06/05/2026
This! ❤️💛🖤
There is a deeply moving and important story from SBS that we need our whole community to sit with.
This isn’t just an article about food.
This is about identity, healing, culture, injustice, and hope.
It follows Brisbane chef Chris Jordan ( Three Little Birds Events ) - a man who has spent years searching for purpose, connection, and a reason to keep going. After decades in kitchens around the world, it wasn’t until he found bushfoods that everything changed.
Through native ingredients - wattleseed, lemon myrtle, Kakadu plum - he didn’t just discover flavour…
he discovered who he is.
Chris speaks openly about the darkest parts of his life — moments where he was struggling, asking for guidance, searching for a reason. And in that space, he found mentorship, culture, and direction through our own Aunty Dale Chapman.
He shares, very honestly, that meeting Aunty Dale played a role in him getting sober - that her knowledge, leadership, and willingness to pass on culture gave him purpose.
That alone is powerful. But it doesn’t stop there.
This article also shines a light on a harsh truth:
👉 Australia’s bushfood industry is worth tens of millions of dollars
👉 Yet only a tiny percentage is Indigenous-owned
While the industry grows, many First Nations people - the original knowledge holders - are still being left behind.
Chris is working to change that.
He’s not just cooking - he’s mentoring!
He’s working with young Indigenous people, many at risk of entering the justice system, helping them reconnect to culture and build real pathways forward.
Because the reality is confronting:
First Nations youth are vastly overrepresented in detention, a reflection of deep, ongoing trauma and disconnection.
Through food, Chris is creating something different -
✨ connection
✨ pride
✨ opportunity
✨ healing
This article is not easy reading - but it is necessary.
It reminds us that bushfoods are not just ingredients on a plate.
They are culture, survival, identity, and legacy.
💛 Please take the time to read the full story
💛 Reflect on it
💛 And if it resonates share it with your mob
Because these are the conversations that need to be heard.
I'll put the link in the comments
