Black Magic Woman with Mundanara Bayles

I’ve known Kylie-Lee Bradford for years. I first came across Kakadu Organics when she was making little organic baby jumpsuits, and she was one of the women who helped me with the strategy behind setting up a podcast network. So it was deadly to finally sit down with her in person at the Australian Native Food Festival on Gadigal Country. Kylie-Lee’s business is built on her late mum’s legacy as a Traditional Owner of Kakadu. Seventeen years on, Kakadu Organics exports to eight countries and was just named Indigenous Exporter of the Year at Supply Nation’s Supplier Diversity Awards. We yarned about wild harvesting with Aboriginal women, why Kakadu plum is a superfood, the hard parts of exporting native ingredients, and how her kids have grown up on the market stalls beside her. She also shared how to tell if you’re buying from a genuine Blak business, her advice for mums who want to back themselves, and a little hint about what’s next in the States.Episode Resources:Kakadu Organicshttps://kakaduorganics.com.au/Kakadu Organics builds export success on love of native foods (Austrade)https://austrade.gov.au/en/news-and-analysis/news/kakadu-organics-builds-export-success-on-love-of-native-foodsSupplier Diversity Awards celebrate Indigenous business excellence (National Indigenous Times)https://nit.com.au/13-08-2026/25926/supplier-diversity-awards-celebrate-indigenous-business-excellenceAustralian Native Food Festival, presented by Indigiearthhttps://www.destinationnsw.com.au/newsroom/australian-native-food-festival-returns-for-2026 Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.auFollow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, [email protected] Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aunty Beryl has been family to us since the days on the Block, when she and my mum and dad all looked out for one another. I was so happy to sit down with her at the Australian Native Food Festival on Gadigal Country. At 84 she’s just released her first cookbook, and she’s still in the kitchen every day. We yarned about growing up in Walgett, learning to cook long before most kids would, and building something out of her own pocket when the funding stopped. She also told me why lemon myrtle belongs in every kitchen, and about the dream she’s working on right now for Elders in Redfern. Aunty Beryl’s Cookbook: Heartwarming recipes and stories of First Nations food (Murdoch Books) is out now through Dymocks, Big W and Amazon.Episode Resources Aunty Beryl’s Cookbook: Heartwarming recipes and stories of First Nations food (Murdoch Books)Available at Dymocks, Big W and Amazon, or support your local independent bookshop:https://loveyourbookshop.org.au/bestsellers/aunty-beryls-cookbook Aunty Beryl’s portrait by Dennis Golding at the National Portrait Galleryhttps://portrait.gov.au/portraits/2026.15.1-17/aunty-beryl Read more about Aunty Beryl and her native food knowledgehttps://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/9286710/aunty-beryl-van-oploo-gamilaroi-elder-shares-native-food-wisdom/ After a life of cooking, Aunty Beryl’s portrait now hangs in the national gallery (SBS NITV)https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/after-a-life-of-cooking-aunty-beryls-portrait-now-hangs-in-the-national-gallery/wlrxenttj Australian Native Food Festival, presented by Indigiearthhttps://www.destinationnsw.com.au/newsroom/australian-native-food-festival-returns-for-2026 Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.auFollow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast If you enjoyed this episode, please 'Subscribe' on Apple Podcasts or 'Follow' on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you'd like to contact us, please email, [email protected] Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m coming to you from the Australian Native Food Festival at Carriageworks on Gadigal Country, and I finally sat down with my brother Zach Green. He’s a proud Gunditjmara and Palawa man you might know as the Storyteller Chef. Zach has built his career on sharing the culture behind our foods, from Elijah’s Kitchen in Darwin to Iluka’s Kitchen in Port Hedland. Now living on Larrakia Country, he’s backing young mob coming up through the kitchen and asking hard questions about who really benefits from the native food industry. But when I asked him who he is without the titles, his answer had nothing to do with food. We yarn about family, the strong women who shaped him, the dish that keeps his sons’ spirit close, and the legacy he wants to leave. Pull up a chair, this one’s a good feed. Resources and links Zach Green This chef is telling our stories through food (SBS NITV): https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/this-chef-is-telling-our-stories-through-food/mgd1hmmhj Cooking and storytelling: crocodile is our culture (SBS Food, Zach on cooking crocodile): https://www.sbs.com.au/food/the-cook-up-with-adam-liaw/article/cooking-with-crocodile/g2riaadx6 Australian Native Food Festival Carriageworks event page: https://carriageworks.com.au/events/australian-native-food-festival/ IndigiEarthAboriginal-owned native food business founded by Weilwan woman Sharon Winsor, who leads the festival. https://indigiearth.com.au Gather FoodsMajority Aboriginal-owned and led food business in Perth, where Zach helped a young chef land an apprenticeship. https://www.gatherfoods.com.au Who owns the native food industry Master chef urges Indigenous native food businesses to get slice of $80m pie (NIT): https://nit.com.au/10-11-2023/8571/master-chef-urges-indigenous-native-food-businesses-to-get-slice-of-80m-pie SupportZach speaks about losing his children. If anything in this episode brings up something for you, support is there: 13YARN on 13 92 76 (First Nations crisis support, 24/7) or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.auFollow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast If you enjoyed this episode, please 'Subscribe' on Apple Podcasts or 'Follow' on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you'd like to contact us, please email, [email protected] Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I spent the weekend at the second annual Australian Native Food Festival at Carriageworks on Gadigal Country in Redfern, presented by Sharon Winsor and IndigiEarth, and I brought you with me. I moved stall to stall, yarning with the mob who grow, make and lead this native food and botanical industry. Tara Croker from Yaala Sparkling, Aunty Pat Torres, relaunching the First Nations Bushfood and Botanical Alliance and doing beautiful things on Country in Broome. The crews at Kakadu Organics, The Unexpected Guest, Wild Foods, Jala Jala Treats and Native Botanical Brewery. Bush food growers Kate and Pete on their new book. And my deadly sister Mindy Woods. One truth ran through every yarn. Our mob make up less than 2% of a native food industry worth more than a billion dollars. Not because we don't want to lead it, but because of the barriers put in our way. Every business you hear today is one of ours. Meet them, learn who they are, and get behind them long after the festival packs down. Every business is linked in the show notes. Support Blak. Buy from mob! Businesses in this episode: IndigiEarth (Sharon Winsor): https://indigiearth.com.au Yaala Sparkling (Tara Croker): https://yaalasparkling.com Mayi Harvests (Aunty Pat Torres): https://www.mayiharvests.com.au First Nations Bushfood & Botanical Alliance Australia: https://www.fnbbaa.org.au The Unexpected Guest: https://theunexpectedguest.com Kakadu Organics: https://www.instagram.com/kakaduorgnics Jala Jala Treats: https://www.jalajala.com.au Native Botanical Brewery: https://nativebotanicalbrewery.org Karkalla / Mindy Woods: https://www.karkalla.com.au Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.auFollow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast If you enjoyed this episode, please 'Subscribe' on Apple Podcasts or 'Follow' on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you'd like to contact us, please email, [email protected] Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My husband Peace has been telling me for ages, you have to get this bala on your podcast. So when I got to Sydney, I sat down with Leon Filewood on Cammeraygal Country and we had the yarn I had been waiting for. Leon grew up on Waiben, Thursday Island. He went from the courtroom to the comedy club, and there is a story behind why he made that jump that I did not see coming. We yarn about imposter syndrome, about the shame that holds our mob back from their full potential, and about why every joke he tells has a message sitting underneath the laugh. He is a Deadly Funny winner and a Moosehead Award recipient, and he has taken his shows Which Way and Holding Space around the country. Have a listen. Links and Resources Instagram: @laf_comedy Deadly FunnyThe Melbourne International Comedy Festival's development program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. Free workshops and community shows around the country, no experience needed. Leon won the national final and now delivers the workshops himself.https://www.deadlyfunny.com.au/ Support13YARN, 13 92 76, 24 hours, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support lineLifeline, 13 11 14 Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.auFollow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast If you enjoyed this episode, please 'Subscribe' on Apple Podcasts or 'Follow' on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you'd like to contact us, please email, [email protected] Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.