First Nations chef Mindy Woods has been named a Champion of Change for her work sharing native Australian ingredients with the world. Now it’s your turn.

From MasterChef to her acclaimed Byron Bay restaurant Karkalla, to her cultural and culinary experience Karkalla on Country, and now Culinary Wonderland, Woods is a proud Bundjalung Australian woman on a mission to welcome you into the world’s oldest food culture.

Whether it’s fusing ancient flavours with an instantly recognisable dish, or sharing new ways to season seafood or soup, Woods’ eyes light up when she talks about ingredients that Indigenous Australians have been using for thousands of years. 

Finger lime. “We call it gulalung in Bundjalung Country. It is an incredibly aromatic citrus, it’s very zesty, but it pops like caviar in your mouth.”

Bunya nuts. “It’s a sweet, pine-tasting nut, with the texture of a chestnut and a beautiful creamy consistency. You can chuck them into a beautiful stew or make a beautiful gnocchi out of their flour. It’s a prehistoric food, it dates back to dinosaurs...”

Lemon myrtle. “It’s the most incredible culinary herb to work with because it has the highest citral content of any food – that beautiful lemony scent. I call it a lemon-scented bay leaf, throw it in your stocks and your stews.”

Macadamia nuts. “The original Australian nut. Did you know 99 per cent of all macadamia trees in the world can be traced back to one tree in Gympie? If you roast the macadamia up, and there’s a really easy secret to it – 120℃ for 120 minutes – they turn into the most beautiful caramelised nuts you’ve ever tasted in your life.”

Kangaroo. “It’s naturally low in fat, high in protein, really high in iron, and when it’s cooked well, it is a world-class meat. Whether you’re doing a quick seared steak or braising it down to make a native massaman curry, it’s a really great way to change people’s perception of native food.”

It’s this combination of passion, knowledge of Country and unique flavours that saw Woods named Champion of Change at the 2025 World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards in Turin, Italy. But it wasn’t always this way.

Before she opened Karkalla, before she became the first female indigenous chef to receive a Chef’s Hat from the Australian Good Food Guide, and before she made the first of two appearances on , Woods had a very different career as a physiotherapist.