Culture & Cuisine The Podcast

Husna Pasha is the charismatic, engaging female behind Alisha’s Cafe collective, the community restaurant where you can enjoy quirky, authentic vegetarian dishes, weekly cultural events, and the best Chai around. Today, Husna leads us on a journey through her childhood as the only Indian, Muslim in her town to her time as an occupational therapist and ultimately, to the talk-show

Today, we meet with Barbara Nicole, a PhD and expert in the emergence of Chinese restaurants in Australia from the late nineteenth century through the 1950's. We sit with Barbara in the Chinese Museum in Melbourne where she volunteers and discuss her research to understand why you can find a Chinatown in most cities in Australia, how Chinese restaurants came to be in even the small

Today, we sit with Peter Laliotis, managing director and part owner of Hellas Cakes, a Melbourne Greek sweets staple since 1962. Melbourne not only has the largest Greek population in Australia, they have the largest Greek population of any city outside of Greece. Located in the heart of Richmond, formerly a primarily Greek suburb, Hellas Cakes has proudly served the residents of M

Today, we sit with Greg Hampton, head chef of Charcoal Lane, and Troy Krillin, program manager for social enterprises for Mission Australia. Although they are the oldest, ongoing living culture in the world, indigenous Australians have almost become foreigners in their own lands. Missions where natives were forced to be housed and “Christianized”, the Stolen Generation where ap

Today, we sit with Salvatore Malatesta, founder and creative director of St Ali Coffee in South Melbourne. As a former British settlement, tea used to be the main household brew of Australia. It wasn’t until the first espresso machine was introduced to Melbourne at Cafe Florentino, the predecessor to Grossi Florentino who we speak with in a former episode, that coffee began to em

Today, we sit with John Burn, former owner and chef of Ebi Fine Foods. John is Scottish by birth but Japanese by interest. After visiting Japan, becoming enamored with the culture and cuisine, and making a spur of the moment purchase of a specialty grill, John traveled down a path that led to the opening of a Fish N Chips - Japanese Cuisine joint shop in the suburbs of Melbourne. H

Today we sit with Guy Grossi, owner and chef of Grossi Florentino. Grossi Florentino, formerly the Florentino Cafe, has been a staple of the Melbourne community since the 1920s. Sitting in the heart of Melbourne’s Central Business District, it has seen a vastly diversifying and evolving city. It stood at the forefront of educating the community about Italian customs and cuisines

Today we sit with Shanaka Fernando and Jessica Tana from Lentil As Anything. This pay-as-you-feel concept opened its first restaurant in Melbourne in 2000, and you won’t find any prices on the menu. They have a donation box and credit card machine off to one side where you can pay for what you can afford. Those who can’t pay are encouraged to volunteer their time with the frien

Sit with us as the hosts of Season 2 discuss what to expect as we take on Melbourne, Australia. Get some insight into the season where we recognize "Everyone is from somewhere. Even the locals of today are shaped by the foreigners of the past."

Our tenth and final episode of Culture & Cuisine the Podcast features Don Jante, one of the founding cousins of Flip'N Patties Food Truck. This episode is our first SHORT where we tell Don's story ourself in a condensed version. Don didn’t grow up wanting to be a chef nor does he now dream of unique food creations. Don loves what he does because of the working family he has creat