A new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted by food writer Jess Ho will explore how migration, memory and politics shape what we eat, and asks us to rethink what “Australian food” really is.
Across six episodes Jess speaks with local chefs about the stories behind the dishes served in some of our most-talked about restaurants, examining how culture is expressed, challenged and reimagined on the plate.
Jess said:
“I made For The Culture because I wanted to explore identity through food in a deeper way. So often these conversations are overlooked for light, lifestyle pieces and listicles, but food carries histories of migration, memory and resistance. This series creates space for immigrants, and children of immigrants cooking today, to talk about how culture is actually lived and reshaped on the plate.”
Each episode examines the intersection of the chef, culture and cuisine:
• Episode 1 – Fusion or Regional Expression? Ho examines what Cantonese food means to the global diaspora with Flower Drum general manager Jason Liu and food writer Francis Lam, separating regional tradition from fusion and challenging the idea of authenticity
• Episode 2 – Not Mauritian Enough? Mauritian-Australian chef Nagesh Seethiah of the restaurant Manze explores the tension between cultural expectation and creative expression.
• Episode 3 – Redefining Filipino Cuisine: How does one ingredient come to symbolise an entire culture in the West? Award-winning chef John Rivera reimagines Filipino cuisine though a fine-dining lens without losing its heart.
• Episode 4 – Who Gets to Experiment? Chef Eun Hee An, owner of Moon Mart Ho, discusses why some local chefs are lauded for cooking cuisines they have little to no personal connection with, while migrant chefs are told to stay in their lane.
• Episode 5 – Balancing Acts: Chef Lorcán Kan of restaurant Etta discusses how his Malaysian-Chinese and Irish heritage informs a playful, experimental approach to cooking that challenges the boundaries between tradition and creativity.
• Episode 6 – Food Without Borders: Chef and author Helly Raichura explores regional Indian cuisine, the politics of representation, and how honouring heritage can help shape a more thoughtful future for food in Australia.
All six episodes of For The Culture are out tomorrow, Thursday March 19. Listen wherever you stream your podcasts.
Image: Jess Ho with Head Chef of Etta, Lorcán Kan – supplied