Media Release
Australian Culinary Archive Podcast Season 2 launches
From First Nations food knowledge to the ways new migrants to Australia infused distinctive new flavours into the country’s culinary landscape, a fascinating array of food stories are explored in the new season of the Culinary Archive Podcast, a six-episode Powerhouse audio series developed in collaboration with renowned food journalist Lee Tran Lam.
Released weekly from January 30, each episode of the Culinary Archive Podcast invites listeners to explore discussions that examine significant changes in Australia’s food culture and the wider community’s evolving palate. Contextualised through Powerhouse Collection objects including bottled nori seaweed displayed in the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition, a handwritten lemon honey recipe and a ritual bronze wine vessel from the Shang Dynasty, Lam’s conversations with notable Australian food leaders, producers and creatives reveal the complex stories behind ingredients that can be found in contemporary kitchens across Australia – milk, honey, mushrooms, wine, eel and seaweed.
Guests featured in the podcast’s second season include cheese judge Mike Butler, chef Donato Toce (Gelato Messina), chef Ahana Dutt (formerly Firedoor and Raja), historian Dr Jacqui Newling, chef Nik Hill (Porcine Bistro, Smoketrap Eels), award-winning cookbook author Emiko Davies, Southern Arrernte artist Jenniffer Kemarre Martinello OAM, musician Emily Sheppard, beekeeper Nic Dowse (Honey Fingers), Walaja Broome Bush Honey co-founder Dianne Appleby, Fable co-founder Jim Fuller, The Future of Hope Foundation founder Chido Govera, Unico Zelo co-founder Brendan Carter, Mt Yengo Wines co-founder Gary Green, Munda Wines co-owner Pauly Vandenbergh, wine writer Shanteh Wale (Over A Glass podcast), South Coast Seaweed co-founder Sarah Thomas, musician Yyan Ng and Venus Shell Systems founder Dr Pia Winberg.
The podcast forms part of the Australian Culinary Archive, a Powerhouse initiative that documents significant stories and archives of Australian chefs and producers who have shaped Australia’s culinary culture and created an international profile for Australian food. The archive features the business and personal archives of Australian food industry leaders including chefs, producers, writers and restaurateurs.
Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah said, ‘We are excited to bring a new season of the Culinary Archive Podcast to life with Lee Tran Lam showcasing the incredibly diverse range of talented food producers across Australia. This season blends everyday ingredients with rich, nuanced histories, offering listseners an insight into the evolution of food culture in Australia.’
Culinary Archive Podcast Presenter Lee Tran Lam said, ‘It’s been fascinating to reveal the incredible history behind these ingredients, while also showing how they might shape our future. Centuries ago, you could pay taxes in Japan with seaweed and today kelp is a promising plastic alternative and climate-change tool. Australia is also home to many food stories worth telling, from the World-Heritage-listed Budj Bim eel traps, the 1960s invention of the goon bag and truffle hunters aided by ex-drug-sniffer dogs. I’m glad we could share these incredible stories in the new season of the podcast.’
Listen to Season 2 of the Culinary Archive Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
To learn more about the Culinary Archive Podcast, visit https://ph.au/culinary-2025
To learn more about the Australian Culinary Archive, visit https://ph.au/3Cp3fgF
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About Powerhouse
Powerhouse sits at the intersection of arts, design, science and technology and plays a critical role in engaging communities with contemporary ideas and issues. We are undertaking a landmark $1.2 billion infrastructure renewal program, spearheaded by the creation of the new museum, Powerhouse Parramatta; expanded research and public facilities at Powerhouse Castle Hill; the renewal of the iconic Powerhouse Ultimo; and the ongoing operation of Sydney Observatory. The museum is custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia. We are also undertaking an expansive digitisation project that will provide new levels of access to the Powerhouse Collection.
About Lee Tran Lam
Lee Tran Lam is a journalist who has written for Good Food, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, Eater and Gastro Obscura. Named a Future Shaper by Time Out Sydney, she created the award-winning Should You Really Eat That? podcast for SBS, co-founded Diversity In Food Media Australia, edited the New Voices On Food books and her first podcast, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry, has been recommended by Bon Appétit, Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.