Food Producers, Retailers, Advocates

Thi Le roasts it rare and serves it with anchovy paste, pomelo and rice-paddy herb at Anchovy. Kyle Nicol turns it into pastrami, spicing it with paprika and pepperberry, smoking it over fire and slicing it up at Hazel. At The Lincoln in Carlton, you might see it grace a Sunday roast or a handsome pie, while at Bar Merenda, Oliver Edwards offers the tongues with peppers and salsa. It’s beef of exceptional flavour. It’s Warialda Belted Galloway, and it’s been the passion project of Allen and Lizette Snaith for more than 35 years. The Snaiths built a paddock-to-plate philosophy prioritising animal welfare and sustainable farming. Beyond their own operation, they vocally oppose the closures of abattoirs, closures which threaten the viability of small-scale farmers. "Despite drought, fire and economic hardship, this farming couple have created a paddock-to-package beef brand based on the heritage Scottish breed," says food writer Richard Cornish. "They’ve built a loyal following of retail customers and chefs for their beef and value-added products."

When Sava Goto moved from Hyogo, a rural prefecture of Japan, to Melbourne, she couldn't find tofu matching the quality she knew from home. So she learned to make it herself, transforming a personal quest into a small business changing how Australians think about this humble yet elegant ingredient. Operating from her Brunswick shopfront after outgrowing a counter in a café, Goto handcrafts small batches of Japanese-style varieties of tofu including silken kinu, semi-firm momen, as well as ready-to-eat snacks, such as the hot-selling tofu doughnuts. Her do-it-yourself approach has introduced a new generation of diners to tofu's flavour and versatility. "Despite Sava’s modesty, her small-batch tofu is changing perceptions of this ‘bland’ ingredient among a broad range of Melburnians," says food writer and MasterChef judge Sofia Levin. "Sava’s grassroots approach and creativity is introducing people to new ways to love an under-appreciated ingredient." By treating tofu with reverence usually reserved in Australia for cheese or charcuterie, Goto has proven traditional techniques and genuine passion can take tofu to new heights previously unseen in Melbourne and beyond.