Straight To The Source

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...

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 j...

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 Hewar...

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:...

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-alcohol...

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 ec...

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 resha...

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 Syd...

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 ter...

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 f...

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...

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...

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...

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 adjust...

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 cu...

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 aviatio...

Helena Moursellas is a cookbook author, cook, and creative food professional whose career has been built through opportunity, experience, mentorship, and persistence. In conversation with Lucy Allon, Helena shares how appearing on My Kitchen Rules became the gateway to discovering her passion for food, but not the destination. What followed was more than a decade spent learning the craft from the...

In From the Source , we step outside our regular episodes to take an urgent, in-depth look at the issues threatening our food systems.  Host Lucy Allon speaks with award-winning wild-catch fisherman Anthony Heslewood of Revolution Fisheries about the Western Australian fisheries ban and its far-reaching impact on small-scale fishers, chefs, and the future of Australian locally caught, sustain...

Host Tawnya Bahr is joined by Tony Panetta, Group Executive Chef of Trippas White Group, to explore what it takes to deliver exceptional food experiences at scale while staying grounded in quality, connection and creativity. Tony shares his back story from starting his apprenticeship at just 15, to leading some of Australia’s largest hospitality operations, and now overseeing a diverse portf...

Chef David Martin has spent nearly two decades evolving from hotel fine-dining apprentice to one of Australia’s leading innovators in aged-care hospitality. In this episode, he shares how early mentorship, a strong family foundation and a deep love of food shaped his career. David talks about the moment he realised the traditional hospitality path wasn’t sustainable for the life he wan...

In this episode of Straight To The Source, Tawnya Bahr is joined by Richard Prout, Chief of Product and Innovation at Zambrero, Australia’s largest Mexican restaurant franchise. Richard shares how Dr Sam Prince’s vision of creating fresh, healthy Mexican food grew into a global movement with nearly 100 million meals donated through the Plate 4 Plate initiative. From the brand’s h...

In this episode of Straight To The Source , host Tawnya Bahr sits down with the bold, brutally honest, and unapologetically Italian Chef Danny Russo. From humble beginnings in Sydney’s inner west to working in some of the world’s top kitchens in London, Rome, and Marseille, Danny has carved out a remarkable career grounded in respect for produce, cultural authenticity, and culinary evo...

In this episode of Straight To The Source , host Lucy Allon sits down with hospitality leader Laura Goldberg. As Co-Owner and COO of Hurricane’s Grill and Co-Founder of Women in Cafes and Restaurants, Laura opens up about building inclusive teams, advocating for women in leadership, and her commitment to supporting mental health in the industry through The Burnt Chef Project. Whether you&rsq...

In this episode of Straight To The Source, we’re joined by two culinary heavyweights: Adrian Richardson, TV chef and restaurateur behind La Luna and Good Chef Bad Chef, and Markus Werner, Culinary Director at Delaware North, overseeing stadiums and resorts across Australia. From humble apprenticeships to leading massive teams and global TV audiences, Adrian and Markus share how they first me...

In this episode of Straight To The Source, host Lucy Allon is joined by Jules Bagnato, co-owner of Brae Restaurant in regional Victoria, one of Australia’s most celebrated dining destinations and the nation’s first three-star Food Made Good accredited restaurant. Jules shares her remarkable journey from a corporate background to shaping one of the world’s most respected hospitali...