Straight To The Source founders Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon have a vision: to connect chefs and producers, building relationships with innovative, creative and passionate people within the food space throughout Australia and New Zealand, establishing industry connections, and ensuring a strong and passionate industry.
Bahr and Allon work at the forefront of food, championing diversity by bringing new, innovative and undiscovered ingredients to awareness and into the mainstream, with a focus on locally sourced and seasonal produce.
“People don’t realise how much regional diversity there is in Australia, but the different regions and microclimates from far north Queensland down to Tassie, from Perth to the East Coast produce a vast array of different crops, fruits and veggies and other exotic ingredients,” says Allon.
For Allon and Bahr, their business is about more than food; it’s about bringing people together, using their networks to create fertile ground for relationships and opportunities.
“We’re providing an opportunity, an opportunity to connect, an opportunity to learn and to be inspired,” says Bahr.
And as the name suggests, Straight To The Source is all about provenance.
“It’s important for chefs to understand where their food is coming from and their ingredients, but it’s equally as important for the farmer and the producer to know where their food is going,” says Bahr.
“We’re doing both sides of the spectrum, really, we’re giving producers an opportunity to connect with industry.” Bahr and Allon established Straight to The Source in February 2012, and have enjoyed watching it grow steadily each year. Each with over 20 years experience in the food and hospitality industry, Bahr and
Allon bring deep and unrivalled knowledge, experience and professional networks to the projects they work on.
Their business growth also means a growing team, each with their own unique skill sets all firming established in food and hospitality. The team now boasts a range of services, including helping chefs, restaurant & catering businesses discover local and regional produce and champion it on their menus; develop value-add products to bring them to market; providing professional development and mentoring to hospitality workers; consulting industry on sustainable food sourcing; and engaging foodservice professionals through regional tours and workshops.
What does the future look like for Straight to the Source?
Bahr and Allon want to engage the industry more broadly, believing that anyone involved in the food industry should know where their food comes from.
Get in touch with Tawnya and Lucy they love nothing more than connecting with industry colleagues, producers and regions.