We like to think we know where our food comes from but compared with two or three generations ago, the link between us and our food is tenuous. Modern supply chains keep most types of fruit and vegetables in supermarkets year-round. The concept of seasonality is being lost. Seasonality equally applies to dairy produce. The ..read more

Who are you? Finn McGrath, owner of Waypoint Tea Co. I’m also a co-owner and director of Keep Co, a co-working space at Dairy Road. Tell me about your business. We are a loose-leaf tea company that sells wholesale and retail in about 20-plus venues in Canberra and the region. We also sell online and ..read more

Meatballs and fresh spaghetti are on the menu at Cafe Sosta. Photo: Adam McGrath. Lake walkers, early morning rowers and cyclists now have another fuel stop at the lake – Cafe Sosta has opened in the newly built Red Shed on Black Mountain Peninsula. The Red Shed is a multi-million dollar project created to give 1000 public school kids a year the opportunity to learn how to row. The sport has become the exclusive domain of rich private schools in recent years due to the costs of getting started, but Canberra local John Gasson and his wife Janette have poured $10 million into the state-of-the ..read more

Tom Lambert, Man Hoi ‘Kenny’ Cheng and Jayson Brockman with their ribbons at Evoke Bakery. Photo: Lucy Ridge. A small Canberra bakery has come up with a couple of well-deserved ribbons for their first time entering the National Artisan Baking Competition run by the Baking Association of Australia (BAA). Evoke Bakery opened in December 2022, and a little over 18 months on, they’re a staple of the thriving Curtin shops. Co-owner Tom Lambert said they wanted to see how their tiny bakery operation stacked up against some of the industry’s heavyweights, and they were delighted to come away with a ..read more

Brett Nebauer is the bar manager at 11e Cave, Onzieme. Photo: Lucy Ridge. Gourmet Traveller‘s national restaurant award finalists have been announced. Included in the prestigious shortlist is Canberra’s own 11e Cave, which has been listed as a finalist in the Wine Bar of the Year category. They welcomed the news in their own, inimitable way: “ok, seriously, slap us with a wet fish – our tiny little bar has been nominated for best wine bar in @gourmettraveller‘s 2025 restaurant awards. SLAP US!!” The teeny, ‘tiny’ wine bar behind an unassuming red door in Kingston opened in mid-June 2022 belo ..read more

Stacey and Mish Allen, of Claystone Meats, on their Hoskinstown property. Photo: Claystone Meats. No stranger to taking the path less trodden, farmer, entrepreneur and businesswoman Stacey Allen of Claystone Meats has just wrapped up the company’s first equity crowdfunding offer. With a new shopfront in Fyshwick and shareholders secured, Stacey is ready to take Claystone into the future. Stacey and her family have run their cattle farm in the Hoskinstown Plains region for more than 35 years. Their philosophy is centred around grazing their cattle on open pastures without the use of antibioti ..read more

Pierre André Imbert and Christophe Gregoire. Photo: Christophe Gregoire. Christophe Gregoire can now add a knighthood to his hatted-chef credentials. The man responsible for bringing a bit of France to the Canberra region has received one of the oldest awards in the French Republic in front of family and dignitaries. The National Order of Agricultural Merit (or Ordre du Mérite Agricole) was created in 1883 and bestowed upon people who have rendered distinguished services to agriculture-related activities and art. READ ALSO: Major changes coming to next year’s Canberra Balloon Spectacular hav ..read more

Mork is the chef and Benn will run the floor at soon to be opened Mínima. Photo: Pewpew Studio. In a homecoming of sorts, Mork and Benn Ratanakosol are just days away from opening the much-anticipated restaurant Mínima. They decided to close their popular Thai restaurant Morks earlier this year to focus on this new project, which brings them back to their roots in Yarraluma, where their parents ran a Sukhothai restaurant from 1990 to 2008. Walking into the cosy 22-seater space, the eye is immediately drawn towards the heart of any home: the kitchen. “Our vision was always to make it feel lik ..read more

Sam Burns and Max Neve co-own Barrio Coffee Collective with Dan Zivkovich. Photo: Lucy Ridge. Who are you? Sam Burns, one of the owners of Barrio in Braddon. Tell me about Barrio. We’re a small neighbourhood coffee shop that doubles as a toastie bar and hot sauce pantry. How did you get involved in the hospitality industry? When I was 18, I went backpacking through Europe, and I was really taken by an Italian cafe. So, through university, I started working in cafes and became totally addicted to coffee from then on! Barrio collaborates with local producers and businesses for Unscripted Ferm ..read more

Sean McConnell (centre-left), owner and chef at Rebel Rebel, enjoys working with local winemakers. Photo: PewPew Studio. Rebel Rebel is teaming up with another rebel of sorts: deliberately unconventional winemaker Bryan Martin of Ravensworth Wines for a wine list takeover. The Rebel Rebel team will be pouring a broad selection of interesting Ravensworth wines over the week of 29 July to 4 August. Bryan Martin is a former chef, food critic and Clonakilla winemaker. He started Ravensworth in 2001 because, as he says, “it seemed like a good idea at the time”. Ravensworth vintages have since bec ..read more