Mindy Woods launches native food classes

INDIGENOUS chef Mindy Woods is launching cooking classes featuring native ingredients in December.

The proud Bundjalung woman and MasterChef alum — who won the 2025 Champion of Change Award at the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards in Italy — said she is eager to encourage people to embrace ingredients such as karkalla and lemon myrtle.

“A lot of the time people think of them as these really exotic ingredients and don’t know how to approach them,” she said.

The experience, limited to 12 participants, begins with a walk through the native food forest at the organic regenerative farm Conscious Ground. There, guests learn about the cultural, medicinal and culinary uses of the ingredients before moving into a hands-on cooking class, followed by a long lunch.

“It can be as engaging or as interactive as people want it to be,” Woods said. “They can sit back and watch the show or get their hands dirty. We have found some people just want to peel an onion or prawn and sit back with a glass of wine or a Brookie’s G and T.

“It’s an opportunity to cook, sit around, yarn and tell stories together then have some beautiful, deadly food.”

Dishes may include Akoya oysters with macadamia cream smoked and roasted on coals, chargrilled prawns with finger lime salsa, and a chocolate tart with paperbark and smoked ice-cream.

Woods is also hosting private events for such things as corporate team bonding and significant birthday celebrations, and is seeking regulatory approval to operate more Karkalla On Country cultural and culinary experiences at the site.

“There’s a whole selection of stuff that we want to do,” she said. “I have been so fortunate to spend so much time overseas this year and people want to come to Australia for these experiences. A lot of acclaimed chefs from around Australia also want to collaborate and come up and cook with me on Bundjalung country.”

The Native Food Cooking Experience with Mindy Woods will run at Conscious Ground in Myocum from 11am to 3pm, starting Saturday 13 December.

Tickets are available via Humanitix.