelle cafe under head chef Christopher Mitchell via the Hospitality Training Network, to six-plus years with mentor Vanessa Martin at Il Piave, Rozelle, the years that built her foundationThe New York epiphany A New Year's Eve ball drop in 2010 became a life-changing encounter with Mexican cuisine at Empellón. Five years later, she went back, this time to workTraining under Alex Stupak Two years cooking across multiple Empellón concepts, including a James Beard event for the launch of Stupak's taco cookbook and ringside seats as Albert Adrià's team cooked at the Push Project dinner collaborationA lesson in humility Why New York was a wake-up call for her ego, and how working alongside elite chefs from around the world completely redefined her understanding of speed, precision, and culinary knowledgeReturning to Sydney with purpose Coming home armed with new techniques, bold flavours, and a fire to show Sydneysiders the real depth and complexity of Mexican cuisineMexican food beyond Old El Paso Why Amber sees her role as partly educational: the origin story of tacos, mole, Oaxaca cheese, tomatillos, and the fact that Mexico gave the world tomatoes, chillies, and cornSourcing the unsourceable The challenge of tracking down Mexican ingredients in Sydney's early days, and how the scene has since transformed with local growers and specialist importers now meeting the demandSeaweed as the next frontier Her current obsession: sea lettuce from Rocky Point Aquaculture, dehydrated for salads, blitzed into powders, and made into furikake-style seasoningsPacific roots on the plate A ceviche-inspired ikamata dish drawing on Māori and Pacific culinary traditions, snapper, coconut, and sumac in equal parts nostalgia and innovationAlmost a decade at Applejack Her role at Butler, her involvement across new openings, and working with Director of Culinary Patrick Friesen on menu development across 13 venuesThe Opera Bar, reimagined How Applejack Hospitality is bringing locals back alongside tourists: Basa Falafel, Vietnamese banh mi, broken rice, Sydney Rock oysters with Fermentalist Habanero Hot Sauce, and a genuine commitment to local producers Follow Amber Doig Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amber_doig_/ About Straight to the Source Straight To The Source brings you closer to the chefs, producers, growers and makers across the entire food chain, the people shaping where food is headed and why it matters. Hosted by food experts Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon. Reach out, leave a review, and share this episode with someone in the industry who needs to hear it. You can find us: Straight To The Source Food Podcast: https://lnk.to/jBCTBEStraight To The Source Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/straight_to_the_source/ Straight To The Source Website: http://straighttothesource.com.au Tawnya Bahr: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr/ Instagram: @tawnyabahr Email: tbahr@straighttothesource.com.au Lucy Allon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon/ Instagram: @lucy_allon Email: lucy@straighttothesource.com.au Keywords: Women in Food, Straight To The Source podcast, Australian chef, Applejack Hospitality Group, hospitality industry, kitchen culture, Sydney, foodpodcast, Australian food producers, chef career advice, Mexican food, Alex Stupak, Empellón Resources & Links James Beard Foundation, https://www.jamesbeard.org/events-overviewApplejack Hospitality Group, applejackhospitality.com.auOpera Bar, Sydney, operabar.com.auEmpellón: https://www.empellon.com/alex-stupak/ Rocky Point Aquaculture, sea lettuce and sustainable Australian seafoodCarriageworks Farmers Market, Sydney's celebrated producer market, home to local artisans, including Marrickville cheese makers Have a ...
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    38 min
  • Salt, Chemo, and Carbonara: Naomi Lowry on Cooking Through the Unimaginable

    Salt, Chemo, and Carbonara: Naomi Lowry on Cooking Through the Unimaginable
    May 13 2026
    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 cancer diagnosis three months after opening her own venue, a stint working in TV, and a second life she's found sixty metres underwater. This is an episode about what happens when the roadmap disappears, and what you build in its place. What You'll Hear in This Episode Growing up around food - Naomi recalls her grandmother's legendary home cooking, her mother's 1980s Connecticut dinner parties, and being the eldest of five kids who helped out in the kitchen by necessityHow she stumbled into chefing - Managing a pub at university with an unused kitchen, Naomi started cooking and never looked backThe leap to Australia - At 21, she sold her car and boarded a flight to Sydney just days after 9/11, much to her mother's horror. That decision shaped the next 26 years of her lifeBreast cancer at 38 - Diagnosed just three months after opening her own venue, Naomi speaks candidly about late detection, the support of the hospitality community, and why she posts a "check your boobies" reminder on Instagram every first of the monthCompeting through chemo - How she made it to the finals of a major chef of the year competition while unable to taste, and what it meant to have her mum there to witness itLosing her best friend to cancer - The spiral that followed, and how therapy and scuba diving helped her find a healthier path forwardThe dive that changed everything - Naomi's other great passion: scuba diving as her form of meditation, complete with a self-imposed tattoo rule that keeps her exploring the world's oceansCicci, Balmain - The Italian wine bar where she's found her home, cooking pasta for loyal regulars who've named themselves "colony director" and claimed their favourite tablesThe secret menu - Carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and zabaglione: dishes not on the menu but always available for those who know how to askMentoring the next generation - Naomi's involvement in the Tasting Success Mentoring Programme, and her concerns about the craft skills - like breaking down whole animals - that are quietly disappearing from kitchensThe chefs who shaped her - Danny Russo, Colin Fassnidge, Giovanni Pilu, James Viles, Jeremy Strode, and meeting Michel Roux Sr (she had to hide in the walk-in freezer to collect herself) About Naomi Lowry Naomi Lowry is a British-born, Sydney-based chef with over two decades of experience in the Australian hospitality industry. French-trained and Italian-inspired, she has worked alongside some of Australia's most respected chefs, including Colin Fassnidge, Giovanni Pilu, Danny Russo and James Viles at Biota. Naomi competed in the Chef of the Year competition. She is a mentor for emerging talent for Lyndey Milan's Tasting Success Mentoring Program, an advocate for breast cancer awareness, and the head chef at Cicci, an Italian wine bar in Balmain, Sydney. You can find Naomi on Instagram, where she posts monthly breast cancer check reminders and updates from the kitchen and the ocean floor. Follow Naomi Lowry: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chef_naomi_lowry/ https://www.instagram.com/chef_vs_cancer/ https://www.instagram.com/cicci.balmain/ About Straight to the Source Straight To The Source brings you closer to the chefs, producers, growers and makers across the entire food chain, the people shaping where food is headed and why it matters. Hosted by food experts Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon. Reach out, leave a review, and share this episode with someone in the industry who needs to hear it. You can find us: Straight To The Source Food Podcast: https://lnk.to/jBCTBEStraight To The Source Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/straight_to_the_source/ Straight To The Source Website: http://straighttothesource.com.au Tawnya Bahr: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr/ Instagram: @tawnyabahr Email: tbahr@straighttothesource.com.au Lucy Allon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon/ Instagram: @lucy_allon Email: lucy@straighttothesource.com.au Keywords: Naomi Lowry, Women in Food, straight to the source podcast, Australian chef, Sydney restaurant, breast cancer, hospitality industry, kitchen culture, sustainability, Sydney, foodpodcast, Australian food producers, chef sobriety, chef career advice, diving, breast cancer, culinary competitions Resources & Links Check your breasts - follow Naomi on Instagram for monthly remindersNational Breast Cancer Foundation - nbcf.org.auTasting Success Mentoring Programme - Lyndey Milan's program for emerging chefs in Australia - tafensw.edu.au/programs/tasting-success@...
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    42 min
  • Simon Sandall: 41 Years in Kitchens, One Life-Changing Valentine's Day, and Why He's Never Looked Back

    Simon Sandall: 41 Years in Kitchens, One Life-Changing Valentine's Day, and Why He's Never Looked Back
    May 6 2026
    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. In this episode, Tawnya Bahr sits down with Simon for a raw, honest, and often hilarious conversation about the realities of a career in professional kitchens. The good, the brutal, and the deeply human moments in between. Episode Overview (Ep #80) with Simon Sandall and Tawnya Bahr What We Cover in This Episode From rat bag to rising star. How walking a dog led Simon into a vegetarian restaurant kitchen at age 14, and why his Welsh TAFE teacher's blunt words ("sort your shit out or f*** off") became the making of himThe brutal truth about old-school kitchen culture. Simon doesn't sugarcoat it: the kitchens of London's elite hotels were aggressive, physically dangerous, and completely normalised. How does that compare to the kitchen he runs today at Boronia?The Ritz vs. Claridge's. How a 17-year-old Simon chose between two of London's most iconic hotels (he picked the one where he felt like a person, not a number) and what that decision taught him about cultureGoing gold at Olympia. Competing in culinary competitions at 17, working 48-hour stretches on cold masterpieces, and what ego-driven ambition looks like when you're young and hungryThe world years. From the Greek islands to Mozambique (four years out of civil war), Lake Malawi, and navigating a continent post-civil war with nothing but instinct, biltong in his backpack, and a talent for banoffee pieLanding in Australia broke and long-haired. The story of arriving in Sydney on borrowed money, being knocked back for jobs because of his appearance, and flipping steaks at the Orient Hotel at the Rocks until the right opportunity opened up17 years with Matt Moran. What this relationship taught Simon about craft, loyalty, friendship, and farming. Why Matt is now one of his closest mates, getting him up to the farm to forage pine mushrooms and collect fresh eggs.Valentine's Day, 2018. The moment that changed everything. Simon shares with extraordinary openness how necrotising pancreatitis almost took his life, how he said goodbye to his kids from a hospital bed, and how he signed the lease on Boronia Kitchen from intensive care. Nearly nine years sober, and no regrets.The Boronia Kitchen story. A passion project built on discipline, seasonal produce, a kitchen garden harvested twice daily, and a commitment to doing things properly on his own termsThe cookbook. Self-published, coffee table-worthy but built to get greasy, and packed with seasonal recipes that define Boronia's kitchen About Simon Sandall & Boronia Kitchen Simon Sandall is the Executive Chef and Owner of Boronia Kitchen in Sydney. With over four decades in the industry, including time at the Ritz London, the Sydney Opera House, and seven years on the tools at ARIA Restaurant. Simon is one of Australia's most respected chefs. He is also the author of the self-published Boronia Kitchen cookbook. After a near-fatal health crisis in 2018, Simon rebuilt his life around his restaurant, his kitchen garden, his family, and nearly nine years of sobriety. Boronia Kitchen: https://www.boroniakitchen.com.au/Address: 150 Pittwater Road, Hunters Hill NSW AustraliaThe Boronia Kitchen Cookbook: https://www.boroniakitchen.com.au/shop/p/the-story-of-boronia Instagram: @chefsimonsandall @boroniakitchen @cateringbysimonsandall About Straight to the Source Straight To The Source is hosted by Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon. We'd love to hear from you! Reach out, leave a review, and share this episode with someone in the industry who needs to hear it. You can find us: Straight To The Source Food Podcast: https://lnk.to/jBCTBEStraight To The Source Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/straight_to_the_source/ Straight To The Source Website: http://straighttothesource.com.au Tawnya Bahr: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr/ Instagram: @tawnyabahr Email: tbahr@straighttothesource.com.au Lucy Allon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon/ Instagram: @lucy_allon Email: lucy@straighttothesource.com.au Keywords: Simon Sandall, Boronia Kitchen, straight to the source podcast, Australian chef, Sydney restaurant, Matt Moran, chef mental health, cateringbysimonsandall, hospitality industry, kitchen culture, farm to table Sydney, foodpodcast, sustainability, Australian food producers, chef sobriety, kitchen garden, Boronia Kitchen cookbook, necrotising pancreatitis, chef career advice@straighttothesourcepodcast: https://www.youtube.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    54 min
  • The Power of Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    The Power of Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    Apr 29 2026

    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 and Tom take us on a journey from grove to plate. Along the way, they bust myths about cooking with olive oil, reveal what to look for on the label, and share why freshness and provenance make all the difference.

    We explore:

    • The health benefits of EVOO and how to maximise them
    • Why Australian-grown olive oil leads the world in quality
    • Cooking tips that push EVOO beyond the salad bowl
    • Flavour profiles: from delicate to robust, and how to pair them
    • The sustainability story behind supporting local producers

    This is an episode for chefs, food lovers, and anyone who wants to take their cooking, and their health, to the next level with one simple ingredient.

    Proudly brought to you by the Olive Oil Wellness Institute, a science-driven resource dedicated to educating and inspiring people about the health benefits, culinary versatility and sustainability of extra virgin olive oil. Learn more at https://olivewellnessinstitute.org/

    Follow The Olive Oil Wellness Institute: https://www.instagram.com/olive_wellness_institute/

    Follow Joanna McMillan: https://www.instagram.com/drjoannamcmillan/

    Follow Tom Hitchcock: https://www.instagram.com/chef_hitchcock/


    Follow Straight To The Source Food Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/stts_podcast

    Follow Straight To The Source: https://www.instagram.com/straight_to_the_source/

    Connect with your hosts:

    Tawnya Bahr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr/

    Lucy Allon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon/

    @straighttothesourcepodcast: https://www.youtube.com/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    52 min
  • Dr Joanna McMillan: Why Fibre Is the Most Underrated Ingredient on Every Menu

    Dr Joanna McMillan: Why Fibre Is the Most Underrated Ingredient on Every Menu
    Mar 25 2026

    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 of Straight To The Source, Joanna joins Lucy Allon to explore what she calls the modern fibre famine and why chefs, producers and home cooks all have a role to play in changing it. From menu innovation to embracing whole, plant-rich foods, this conversation is packed with practical, feel-good insights for building flavour and nutrition into every plate.

    Smart, relatable and quietly game changing. Just like the food we should be eating.

    Listen now on your favourite podcast platform.

    Subscribe for more interviews with industry leaders and changemakers.

    This episode is proudly brought to you by UNOX Australia, leaders in smart oven innovation for commercial and residential kitchens. Learn more at www.unox.com

    Follow & Connect with Dr Joanna McMillan and find The Fibre Factor in shops and online

    • https://www.drjoanna.com/
    • https://www.instagram.com/drjoannamcmillan
    • https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-fibre-factor-9781761356728

    Connect with your hosts:

    • Tawnya Bahr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr
    • Lucy Allon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon

    Subscribe to our newsletter: https://straighttothesource.com.au/community

    Follow Straight To The Source: @straight_to_the_source

    Find out more about Straight To The Source: https://straighttothesource.com.au

    @straighttothesourcepodcast: https://www.youtube.com/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    40 min
  • Chef Jerry Mai: Cooking Vietnamese Heritage Into Australia's Food Identity

    Chef Jerry Mai: Cooking Vietnamese Heritage Into Australia's Food Identity
    Mar 18 2026

    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 continues to take shape.

    In this episode of Straight To The Source, Chef Jerry Mai joins Tawnya Bahr for a candid conversation about the realities of the hospitality industry, travel, raising a family, relationships and why the best stories sometimes emerge long after the kitchen closes.

    Now the Culinary Director at Roll’d, Jerry’s bringing bold Vietnamese street food to the national stage while remaining fiercely grounded in its origins and flavour.

    Jerry is funny, fearless and refreshingly honest. Just like the food.

    Listen now on your favourite podcast platform.

    This episode is proudly brought to you by UNOX Australia, leaders in smart oven innovation for commercial and residential kitchens. Learn more at www.unox.com

    Follow & Connect with Jerry

    • Chefjerrymai
    • rolld_vietnamese

    Connect with your hosts:

    • Tawnya Bahr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr
    • Lucy Allon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon

    Subscribe to our newsletter: https://straighttothesource.com.au/community

    Follow Straight To The Source: @straight_to_the_source

    Find out more about Straight To The Source: https://straighttothesource.com.au

    @straighttothesourcepodcast: https://www.youtube.com/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    44 min