Former physiotherapist, 2012 Masterchef Australia finalist, and most recently CEO of Sydney's Lotus Dining Group, Mindy Woods is currently studying sustainable horticulture and bush food with the goal of protecting native foods, the environment and re-igniting Indigenous culture.

You must taste a culture to truly understand it. That’s why Mindy, a proud First Nations woman, opened her very own native inspired restaurant Karkalla on Ancestral country, creating opportunities for indigenous and non-indigenous people to connect with Aboriginal culture, art, and stories through food.

Visit Northern Tasmania CEO, Tracey Mallett, sat down with Mindy at the 2023 Tasmanian Tourism Conference where they discussed all things native Tasmanian food and the many ways in which this can be incorporated into tourism and hospitality businesses. If you are into your food – and let’s be honest, who isn’t? – then you must give this episode a listen. 

Food is a natural connector – you already have people’s buy-in before they take their first bite. But there’s so many opportunities to tell the story behind the food. Mindy explains how we, as Australians, come from the land of the original storytellers. We come from such a rich and abundant culture, and we often forget this and what’s in our own backyards. Australians travel elsewhere for food experiences, but we have the world’s oldest surviving civilisation and ingredients right here.

Behind every producer and their land is a great story to tell, and it’s by collaborating and connecting with others – especially the Tasmanian Aboriginal community – that you discover what this story is and how you can share it with visitors and locals alike. It is within these conversations and learnings that positive impact is maximised. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, VXT. VXT is a purpose-built organization with the sole purpose to train a hospitality and tourism workforce to deliver the Tasmanian workforce. VXT offers an array of industry-led, outcome-focused training courses both online and around Tasmania. Thanks to VXT for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.