About Me
Podcasting
In 2012, I started The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry podcast. It was named a "Podcast We Love" by SBS (and a "Chef's Favourite" by Bon Appétit) and was also praised by Broadsheet and Concrete Playground. The National Library has added the show to its archive. For that series, I interviewed Christina Tosi in a props room and Ferran Adria in a car (from the airport to his hotel). I learnt that a laptop is not the worst thing Annabel Crabb has baked – that title goes to the 'experimental' tart she made for Penny Wong.
I worked with the Powerhouse Museum on the Culinary Archive podcast, which was first released in 2022. It explained how the history of Australia could be told via oyster shells (particularly First Nations middens and Greek oyster saloons) and showed how seaweed could be shaped into musical instruments. Also, did you know you once could pay your rent with eels?
For SBS, I made the podcast titled Should You Really Eat That? It was inspired by a dietitian claiming she'd never put white rice into her shopping basket – which intrigued me, as I'd grown up with literal sacks of the grains around the house! 'Have you eaten rice yet?' is a greeting in many parts of Asia and rice literally feeds half the planet. The show explored the different ways food is valued – or misunderstood – and reckoned with the mixed messaging around what we consume. Should we take olive oil shots? Is chocolate really a health food? Is soy really “the most dangerous food for men?” The show won an international Webby award and was shortlisted by the Australian Podcast Awards here and the Publisher Podcast Awards in the UK. The Signal Awards in the US gave it a silver medal in the Food & Drink category.
I also do the Crunch Time podcast and newsletter, which recaps all the best things I've been consuming and includes recommendations from my nine trips to Japan.
Writing
I've slipped my work into the pages of various publications over the years. As a freelancer, I've written about many topics (food, music, travel, film, interiors, fiction, art) and had my byline featured in the following publications:
ABC, Art Guide Australia, Australian Financial Review, BBC, The Big Issue, Broadsheet, Esquire Australia, Gastro Obscura, Good Food, Good Weekend, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, The Lifted Brow, Limelight, Peddler Journal, Punch, Rolling Stone, SBS Food, State of The Arts, The Sydney Morning Herald and Time Out Sydney.
You can find a selection of my writing here.
Editing
I was the NSW and ACT editor for the Truth, Love and Clean Cutlery food guides (both Australian and international editions). In 2020, I started the Diversity In Food Media
Australia Instagram account and edited two editions of the New Voices On Food books, showcasing under-represented
writers/photographers/illustrators and their food stories. The first book was named as one of 2020's best releases by Concrete Playground. I also worked with SBS Food to publish New Voices On Food contributions online.
I've been a freelance sub-editor for various magazines and websites, such as Google Local, Home Beautiful, SBS Food and the WA Good Food Guide. I also worked on Gourmet Traveller's 2018 restaurant guide, an extensive project that involved sub-editing around 400 reviews.
Copywriting, consulting and press releases
While working at Inside Out, I wrote freelance copy for a range of advertising clients – producing original material for flyers and catalogues. I've also written website copy for Destination NSW and press releases for restaurants. I was a copy consultant on a children's "food atlas" for National Geographic and have provided consulting services for various businesses.
MCing, public speaking, judging and programming
I've been a guest speaker at festivals (Audiocraft, Sydney Writers Festival, Vivid, Food and Words, National Young Writers Festival), hosted Q&As for institutions like Kinokuniya and Sydney Living Museums, featured work in exhibitions, plus curated the food program at Underbelly Arts festival.
I've done workshops for various institutions (Art Gallery of NSW, Gallery 4A and the Emerging Writers Festival) focused on a range of skills: interviewing, zine-making and podcasting.
I was the MC for Sydney Table at Carriageworks, OzHarvest's event for Good Food Month and Kylie Kwong's Extended Family Dinner at Baba's Place. I was also a judge for Youth Food Movement Australia's Salvage awards and SBS's Journey Through Food writing contest.