Emu Eggs, Connection & Cooking The Best Kangaroo with Sharon Windsor

Keep your brain ticking along too.

Yeah.

Now, you clearly have a philosophy around food, and so I'm curious to hear you explain what, what the food values and philosophy of Indigiearth are.

So food for me has been my connection to, to spirituality, to culture, to, to who I, to who I am, and first and foremost, it's been my healing.

So healing through lots of trauma, um, lots of challenges in my life.

Growing up, I was born in Gunnedah, and I grew up in between Gunnedah and Coonabarabran.

And so the first 13 years of my life, living on country and out collecting bush fruits and, you know, surviving on what was out on country was for necessity.

And at a time when we actually had to hide the fact that we were eating bush foods and native fruits back then because if the, our teachers at school knew that we were eating bush food, our parents were reported to the welfare, and they were told that we weren't being looked after properly because we were eating dirty food.

And so we used to have to hide it, and now native foods, Aboriginal people, we only own 2% of our own industry, is like chalk and cheese.

But for me, throughout the process, you know, I was so passionate about starting business showcasing native foods.

I wanted to, I wanted everyone to know how amazing native foods is and how great is out there.

And I was in Sydney and was talking about, oh, you know, I was missing home so much.

And I was talking about, oh, if I was home, I'd be collecting five corners, or I'd be, you know, doing this or yabbying or, or whatever, and nobody had any idea what I was talking about.

And I couldn't believe it.

I was like, "Why doesn't anybody know what's over the mountains?" Like, "Why doesn't anyone think-"

What's wrong with you people? [laughs]

[laughs] Yeah.

So I wanted to start a business to educate people around native foods and, and that it's our medicine and that it's, um, everything that makes us who we are and that it's so good for us.

And so when I started catering in Western Sydney, um, nearly th- 31 years ago, people thought that the only thing that I could be cooking and serving was witchetty grubs or I was dragging goannas around, apparently.

So [laughs] that was the kind of mentality of native foods back then.

But it's so much more.

Native foods is more than just an ingredient on a plate.

It's connection to culture, to storylines, to song lines, to trading, to Mother Earth, to, um, our seasons, and it's also our medicine.

So it's what I do in business, um, is not only my connection to, to culture through food and spirituality, it's been my healing.

I lost my first baby.

Keep your brain ticking along too.

Yeah.

Now, you clearly have a philosophy around food, and so I'm curious to hear you explain what, what the food values and philosophy of Indigiearth are.

So food for me has been my connection to, to spirituality, to culture, to, to who I, to who I am, and first and foremost, it's been my healing.

So healing through lots of trauma, um, lots of challenges in my life.

Growing up, I was born in Gunnedah, and I grew up in between Gunnedah and Coonabarabran.

And so the first 13 years of my life, living on country and out collecting bush fruits and, you know, surviving on what was out on country was for necessity.

And at a time when we actually had to hide the fact that we were eating bush foods and native fruits back then because if the, our teachers at school knew that we were eating bush food, our parents were reported to the welfare, and they were told that we weren't being looked after properly because we were eating dirty food.

And so we used to have to hide it, and now native foods, Aboriginal people, we only own 2% of our own industry, is like chalk and cheese.

But for me, throughout the process, you know, I was so passionate about starting business showcasing native foods.

I wanted to, I wanted everyone to know how amazing native foods is and how great is out there.

And I was in Sydney and was talking about, oh, you know, I was missing home so much.

And I was talking about, oh, if I was home, I'd be collecting five corners, or I'd be, you know, doing this or yabbying or, or whatever, and nobody had any idea what I was talking about.

And I couldn't believe it.

I was like, "Why doesn't anybody know what's over the mountains?" Like, "Why doesn't anyone think-"

What's wrong with you people? [laughs]

[laughs] Yeah.

So I wanted to start a business to educate people around native foods and, and that it's our medicine and that it's, um, everything that makes us who we are and that it's so good for us.

And so when I started catering in Western Sydney, um, nearly th- 31 years ago, people thought that the only thing that I could be cooking and serving was witchetty grubs or I was dragging goannas around, apparently.

So [laughs] that was the kind of mentality of native foods back then.

But it's so much more.

Native foods is more than just an ingredient on a plate.

It's connection to culture, to storylines, to song lines, to trading, to Mother Earth, to, um, our seasons, and it's also our medicine.

So it's what I do in business, um, is not only my connection to, to culture through food and spirituality, it's been my healing.

I lost my first baby.