ONE SHARED table

In kitchens and across cultures, food has always held the power to nourish more than bodies. It feeds identity. It carries memory. And in the hands of chefs like Mindy Woods and Christine Manfield, it becomes a vessel for change. 

WRITTEN BY DONNA RISHTON-POTTER 

They come from different generations, backgrounds, and paths. One is a proud Bundjalung woman, a rising global voice and fierce advocate for First Nations food sovereignty, recently honoured as the 2025 Champion of Change by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The other is a globally recognised culinary icon who has shaped modern Australian cuisine through bold flavours, a global perspective, and a lifelong commitment to equality and mentorship. Together, they are at the forefront of a movement reshaping Australia’s food landscape — one grounded in place, led by women, and rich with purpose. 

Bundjalung chef, restaurateur and passionate advocate Mindy Woods first met legendary Australian chef Christine Manfield on the set of MasterChef Australia. Years later, a serendipitous encounter at the New Brighton markets reignited their connection, sparking a partnership now redefining Australia’s food narrative and placing First Nations ingredients at the heart of the national story. 

For Woods, the mission is deeply personal. Her food journey began on the beaches of Bundjalung Country, collecting pipis with her Nan, foraging native plants and spices, and cooking them with her mob. She rose to prominence on MasterChef Australia, but it was her return to Country to open Karkalla Byron Bay that crystallised her purpose: connecting diners with Aboriginal culture through food. She has since launched Karkalla On Country, immersive dining experiences that honour native ingredients in their natural environment. 

As one of only a handful of First Nations chefs to own a restaurant, Woods has made it her life’s work to bring Indigenous foodways out of the margins and into the mainstream. Her recognition as 2025 Champion of Change reflects both her advocacy and her determination to use her profile for lasting impact. 

“Ours is not a new history,” she says. “This land is entrenched in culture and food that dates back millennia, yet it’s been overlooked and denied for so long. The native food industry is worth $89 million annually, but less than 2% of it is First Nations-owned. We’ve been cut off from our own foods. That has to change.” 

For Manfield — one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs, a prolific author, mentor, and gender-equality advocate — this partnership is a natural evolution of a career built on curiosity, connection, and cultural exchange. Often described as “the embodiment of Australian food” for her ability to fuse diverse influences into something uniquely her own, she says moving to the Northern Rivers during the pandemic deepened her understanding of Australia’s native food story. 

“Since the ’90s, my mantra has been ‘think global, act local,’ but it wasn’t until I moved here that I really understood what that meant,” she explains. “I’d used native ingredients in my kitchens, but I hadn’t considered their provenance or cultural significance. Living here made me stop and listen.” 

Woods credits Manfield’s mentorship as pivotal. “I idolised Christine forever,” she says. “To have her embrace me with such warmth and respect, to mentor and support me — it’s what this industry deserves.” 

Christine returns the sentiment. “We all learn from each other. The day you think you can’t learn anything is the day you stop growing.” 

Their relationship is rooted in reciprocal learning: Christine brings decades of global experience, Mindy brings ancestral knowledge and cultural authority. There’s no hierarchy, only mutual respect. 

“In Bundjalung culture, we are matriarchal,” Mindy explains. “Everyone contributes, each generation has a role. We’ve lost that in modern society, and we want to reclaim it.” 

For both women, cooking is cultural preservation. “When people think of Australian food culture, they talk about meat pies, sausage rolls, the Sunday roast,” Mindy says. “It’s not that those foods don’t have a place, they do, but they’ve dominated while the world’s oldest living food culture has been overlooked. Our people were making bread 15,000 years before the Egyptians built pyramids.” 

Christine adds, “We should have immense pride in that. It should be part of how we educate our kids and define our national identity.” 

Placing First Nations ingredients at the centre of Australia’s food story, they believe, is not just about flavour — it’s reconciliation in practice. Many locals have never tasted Indigenous ingredients, despite Bundjalung Country being one of the largest native food bowls in the country. Woods and Manfield want to change that. 

They teach that native ingredients carry stories and lessons in patience and respect. Mindy points to the ooray (Davidson plum) as an example: its fine hairs and blue film coating (a natural pesticide), the way it drops to the ground when ripe. “Country builds messages into the plants. If you heed those messages, you respect the plant and the culture it comes from.” 

At the heart of their shared vision is the belief that food binds culture and community. Both lament the loss of the family table — once central to connection and storytelling — eroded by modern life. “People eat in isolation now, out of boxes,” Christine says. “There’s a total social disconnect.” 

“When we eat as a family, we share stories and pass on wisdom,” Mindy adds. “Food should be at the core of how we come together. We need to reclaim that space.” 

Their upcoming collaboration for Savour The Tweed — a celebration of local food, agriculture, and culture — aims to do just that: bring people together to learn, taste, and connect. By placing native ingredients front and centre, they’re teaching Australians to take pride in the land’s first culinary traditions, elevating them alongside familiar dishes. 

“We’re not using native ingredients as garnish,” Mindy says. “We’re weaving two traditions — Indigenous and global — in a way that respects both. That’s what reconciliation looks like. That’s what a modern Australian menu should be.” 

Their approach follows the wisdom of Elders, “gently gently, slowly slowly,” Mindy explains. Change takes time, but every conversation chips away at decades of oversight and marginalisation. 

They believe Australians can embrace a more inclusive food identity — one that celebrates multicultural influences while honouring First Nations heritage.

“My mission is to unite people through food,” Woods says. “It’s going to be such an important part of our reconciliation as a nation — giving us cultural identity and pride, moving us past shame.”

Manfield agrees. “People who come here want to experience Australian food, not just sausage rolls and meat pies. We need to redefine our food story and celebrate what we have right here.”

In the end, theirs is a partnership grounded in respect, cultural integrity, and the belief that food can heal, unite, and inspire. Together, they are rewriting Australia’s food story — one plate, one conversation, and one shared table at a time.

@ msmindywoods | @christinemanfieldchef