By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
Sydney’s Carriageworks is set to be infused with the sights, sounds and flavours of Country as the annual Australian Native Food Festival takes over the Harbour City’s historical rail workshop on September 27-28.
The event, led by Ngemba Weilwan woman Chef Sharon Winsor, will gather some of the nation’s most acclaimed Chefs alongside First Nations leaders, producers and businesses.
For Sharon, founder of Indigiearth and Australia’s most awarded Indigenous Chef, the festival is the culmination of a lifelong journey that has always returned to food, culture and connection.
"Those early childhood years growing up on Country, collecting bush food was always fun. It was about family being together, laughs, eating, sharing food,” Sharon recalls of her childhood in Gunnedah and Rocky Glen.
"It was never about the fact that we had nothing out in the bush, money or things were never talked about. Our toys and games were made from materials such as Sunshine Milk tins and some wire to make rolly pollys, we played jacks with animal bones and so on.”
The memories clearly remain vivid for her, steeped in the scent of lemon myrtle and wattleseed, a sensory connection to family and place.
Years later in Sydney, Sharon found herself speaking about bush fruit and flavours to people who had never heard of them, hit by a start realisation that the food she grew up with was little known outside her community.
"I was always talking to friends and other people about what sort of fruit I would be eating if I was at home, no one knew what I was talking about. Not many people wanted to know what I was talking about. That was the very early beginnings of business and my excitement and desire to share the beauty of the bush through setting up a catering and cultural business.”
Her path was not straightforward. "The first year into business, I lost my first son, stillborn at full-term. Depression took hold and business was put on hold for some time. When I did pick up again, I realised I was feeling better, it wasn’t the fact of doing commercial business, it was connection to culture through business that was to become the start of a very long healing process. That was 28 years ago.”
Fifteen years ago, that connection became her lifeline. "My connection to culture through food became a necessity for survival and healing from DV, depression and desperation to break cycles of violence and poverty.
"I had hit rock bottom in Western Sydney and felt very lost and it was those memories of my childhood years at Rocky Glen, that ignited the fire in my belly. The connection to food and culture will forever be healing. It has been that connection that has kept me here through the darkest days of my life.”
Today, Sharon remains among the most respected pioneers in Indigenous cuisine, running Indigiearth, her Mudgee-based business that produces premium native food and beverages. "The success has been built on the back of the desperation for survival, breaking cycles, creating some generational wealth, giving my children a better future and to also finding some personal happiness,” she says.
Her tenacity has been central. "Being resilient has given me the skills to adapt, learn, be stronger. Each time I achieved something or learnt something new, I was able to have a bit more confidence to take another step forward.
"Having a long history of traumas, the inner feelings of achieving even the smallest of feats in business and life, gave me the inner love and confidence that helped me to start to believe in myself all over again.”
This month, her vision expands with the Australian Native Food Festival. "This vision has been in the making for about 5 years now. There are several reasons why I wanted to create it.
"First is about sharing knowledge, educating the wider public about native foods, celebrating native foods and also bringing awareness to Aboriginal businesses and people in the native food industry. Honouring culture is about paying respects to the culture and knowledge that has been passed down to me from my ancestors, families and elders from across the country. Strengthening connections is about all of us as Australians, strengthening connections, coming together, sharing knowledge and cultures through food.”
The festival lineup reflects this spirit of exchange and brings together some of the country’s most celebrated Chefs, including Ben Shewry, Kylie Kwong, Colin Fassnidge, Karima Hazim, George Calombaris and Elena Duggan.
Sharon sees this mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Chefs as vital. "Bringing different cultures together has always been important to me in the food space. It is the powerful storytelling that lies within all cultures through food. I want to showcase how diverse our ingredients are by combining our ingredients, cuisines and the magic of storytelling in all cultures.”
Beyond food, the festival will also highlight art, music and storytelling, with the goal of sparking curiosity. "I hope that people walk away learning something new. Something that might spark their interest to want to learn a bit more. Whether it is for personal knowledge, for work or business purposes.
"I hope they try something that they have never tried before and be amazed at the beauty of native ingredients and how they can embrace them every day at home.”
For those new to native ingredients, Sharon has a simple suggestion. "I would encourage people to start with lemon myrtle. It is available and easy to source. Anyone cooking at home will use some type of lemon, citrus, or lemongrass in their cooking and it is as simple as substituting other lemon/citrus with lemon myrtle.
"Just not as much! It is potent and can be overpowering if too much is used. It can also be used in both sweet and savoury dishes/ baking.”
As the festival approaches, Sharon is clear about the bigger picture. "Working alongside such talented Chefs who share a deep respect for native ingredients is incredibly meaningful. This festival is about more than food - it’s about honouring culture, strengthening connections and opening a space for others to learn from and celebrate First Nations knowledge.”
The Australian Native Food Festival runs at Carriageworks, Sydney, September 27-28. General admission is free, with Chef demonstrations ticketed.
AGFG acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, to the Elders past, present and emerging.
