Long before local authorities tried to ban sliced bread, Australia was home to the world’s first bakers. Grindstones, some 65,000 years old, suggest Indigenous communities have been baking for millennia and there’s an amazing effort to bring back this cultural knowledge and revive Indigenous grains. While Australia has had a fraught relationship with locally grown wheat, there’s a growing movement to embrace Australian heritage grains, backed by open-minded chefs who want to knead such enduring flour into ultra-local pasta, pizza and bread. 

This episode features Jacob Birch, Gamilaraay mari and researcher; Aunty Bernadette Duncan, Kamilaroy woman and coordinator of the Garragal Women's Language and Culture Network; Dr Angela Pattison, lead researcher on Indigenous Grasslands for Grains; Kerrie Saunders, Gomeroi woman and technician on Indigenous Grasslands for Grains; Paul Farag, executive chef of Nour and AALIA; Luke Finlay, Operations Manager of  Wholegrain Milling Co; and Paul van Reyk, author of True to the Land: A History of Food in Australia.

Image by Alana Dimou.

Long before local authorities tried to ban sliced bread, Australia was home to the world’s first bakers. Grindstones, some 65,000 years old, suggest Indigenous communities have been baking for millennia and there’s an amazing effort to bring back this cultural knowledge and revive Indigenous grains. While Australia has had a fraught relationship with locally grown wheat, there’s a growing movement to embrace Australian heritage grains, backed by open-minded chefs who want to knead such enduring flour into ultra-local pasta, pizza and bread. 
This episode features Jacob Birch, Gamilaraay mari and researcher; Aunty Bernadette Duncan, Kamilaroy woman and coordinator of the Garragal Women's Language and Culture Network; Dr Angela Pattison, lead researcher on <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/our-research/research-areas/life-and-environmental-sciences/indigenous-grasslands-grain.html">Indigenous Grasslands for Grains</a>; Kerrie Saunders, Gomeroi woman and technician on <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/our-research/research-areas/life-and-environmental-sciences/indigenous-grasslands-grain.html">Indigenous Grasslands for Grains</a>; Paul Farag, executive chef of <a href="https://www.noursydney.com/">Nour</a> and <a href="https://www.aaliarestaurant.com/">AALIA;</a> Luke Finlay, Operations Manager of  <a href="https://www.wholegrain.com.au/">Wholegrain Milling Co</a>; and Paul van Reyk, author of <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/true-to-the-land-paul-van-reyk/book/9781789144062.html">True to the Land: A History of Food in Australia.</a> 
Image by Alana Dimou.

The Culinary Archive Podcast is a series from the Powerhouse with food journalist Lee Tran Lam exploring Australia’s foodways: from First Nations food knowledge to new interpretations of museum collection objects, scientific innovation, migration, and the diversity of Australian food.

Contributing editor Lee Tran Lam is a freelance journalist who has worked with The Sydney Morning Herald, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, SBS Food, FBi, ABC, Australian Financial Review, Rolling Stone and Turkish Vogue. She hosts The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry podcast— which has been recommended by Bon Appétit, Broadsheet, Concrete Playground and chosen to be archived by the National Library; co-founded Diversity In Food Media Australia; and has edited the "New Voices On Food" book, showcasing emerging creators from under-represented communities and their food stories. She was named a Future Shaper by Time Out Sydney. 

The Culinary Archive Podcast is a series from the Powerhouse with food journalist Lee Tran Lam exploring Australia’s foodways: from First Nations food knowledge to new interpretations of museum collection objects, scientific innovation, migration, and the diversity of Australian food.
Contributing editor Lee Tran Lam is a freelance journalist who has worked with The Sydney Morning Herald, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, SBS Food, FBi, ABC, Australian Financial Review, Rolling Stone and Turkish Vogue. She hosts <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiUld6y-f_xAhXPAnIKHQYDAboQFjAAegQICBAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheunbearablelightnessofbeinghungry.com%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw1QpIti4MLtsU5ky-yKyAzu">The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry</a> podcast— which has been recommended by Bon Appétit, <a href="https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/entertainment/article/nine-food-focused-podcasts-fill-restaurant-shaped-hole-your-life">Broadsheet,</a> Concrete Playground and chosen to be archived by the National Library; co-founded <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diversityinfoodmedia.au">Diversity In Food Media Australia</a>; and has edited the "<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjfx9fH-f_xAhUWA3IKHTGaBdcQFjARegQIDhAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodcourtbooks.com%2Fshop%2Fp%2Fnew-voices-on-food-diversity-in-food-media&amp;usg=AOvVaw0GEJcwdR0ZLdO3pkyN1XfC">New Voices On Food</a>" book, showcasing emerging creators from under-represented communities and their food stories. She was named a <a href="https://www.timeout.com/sydney/things-to-do/time-outs-food-and-drink-future-shaper-lee-tran-lam">Future Shaper</a> by Time Out Sydney.

CULINARY ARCHIVE PODCAST

The Culinary Archive Podcast is a series with food journalist Lee Tran Lam exploring Australia’s foodways: from First Nations food knowledge to new interpretations of museum collection objects, scientific innovation, migration, and the diversity of Australian food.

Contributing editor Lee Tran Lam is a freelance journalist who has worked with The Sydney Morning Herald, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, SBS Food, FBi, ABC and Turkish Vogue. She hosts The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry podcast— which has been recommended by Bon Appétit, Broadsheet and Concrete Playground; co-founded Diversity In Food Media Australia; and edited the New Voices On Food book, showcasing emerging creators from under-represented communities and their food stories. She was named a Future Shaper by Time Out Sydney.  

Image by Alana Dimou. 

The Culinary Archive Podcast is a series with food journalist Lee Tran Lam exploring Australia’s foodways: from First Nations food knowledge to new interpretations of museum collection objects, scientific innovation, migration, and the diversity of Australian food.
Contributing editor Lee Tran Lam is a freelance journalist who has worked with The Sydney Morning Herald, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, SBS Food, FBi, ABC and Turkish Vogue. She hosts <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiUld6y-f_xAhXPAnIKHQYDAboQFjAAegQICBAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheunbearablelightnessofbeinghungry.com%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw1QpIti4MLtsU5ky-yKyAzu">The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry</a> podcast— which has been recommended by Bon Appétit, Broadsheet and Concrete Playground; co-founded <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diversityinfoodmedia.au">Diversity In Food Media Australia</a>; and edited the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjfx9fH-f_xAhUWA3IKHTGaBdcQFjARegQIDhAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodcourtbooks.com%2Fshop%2Fp%2Fnew-voices-on-food-diversity-in-food-media&amp;usg=AOvVaw0GEJcwdR0ZLdO3pkyN1XfC">New Voices On Food </a>book, showcasing emerging creators from under-represented communities and their food stories. She was named a <a href="https://www.timeout.com/sydney/things-to-do/time-outs-food-and-drink-future-shaper-lee-tran-lam">Future Shaper</a> by Time Out Sydney.  
Image by Alana Dimou.

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