I'm cooking to protect our culture, our food and our stories | Zach Green

All my life I've struggled with my identity but when I go out to cook with traditional owners, we are all connected

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I firmly believe food is the path to reconciliation in Australia. When I cook with Indigenous ingredients, I tell the stories of the animals and plants I'm using, explaining their significance as totems and the deep connection between food, kinship and culture.

At 12, I discovered a family secret: my grandmother was Aboriginal, part of the stolen generation. I took pride in the revelation, telling my new high school friends that I was a Gunditjmara man. The racial abuse I received in response silenced me for the next five years.