PORTFOLIO

Selected Writing Work

A selection of my published work, ranging from longform investigations to restaurant profiles and cultural commentary.

Sexism in service: The brutal realities of Australian kitchen culture — Gourmet Traveller

The true cost of service: A look at the hidden costs in hospitality — Gourmet Traveller

What is a curry? — Gourmet Traveller (print & digital)

Barbecue Nation – Gourmet Traveller (print)

How to be an ethical tourist — Gourmet Traveller (print)

Not Nonna’s Italian — Gourmet Traveller (print)

Filipino cookbooks don’t sell — Colournary

Spotlight on Sami Tamimi — Colournary

It’s pretty much a second child: Nakkiah Lui on family, finger limes and her new food podcast — The Guardian

Not everybody wants to go dumpster diving: the app fighting food waste the easy way — The Guardian

What does authenticity taste like? — Tart Magazine (print)

Bang for your buck — The Age’s Good Food

Six to try: Melbourne’s best all-you-can-eat Sri Lankan buffets – Broadsheet Melbourne

You’ll only find this bolognese-stuffed panzerotto in Melbourne — SBS Food

This Melbourne restaurant serves Thai-style hot pot and barbecue — SBS Food

Restaurant and city guide writing — VICE and DoorDash

Wrote and edited over 300 articles, including reviews and city guides such as “The 50 Best Restaurants in Melbourne” and “The Best Cafés in Melbourne” for Time Out Melbourne.

Published two print magazines via Colournary.

Selected Consulting Clients

Global Cooksafe Coalition – Chef campaign lead for Europe, working with leading chefs and sustainability stakeholders.

Powerhouse Museum – Strategic and creative support across food, identity and culture programming.

Pizzeria Magma – Brand consulting and communications for a woodfired pizzeria in Melbourne.

Carlton Wine Room via Minds en Place – DEI and wellbeing advisory for hospitality teams.

Rosheen Kaul – Representation and editorial consulting for the Chinese-ish co-author.

Various cookbook authors – Pitching, story development, editing and ghostwriting for first-time chef-authors.

Philanthropy is at the core of what I do, and I’ve also organised and hosted a hospitality fundraiser for Sri Lanka, raising $25,000 and personally distributing aid on the ground. Read more about the impact we’ve created via Colournary here.

As Seen In…

How I Melbourne: Rushani Epa — Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

Five women to look out for in food media — The Age/Good Food

‘No trends, no hype’: The indie magazines rethinking our taste in food — Sydney Morning Herald

Colournary Magazine Is a New Publication Championing First Nations, Black and POC Chefs, Writers and Creatives — Broadsheet Melbourne

Meet Colournary Magazine, a space for BIPOC voices in food media — Time Out Melbourne

Five delicious ways to support NAIDOC Week in Victoria — Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

Public speaker/panel host at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Melbourne Writers Festival, FBi Radio, ABC Radio (Melbourne & Brisbane), 2ser Radio, Sydney Design Week, Williamstown Literary Festival, and MPavilion. Also provided commentary on the life of a food critic for Open Universities Australia.

Books that I commissioned and published during my tenure at Hardie Grant, with more to come.
Three of which have been featured in Nigella Lawson’s Cookbook Corner.

  • Book cover titled "Ellie's Table" with an image of a person holding plates of sardines and bread. Subtitle states "Food from memory and food from home" and author is Ellie Bouhadana.

  • Book cover titled "A Seat at My Table" by Philoxenia, featuring a plate of bread, a bowl of blueberries with a spoon, and a slice of pizza on a blue and white checkered plate

  • A table filled with traditional Malaysian dishes served on blue and white ceramic plates, surrounded by people eating with chopsticks. The dishes include curry, rice, vegetables, and seafood.

  • Book cover titled 'The Golden Wok' with a stylized pink flower design inside a wok on a blue background, author Diana Chan's name in the bottom right corner, and the phrase 'Master the Art of Wok Cooking' in the top left corner.

  • Book cover titled 'Strong, Sweet and Bitter' by Cara Devine, featuring stylized illustrations of cocktails on a dark green background. Subtitle reads 'Your Guide to All Things Cocktails, Bartending and Booze from Behind the Bar'.

  • Illustration of a plate of vegan Chinese food with vegetables, tofu, and noodles, accompanied by pink chopsticks, on a green background with the text 'Vegan Chinese Food Yang Liu'.

  • Book cover titled "The Food of Bharat" by Helly Raichura, featuring a decorative border with floral and traditional Indian motifs.

  • Book cover titled "There's Always Room for Cheese: A guide to cheesemaking at home" by Colin Wood, featuring an assortment of various cheeses on plates and bowls, with ceramic pitchers in the background.